When the heat of summer truly sets in, it takes a lot of motivation for me to spend serious time in the kitchen. Desserts and snacks tend to be ice cream or a bowl of sliced fruit or berries.

So I was delighted when several readers wrote in with favorite recipes for quick treats in response to the recipe we printed for a no-fuss snack cake. If you have a favorite in the same vein, whether sweet or savory, please share it with me and other readers!

Q:Your recipe for a quick snack cake made me think about another dessert I call Goop that is really good for these hot summer days. It is quick to make, with minimal baking time, and has endless variations: Add seasonal or canned fruit, chocolate or other flavor chips, change the flavor of the pudding. It is a real winner with children and adults. The only drawback is that it must be made the day before and refrigerated.

Gail Stotts, Hollywood

Q: My grandchildren loved the snack cake I made with your recipe -- so quick and easy! So I thought I'd pass along another quickie for summer dessert, Microwave Cherry Bread Pudding, that's a big hit in our family. You can make a zillion combinations using different fruits and extracts, and best of all it doesn't heat up the kitchen.

Carol H.

Q: I once had the best chicken salad recipe, which I know I got off a can of pineapple in the late 1970s. It had one ingredient that was unusual at the time, Major Grey's chutney. I'd love to have that recipe again, but I have never been able to find it.

Carolyn M., Huntsville, Ala.

A: I tried technology first, but though there are many delicious-sounding recipes for chicken salad at Dole.com, none fit your description. I found the recipe the old-fashioned way, by thumbing through my collection of vintage recipe brochures.

It's from Budget-Stretching Meal Ideas from Dole Pineapple, which must have been published in the right time frame since it has a coupon that expired in 1980. The recipe here is as it was published. When I made it, I substituted fresh chopped green onion for the instant and used the reserved pineapple juice to cook the rice with which I served the salad.

SLEUTH'S CORNER

Q: I miss the split pea soup and croutons that the Rascal House on Miami Beach served on Mondays. Is there any chance the recipe is still around for both?

Nick

Q: In the mid 1950s our family moved to Mobile, Ala., and soon began eating at Ossie's Bar B Que on Highway 90. They had the best-ever baked beans. Does anyone have a recipe?

Carol Butler

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