Baking Soda

It's raining 100-calorie snack packs. In 2004, Kraft launched the skinny-mini craze with teensy-tiny Oreo and Chips Ahoy cookies. Since then nearly every snack company has downsized a line of goodies. Portion control is a good idea, but sometimes the final dimensions can seem rather absurd. For instance, last summer Pepperidge Farms shrunk its chocolate chunk cookies to the size of a nickel. The pouch contains 11 tiny morsels, which pieced together equal about one average-size cookie.

The foundation of many a nourishing, fiber-rich breakfast is a prime staple for cookie-baking as well. Rolled oats contribute a distinctive chewiness and wholesome, toasted-grain taste that rounds out the butterscotch flavor of a classic oatmeal cookie. The only thing better is oatmeal cookies with a surprise ingredient -- dried apricots, coconut or chocolate -- in place of the usual raisins.Makes about 5 dozen cookies1 cup dried apricots1 1/2 cups flour1 teaspoon baking soda1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon1/4 teaspoon each: salt, ground nutmeg and ground cloves3/4 cup butter, softened1 1/2 cups firmly packed brown sugar2 eggs1 teaspoon vanilla extract2 cups quick-cooking rolled oats1/2 cup chopped walnutsCut apricots into thin slivers.

I've been searching for Dutch-process cocoa. In the supermarkets, I just see Nestle and Hershey's cocoa, neither of which says "Dutch" or "processed with alkali." Chocolate liquor has two principal components - cocoa solids and cocoa butter - and in 1828, a Dutchman named Coenraad Van Houten invented a method for separating the two. The newly independent cocoa solids also could be pulverized to make a fine powder with lots of chocolate flavor but little fat: cocoa powder. Van Houten also invented a process by which cocoa powder, which is naturally quite acidic, was treated with an alkaline to neutralize the flavor and deepen the color.

Nothing tastes better than some warm cookies and a glass of milk. We loved this snack that is made with apples and oatmeal. The cookies are moist and make a delicious after-school snack. You will need some adult help with this recipe.Ingredients:2 sticks butter or margarine3/4 cup brown sugar1/2 cup white sugar1 teaspoon vanilla extract2 large eggs2 cups flour3 cups old-fashioned oats1/2 teaspoon salt1 teaspoon baking soda1 teaspoon cinnamon2 medium apples, peeled, cored and cut into small pieces1 cup chocolate chips or raisinsMAKING THE COOKIES:Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

One of my dreaded childhood chores was having to dust the living room furniture. The end tables were completely covered with English bone china teacups. I had no idea what bone china was -- the very name brought ghoulish visions to my mind. What I did know was that if I exhaled too forcefully, it would break. But I dusted the dishes every week. It was my job to make sure the tea cups, like the living room itself, were ready for the Sunday-afternoon tea ritual. This was an adult affair.

CHARLES KEENEY was ready. On the table was a board with a homemade volcano made of clay. Gathered around Charles, a member of Union Bridge's Cub Scout Pack 459, were his grandmother Pat Keeney - who also is his den mother - and fellow Scouts anxious to see his experiment. After pouring a small container of vinegar into the volcano's hole, white foam poured out. Charles' experiment was part of the troop's science fair. Each Cub Scout demonstrated an experiment. "I put baking soda in first and then added the vinegar," Charles said.

The Middle East is in the news every day, but usually the events are not happy ones. So it is refreshing to open up May S. Bsisu's The Arab Table (MorrowCookbooks, 2005, $34.95) and read about the rich culinary traditions of Iraq, Iran, Egypt, Syria and other predominantly Arab countries. Some of the 175 recipes, such as the hummus, stuffed grape leaves and tomato stew, will seem familiar. Others appear unfamiliar at first, but turn out to be dishes you know (a recipe for almond cookies turned out to be almond-flavored macaroons)

Our latest healthy recipe comes from WebMD . It's for those of you trying to improve your diet, but that can't curb that sweet tooth. WebMD says you can serve this cake with raspberries and a dollop of Cool Whip. If you have a healthy recipe you'd like to share send it to: andrea.walker@baltsun.com . Ingredients:   3/4 cup less-sugar raspberry preserves 1 cup whole-wheat flour 1 cup unbleached white flour 1 cup granulated sugar 1/2 cup Splenda 3/4 cup baking cocoa 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup less-fat margarine (with 8 grams of fat per tablespoon)

Learning to eat carrots and broccoli and all the good stuff starts early. These points will help get your children on the right eating track.* Eat your meals together. Emphasize family dining at home, with healthful menus. Limit "grab and go" eating; many grab foods are not nutritious.* Fix tasty-looking food. The better a food looks, the more likely it will be eaten. Serve interesting colors, shapes and textures.* Simplify eating; serve finger foods and bite-size pieces.* Season lightly.

Vegetarian Desserts Bakery 827 N. Howard St., first floor; 410-383-7770. Hours by appointment. Place orders at veggiedesserts.com. What price are you willing to pay for "purity?" That is the question I mulled over as I sampled a $40 chocolate cake and $25 a dozen oatmeal cookies made with no animal products. They came from Vegetarian Desserts Bakery, a one-year-old enterprise run by Charmane Baker. When I asked Baker about the price of the cake - $40 seemed like a lot - she replied that the cake is large, 9 inches in diameter and 3 inches high, and serves 20 to 30. She added that her products use no eggs, milk, honey or preservatives.