Genesis 1:29 — And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.

The following recipe was taken from a cookbook titled “Swanson Health Products: Customers Cook It Up! — Bringing Wellness to the Kitchen.” It is a different recipe for someone who wants to eat cabbage without the traditional mayonnaise or bacon. Use organic ingredients whenever possible for nutritional purposes and flavor.

Cabbage Carrot Slaw with Citrus

1/2 head (enough to equal about a pound) cabbage, shredded

2-3 carrots, peeled (Note: You can use green, red or a combination of both.)

1-2 tablespoon honey

1/2 orange for juice and zest

1 lime, including zest

1 lemon, including zest

1/4-1/2 cup non-fat plain yogurt

2 teaspoons hot sauce or cayenne pepper (Note: If using cayenne, start with 1/2 tsp. and increase according to personal tolerance.)

1 tablespoon or less extra virgin olive oil, to taste

Salt and ground peppercorns to taste

Shred cabbage and carrots in food processor. Put mixture into a large bowl. Zest the fruits and add to bowl. Add juices of the fruits. Add honey and yogurt and drizzle on olive oil, then add hot sauce/cayenne. Mix and taste, adding more honey, yogurt, hot sauce/cayenne and/or olive oil, if needed. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Ginger Spice Sugar Cookies

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

1/4 cup molasses

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 egg

2 cups flour, plus more for rolling out cookies

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

In a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed, beat butter, sugar, molasses and vanilla together until light and fluffy. Beat in egg until well blended. In a separate bowl combine flour, ginger, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg. With mixer at low speed, beat flour mixture into butter mixture to blend well. Divide dough in half and shape into two discs. Wrap in waxed paper and chill until firm, at least 1 hour or overnight.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Dust work surface and rolling pin lightly with flour. Working with one disc of dough at a time, roll out dough to 1/4-inch thick and cut out cookies with floured cookie cutters. Transfer cookies to parchment paper-lined baking sheets, spacing them 1 inch apart and bake until lightly browned, 10-12 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool. Decorate as desired and store in an airtight container.

Contact Swanson Health Products at www.swansonvitamins.com or call (800) 437-4148. You can request their catalog, which contains a line of vitamins and health care products along with organic food. Also, if any of you would like to contact me, call (434) 454-7075.

Alice Russell, also known as “Me Me,” resides in the Randolph/Saxe area. Her email address is letstalkherbs@gmail.com.