Dear Home Ec 101,If a recipe calls for vegetable oil, is extra virgin olive oil a good substitute or is there a specific reason for vegetable oil? Should I stick to olive oil or am I safe to swap it out with any kind of oil I have on hand?Signed, Slick in Slatesville Whether or …
Rubbing alcohol is a green and cheap cleaning agent. However, you need to use some precautions when using it as a cleaning agent. Here’s how to safely use isoproponal safely in your home
Heather says: I’ve been monitoring reaction to the potential threat of exposure to radiation drifting across the Pacific from Japan to the West Coast of the United States. I had noticed some extreme reactions and thought now would be a good time to ask my good friend Eugene to comment on the situation. Some of …
It has just been brought to my attention that Pyrex cookware has been receiving some attention from Consumer Reports via the Consumerist. I love glass cookware and I will continue to use my glassware for baking; however, there are a few precautions one should always use. Glass, even tempered glass, is fairly rigid and doesn’t conduct heat …
Heather says: While double checking my research I was stunned by how many frugal websites recommend a homemade cleaning agent with both bleach and vinegar in the recipe. NO. Never mix bleach and vinegar, bleach and ammonia, bleach and toilet bowl cleaners, or even different brands of toilet bowl cleaners (some are bleach based while …
Heather says: I’ve used the All-Clad Emerilware line for years (7), I love my cookware. I’ve slowly been supplementing the basic set with a few choice vanity pieces here and there. I think it’s a great set for aspiring cook and so I gave my sister and her husband an identical set as a wedding …
Dear Home Ec 101, I was hoping you might be able to explain how a water bath thaws out a chicken faster than sitting on the counter when the water is colder. Also, why is it safer ? It seems to me the water would just be a good place for germs to grow. Signed, …
Heather says: Late last week we played a game I referred to as Disaster Scenario. It’s a quick way to check your own preparedness level when rumors of disaster are hyped in the media. Well that and I’ve always enjoyed apocalyptic fiction. After watching the Twitter stream for a while, I feel the need to …
Dear Home Ec 101, My cookies keep ending up flat, hard and chewy, what can I do? I have tried 5 different recipes and my cookies all come out the same, flat. I watch them in the oven and they puff all up and then it is like bubbles popping and they flatten out before …
Dear Home Ec 101, What is the best way to clean that black yuk that tends to grow in the corners of the shower? I have a ceramic tile shower and I have used every mixture I can think of to rid the shower of the black stuff from straight Clorox to the gimmicks from …