Nuts and bolts — an odd name in the context of food, but one that refers to an old, favorite snack, also known as Chex Party Mix, Mix Trix and Kix Mix. Several readers responded to a request from Karen Oshiro for the original nuts and bolts recipe, and it's interesting how many variations there are. All use Cheerios, Chex cereals and pretzel sticks. Most add peanuts. But the fat in which these crispy things are baked varies from butter and oil to bacon drippings and margarine. And the flavorings can be anything from garlic salt to savory, an herb you don't hear much about anymore — it's a relative of mint and has a flavor somewhere between thyme and mint.

The Web site www.foodtimeline.org has an interesting essay on the mix. Two recipes are given along with a history of Chex cereal, which dates back to the late 1890s, when a Kansas miller devised a way to keep wheat germ from going rancid. That allowed cereal manufacturers to include the healthful germ in their products instead of removing it, as they had been doing.

The Ralston Purina company used this technique in creating a cereal introduced in the early 20th century. The cowboy actor Tom Mix was hired to promote the cereal, which would eventually be named Chex (for the checkerboard logo used with the various types of the cereal — made variously with rice, wheat and corn).

In the long tradition of creating recipes that build interest in particular products, Chex Mix was introduced sometime in the 1950s — but it's not clear whether it was Ralston Purina (which made Chex) or General Mills (which makes Kix) that first created the dish. Clear is that the idea — tossing cereal with oil or fat, spices, sauces and flavorings, baking it to give it a crunchy glaze and eating it by the greasy handful — caught on fast and has remained with us, even as the dish has changed.

Here's one approach; vary it as desired.

NUTS AND BOLTS