HELPFUL HINTS

DEAR HELOISE: You once had a simple recipe to OPINION shine silver jewelry, and I’ve lost it. Would you reprint those instructions? I have a lot of sterling silver jewelry that HELOISE

needs cleaning, and some of my pieces have nooks and crannies that I can’t clean by hand.

— Mae R., Dallas

DEAR READER: This is so easy and can be done at home with items you probably have in you kitchen. Here it is:

Line the bottom of your sink or a bowl with aluminum foil. In the palm of your hand, make a pile of salt, then dump it onto the foil. Next, make another pile of baking soda in the palm of your hand and dump it onto the foil. Gently mix the two ingredients with the tips of your fingers. Carefully place your sterling jewelry atop of the baking soda and salt mixture on the foil. The last step is to pour hot water over the silver and the mixture, but only enough to just cover the objects. You’ll see the tarnish disappear before your eyes.

Caution: Do not use on antiques, heirlooms, or silver-plated or hollow flatware. Also, this isn’t recommended for jewelry pieces that have pearls or soft stones, such as opals, peridot, etc.

DEAR HELOISE: How do I make the perfect pie crust?

— Mattie H., Parma, Ohio

DEAR READER: I can give you my version of pie crusts, but there are hundreds of variations available. You can start with any recipe you want and just follow these steps that I use when making a pie crust:

■ Always use very cold butter or fat.

■ Add only one egg yolk (do not add the egg whites). The yolk will make the dough taste richer.

■ Use ice water to moisten the dough, but only enough to hold everything together.

■ Chill the dough for at least 30 minutes before rolling out, and be sure you chilled your rolling pin at the same time. Then, roll out both sides of the dough.

■ Chill the pan or glass pie dish while you chill the rolling pin and let the pie dough fall into the chilled dish. Handle your dough as little as possible.

■ Poke holes in the bottom of the pie crust, unless the filling is very runny.

DEAR READERS: On beautiful summer days, it’s easy to enjoy a backyard barbecue, but occasionally, we do use too much lighter fluid. Please take every precaution before grilling. We don’t want any singed eyebrows!