Dried Cranberry

I especially enjoy the food blog www.deliciousdays.com. Recently I saw a recipe for a wheat-based muesli bread on that site and used it as inspiration for this nutty, sweet fruit loaf. When I want a healthy treat for dinner, I toast a slice and spread it with goat cheese.

Very versatile and not too sweet, this fruit tart is perfect to serve at breakfast or brunch or with wine and cheese after dinner.

Chop your favorite nuts and dried fruit to fill this tart. If desired, use toasted coconut or chopped crystallized ginger instead of toffee bits for the garnish.

Guests won't leaf these alone! A yogurt dressing and plenty of produce keep the tangy mouthfuls light.

These thin, elegant cookies get their flavor from dried cranberries and homemade candied lemon peel. Because the lemon peel needs to dry overnight, be sure to begin this recipe one day ahead.

A pandowdy is a deep-dish fruit dessert with a pastry topping. while The name may come from the fact that the dessert is typically dowdy-looking, we think this one is anything but.

Old-fashioned mincemeat contained tiny bits of meat and/or beef suet, a type of fat. This modern, meatless version is a great mix of apples, dried fruits, and warming spices.

White wine vinegar and dried cranberries give this relish its tang.

The bright flavors are a nice counterpoint to rich foods.

Any leftovers would be great for breakfast.

This spinach salad speaks to all the wonderful autumnal flavors of the Pacific Northwest. The new crop of bronzed Bosc pears is piled high at the farmers' market; the hazelnuts have been harvested, shelled, and bagged for sale; and the cranberries arrive from the Long Beach, Washington, coastal bogs. I buy sweetened dried cranberries from a local producer, but they are readily available at the grocery store (Ocean Spray is a good-quality packager), found alongside raisins and other dried fruits. This salad is a snap to assemble if you buy the packaged prewashed and trimmed baby spinach.

Golden Delicious apples hold their shape even when baked at a hot temperature and wrapped in puff pastry. Their honeyed flavor adds just the right amount of sweetness to balance these slightly savory turnovers.

All the other kids at school will be jealous when they get a look at these delicious, colorful, healthful wraps.

For chewy texture, undercook the biscotti slightly in the second baking.