ANAHEIM : Kids Find Recipe for Aiding the Troops

The idea sprang up at Karmen Nicholas’ kitchen table when her sons, 8 and 9, wondered how they could help the troops in the Persian Gulf.

Within days, 500 students at Imperial Elementary in Anaheim Hills were faxing letters to everyone from Mickey Mouse to MC Hammer for a project they dubbed “Cooking with Love,” a cookbook of recipes solicited from their favorite celebrities, which will be sold to raise money for military families at home.

At a schoolwide assembly Thursday, two soldiers from El Toro Marine base joined Anaheim Mayor Fred Hunter, Mickey Mouse and local sports figures for an unveiling of the cookbook’s cover design. The cover, which features a group of children circling a yellow-ribboned heart, represents the students’ message of peace, love and support for the troops.

“I want my child to know the importance of giving,” said Nicholas, who organized the project.” Also, she said, “we wanted to be able to show the rest of the country that we started with a very small project and it’s grown. It’s just a small sample of what can be done.”

The assembly on the Imperial campus Thursday was videotaped to be sent to the Persian Gulf and included performances of patriotic songs and a poem.

And Principal Marnie Frasure told the students that their first recipe had arrived--from the White House. Barbara Bush sent a recipe for “Mexican Mound,” a dish she said was a favorite of the President. Hunter offered the students a recipe for taco salad, and Mickey Mouse presented one for Fantasia Cheesecake.

Money raised from the sales of the cookbook and matching T-shirts designed by students will be donated to a Red Cross fund for military families who suffer financial hardship because members are serving overseas, Nicholas said. She hopes for national distribution of the cookbook with an initial printing of 50,000 copies. Cooking with Love T-shirts, sweat shirts and aprons are available through More Duds in Fullerton.

Brad Dane, a kindergarten student, leaped to the stage to accept Mickey’s recipe. Brad wore a yellow ribbon, he said, “for the men to come back.”