Church group sends coffee-can cakes to U.S. troops overseas

Dear Heloise: Our church group has decided to start sending baked goods as care packages to military personnel in Iraq.

We brainstormed several ideas, such as shoe boxes, etc., but found that the best way to send a cake to anyone overseas is to bake the cake in a small, metal coffee can.

After baking, remove the cake to cool. Then repack it in the can, put on the plastic lid the coffee came with and pack the can in a postal box. Soldiers tell us that they love getting cakes this way for two reasons:

1. The cake arrives in one piece

2. The cake can be stored easily, with an airtight lid, if it’s not eaten all at once. Gwen, via e-mail

How wonderful to hear that your group is sending home-baked goodies to our troops! Nothing beats a treat from the heart and kitchen!

Your group deserves a big Heloise hug, and I know the troops who receive the goodies are appreciative, too.

I’d love to hear hints from other readers who send treats to troops. Heloise

HELOISE’S HOT COCOA MIX

Dear Readers: There’s a chill in the air, and that means it’s time to reprint Heloise’s Hot Cocoa Mix recipe.

Combine:

2 cups of powdered milk

Dash of salt

1‚Ñ4 cup of cocoa

1 cup of powdered sugar

Mix all of the ingredients together and put into a nice container. Decorated containers make great holiday gift ideas! Type or hand-write a label with these directions:

“To use, put approximately 4 tablespoons into a cup and fill with 8 ounces of boiling water. You may want to use more or less to your taste.” To receive a copy of Heloise’s All-Time Favorite Recipes, which includes Heloise’s Apricot Preserves and other tasty, easy-to-make recipes, send $5 with a long, self-addressed, stamped (61 cents) envelope to: Heloise/Recipes, P.O. Box 795001, San Antonio, TX 78279-5001. FYI: For hot chocolate with a “creamier” taste, add about 1‚Ñ3 cup powdered nondairy creamer and/or 1 tablespoon malted milk powder. Sprinkle a dash of cinnamon or allspice for zing, and top with a marshmallow. Heloise

Dear Heloise: I have a suggestion for people who love avocados, mangos and even hard-cooked eggs, but find that stiff fingers resist the chore of peeling and dicing.

You can bypass some of that by cutting the avocado in half, discarding the big pit and scooping the contents with a teaspoon.

With the mango, you can cut each side off and then scoop. The part left on the pit is then easily diced.

A hard-cooked egg can be cut in half through the shell, and with a small spoon, the yolk and white come out easily. Trudy, San Antonio

Dear Heloise: Here’s a way to get peanut butter out of a measuring cup: Fill with hot water, don’t wipe dry, and the peanut butter will come right out. Alice Gotz, Cudahy, Wis.

SBlt Send a money-saving or timesaving hint to Heloise, P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, TX 78279-5000, or you can fax it to (210) HELOISE or e-mail it to Heloise@Heloise.com.

King Features Syndicate