Dear Home Ec 101, How can I make my husband help around the house? Signed, Nags Head, NC Heather says: I moved out quite young and lived with an interesting variety of roommates until I married. Different people have different standards of cleanliness and tolerance. If you are the Felix of your relationship, odds are …
It’s Retro Saturday where we post a blast from the Home Ec 101 past. Dear Home Ec 101, I have cave crickets in my house. These things are nasty. Luckily, the cats make sure they are quickly turned into cave cricket carcasses. I’m wondering, though, if this indicates a problem of some kind with the …
Dear Home Ec 101, My husband and I recently moved into a new home….one in which the previous owner clearly had never heard of cleaning the shower. I tried using “Kaboom” on the tiles and glass doors, but it seemed to have no effect. The scum on the doors is truly gross. We have relatively …
Dear Home Ec 101, I tried making soup out of leftovers, like you recommend. I threw in a handful of dry noodles but they were really soggy. Do you think they were too old? Signed, Mushy in Muncie Heather says: Your average boxed pasta has a very long shelf-life at nearly two years, provided it …
Dear Home Ec 101,Ladies, we have a self-cleaning oven. However, we like to roast meats in the oven after searing them on the stove, using a frying pan. Consequently, we have serious grease stains on the inside of the door and the oven glass. The stains are very difficult to remove. Do you have an …
Dear Home Ec 101, I have a stainless steel pan that has acquired a brownish/bronzish color all over the bottom of the inside of the pan. What is this, is it bad, and can it be gotten rid of? I like shiny things. Signed, ~Maggie Magpie Heather says: I love my stainless steel, the only …
Dear Home Ec 101, If I put flaxseed oil and yogurt in my hot oatmeal, will their beneficial qualities be destroyed by the heat? Signed, Goldielocks Heather says: If you allow the oatmeal to cool to a temperature comfortable for eating before adding your flax oil and yogurt you should be just fine. Now, there …
Dear Home Ec 101: Every refrigerator I have ever seen has a crisper drawer, yet I have never figured out what to put in mine. What is the slidy thing for? Signed, ~Vexed by the Vegetable Bin Heather says: Refrigerators do two things simultaneously. First and most importantly they keep everything cool. Their second …
Dear Home Ec 101, So I’ve finally garnered the courage to break out the 10 year old, given as a wedding gift, but never used Bread Machine. I’ve used it twice to make whole wheat bread. I’m not doing a good job at this. I’ve learned that the ingredients MUST be room temp (not straight …
Dear Home Ec 101, I’ve always read that onions and potatoes should be stored well away from each other because if stored together they will cause each other to rot. But I frequently see kitchen renovation magazines that toot the joy of “basket drawers” stacked on top of each other, one filled with onions and …