DEAR HELOISE: Please reprint your recipe for War Cake. I want to make it for my dad, who loves this recipe more than any other cake.
-- Kiko H., Hilo, Hawaii
ALOHA, READER: This is an all-time favorite recipe, and I get many requests for a reprint, so here it is:
Using a medium-to-large-size cooking pot/pan, mix together 2 cups brown sugar, 2 cups hot water and 2 teaspoons shortening. Add ½ to ¾ cup raisins and 1 teaspoon each of salt, cinnamon and cloves. Boil for 5 minutes after the mixture begins to bubble.
When the mixture is cold (and it must be cold), add 3 cups of flour and 1 teaspoon of baking soda that has been dissolved in a couple of teaspoons of hot water. Mix well, then pour into a greased tube pan and bake 1 hour at 350 to 375 degrees. When your cake is finished baking, run a spatula or knife around the edges to loosen the cake from the pan, then tap the cake pan gently on a flat surface to help loosen the bottom of the cake. You'll find this cake and many other unique and tasty recipes in my Cake Recipes pamphlet. You can have one by sending $3, along with a stamped (70 cents), self-addressed, long envelope, to Heloise/Cakes, P.O. Box 795001, San Antonio, TX 78279-5001.
DEAR HELOISE: When preparing tacos, if you do not have lettuce on hand, do not fret. You may have a cucumber. Cut it into matchstick-size pieces. It gives the tacos an added crunch. Works great for us.
-- Lucille S., Barrington, N.H.
DEAR HELOISE: Those plastic bags in cereal boxes that are nearly impossible to tear are perfect for covering the counter when breading meat or flattening meat with a mallet or the back of a small skillet.
-- Sherry E., Texas
DEAR HELOISE: You have so many cooking hints, but here are a few I don't think I've ever seen in your column:
• Want fluffy mashed potatoes? Just add a well-beaten egg white while whipping up the potatoes.
• Need to separate a yolk from the white? Just crack the egg in a funnel over a glass, and the white will slip through without the yolk.
• Want a nice, white cauliflower after cooking? Just add lemon juice or vinegar to the water it's cooked in.
-- Petronella L., Montana
Send a money- or time-saving hint to Heloise, P.O. Box 795001, San Antonio, Texas 78279-5000; fax to (210) 435-6473; or email
Food on 02/19/2020