Heather Solos 
Dear Home Ec 101, I am in the market for a new vacuum, and would love feedback on what everyone has and likes. I know you have a Dyson and love it, but not sure if my budget is Dyson or not. I read Consumer Reports, and they seemed to favor the Hoovers. Mine just …
Dear Home Ec 101, Settle this for me, please. My mother says you dust after you vacuum, my mother-in-law says you dust then vacuum. I’d rather knit sweaters for my cat from the dust bunnies, but could you settle the debate? Signed, Dust in the Wind Heather says: <sidestep>To be truthful I usually don’t dust …
Heather says: My mother passed on a lot of very frugal ways. Use a dollop of shampoo about the size of a quarter, only use a pea sized amount of toothpaste, etc. Every once in a while I get frustrated with conserving and rebel. The sad part is, I can only laugh at myself, because …
Heather says: I could offer a bunch of excuses as to why I didn’t get around to anything fearless in the kitchen this week, but I did go to that audition on Sunday. It may not seem like it online, but I’m a very shy person. I’ve spent a lot of time over the last …
Dear Home Ec 101, How come if I put a pie in the oven it’s baking, but if I put a chicken it could be called roasting or it could be called baking? Signed, Flummoxed in Florence Heather says: Some of it is cultural conditioning and evolving language as many people use the terms interchangeably, …
Heather says: Once in a while when someone blogs about food, menus, saving money and all that fun stuff that happens here on Home-Ec 101, you get noticed. A few weeks ago I was contacted by the folks running PR for Taste of Home. They have just launched a new cook book, The Taste of …
Heather says: The internet and blogs in particular have a way of offering only snapshots of our lives. It’s pretty easy to crop out the messy parts, gloss over the mistakes, and show our lives the way we think they should be rather than as they are. The Sunday Confessional is not a celebration of under …
Heather says: I have a friend who is looking for a dairy free, soy free cake. What a perfect Fearless Friday adventure, recipe books and sites are being scoured. Recipes are being scanned with a suspicious eye for obscure ingredients or funky textures. I won’t send a novice cook out to buy expensive ingredients they …
Dear Home-Ec 101, I’ve seen recipes for 40 garlic clove chicken, but they are mostly for a whole chicken. I’m trying to figure out how I can make it for my husband and I using chicken breasts. Any ideas how I can do this? (I’d like to bake it rather than putting it in the …
Simple garlic and brown sugar glaze recipe for chicken parts, such as legs and thighs or a cut up chicken.