Vanilla

Unilever United States Inc. said today a Unilever subsidiary has agreed to buy Sheffield Products Co. from Kraft Inc. for an undisclosed price. Sheffield, which produces refined specialty proteins and pharmaceutical grade lactose and is a processor of vanilla beans, is based in Norwich, N.Y. It is to become part of Unilever's Naarden, Holland-based Quest International division, which has flavor and food-ingredient operations in Owings Mills, Md.

Dear SOS: During a trip to north Mississippi and the Delta, we ate a memorable meal at Big Bad Breakfast in Oxford. The brandy-spiked pain perdu was a stand-out among the dishes we ordered (with stiff competition from the house-cured bacon and biscuits). Since I don't anticipate being back in the area soon, is there any chance you can obtain the recipe? Thanks. Kay Behrens Claremont Dear Kay: How can you go wrong with this breakfast? Take fluffy, thick slices of Texas toast soaked in a lightly sweetened, brandy-spiked batter, then lovingly pan-fry them to crisp, golden perfection.

Re "Reno Launches Drive Against 'Date Rape Drugs,' " Aug. 12: Please let us urge Atty. Gen. Janet Reno to require the drug manufacturer to put some kind of dye in this pill. If it is tasteless and colorless, this is the area to attack. The drug is necessary for people preparing for surgery, but if they just swallow it with water, what difference if the drug has dye or a strong, pleasant flavor? If the pill, when dropped in a drink, gave off a bright color of any concentrated food coloring (purple, blue, green)

I have rarely had a cold soup that I enjoyed. But the other night I was served a bowl of vichyssoise, a cold potato and leek soup, that made me an instant convert to chilled soups. Vichyssoise was the creation of Louis Diat, the famous French chef at the Ritz Carlton in New York. Serve the vichyssoise with warm, toasted rye bread and, for dessert, walnut dessert bars and cold seedless green grapes. The walnut bars are among my top 10 or 12 favorite cookie recipes.

Once you've mastered the basic techniques, you can really start to play around with your "peeps. " Vanilla flavoring can be substituted with another flavoring, such as almond, mint or lemon extract. Or you can use powdered spices such as ground cinnamon. You can even use rose- or orange blossom water, which is actually quite delicious. Start by beating in about one-fourth teaspoon of the flavoring at a time and then adding more to reach the desired taste. Colored sugars are available at most grocery stores as well as at cooking and baking supply stores, but you can make your own custom hues: Place granulated sugar in a sealable plastic bag or jar with a few drops of food coloring, then shake until the coloring is evenly distributed.

When my mother fed me my first spoonful of yogurt, she might have expected that most of it would end up on her face. I was 5 years old, flat out with the measles and accustomed to eating a bowlful of vanilla ice cream at intervals necessary to soothe my aching throat. I don't know whether she meant well, as she claimed, or if there was some sadistic intent in hitting me straight off with the hard stuff: plain--not fruited or flavored--yogurt.

Down in the bowels of Anaheim Stadium, in the dressing quarters of the undefeated Rams, a juicy controversy was brewing. The Rams had just defeated the Minnesota Vikings, 13-10, but it wasn't pretty. The Ram offense had reminded a lot of people of the Angel offense. A lot of singles, no homers, a lot of bleeding. Say fellows, anyone down here care to criticize Coach John Robinson's offensive game plan, which consisted mainly of Eric Dickerson running into walls? How about you, Eric Dickerson?

Tony Cabral is the kind of consumer who makes a habit of checking his credit files at least twice a year. "I just want to be safe," he told me. "I want to know how my credit looks. " These days, though, it's become surprisingly difficult to stay on top of this most basic of consumer needs, an especially timely concern as hordes of Black Friday shoppers break out the plastic in search of holiday deals. Consumers are entitled to one free credit report annually from each of the three leading credit bureaus ?

Not so long ago "working on a tan" meant a choice among baking in the sun, broiling on a tanning bed or slathering on a chemical-laden self-tanner that left streaks, smelled awful and imbued skin with a distinct fake orange glow. Today, there's another choice. All-natural and organic ingredients have arrived inself-tanningformulations that rely on sugar beets and various natural oils to help gradually darken the outer layer of skin. These eco-friendly products are free of many of the no-no components other all-natural skin care products avoid, such as parabens, synthetics, fragrance, colorings and dyes.