Dried fruit softens crunchy granola

Q: I make homemade granola, but it doesn't hold its crunch as well as the store-bought kind.

Do you have a granola recipe that stays crunchy? I store it in a sealed plastic tub, so I don't think storage is the problem.

A: Are you using dried fruit in it, by chance? And are you storing it with the dried fruit? That can sap some of the granola's crunch. To preserve the crunch longer, try storing your granola without the dried fruit and add the fruit each time.

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

A: You could mix it with soda water, add it to cocktails, use it in chicken or steak dishes, or drizzle it over dessert.

Q: Why does milk curdle when I fix canned cream-oftomato soup? I use 1 percent milk from the supermarket, mix it with the soup concentrate and heat it over a low flame in a saucepan.

A: The acid from the tomatoes reacts with the milk, especially when you add a lot of dairy.

There are a couple of things you can do: You can heat the soup concentrate and the milk (separately) before combining, then whisk the soup into the milk rather than vice-versa.

Or, you can temper the milk by whisking a little 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.