Marshmallows

A Sweet Potato Cheesecake was the short-and-sweet request of Catherine Adams of St. Augustine, Fla. A response came from Barbara Jones of Lutherville, who said she found the recipe in a Philadelphia brand cream cheese cookbook.Sweet Potato CheesecakeServes 12-161 cup gingersnap crumbs1/2 cup finely chopped pecans3 tablespoons margarine, melted2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese1 (17-ounce) can sweet potatoes, drained1/2 cup sugar1/4 cup orange juice2 eggs1/2 cup sour cream1 teaspoon cinnamonminiature marshmallows, for toppingCombine crumbs, pecans and margarine, and press into the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan. Combine cream cheese, sweet potatoes and sugar.

Asking questions after reading to your child is a wonderful way to help him or her think about the story and develop comprehension skills. Ask a few, but not too many questions, and remember to have fun. Here are some suggestions for the Anansi story:* Which part of the story did you like best? (Or least?)* Which part was the funniest? (Silliest? Saddest?)* What words did you like best?* Why do you think Anansi acted the way he did?* How would you have changed the story's ending?* What would have happened if Little Bush Deer had not seen Anansi and decided to teach him a lesson?

Spring is here, and I'm thinking about camping. Don't misunderstand me: I'm not thinking about actually going camping, in the sense of venturing outdoors and turning my body into an All-U-Can-Eat buffet for insects. I'm just thinking about camping.What got me on this topic is a book I'm reading called "Undaunted Courage," by Stephen E. Ambrose, about the ultimate camping trip: the Lewis and Clark expedition. If you're a product of the U.S. educational system, you no doubt remember this historic endeavor, in which a tiny band (they didn't even have a keyboard player)

Bring a little Southern flavor to your dinner table with a spicy thick Creole gumbo, a soup that traditionally consists of many combinations of fish or shellfish, poultry, game, meats and game.The recipe here is a streamlined version of the traditional gumbo. It's a tantalizing taste of southern Louisiana without a great deal of effort. The entree soup can be prepared in 10 to 15 minutes.Gumbo traditionally is brimming with sliced okra, which also serves as a thickener. This is a vegetable you may have to learn to love.

Groups of sixth-graders at Linthicum Elementary School pushed and pulled toothpicks and marshmallows yesterday, trying to build a bridge that would support a box of pennies and resist the urge to eat the marshmallows at the same time.They were among students throughout the county getting a glimpse of life as an engineer as part of Discover E program, started in 1990 by the National Society of Professional Engineers to encourage students to pursue careers in engineering.Engineers from Westinghouse have visited six schools in Anne Arundel County this year, showing students videos, conducting hands-on experiments and explaining their jobs.

Why do elephants sit on marshmallows? Why do elephants paint their toenails red? Why do elephant keepers have the highest on-the-job death rate of any occupation?Graham Thomas Chipperfield, elephant and lion trainer for the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, knows about the mortality rate, but not the marshmallows or toenails. Perhaps he doesn't know elephant jokes because he has bigger things on his mind -- 19 elephants, including babies Romeo and Juliette and grown-up King Tusk, billed as "The Largest Land Mammal Traveling The Face Of The Earth Today."

Mary Gail HareSun Staff WriterThose who build a tower of pasta and marshmallows can expect a little sway."It's hard because the marshmallows don't hold and the spaghetti sticks are not all the same size," said James Gross, a senior at Walt Whitman High School in Montgomery County.The flimsy construction project was one of six competitions in the third annual Physics Olympics yesterday at Liberty High School in Carroll County.About 130 students from 11 high schools also competed for medals in egg dropping, bridge building, sand fishing, leverage build-outs and pingpong ball projectiles.

You probably won't have to depend upon standing under the mistletoe to get a kiss if you plan to prepare these goodies. They are worth a kiss. So, throw the greenery away and let the cooking begin.A Coca-Cola cake was requested by Mattie J. Blackman of Fayettesville, N.C., and by Mrs. K. L. Harrison of Owensboro, Ky. Their answer came from Marjorie Hanneman of Annapolis Junction who called it a cocoa-cola cake. Many who sent in similar recipes had varied names for this same cake such ascoco cola, Coca-Cola or Pepsi cake.

RICHFIELD, Ohio -- "House of Marshmallows, Next Right -- Not" read the hand-painted sign about a mile from the Richfield Coliseum.Angered after a Chicago newspaper columnist called the Cleveland Cavaliers cream puffs and marshmallows after a 14-point loss to the Chicago Bulls in the opening game of the NBA Eastern Conference finals, Cavaliers coach Lenny Wilkens said his players weren't marshmallows after the Cavaliers beat the Bulls by 26 points in Game...

Now that your taxes are done, it's time to hook up those cheese-flavored marshmallows and head for the water.Since 1980, the state Department of Natural Resources has stocked trout in Columbia's Wilde Lake and Lake Elkhorn, making them easy prey for anyone with some line, a hook and bait that smells like state-procured fish chow.This year, however, the state stocked Centennial Lake instead of Wilde Lake because of residents' complaints that crowds of fisher-folk were not respecting private property, were hogging parking and littering up a storm, says Chick Rhodehamel, the Columbia Association's ecologist.

