These were delicious—but you have to change the preparation method. Meatballs will never get nice and brown cooking in a liquid; they'll just turn gray. You need to brown them separately. I cut about half an onion in a fine dice for the meatballs, the rest in thin slices. Use cayenne pepper, not what Americans call chili powder: that's a Mexican spice blend that'll change the flavor. I added a clove of minced garlic and a bit of minced ginger to the meat mixture as well, and salt. I only used a ¼ tsp. of cloves, because they're so strong, but I probably could've gone with the full amount. For the sauce, I caramelized the onions; added the garlic, ginger, and spices and stirred for a minute or two. Then I added 2 c. water and the lentils (I used chana dal, but red lentils would cook faster). I didn't add the yogurt until the end, because I didn't want it to curdle; and don't add salt until the end of the cooking time, either. Cover and simmer until lentils are tender; add the half cup of water if you need it (I didn't). Meanwhile, shape the meatballs. Heat a tablespoon or so of oil in a skillet, and brown the meatballs on all sides. Set aside. When lentils are tender, stir in salt to taste and whisk in the yogurt. Don't let the yogurt boil, or it will curdle. (Full-fat yogurt works best.) Add meatballs just to warm them. I served this with brown rice, topped with chopped cilantro (aka fresh coriander), with naan on the side. For me, total prep/cooking time was about 1.5 hrs.

Brownies tasted Great, but I tried baking them in a smaller pan as some said they did... took much too long to cook, well over 1 hour. :( So much for a quick tasty desert.

Pastitsio is one of my favorite baked pasta dishes. My husband made this recipe for us a couple of months ago. It's not my favorite version; I found the cream sauce way too starchy and pasty. I also thought tossing the pasta with butter & parmesan made it a little too heavy and rich-tasting. I prefer making a cream sauce using feta cheese, and tossing half the pasta with that; toss the remaining pasta with the meat sauce (like another poster, I also recommend using ground lamb or half lamb, half beef). Layer the cheese-sauced pasta in the bottom of the baking dish, top with the meat sauce layer, and spread the remaining cream sauce on top. Sprinkle with more crumbled feta and bake. [The version I like courtesy of the Gourmet cookbook].