Oatmeal

YOU WANT MY WIFE'S recipe for potato pancakes?" Slats Grobnik asked. "And the chicken soup with noodles? Or the meatloaf with lots of oatmeal mixed in it? And macaroni and cheese?"What has brought on this outburst of culinary interest?"Gettin' ready. And if you're smart, you will, too. Buy a few sacks of potatoes and onions. Stash 'em away in a cool place. Keep the grater handy."What are you planning, a pancake party?"Boy, you got a short memory. Didja eat potato pancakes when we were kids?

A transportation supervisor for the U.S. Postal Service, Ronald Gordon is sitting for most of his shift.He makes up for that inertia with his exercise routine, which apparently is effective: He won fourth place in his first body-building competition, in 1992. Encouraged, he entered the Mid-Atlantic Naturals and won third place. He entered again in 1993 and finished second. In 1995, in the Body Rock Classic, he finished in first place as a light heavyweight.Now Gordon, 36, concentrates on maintaining his physique - not to mention his ability to bench press 335 pounds - while contemplating re-entering the competitive arena.

Ellen Costigan from Florence, N.J., was searching for a recipe for Congo Bars that she had made many years ago as a schoolgirl. She remembered that they had chocolate chips, nuts and coconut. Many readers responded with their recipes for Congo Bars, but only a few of the recipes submitted had coconut in them. Leslie Riden of Bel Air researched her recipe and cookbook collection and sent in multiple recipes for the bars, one of which contained coconut. The recipe from 110 Cookie Recipes by Betty Crocker sounds the most like what our reader was looking for. The addition of the coconut and oats in this recipe makes this a less-traditional-tasting Congo Bar but one that is delicious nonetheless.

It's hard to imagine enjoying the winter holidays without cookies. Yet with so much to do, it's sometimes hard to squeeze in time to bake as well. So for our annual cookie exchange at The Sun this year, we decided to make every cookie count. We went looking for two kinds of cookies to meet the most pressing demands of the season: cookies that can be made fast and those fancy enough to give to friends or put on the party table. We received more than 100 recipes and many of them were so tasty or clever it was hard to choose just a dozen.

They were front-runners turned also-rans. Insiders turned out.In less volatile times, Tuesday's election might have pitted two veteran Baltimore-area pols -- Lt. Gov. Melvin A. Steinberg, a Democrat, and Rep. Helen Delich Bentley, a Republican -- against each other in the race for governor.But restive voters rejected both decisively in the September primary, abruptly ending two long public careers. Both are now sitting on the shoulder, sounding a little dazed and bitter, trying to figure out what hit them.

In July 2010, Adarien Jackson's 6-year-old son, Kaden, began complaining of itchy bumps on his ankles. They soon turned into a rash and spread to his back, behind his ear, and on his eyelid. The child's pediatrician and dermatologists tried allergy drugs, diet changes, oils and oatmeal baths. But it wasn't until months later that Jackson discovered the cause of the problem. Kaden's twin brother, Kyler, began waking in the middle of the night, crying out, "Bugs are crawling on me!"

Ramona Cooper from Baltimore was looking for a recipe for making a cookie similar to the "Dad's old fashioned oatmeal cookie" that used to be available in Baltimore many years ago. It turns out that Dad's Original Scotch Oatmeal cookies have been around since the turn of the century and, while no longer available in Baltimore, they are still being made by Dad's Cookie Co. in St. Louis. The cookies are available at the company's retail outlet in St. Louis or by mail order through their website.

Kathleen Dibiase from Cranbury, N.J., was looking for a recipe for a soft chocolate chip and oatmeal cookie. Mary Ann McKoon of Mount Airy sent in a recipe that was given to her by a friend. She says that her daughters love these cookies. In her recipe, either chocolate or butterscotch chips can be used. I tested the recipe using chocolate chips, since that was what the reader was looking for. I used unsalted butter for the shortening. I'm a big believer in butter, particularly in baking.