Connie (Heather’s childrens’ Godmother): A little over 18 months ago, my mother died suddenly and unexpectedly. I learned a few things and realized a few things in that experience that might be helpful to other people, and I’ve been writing this blog post in my head since then. When Heather’s step-sister died three and a …
Heather says: Here we are, another week nearly gone, and school, for us anyhow, starts on Monday. I’m more than a little excited. This has been a long summer, and I’m ready for some structure to be added to the chaos that is my work-life dance. (Anyone who dares call it a balance is going …
Like many people, I love chicken marsala. If you’ve gone gluten-free, no worries. You don’t have to leave chicken marsala behind. This version is a simple variation on the classic. All you need is brown rice flour to use in place of wheat. I made this for company the other night, and it turned out …
Michele says: If you’ve ever made your own creamy salad dressings from scratch, you may have been shocked by the inclusion of up to a cup of store-bought, chemical-filled mayonnaise. Since when does a “from scratch” recipe call for “sauce from a jar”? Moreover, can a salad dressing, potato salad, or tuna sandwich qualify as …
Michele says: Have you ever tried to Google something, only to quickly realize that you don’t know which words to enter in the search box? Now, how many of you have taken it a step further and went ahead and searched for, say, “strawberry thing attached to a pincushion”? No judgment. I and many others, …
This reader question came in via email titled: A kitchen cave-in. Dear Home-Ec 101 Yep. That’s right. Lost the ceiling in my kitchen – drop ceiling, light fixture, older (plaster?) ceiling above it, and about 18 inches of blown insulation. I am in the process of getting it fixed. I have shoveled and scooped more …
Michele says: Now that we’ve completed our first sewing project, it’s almost time to move on to the next big step in sewing: the sewing machine. Before we do, though, we’re going to get back to the most basic of basics and learn how to reattach a button in under five minutes. But what do …
Michele says: If you had to summarize summer in three words, which words would you choose? Swimming, picnics, and ice cream? Vacations, thunderstorms, and fireflies? Bikinis, bonfires, and s’mores? How about red, white, and blue? To me, summer never fails to feel like one big patriotic party, and the colors of the season seem to …
Dear Home-Ec 101,I am sorry if you have had this question before, but maybe it bears repeating. I live in hot and sticky Thailand, and I have noticed my tops are not smelling very fresh anymore when I perspire. I usually wash them in cold or warm water with liquid detergent then I hang them to dry. After …
Michele says: Over the past few months here at Home Ec 101, we’ve learned an awful lot about the basics of sewing. We know the straight stitch and the Frankenseam, we know how to hem trousers two different ways, how to repair holey jeans, and we even learned how to darn socks, but for those …