Molasses

Old-fashioned Southerners know few things are slower than molasses in winter. They also know that no matter how long it takes, pouring that molasses is worth the wait.The dark, sugar-cane syrup imparts a deep, homey flavor -- as well as a shot of sweetness -- to baked goods, meats and other dishes.One whiff of an open jar of molasses might turn off the uninitiated -- the sweetener bears a strong, almost smoky odor. But molasses wins over even skeptics once they sample its flavor in gingerbread, pork loin, chicken, muffins or baked beans.

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.

Sharon Dickerson of Walla Walla, Wash., remembers "a rice dish with curry which my mother used to cook many years ago. She has passed away, and there are no recipes for this dish in her recipe boxes. All I can remember about the ingredients was the rice, a mild tomato flavor and no green peppers. I would love to have this recipe."Vivian Noon of Windiber, Pa., sent in a recipe that tester Laura Reiley liked although it did not call for tomatoes. Noon wrote, "I hope my suggestions will come in handy for Sharon.

"I want a recipe for a cookie made with a cake mix, something quick and tasty for lunch boxes and snacks," wrote Mrs. H. Hefner of Baltimore.Responses poured in, and tester Laura Reiley chose the Duncan Hines peanut butter cookies sent in by Shelley Silver of Baltimore.Josephine C. Elsen of Wheaton, Ill., requested a recipe for Genessee chocolate -- "a rich fudge that has some molasses in it." The chosen response came from Gail Jones of Bend, Ore., who found the recipe "in the 'American Heritage Cookbook.

OFFICIALS KNOW that when the tulips and daffodils blossom, so do phoned-in bomb scares to county schools.This spring, which seems to have started earlier than most but remained relatively cool, has brought forth a wonderful display of blooms as well as an unprecedented rash of bomb scares.As of last week, the Anne Arundel County school system had received 17 bomb threats.Initially, administrators reacted like frightened deer caught in a car's headlights. They seemed immobilized and afraid to take action.

ONE OF THE FEW benign effects of the recent batch of rotten weather is that being snowbound forced us to spend more time cooking.What else was there to do for enjoyment? You could straighten out your closets. But if you are like me, you get more of a kick from eating a loaf of homemade bread, than from staring at a rearranged shoe rack.At our house the snow even gave us time to finish making the Christmas fruitcake. We had completed most of the hard work before Christmas, including candying our own lemon and orange rinds.

Tastes change and so do recipes, in style and substance. The proof, in this case, can be found in corn bread. A look at three versions of this American classic shows evolutions in technique, taste and recipe form."

For many of us, warm gingerbread slathered with delicate dollops of whipped cream or teamed with sauteed apples or poached pears is comfort food at its all-time best. Not to be confused with the dense, brittle cookies cut into fanciful shapes, cake-style gingerbread is dark and moist, generally baked in square pans and served warm.For gingerbread fiends, the scent of warm cake redolent with ginger, molasses and cinnamon is one of life's great pleasures; the taste divine.Making gingerbread from scratch isn't at all complicated, but to ensure the best results, use the freshest and best ingredients available.

Try as I might to live a varied, interesting life, I often end up being a Johnny-one-note. Instead of making a variety of thrilling new foods, I get hooked on one particular item, and ride it until it limps.Lately I have been on a banana binge. I have been cooking those suckers on the barbecue grill. Why? Well, in part because it had been a long time -- almost two years -- since I had grilled a banana and I wanted to see if I could still do it. Not only was grilling a banana a challenge, it was my kind of challenge.

A cookie and a quiche take top billing in taste. Joan Bourquin of Severna Park requested a recipe for Copper Mountain Quiche, which, she notes, "appeared in the Sun Magazine years ago."Susan Forsberg of Baltimore and Claire Albert of Columbia sent in identical recipes for the quiche. Ms. Albert writes that she cut it from The Sun several years ago and was glad to be reminded of it. "It is as good as ever," she wrote.Copper Mountain QuicheMakes 8 servings1/2 cup butter4 ounces cream cheese1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour1 pound fresh spinach, washed and trimmed or 1 package (10 ounces)

Ann Sillitto of Winchester, Va., was looking for a recipe for Molasses Fruit Bars with raisins. She says that they are a favorite of her 91-year-old mother and she wanted to make them as a treat for her. I found an easy recipe for the bars on a recipe-sharing Web site called Recipelink.com. It was adapted from the Brer Rabbit Book of Molasses, first printed in 1956. The recipe does not specify a pan size. I tested it using an 8-by-8 inch baking pan. It was ready in 25 minutes. Naturally, the cooking time will vary according to pan size.

