Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, starts at sundown tomorrow, and many people will celebrate this weekend with honey cake. Honey is one of the foods that are a good omen for the coming year.

Honey also is the sticky subject of "Honey for Heath & Beauty: Over 75 Recipes, Remedies and Natural Treatments" (Hatherleigh, $11). The recipes, from the National Honey Board, include several that would be nice for this or any fall weekend.

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• 2 pounds apples, quartered and sliced (1 1/2 quarts)
• 1/2 cup plus 1/4 cup honey, separated
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 cup flour
• 1/4 cup butter, softened

Warm Nutmeg Cream (recipe follows)

Toss apples with 1/2 cup honey, cinnamon and nutmeg in bowl. Turn into a 2-quart baking dish. For topping, beat flour with butter and 1/4 cup honey until crumbly; sprinkle over apples. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes or until apples are tender and the topping is golden. Serve with Warm Nutmeg Cream or ice cream.

Makes: 6 servings.

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• 1/2 cup whipping cream
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Combine all ingredients in saucepan and bring to boil. Simmer, stirring often, for 5 minutes or until mixture thickens slightly.

Makes: 1/2 cup.

-- "Honey for Heath & Beauty: Over 75 Recipes, Remedies and Natural Treatments" (Hatherleigh, $11).

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This simple, half-hour recipe comes from Pomegranate, a kosher gourmet store in Brooklyn, N.Y. The store explains that the fruit for which it is named is eaten on this weekend "because it often serves as the new fruit -- a fruit not eaten this season -- for the second evening of the Rosh Hashana ritual. ... [It] symbolizes our holiday prayers to increase our merit, just like the multitude of pomegranate seeds. Some say there are 613 seeds in each fruit, the same number of mitzvoth (good deeds) in the Torah." The store, which says it is will donate $36,000 to the Sephardic Food Fund and offer wholesale prices to needy families, is selling this and many other pomegranate and Jewish New Year delicacies.

I ground walnut halves in an old coffee/spice grinder.

• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 1/2 pounds skinless chicken thighs
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1/4 cup walnuts, ground into a paste
• 1 cup pomegranate juice

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet. Brown chicken thighs on both sides and transfer to a plate. Add spices and chopped onion to skillet, and cook until onion has softened. Return chicken to skillet; add walnut paste and pomegranate juice. Simmer 20 minutes until chicken is cooked and sauce has reduced and thickened slightly.

Serves: 4 to 6.

-- Pomegranate

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I just used regular orange juice for this recipe, which turned out great.

• 1 pint sour cream
• 6 tablespoons honey
• 2 tablespoons orange juice concentrate, thawed, undiluted
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 2 teaspoons cream-style horseradish
• 2 teaspoon rosemary, crushed
• 1 teaspoon chervil, crushed
• 1 teaspoon basil, crushed
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon white pepper
• 14 teaspoon garlic powder

Combine all ingredients; mix well. Refrigerate, covered, several hours to blend flavors. Stir before using.

Makes 20 2-tablespoon servings.

-- "Honey for Heath & Beauty: Over 75 Recipes, Remedies and Natural Treatments" (Hatherleigh, $11).