Freezing grapes to cool glass of wine

Frozen grapes

Dear Heloise: Use frozen grapes to cool a glass of wine. This does not water down the beverage, and you can eat them when done.

— Jane G., Woodbine, Pennsylvania

Heating food

Dear Heloise: When I heat food in my microwave, I always cover it with a wet paper towel. The food stays moist, and the wet towel controls any splatter. My microwave is always clean.

— JoAnn A., San Pedro

To sear or not to sear

Dear Heloise: I was cooking a large roast, and the instructions in the cookbook said to “sear” the meat. Well, I know that means to cook it to seal in the juices, but for some reason I burned one side of the roast. It was black and hard. Needless to say, my girlfriend was less than impressed with my cooking skills. What am I doing wrong?

— Chad T., Maddox, Tennessee

Bootleg Beans

Dear Heloise: Please reprint your Bootleg Beans recipe. Everyone I know loves them.

— Kathy K., Norman, Oklahoma Kathy, it’s one of my favorites, too, so here it is. You’ll need:

3 strips bacon

1 small onion, chopped 1 (15 ounce) can pork and beans in tomato sauce

1 tablespoon packed brown sugar 2-3 tablespoons ketchup

Fry the bacon in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat until almost crisp. Add the onion and continue frying until the onion starts to brown. Pour off almost all of the grease. Add the remaining ingredients. Stir to mix well, cover and simmer until heated through.

— Heloise

Rhubarb

Dear Heloise: It’s time to harvest fresh rhubarb from our garden. I like to use tapioca as a thickener for my pies, but haven’t been able to find it in our stores. I tried substituting a 3.25 ounce box of tapioca cook-and-serve pudding and pie filling in my recipe. Fold in the dry pudding mix along with 1/2 cup of sugar to coat the fruit for a 9-inch pie. Bake as usual. The filling has a tapioca texture and is firm but tender. A box of tapioca pudding will be a new addition to my pantry.