Sometimes, when you ask, you do receive. A plea for the old Woolworth lunch counter cheesecake recipe brought a very nice letter from someone who signed themselves only "D.M."

It read, in part: "(This recipe was) for many years, a closely guarded secret, I'm told. My mother obtained this recipe from my aunt, (who has since passed away), which my aunt got from Woolworth when she worked at the neighboring M's Ranch House, which has long since closed.

"My mother often made this and shared it with her friends after they gave their sacred word that they wouldn't divulge the source. One creative cook even changed the flavor of the Jell-O and made strawberry, lime and even orange cheesecake.

"It's a light, airy cheesecake because of the whipped cream that's folded in, and you don't feel guilty about eating seconds."

Thanks. And I'm sure I speak for the all readers when I give my solemn word never to divulge my source. (Which I can safely do, since I don't know who you are!)

This isn't a cheesecake in the true sense but a creamy gelled dessert that combines cream cheese and flavored gelatin and uses a technique not often seen anymore — freezing, then whipping, canned evaporated milk. (Yes, evaporated milk does whip.) Remember that this recipe hails from a time when evaporated milk was universally referred to in Hawai'i as "cream" — you had to be rich or own a dairy to use real whipping cream! Note that the "crust" is just graham cracker crumbs — no butter or sugar is used, as in some graham cracker crusts.

WOOLWORTH'S LEMON CHEESECAKE