Divide dough into 3 equal balls. Wrap each ball in plastic and refrigerate it for at least 2 hours and for up to 2 days. (The dough can be frozen for up to 1 month; defrost it in refrigerator before use.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

With a lightly floured rolling pin, roll out a ball of dough 1/8-inch thick on a lightly floured work surface. Cut dough into gingerbread people or any other desired shapes and place cookies on prepared baking sheet. If making gingerbread people, make eyes, nose, mouth, and buttons with raisins, red hots, small gumdrops, and/or chocolate chips. Refrigerate scraps.

Bake cookies until they are firm, about 8 minutes. Slide entire parchment sheet with cookies onto a wire rack and let cookies cool completely. Repeat with remaining balls and then with chilled scraps, using fresh parchment paper. Decorate with icing as desired.

Rolled Gingerbread Cookies will keep in an airtight container for several days.

Recipe reprinted from "Mom's Big Book of Baking" by Lauren Chattman Copyright © 2001, with permission from Harvard Common Press.

Heat a large, heavy skillet, add butter or oil and brown beef or lamb cubes and onions together. You may need two skillets for this part, depending on how many people you are cooking for.. Then add carrots, onions and celery. Add garlic, dill nutmeg, salt, pepper and vegetable broth. Stir and bring to a boil. Then cover and simmer on a low flame for 1 and ½ hours, stirring occasionally.

Add dried fruits and mint. Cover and simmer another 30minutes or until meat is tender. Transfer to a warm, pretty serving dish and sprinkle with walnuts and orange juice.

When I make this sweet stew, I start baking my “Apple Crisp” deserts around same time. (See recipe in “Feeling very much Better.” I promise all who enter will swoon from fragrances wafting through your home. Restraint will need to be called for.

Adding 1 cup of brussel sprouts and green beans or any other veggie you like, makes it just as delicious and is a plus for those who want to enjoy something special as well as keep their weight down.

Note: for vegetarians, use cubed extra firm tofu or tempeh and add at time you add dried fruit, ½ way through cooking this recipe, instead of at beginning.

Serve with polenta or “New Potatoes” recipe in my book, “Feeling very much Better”