How to make sure your gas stove burns evenly

Dear Heloise: The flames from the burners on my GAS STOVE do not burn evenly. What should I do to correct this problem? Olivia, first remove the grates over each burner and look carefully to see if the holes are clogged. Clean them well with a toothbrush and make certain they’re grease-free. Then, using a toothpick, poke open each little hole to be sure there is nothing blocking them. That should do the trick! (If it doesn’t, please contact the manufacturer for further help.) ADear Heloise: You have a recipe for an avocado stuffed with crabmeat that is second to none! Everyone who’s ever eaten it at my home has raved about it. Unfortunately, I loaned the recipe card it was on to a friend, and she lost it. Could you please reprint it? Mary Ann, I love this salad. Here’s what you will need:

1/2 avocado

3 1/2 ounces crabmeat

1 tablespoon Romano cheese 1 tablespoon breadcrumbs plus extra for topping

1 teaspoon fresh chopped parsley 1 pat of butter

Chopped green onion (tops included) Preheat the oven to 325 F. Remove the seed from the avocado. Cut a thin slice off the bottom of the avocado so that it sits firmly on the plate. Mix the crabmeat, cheese, breadcrumbs and parsley. Fill the hollow of the avocado with the mixture, piling it into a rounded peak but keeping within the outside shell. Sprinkle with the extra breadcrumbs and top with butter. Place on a sheet of foil and bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Sprinkle with chopped green onion before serving.

This makes a serving for one, but if you plan to serve more than one person, just multiply the ingredients by the number of people to be served. Dear Heloise: Your article “A Rose By Any Other Name” about eating leftover food made me remember my mother calling it “Must Go” dinner. Rudy, I always loved leftover nights because we could pick and choose what we wanted. Leftover pizza, coleslaw and chicken — yum! Dear Heloise: Do you know what is causing all the spots on bananas? They are disgusting, and I end up throwing so much fruit away. These spots were not in bananas years ago. Is it a disease? Marian, the banana develops those brown spots because the starch turns to higher levels of sugar. There is nothing wrong with the banana if it has “freckles,” and in fact, in a controlled Japanese study carried out at the University of Tokyo, researchers discovered that overripe bananas were rich in antioxidants. The more brown spots a banana has, the better, because those antioxidants destroy free radicals.