Safety hints for refreezing food

Dear Readers: We often refreeze food, but do be aware of the following safety hints. Usually, if a food is safe to eat and just partially thawed, it’s safe to refreeze it. But if the food has a bad odor or an off color, throw it out.

Often, when you refreeze food, it really never has the same quality as fresh or never-thawed frozen food, because it loses appearance, texture and flavor. It’s best to toss out thawed ice cream. And if you have placed food in the refrigerator for one to two days and it has only partially thawed, it can be refrozen. — Heloise

Recycling plastic bread bags

Dear Readers: When all the bread from a loaf is eaten, don’t throw away the empty plastic bag. Instead, reuse it in many ways around your house. Try these:

Place the bread bag in a gym bag and use it to hold a wet swimsuit until you get home. Pop a bag into a tote bag to hold a dirty diaper when you are away from home. Line a coffee can that’s next to your kitchen sink. This bag can contain wet garbage from cooking. Then you can just toss it in the garbage can. And you can carry a couple of these bags when you walk your dog. Use one to scoop up and hold the dog poop. —

How to make soft cookies

Dear Readers: When you are going to bake cookies, if you want them to come out soft instead of crispy, take these steps: Mound the dough on an ungreased baking sheet. Keep the moisture content high by adding a drop of honey or corn syrup. Bake the cookies for a shorter time than the recipe calls for. Then remove the cookies from the baking sheet and place on a cooling rack immediately. —

Cleaning sisal rugs

Dear Readers: These floor coverings look great, but they get dirty and need special cleaning. How you clean them will depend on what kind you have, whether it’s natural fiber like sea grass, or synthetic fiber made of nylon or wool-blend material. Here’s how to clean them.

For cleaning natural-fiber sisals, manufacturers suggest using only a dry-cleaning method. Never steamclean or wet shampoo this type of sisal. With too much dampness, it can cause natural-fiber rugs to pucker or shrink.

For synthetic-fiber sisals, read and follow the manufacturer’s recommended directions, which may be a dry-cleaning method or hot-water extraction. —

Like crispy chicken?

Dear Readers: Here are two easy ways to make this yummy crust. 1. To create a crunchy skin, rub real mayonnaise all over the skin. When baking, it will make a crispy golden crust. 2. For frying chicken, use half flour and half cornstarch instead of all flour. This will make the chicken super crispy. —