Dear Home Ec 101, Do you have any recipes for beef spare ribs? My grocery store had a special, but I have no idea what to do with them. Ribsy Heather says: I will not get into a semantical argument about what constitutes BBQ as there are die-hard loyalists in every corner of the country …
Dear Home Ec 101: If you had a big jarful of fortune cookies left over from Chinese takeout, what would you do with them? Signed, ~ Fortunate One Heather says: Caution: Opening too many fortune cookies at once may be seriously harmful to your future. I was stumped for a moment. Leftover fortune cookies, how …
Dear Home Ec 101: I know Kathy T usually sends you stupid questions, but I have a few for you, too. 1. What does salt do? I used to feel snottily superior about leaving it out of all my recipes, trying to be healthy, but realized that didn’t work when I tried to bake bread. …
Dear Home Ec 101: My dishwasher just isn’t doing as great a job anymore. I haven’t changed anything: same soap, I scrape the plates, I still use a rinsing agent. What could be going on? Signed, My Dishwasher is a Dud Heather says: Did you know your dishwasher requires regular maintenance to provide consistently clean …
Dear Home Ec 101:My husband and I both grew up in homes where the father worked, and the mother largely stayed home and attended to all of the household duties. We both work and sometimes have a hard time agreeing on who should be doing which chores, how often, and how well. I tend to …
Ivy says: Ah, the urban legend. We got an email from a reader concerning an email forward that has been floating around for awhile. It reads like most urban legend stories, a warning about the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser and a similar product by ScotchBrite. Our reader figured the story was untrue, and writes that …
Dear Home Ec 101: I recently purchased some used (softside, Samsonite) luggage, which it like new, but has apparently been stored in a closet. It is dusty and I’d like to know the best way to clean it. ~ It’s in the Bag Heather says: I checked the manufacturer’s website and mild soap and water …
Dear Home Ec 101, What can I put in the crock pot with some chicken breasts? I’m not wanting to dump a hunk of cream of salt and fat, Ummmm I mean cream of chicken in on top. other suggestions for something a bit different. ~Starving in Stirling Heather says: Who am I to knock …
Heather says: In recent days I have received the hysterical dairy rBST hormone e-mail at least five times in three separate forums. The e-mail claims to be verified by Snopes.com and goes on to recount the horrific plight of a young girl. In each forum there was a massive hue and cry of, “Oh …
Dear Home Ec 101: Please solve an argument between my husband and myself! When heating up the oven, I don’t wait for the required temp to reached before putting the food in, but do give extra time in case it wasn’t quite hot enough. My husband says that you have to wait until the temp …