After Sunday, the Ravens had one more win in September than the Orioles. Call me an optimist, but I think the Orioles will eventually pass the Ravens for victories this month. Though I wouldn't bet the bar on it. We have a new drink at the bar this week: The Flat-footed Flacco. Whiskey, rum, Mountain Dew and a dab of molasses. It goes down slow, but effectively packs a punch. (For more, go to baltimoresun.com/cornersportsbar)

One of the pleasures of writing about food and drink is the reaction it evokes. You take a stand in favor of molasses and readers respond, calling and sending e-mails. In some instances, they communicate using that almost extinct form of correspondence, a letter. I got one of those recently. Not only was it a personal letter, it was typed. The typewriter, I learned later, is an Underwood No. 3 and is 95 years old. The typist, M.V. Runkles III, is 69 years old and is still practicing the skills he picked up in a typing class in the mid-1950s at Mount Airy High School.

I have been hitting the bottle again - the molasses bottle. This time things got saucy. Readers might remember that, in keeping with my New Year's resolution to eat better cake, I grabbed the molasses a few weeks ago and made a terrific gingerbread cake. Only a few days ago my wife and I made that cake again, twice. She baked one version, I made the other. Her cake turned out a little better than mine, which sank in its middle. But neither of them overflowed our square cake pan, a problem some readers have reported experiencing.

Every January, I regularly confront a list of things I "should" be doing over the next 12 months. Among the suggested "shoulds" recently aimed in my direction have been exercising more, eating a better breakfast and rotating my tires. I am not opposed to any of these prescriptions, although there seem to be several schools of thought on which direction -- front to back or on the diagonal -- that the tires should move. In prior new years, I have started off walking the road to reform, only to wander in a more interesting direction by St. Patrick's Day. So I began 2008 by shooting for more hedonistic goals.

I am a fan of fruitcake. I used to make my own -- a process that required a lot of nuts, a lot of candied lemon peel, a sizable amount of molasses, and brandy. As a result, I have a healthy regard for real fruitcake, and virtually no tolerance for would-be comedians who think they are so clever when they recite the line about fruitcake making a good doorstop, or how there is really only one fruitcake that gets passed from home to home. Berger's Bakery Address --Lexington Market, 400 W. Lexington St. Phone --410-727-3685 Hours --6 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Saturday Brightly wrapped in red and green ribbons, this long, blond loaf, $3.99, was chewy and mild.

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.

I just bought a cookbook that has various recipes calling for brown sugar. One recipe wants light brown, another, dark brown. Then, I also need white. I just can't see myself buying three types of sugar. You can make do with two: dark brown and white. Brown sugar is a funny product, and to appreciate the joke you need to know how sugar is made: After sugar cane is crushed, the impurities in the "juice" are filtered, boiled and skimmed off before the clear liquid is crystallized into white sugar.

Ready to go organic? Now is the perfect time to take the plunge. Late September to early October is the time to fertilize for fall and winter. Most of us have more pressing concerns than which fertilizer or weed killer we strew across our lawns, right? It's worth putting in a few minutes of thought. If you've been thinking of going organic in the garden, fall is a great time to get started. Organic gardening is all about the soil. Think about it: You aren't really fertilizing the grass.

IT'S LIKE his words are sticky with molasses . They come slow and unhurried. It's that slightly slurred Southern way of talking you hear down in Atlanta, the place where Bobby Valentino grew up. The epicenter of crunkness and So So Def-ness, the city is still his home. "It's real soulful here," says Valentino, who's calling from his beloved hometown. "What I learned from living here is just how to be very soulful." If you've paid any attention to urban radio lately, you've surely heard the urgent crooning of this short 23-year-old pretty boy. His charming hit, "Slow Down," topped the R&B charts last month and helped catapult his debut, Disturbing Tha Peace Presents: Bobby Valentino, to No. 3 on Billboard's Top 200 album chart.