Dear Home-Ec 101, I have what is probably a stupid question, but I’d really love an answer. If I have a particularly dirty load of laundry (say, woke up to find the cat had puked on the bed), does it do any good to add extra laundry detergent? In other words, does more detergent=cleaner laundry? …
Dear Home Ec 101: What’s the difference between pastry flour and regular flour? I came across this– and looks like it’d be easy enough to do gluten free if I can just figure out which grain would best cross over to pastry flour. ~Wheatless in Wilshire Heather says: Supermarkets often carry four kinds of white …
These are the black sheep of the cookie family. Not a whole lot of class, but we love them anyhow. Don’t let the no-bake name fool you. These are less kid-friendly than most baked cookies, as the hot butter and sugar mixture could cause serious burns. If you have a little one helping in the …
Kathy T is back with more Stupid Questions™. This time, it’s a holiday edition. The tree is in my attic. Gathering dust. It’s an artificial 6- or 7-footer. What’s the best way to clean it before spreading the dust throughout my house? Heather – There are several methods you could try, depending on how dusty …
Dear Home Ec 101, I made some pottage the other day. (Lentil beans, brown rice, leeks, garlic.) It was really good! Last night in some sort of mad crazed binging spree my boyfriend and I were munching on it and somehow left it out all night, uncovered. *sigh* So out, uncovered, for about 10 hours …
Heather says:
These traditional Christmas cookies can be found under many names: Russian tea cakes, Mexican wedding cakes, sand tarts, or butterballs.
Ingredients:
Directions after the jump.
Ivy says: Rachel wanted to know how to keep the cats out of the Christmas tree. I only wish this worked as well for curious toddlers as it does for cats! Cats hate the smell of citrus- particularly oranges, but lemons work as well. I spray an orange based cleaning product like Orange Clean on …
Heather says: It’s time for the age old Christmas classic, sugar cookies. I will be honest, royal icing is too sweet for this salt loving gal, but it is indispensable for its gorgeous sheen. If you are not scared of a mess, let the kids get in on the decorating. There are tons of new …
Heather says: Growing up, I thought I hated beef stew. I avoided it at all costs. Then came the day I was on complete bed rest during my first pregnancy. I had just gotten out of the hospital, and my ex-husband’s grandparents were kind enough to bring over dinner. Not knowing the depths of my …
Ivy says: Like we did for Thanksgiving, we are going to have another countdown to Christmas! The price of everything has gone way up- gasoline, groceries- you name it. We’re all feeling the pinch! So here at Home Ec 101, we’ll be giving you guys some great ideas for handmade gifts, make-it-from-scratch cookies and candy, …