Make sure your food is safe to refreeze

DEAR READERS: We often refreeze food, but do be aware of the following safety hints. Usually, if a food is safe to eat and just partially thawed, it’s safe to refreeze it. But if the food has a bad odor or an off color, throw it out.

DEAR READERS: When all the bread from a loaf is eaten, don’t throw away the empty plastic bag. Instead, reuse it in many ways around your house. Try these:

DEAR READERS: When you are going to bake cookies, if you want them to come out soft instead of crispy, take these steps:

Mound the dough on an ungreased baking sheet. Keep the moisture content high by adding a drop of honey or corn syrup.

Bake the cookies for a shorter time than the recipe calls for. Then remove the cookies from the baking sheet and place on a cooling rack immediately.

— Heloise DEAR READERS: Sisal rugs look great, but they get dirty and need special cleaning. How you clean them will depend on what kind you have, whether it’s natural fiber like sea grass, or synthetic fiber made of nylon or wool-blend material. Here’s how to clean them. For cleaning natural-fiber sisals, manufacturers suggest using only a dry-cleaning method. Never steam-clean or wet shampoo this type of sisal.

With too much dampness, it can cause natural-fiber rugs to pucker or shrink.

DEAR READERS: Here are two easy ways to make a yummy crispy chicken crust.

1. To create a crunchy skin, rub real mayonnaise all over the skin. When baking, it will make a crispy golden crust.

2. For frying chicken, use half flour and half cornstarch instead of all flour. This will make the chicken super crispy.