By MARY ANN LIENHART CROSS

Extension Educator Purdue Extension

Mary Ann Lienhart Cross

GOSHEN — Happy New Year! I know many of you have had enough holiday food. I also know that many of you are tired of preparing it, cleaning up, and making the most of all the extra food. I am sure many of you are like me and you don’t want to be wasteful.

With the new year many families have holiday food traditions. Many cultures include cabbage in their food preparation as the food lore says that it brings good luck.

Cabbage is a very versatile food and there are unlimited ways that it can be prepared, whether raw or cooked. Raw cabbage can be shredded, dressed, and eaten as salad, as in American coleslaw. Cabbage doesn’t take long to shred, yes we have the convenience of buying it pre-shredded but there is a difference in the cost – about triple, and I think it tastes fresher when you shred it yourself.

Cabbage can be steamed, sautéed, braised, or baked, added to soups and stews, stuffed whole or creamed. Steamed cabbage leaves, which I do in the microwave can be filled with a stuffing, rolled, and braised. Cabbage also makes popular pickled foods: German sauerkraut, Japanese cabbage pickles, spicy Korean kimchee are varieties with the same theme, and Belgians and Germans make a cooked sweet sour red cabbage with bacon, onions and raisins.

I don’t hear or read about that many New Year Food Traditions in the northern part of our country but there are many in the southern part. According to southern traditions, you will have good luck for the entire year if you have the traditional New Year’s food the first week in January. Some of these are recipes that many of us don’t ever make but we should as they are foods that are nutrient dense and good for us. Some that come to mind are greens, black-eyed peas, and cornbread.

Cornbread in particular is seen as a food item that is best prepared in a cast iron skillet: the iron pan is heated beforehand in the oven, the ingredients are first combined and mixed in a mixing bowl, then added to the heated pan, and the skillet is then placed directly into the oven for fast baking.

This cornbread recipe can be made using your cast iron skillet or using a muffin tin with paper liners. Prepare one package of cornbread mix according to the package directions. Add in one cup of well drained corn, and half a cup of shredded cheese. Grease the skillet well and bake according to directions. If you like a spicier cornbread, add 1 tsp. chili powder or a tablespoon of hot sauce.

Whatever your family tradition for food in the new year is, here is to having the discipline to getting back to eating more vegetables, fruits and eating for our health!