The Recipe: Crisp, barely sweet pecan pieces lightly glazed with maple syrup. With five minutes, three ingredients and an hour in the oven, the payback is huge. The Conversation: Making the transition from processed sugar to natural sweeteners, one recipe at a time. ~ Skip Straight to the Recipe ~ What's a Curious Cook to Do, Really? Way back last year, I became smitten with an oatmeal dish from Half & Half, a restaurant here in St. Louis. It's a heady combination of creamy oats, a barely sweet raspberry compote, fresh fruit and a spoonful of maple syrup. I l-o-v-e this oatmeal, the combination is magical! Half & Half's oatmeal recipe was published in my column in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and later in Almost-Chewy Creamy Oatmeal . What wasn't in Half & Half's recipe, was Half & Half's candied pecans. Luckily, during our interview, the chef shared a big hint: "Half & Half candies pecans by cooking pecan pieces in sugar

for pie, parfaits, pavlova and even (yummm) plain Hey, Pie People! The base recipe for Banana Cream Pudding works in so many ways, just by making easy adjustments to sweetness and thickening. For example, a traditional Banana Cream Pie needs less sugar but more cornstarch but Banana Cream Parfaits and pudding served "plain" all by itself need more sugar but less cornstarch. See? Easy changes! One Recipe, Several Variations. Homemade Banana Cream Pudding, Made from Scratch. Real Food, Fast & Family-Tested. Year-Round Kitchen Staple. Budget Friendly. Weeknight Easy, Weekend Special. Naturally Gluten Free.

How to make preserved lemons, a cornerstone ingredient in Moroccan cuisine and an easy way to jazz up everything from salad dressings to stews. The salty-sour essence of preserved lemons, it's truly special. Preserved Lemons Made from Scratch, Spiced & Special. Year-Round Kitchen Staple, an Ingredient Often Called for in Mediterranean Recipes. Budget Friendly. Easy DIY. Keeps for Months. Naturally Gluten Free.

My favorite night for dinner? Pancake Night! A stack of homemade pancakes is just minutes away, either traditional sweet pancakes with butter and syrup but also, my favorite for dinner, savory pancakes. Here you'll find my collection of pancake recipes, tools and tips. Fresh & Flexible. Weeknight Easy, Weekend Special.

The Recipe: An icy-cold raspberry slushee for grown-ups. Just three ingredients and because it's a granita, you don't need an ice cream maker, just a freezer and a fork! “What?! You don’t have an ice cream maker?” asked my mom’s friend in surprise more than ten years ago. Phyllis knew I was a foodie, her food sensibility had long inspired me. (Naturally, there’s a story, see Cold & Creamy Cantaloupe Soup .) Trusting her judgment, I set off to find one and the same ice cream maker has been a workhorse ever since. But last summer, the bowl lost its freeze mojo, something I learned, naturally, right in the midst of making what was supposed to be Raspberry & Red Wine Sorbet. So instead, I turned the mixture into a “granita” – that’s an icy form of sorbet from Italy. You don't need an ice cream maker to make granita, just a freezer and a fork! The result was so icy and refreshing, I’ve made it three times and never once pulled out the ice cream maker to