HELPFUL HINTS
DEAR HELOISE: My mother got a fabulous cake recipe from your mother many years ago. I remember that it had Tomato soup in the cake batter and tasted so good. Could you reprint that recipe?
— Amy R., Nashua, N.H. DEAR READER: Amy, this is a fun recipe! My mother, the original Heloise (19191977), also called it Conversation Cake, because you don’t tell anyone it contains tomato soup. After they taste it, it starts a conversation! Here we go:
Mother’s Tomato Soup Cake
½ cup solid shortening
1 cup sugar
1 can tomato soup (10½ ounces) — a little more won’t hurt
1 cup chopped nuts
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup raisins
1½ cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
The following are optional, but they add spice. Do experiment with one or two first — but not all of them, unless you really like spice!
1½ teaspoons nutmeg
2½ teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon allspice
½ teaspoon ground cloves
Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Cream shortening and sugar in a large bowl. Stir in one can of tomato soup (undiluted) and the rest of the ingredients, one at a time. Cream well after each addition. Grease a 10inch square cake pan. Pour in the batter, and when the oven reaches 375 degrees, bake for 45 minutes.
When cake is done, remove from the oven. Loosen the edges with a knife. Turn onto a cake rack and let cool. Cream cheese icing works well with this cake.
But don’t tell anyone that there is tomato soup in the cake until he or she has eaten it!
DEAR HELOISE: I buy a head of lettuce, and two days later it turns black.
— Sue in Canton, Ohio
DEAR READER: Sue, are you talking about iceberg lettuce in the bag from the store? If so, take it back!
In general, you should not wash lettuce, then store it for long periods of time. It’s best to “rinse” and dry lettuce just before using it. You can “wash” and dry well, then store in an airtight container or zipper-top bag to use in a day or so, and the lettuce will be fine.
Send a money- or time-saving hint to Heloise, P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, Texas 78279-5000; fax to (210) 435-6473; or email