Cooking meals at home isn’t dead
DEAR HELOISE: Recently, one of your readers asked if cooking was dead because her child’s family either orders food to be delivered or eats outside the home. But cooking is definitely alive and thriving in my daughter’s family. They cook together, and my young grandchildren love to cook. My 8-year-old grandson can name the ingredients in all of his favorite recipes.
Last summer, while visiting, he told me one of his favorite dinners was stuffed peppers. He listed the ingredients, such as cooked Spanish rice, tomatoes, black beans, corn and cheese. He added that the peppers should not be too “squishy.” We prepared it together, and it was delicious. — Carol K, Edwardsville, Illinois
UPGRADED DRESSING
DEAR HELOISE: I usually make my own salad dressing with oil, vinegar and pressed garlic, but after a party with too much dip left over, I added a spoonful of it to my dressing, which made for a yummy, creamy variation of my dressing. — Lisa M., Martinsburg, West Virginia
SOOTHING A BURN
Dear Readers: If you need to soothe a minor burn, mix 3 parts baking soda with 1 part water. Apply this mixture to the burned area and cover with a cool, damp cloth for relief.
You might know that baking soda is good for cleaning, but that just scrapes the surface of how helpful baking soda can be at home. My pamphlet “Heloise’s Baking Soda Hints and Recipes” can inform you of many other purposes for using baking soda. You can get this useful pamphlet easily. Just send $5 and a long, self-addressed, stamped envelope to: Heloise/baking Soda, P.O. Box 795001, San Antonio, TX 782795001. — Heloise
CONTAINING HAIRSPRAY
DEAR HELOISE: I want to share my idea on how to keep hairspray from getting on cupboards and unwanted areas.
After I shower, I hang the towel over the shower rod. When I spray my hair, I stand in front of the towel. The extra hairspray lands on the towel, and I simply launder it out. — Peggy Ankerman, Wapakoneta, Ohio
FLANNEL-BACKED TABLECLOTHS SAVE PLANTS
DEAR HELOISE: Down here in New Orleans, I use old flannel-backed plastic tablecloths to cover tender vegetation when the occasional freeze is predicted. The flannel touches the leaves and protects them from being “burned” by the cold plastic, and the plastic shields them from freezing wind and rain. — Kathleen Schrenk, New Orleans
PET PAL DEAR HELOISE:
This is my cat’s picture. His name is Caesar, and he’s a shorthair domestic cat. I adopted him in July 2018. He was abandoned by his first owner when he was only 2 years old.
Caesar is now 4 years old and loves to pose for pictures.
Readers, to see Caesar and our other Pet Pals, go to Heloise.com and click on “Pet of the Week.”
Do you have a furry friend to share with our readers? Send a photo and a brief description to Heloise@ Heloise.com. — Heloise
Send a money-saving or timesaving hint to Heloise, P.O. Box 795001, San Antonio, TX 78279-5001, or you can fax it to 1-210-HELOISE or email it to Heloise@ Heloise.com. I can’t answer your letter personally but will use the best hints received in my column.