Spud hints
There are several varieties of potatoes to choose from depending on the recipe, but overall, you should pick potatoes that aren’t soft, bruised, cracked or sprouting “eyes.”
Once you get your potatoes home, keep them in a dark, dry place that’s relatively cool. Don’t store potatoes in the refrigerator. The cold turns the starch to sugar and changes the taste and texture. Also, don’t store potatoes with onions; moisture from potatoes can cause onions to sprout.
No mess tacos
DEARHELOISE » My family loves tacos, but eating them can be a big mess. I’d like a taco casserole recipe that will be neat and easy while still satisfying our taco cravings.
— Doreen in Hawaii
Doreen, I think you’ll like this one. It’s one of those “non-recipes” we all keep in our heads. There’s no set amount or even a set number of ingredients, only what you have on hand as leftovers or in cans in the cupboard. Here it is:
Taco casserole
Tacos or corn chips
Salsa
Taco meat or leftover ground beef Beans
Cheese
Sour cream
Black olives
Green pepper
Chopped lettuce
Dishwashers
DEARHELOISE » My husband and I are in a battle about washing dishes. He claims we should be washing by hand, but I refuse to do that when we have a state- of-the-art dishwasher. Does washing by hand save water?
— Gina in Massachusetts Gina, washing by hand has many drawbacks. Here is what research has shown: A dishwasher uses three to four times less water than hand washing. It uses less energy, too, because of the time it takes to heat up tap water to wash by hand. There’s also a lot more bacteria left on dishes after they’ve been hand washed. Dishwashers do a much better job of washing dishes than we do and are more cost-effective in the long run.
Olive oil
DEARHELOISE » Every time my mother-in-law visits, she puts the olive oil in the refrigerator. Does it need to be kept cold? Karen in Ohio
Karen, olive oil does not need to be refrigerated; however, if it winds up in the fridge, it may look thick and cloudy, but will return to normal when it reaches room temperature again.