Michele says: I’ll never forget the first time my childhood friend showed me how to make one of her favorite treats. The recipe was simple: one piece of white bread, squished and squeezed into a compact ball. It was kind of like a bread bonbon, and the thought of it horrified me immensely. You see, …
Heather says: Not too long ago on Facebook, I got a question about acrylic flooring that had become cloudy. First I want to note that acrylic is a broad chemical term that simply means made of polymers or resins. So acrylic flooring can come in many forms, but in general people either mean linoleum, laminate, …
Michele says: How have you been liking Home Ec 101’s recent sewing posts? Have they inspired you to finally tackle that mending pile? Are you rocking oh-so stylishly patched jeans? Or are you the smart kid in class, bored and wondering when we’ll do a project that doesn’t rely on the plain old straight stitch? …
Heather says: I absolutely love albondigas soup, it’s a family favorite, but sometimes I just don’t have the energy to mess with rolling the meatballs. Sometimes I just can’t bring myself to care that much. So on a whim one evening, when I had planned on making the original albondigas, I looked at it and …
Michele says: Ramen. It’s a single word that conjures images of students and young newlyweds alike, united by their grumbling bellies and meager budgets. Most of us have been there, done that—myself included—and if you’re anything like me, you may have also done a happy dance when you finally said sayonara to your noodle heavy twenty …
Michele says: I’m going to be honest: I’m not the most creative person. The first post that I wrote about sewing was inspired by a conveniently timed rip in a pillow. I gulped when I realized that Home Eccers are interested in learning more mending techniques. As a childless housewife whose husband spends his days …
Heather says: This recipe for balsamic marinated chicken is sort of a repeat. Why? Because sometimes you don’t want to cook a whole chicken and grab the super-value pack of chicken thighs or leg quarters when they go on sale. Like the garlic and soy chicken thighs, this recipe is simple, the only drawback is …
Michele says: A little over ten years ago today, I enrolled in home economics as a school elective. To say I was excited would be an understatement, and I showed up for my first day of class eager to learn anything and everything I could about sewing, cooking, cleaning, and—most important to me—baking. The pace …
Dear Home-Ec 101, I’ve seen a couple of posts where you’ve mentioned that sunlight is a disinfectant… I wondered if you had any idea how effective it actually is, and whether the temperature outside influences its effectiveness? I hang my laundry outside to dry whenever possible (generally when it’s above freezing) but a recent cold/flu …
Dear Home-Ec 101,I love your website, your tips have been extremely helpful to me. I have a question, though, whose answer I couldn’t find in your archives. Maybe you can help me out? I don’t have a washer at home, so I take most of my laundry to a laundromat. I’ve been washing my dishcloths …