Lemon

  Aunt Mary's yalanchi (stuffed grape leaves) Total time: 2 hours, plus cooling time Servings: About 5 dozen yalanchi Our recipes, your kitchen: If you try this or any other recipe from the L.A. Times Test Kitchen, we would like to know about it so we can showcase it on our food blog and occasionally in print. Upload pictures of the finished dish here. 1 (16-ounce) jar of grape leaves (counts can vary by brand and season, but a jar should contain about 60 grape leaves)

If you want ideas for what to put in your juice at home, there are plenty of cookbooks - Amazon lists dozens - and websites. Even Williams Sonoma sells a book on fresh juices. And BlendedRecipes.com features juicing videos set in a retro-themed kitchen; in October, the site had 24.6 million visits. But if making your own juice is not for you, last year The meal delivery service Paleta ( www.paleta.com ) launched juices like the Sonic Tonic: collards and other greens with pear and lemon.

  Kale Caesar Total time: 30 minutes Servings: 4 to 6 Note: Adapted from "Tartine Bread" by Chad Robertson. Caesar dressing 2 lemons 3 cloves garlic 6 olive oil-packed anchovy fillets 1 egg yolk Salt 2 cups olive oil To make the dressing, grate the zest from 1 lemon. Cut both lemons in half. Place the garlic, anchovies and lemon zest in a mortar and pound with a pestle to make a thick paste.

The glass case at Maria Grammatico's Pasticceria del Convento in the hilltop town of Erice displays treasures worthy of a Swiss bank. Cannoli, filled with fresh ricotta, is just the best known variety. When you make a closer study, you discover a world of confections as beautiful to look at as they are sweet to eat: green cassata cakes made of almond, sugar, vanilla, buttermilk curd and candied fruit; perfectly formed marzipan prickly pears and tomatoes; lemon-flavored cuscinetti (small fried pastries)

  Total time: 15 minutes Servings: 4 Note: Adapted from Baccarat Bar, Bellagio Las Vegas. The sweet and sour will keep for 1 week, refrigerated. Sweet and sour 1/4 cup sugar 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice In a small saucepan, stir the sugar with one-fourth cup water over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Cool. Combine the cooled simple syrup and lemon juice. Makes 1 cup (8 ounces). Cocktail assembly 8 ounces pisco 3 ounces Cointreau liqueur 6 ounces white grape juice 6 ounces sweet and sour 3 ounces California Pinot Noir 4 slices lemon 3 grapes In a large pitcher filled with ice, add the pisco, Cointreau, grape juice and sweet and sour and stir to combine.

  Honey-poached pear with Greek yogurt and toasted walnuts Total time: 50 minutes, plus cooling time Servings: 4 1/4 cup plus 4 teaspoons honey, divided 2 cups sugar 1/2 slice lemon 3 black peppercorns 1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise 2 large Bartlett pears 1/2 lemon 1/2 cup Greek yogurt 1/2 cup toasted walnut pieces 1/2 teaspoon melted butter Fleur de...

  Dear SOS: I just got home from our neighborhood restaurant, Cayenne Cafe , on Beverly Boulevard. We go there a lot, as it is close by, the food is always good and the staff is very friendly. We never usually get dessert. However, it was our friend's birthday, so we decided to splurge. We ordered two, first their carrot cake, which was very good, with cream cheese frosting and a caramel sauce. My husband doesn't like tiramisu because it is made with coffee, and he doesn't like cold coffee.

  Total time: 10 minutes, plus freezing time for the decorative block of ice Servings: 10 Note: From Julie Reiner of Clover Club. To prepare ice that has been frozen with raspberries and blackberries: Fill a container that fits in your punch bowl with hot water. Add raspberries and blackberries for decoration and freeze. 1 lemon 1 sugar cube 2 tablespoons cassis 2 tablespoons St-Germain elderflower liqueur 1 large block of ice (see note above) 1 (750 ml)

If Willy Wonka had a farm, it would fit right in here in Israel. Want a lemon-scented tomato or a chocolate-colored persimmon? How about some miniaturized garlic cloves for the home chef who doesn't have time to chop, or a purple potato that tastes buttery when cooked? There are no chocolate rivers or edible teacup flowers on Israeli farms, but you will find carrots shaped like potatoes, strawberries shaped like carrots, star-shaped zucchini and "watermelon" tomatoes — dark green on the outside with a juicy red flesh.