Breakfast loaves are often made with vegetable oil for moistness, but unsweetened applesauce works just as well. While this loaf is excellent on its own, if you want something a bit more indulgent, try topping your slice with a vegan butter-flavoured spread or a soy-based nut butter.
Inspired by falafels, these croquettes can also be served in a pita garnished with lettuce, tomatoes and cucumber.
Roast chicken is so reliable and satisfying that it keeps making its way onto our tables night after night. This spiced version, served with a citrusy, herbaceous chimichurri, is an update on the classic. Make the chimichurri the day before, if you wish, and add any leftovers to potato salad, grilled meats or fish.
Associate food director Donna Bartolini knows that busy households will appreciate having ready-for-the-oven cookies in the freezer. These are chock-full of colourful fruit and crunchy toffee nuggets. Be sure to include the baking instructions on a card inside the box. Or bake the cookies and offer them ready-to-eat in a festive cookie tin.
This pasta dinner is a fast treat for cool or rainy summer nights. The rich, creamy sauce is lightened up with loads of lemon, thyme and zucchini.
Hermits are lightly spiced soft fruit-and-nut cookies. You can replace the pistachios with chopped walnuts, almonds or pecans, and the cranberries with Thompson or golden raisins. To expose more of the pistachio's green, vigorously rub the shelled nuts in a towel before chopping.
Our retro version of this chili sauce, which first appeared in our November 1990 issue, called for canned tomatoes; here, we've used fresh instead for an intensified taste. To strike the perfect balance between sweet and spicy, you may want to add more sugar, depending on how sweet the tomatoes are.
