The taste of coming home

Dear Heloise: It happens every time we return from a long trip: coming home to find a cold house and an empty refrigerator. We’re hungry and seeking homemade comfort food as we recover from lack of sleep and the fatigue of travel. Of course, we’re not at all up to a market run.

But this time, I thought ahead.

Before leaving on our European vacation, I made a big pot of our favorite homemade soup and froze it. I also froze some of my special homemade bread.

When we came in from the airport after being away for a month, I nuked the soup just enough to thaw it, then dumped it right into the slow cooker and turned it on. I set the bread out to thaw and warm.

In no time, our house smelled like home, and we had steaming-hot comfort food to welcome us back without having to make a trip to the market.

— Nancy S. in California Rinsed onions

Dear Heloise: I chopped some onions and wanted to rinse them but thought, “Why use that big colander and have those small chunks get lost or stuck?” Lo and behold, right on the kitchen counter was my coffee maker with a strainer basket. I dumped the chopped onions into the basket and rinsed. Nobody complained about onion-flavored coffee the next morning, either! —

John B., via email Salt shakedown

Dear Readers: Have you noticed on cooking shows that when a chef adds a “pinch” of salt to a recipe, it’s not in a shaker?

Oversalting a dish can happen without thinking. If salt is added to hot or cooking foods, the dish does not taste as salty as it really is. Hold off on adding more. It’s better to undersalt the dish and let individuals add salt if they want. — Heloise Timed cooking

Dear Heloise: I often use a timer on my slow cooker. It ensures that the slow cooker gets turned off if I’m delayed. If I don’t want it to cook the entire time I’m away, it can be started an hour or so after I leave. — Sandra

P., via email

Remember, there is a two-hour “window” for food-safety concerns. You could delay by only two hours, or finish cooking and having the dish “stand” only two hours. — Heloise