Bread

For accompaniments, toss watercress and thin slices of red onion with Dijon vinaigrette, and add chopped fresh basil to stewed tomatoes. Pecan pie can top it off.

These fresh-from-the-oven rolls are made with frozen bread dough.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

A twist on old-fashioned garlic bread.

Thanks to purchased frozen dough, this bread is a snap to make. Serve it with soups, salads and pastas.

Barm brack is a dark and fruity yeast-raised cake (barm means "yeast"; brack means "speckled"). Tea brack is the much more common baking powder version.

Active time: 10 min Start to finish: 25 min

I first created this recipe at Routh Street Cafe in 1984. I've since had it on menus at five different restaurants in some form or another. It's also delicious when spread with a mixture of one part jalapeño jelly and three parts cream cheese whipped together. It's also best served warm.

Translated from medieval Scottish, farl means, "the fourth part." In this version, quartered rounds of dark bread are sweetened with treacle, which is similar to molasses, and lightly spiced with ginger. The mixture may occasionally include a handful of raisins or other dried fruit, but the bread is always served sliced and buttered, with a cup of tea.

Fast-rising yeast makes this bread a snap to prepare. A dry red wine, like Chianti, is ideal with this Italian-accented menu.

Half of one of these loaves is enough for the croutons for the White Bean and Ham Hock Soup with Arugula.