Oatmeal

My husband ruined our holiday. We were all set to visit my parents with our children. But when we got to the airport he chickened out and refused to get on the plane. We flew without him and I couldn't enjoy the visit.My husband is wonderful except for an irrational fear of flying. He is not afraid of anything else, but the thought of getting on an airplane terrifies him.Is there some prescription medicine that he could take to calm him down enough to travel with the family?This year's headlines about air crashes have made it harder on folks who fear flying.

When Maureen Newbold of Hope Mills, N.C., wrote requesting a recipe for maraschino cherry cake, little did she suspect how many answers she'd receive from Maryland, Illinois, Kentucky, North and South Carolina, Washington, Oregon and Pennsylvania, just to name a few states.She wrote that "we used to bake this cake and called it 'party cake' in the late '40s and early '50s. It was a popular cake with my family in Pittsburgh, Pa., when I was a child. The recipe has slipped away from us."Ann Dahne of Towson responded with Chef Gilles Syglowski's choice.

There's nothing new under the sun, somebody once said.Maybe not. But changes make life interesting, and new twists on old recipes add to the fun of cooking and eating.Make a few of these concoctions, and you'll start some new "old-fashioned" dessert traditions in your household.Oatmeal-raisin cookiesMakes about 24 cookies1 cup sifted all-purpose whole wheat flour1 teaspoon baking soda1/4 teaspoon salt8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter1/2 cup smooth or chunky peanut butter1 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar3/4 cup All-Bran cereal2 large eggs1 teaspoon vanilla extract2 1/2 cups raisins (15-ounce box)

ANGELINA COUNTY, Texas -- I woke up this morning, went to the cupboard and the cupboard was bare. Eight hungry dogs were looking over my shoulder. I thought I heard something growling. I hoped it was their stomachs.My wife and I had been to the grocery store the day before. I tried my best to buy dog food, knowing we were running low. My mistake.She explained to me, as you would to a child, that dog food at the grocery store was 10 cents more a can than at the discount store. Better to wait and save money.

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.

If you could bottle this aroma, you'd want to wear it as perfume. Peanut butter pie and bishop bread offer you a double cooking pleasure.Melissa Moore of Terrebonne, Ore., asked for a recipe called bishop bread. "It is like a fruit cake but has dates, cherries, walnuts and chocolate chips," she wrote.From responses sent in, Chef Gilles Syglowski chose two different recipes: one from Elaine Williams of Phoenix and the other from Gloria Kimmet of Woodstock, Ill.Williams' bishop bread4 ounces butter1/2 cup sugar4 eggs2 cups flour1/8 teaspoon salt1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder4 ounces chocolate chips4 ounces chopped dates6 ounces chopped walnuts1/2 cup chopped maraschino cherriesCream butter, sugar and eggs together.

Letters, calls and the roar of the crowd:Murf Kief, Whiteford: I read your commentary about General Motors and its dispute with NBC over those exploding gas tanks and agree with you 100 percent that NBC did not kill anyone.But what about The Sun? Is it killing anyone?After reading your commentary, I turned the page and saw a full page advertisement for Marlboro cigarettes.Is The Sun killing people?COMMENT: A good question. I do know for sure that The Sun has never attached toy rocket engines to anybody's head and set them off, but after that, the issue gets murky.

Dolores Riccio has fashioned meals for the health-consciou who want good-tasting food, but whose time is limited. The veteran author's creations can be seen in her latest book, "Superfoods: 300 Recipes for Foods That Heal Body and Mind" (Warner Books).Arranged in alphabetical order from apples to yogurt, Ms. Riccio incorporates a description of the food's healthful properties, such as vitamins and disease-fighting qualities, along with her .. recipes."Pasta is an all-time favorite complex food that, when used correctly, can relieve what may be our No. 1 health problem: stress," writes Ms. Riccio, a resident of Warwick, R.I. The mother of two grown children is the author of eight books, including four cookbooks.

From turkeys to jingle bells, from menorahs to Christmas wreaths, crunchy oatmeal cookies on a stick stand ready to become your personal canvas. Make the cookies a day ahead so they are cool and crisp before decorating.Make a batch of holiday goop -- that's the frosting-- and divide it among four to six bowls, adding a different food color to each. Mix colors to make other favorites.Then dig out some little paint brushes (the kind that come in the watercolor paint sets). Wash them well with soap and water and dry them.

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?