My own skill in cooking has consisted mainly of marrying people who know how. Once I was asked to contribute my personal recipe to The Artists' and Writers' Cookbook and could only come up with:

Soak prunes in water.

Pour milk over.

It's evident that Georgia and Grover Sales have made a great discovery. I have eaten whereof I speak. I thought Etruscan clay cooking was merely delicious and healthful, now I discover that it is also economical. That spoils nothing. Another perfection does no harm.

Bless them. Whether or not they start an Etruscan revival, they are busy with their good deeds in the kitchen. I hope to be invited soon again.

p.s. For the prunes in white sauce, it helps to use boiling water. Also to seal in a Mason jar. Probably the ancient Etruscans had a better way.

The Clay-Pot Cookbook is a unique and time-tested collection of recipes for cooking foods in a clay pot. Originally published in 1974, it was forward thinking and written with an eye toward healthy eating. For that reason, the recipes in this book have held up well to modern standards of taste and nutrition.

That said, times and tastes change. As most of us cut out more salt, sugar, and oil from our diet, we tend to become more sensitized to these changes in ingredients and flavor. With this in mind feel free, to make some adjustments. For example, if a recipe calls for two teaspoons of salt, try using one, and you can always add more later. If you're in doubt about changing an ingredient, try making the recipe as it is written so you can get an idea ofits flavor, and then tinker with its preparation for subsequent meals.

For those interested in making a recipe a bit healthier, I recommend the following substitutions:

Applesauce can replace sugar. Applesauce adds sweetness but with significantly fewer calories than sugar. It also adds the benefits of fiber. Since applesauce also adds more liquid than sugar, reduce other liquid ingredients accordingly. Applesauce can even be a substitute for oil or butter; though if a recipe calls for both sugar and oil, I typically would not recommend substituting applesauce for both in the same dish.

Healthy oils such as olive or canola oil can often be substituted for butter, or at least reduce the butter in a recipe. However, this would not be a good idea in the case of a dessert.

Nonfat Greek yogurt has significantly fewer calories and none of the fat that mayonnaise or sour cream have, but its consistency is quite similar. Since these do have different tastes, you should play around with spices and seasonings, but by making the swap, you can cut the fat while including protein