Hints from Heloise

Dear Readers: Have you taken a good look at your KNIFE BLOCK lately? Does it look a little dusty and grimy? What about the slots? To clean them, use the crevice tool on the vacuum attachment. This should remove most dirt, dust and crumbs. Also, you can “wash” a wood block with mild soap and warm water, letting the water run down into the slots. Air-dry, or use your hair dryer to dry the slots.

This may not seem like a big deal, but do take a look down those slots, and I think you will be surprised! — Heloise

CHEESECLOTH COVERING

Dear Heloise: I love cooking with the fresh-squeezed juices of lemons, limes and oranges, but it can be hard to keep the seeds out of the food. I cut these fruits in half and wrap them in a thin layer of cheesecloth with a rubber band. It’s easy to squeeze the juice out while keeping the seeds trapped in the cheesecloth.

Another hint: I get fancy when company is over and tie ribbons to secure the cheesecloth. — Judy T. in Pennsylvania TOO HOT Dear Heloise: Even in the summer, when my kids are sick, they only want soup to eat. The soup is too hot to eat right off the stove, so I always add one or two ice cubes before serving it to them. This makes the soup ready to eat. — Stephanie W., via email

This hint is great any time of year to keep little ones (or even some bigger people) from burning themselves, and I have many more hints, along with soup recipes, available in my Heloise’s Spectacular Soups pamphlet. To order one, please send $5 and a long, selfaddressed, stamped (70 cents) envelope to: Heloise/Soup, P.O. Box 795001, San Antonio, TX 78279-5001. — Heloise STEEL-WOOL PADS Dear Heloise: I sometimes use steel-wool pads and found I could extend their use by wrapping a used pad in waxed paper after each use. I reuse the same waxed paper each time. By doing this, I’m able to get several uses out of the pads. — Marie G. in New Hampshire