Kim McDaniel of Winchester, Va., was looking for a brownie recipe that her mother used to make on special occasions. Unfortunately, her mother did not pass on the recipe, but she remembers that the brownies had a graham-cracker crust, then a layer of brownie, she thinks, and then a layer of marshmallow and probably chocolate chips. June Palmer of Santa Rosa, Calif., sent in a recipe for what she calls S'More Squares. If they're not exactly what McDaniel was looking for, they have to be very close.

Whipped into existence from air and sugar, the marshmallow is a fairy-tale food that home cooks rarely attempt. And yet, Rachel Rappaport says, the confection "is the most magical thing you can make in the kitchen. From molten sugar to suddenly, it's just marshmallow!" As the Lauraville resident with a widely read cooking blog called Coconut & Lime has discovered, marshmallows are also much simpler to make than their playfully spongy texture and commercially extruded pellet shape suggest.

Armed with spaghetti, marshmallows and their imaginations, the fifth-graders of Friendship Valley Elementary School turned their attention to bridging a 12-inch gap between two desks. They puzzled over pieces of pasta, trying to figure out the right balance to ensure stability. They created triangles of noodles held together by large marshmallow cornerstones. And, time and again, they fretted over the sections that sagged when they removed their supporting - and increasingly sticky - hands.

As you know, Sweet-Potato-Casserole-With-Marshmallows Day will be here tomorrow. It's also known as Thanksgiving. Many holiday tables - OK, most holiday tables - across the nation will be resplendent with a juicy turkey, cranberry relish, mashed potatoes and the side dish that could double as dessert any of the other 364 days of the year. To which many of you respond: So what's your point? The point is, there is a case to be made for sweet potatoes without marshmallows. Some of us think they're already sweet enough.

To properly transport a frosted cake, place mini marshmallows on the tops of toothpicks. Then place the toothpicks on the edges of the cake. Lay plastic wrap over it. "The Best Kitchen Quick Tips," by the editors of Cook's Illustrated Magazine realgoodfood.com This blog offers recipes, tips and musings about food and travel - a good bit of it Italian - from a Portland, Ore., food writer. Rohina Phadnis

THEIR MISSION was to build the tallest structure possible without toppling it. But it turned out to be a sticky proposition because the fourth-graders at Friendship Valley Elementary in Westminster were working with uncooked spaghetti and marshmallows. Working in teams of four or five, the pupils carefully plotted their strategies. Twisting their bodies to get just the right angle, they gingerly connected strands of pasta with gooey white marshmallows. Amid an increasing buzz of excitement, their towers grew taller and more wobbly.

Michelle Pennington of Centralia, Ill., wrote: "The recipe I would like to request combines a soft, buttery caramel wrapped around a marshmallow creme filling. The candies were rectangular in shape and wrapped in wax paper that was twisted at the ends. I bought these candies for years but can't find anything similar now." Valerie Lowery of Louisville, Ky., responded. "This referenced request caught my eye as it is near and dear to my heart, being from Louisville, Ky., the birthplace of the Modjeskas, the candy I believe Michelle Pennington is looking for. It is usually placed in the limelight at the time of the Kentucky Derby Festival.

Betty Fleming of Bel Air asked for help in finding a recipe for candied sweet potatoes that have a thick syrup. She said no matter which recipe she had tried, the syrup was not thick enough. Roy Roche of Salem, Ore., wrote: "I found [this recipe] at allrecipes.com. However, I made the following alterations: I used 1 cup butter instead of 1 1/4 cups margarine. I peeled and cut the sweet potatoes prior to boiling instead of boiling the potatoes with the peels on. Instead of mashing half of the potatoes with the sauce, we left all of them in chunks."

Lela J. Klingler of Santa Rosa, Calif., requested a recipe for a Strawberry Shortcut Cake that she once enjoyed. She no longer has the recipe for it. "If any of your readers have it, I'd be so happy to receive it." Ann Mattoon of Baltimore responded. "I believe this is the recipe Lela Klingler is looking for. It came from a bag of Pillsbury flour about 20 years ago." Strawberry Shortcut Cake Serves 12 1 cup miniature marshmallows 2 cups (two 10-ounce packages) frozen, sliced strawberries in syrup, completely thawed 1 package (3 ounces)

Jim Arnett typically spends his days working on designs for military radar systems, aircraft navigation equipment, precision weapons and other Defense Department electronics. But the electrical engineer with Northrop Grumman came to Friendship Valley Elementary School on a far different mission: Helping fourth-graders design and build towers from marshmallows and uncooked spaghetti. In 50-minute intervals, children at the Westminster-area elementary school were transformed Friday from quiet pupils, sitting attentively at their desks, into a giggling mass of sticky-fingered inventors running around the classroom with fists full of pasta.