Some hints on choosing and storing spuds
Dear Readers: 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.
— Heloise
No mess tacos
Dear Heloise: 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
Grease (or spray with nonstick spray) a casserole dish (the size depends on how much you are making), put a bit of salsa on the bottom, then add torn-up tacos or corn chips, and layer with leftover taco meat, and/or beans, cheese, peppers and more salsa. Bake until hot, then garnish with sour cream, olives and chopped lettuce before serving. For more recipes that are my personal favorites, order my pamphlet “Heloise’s All-Time Favorite Recipes” by visiting www. Heloise.com or by sending $5 and a long, self-addressed, stamped (70 cents) envelope to: Heloise/Recipes, P.O. Box 795001, San Antonio, TX. 78279-5001. For a little extra fun, slice up some avocados to decorate the finished casserole. Delicious.
— Heloise
Dishwashers
Dear Heloise: 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.
— Heloise
Olive oil
Dear Heloise: 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.
— Heloise