Homemade granola losing its crunch?

Q: I make granola, but it doesn’t hold its crunch as well as the store-bought kind, stored in a sealed plastic tub. Do you have a good recipe that stays crunchy?

A: Does it have dried fruit in it? That can sap some of the granola’s crunch. To preserve that crunch longer, store your granola without the dried fruit and add the fruit each time.

Q: What are chia seeds, and what is the benefit to adding them to recipes?

A: Chia seeds come from the chia plant (Salvia hispanica), in the same family as mint. When you add liquid to them, they expand and form a gel-like coating, which thickens whatever you’ve put them in. Chia seeds are also a good source of omega-3 fatty acids.

Q: I have a maple balsamic vinegar that I need to use; any interesting suggestions, other than salad dressing or drizzled on fruit?

A: Mix it with soda water, add

it to cocktails, use it in chicken or steak dishes.

Q: Why does milk curdle when I fix canned cream of tomato soup? I use 1-per-cent milk from the supermarket, mix it with the soup concentrate and heat it over a low flame in a saucepan. My mother always made it with water instead of milk, to save money, so this is a new experience for me. I go ahead and eat the soup anyway, but it sure is unappealing.

A: It’s the acid from the tomatoes, which reacts with the milk, especially when you’re adding a lot of dairy. There are a couple things you can do: heat the soup concentrate and the milk (separately) before combining, and then whisk the soup into the milk rather than vice-versa. Or you can temper the milk by whisking a little bit of the soup into the milk, then returning the milk mixture to the rest of the soup. Some cooks also suggest adding a little baking soda to help prevent curdling, but I’ve never tried that.