Dear Home-Ec 101, My husband is an engineer and sometimes likes to get dirty helping the techs repair his machine. Usually the grease spots on his jeans come out with Spray-n-Wash (sometimes I have to treat them twice) or it’s a pair of junk jeans and I don’t bother to worry about it. But he …
Dear Home-Ec 101, I need help cooking rice. I can’t do it-brown rice, white rice, minute rice, not-minute rice. I just can’t seem to get it to the right texture. Help me? Signed, Riceless in Reno Ivy says: Rice can be tough. I cannot begin to tell you how much rice I have messed up …
Dear Home Ec 101: What’s the best way to cook chicken if you are going to use it in chicken salad? The only ways I know how to cook it- baked, roasted, grilled- don’t seem right for that kind of use. Thanks! ~ Cluckin’ Clueless Heather says: I use each of the methods you list …
Dear Home-Ec 101, It seems that the birds are talking in my neighborhood….what’s the twittering about? “There’s a neighborhood swimming hole AND buffet.” Yup, it’s true, all the little birds are coming to my house to swim, bathe, and snack in the DOGS WATER DISH! Every day I have to swab the back deck with …
Dear Home Ec 101: Why is it lactose intolerant people can eat yogurt but not drink milk? Gassy in Gettysburg Heather says: Lactose is a sugar present in milk. To digest this, humans must have the enzyme lactase present in their system. People who are lactose intolerant can generally consume some lactose, the problem lies …
Dear Home Ec 101: I recently bought a Cuisinart ICE-20 ice cream maker. I’m lactose-intolerant and want to make my own non-dairy desserts. (I’m also planning to experiment with alternative sweeteners like agave, stevia and lo han.) Last night I made an amazingly delicious batch of peach frozen yogurt. Typically, yogurt can be tolerated by …
Dear Home Ec 101: Help! I’ve got funky stuff coming out of my jetted tub. I turned it on the other night and bits of black sludge ruined my bath. How do I clean out the jets? What is it, anyway? ~ Jetty Betty Heather says: Do you really want to know what that sludge …
Dear Home-Ec 101, Help! I need a system for bills. I need to get them paid on time and not lose them once they enter my home! Signed, In the dark Ivy says: Paying bills is a pain in the behind, but it’s even worse if you don’t have a good system. For years, there …
Dear Home Ec 101: I know there is a proper way to clean up after handling raw meat. Do you have the specifics? ~Sal Monella Heather says: Excellent question, my dear! Not many people realize that cleaning up after handling raw meat is a two step process. If you skip either you run the risk …
Dear Home-Ec 101, I’m gearing myself up to finally tackling the scary fridge. It hasn’t been cleaned since the dawn of refrigeration, so there’s a ton of ultra-scary-ew-nasty-what-is-that-gunk in the fridge. But, I don’t want to use any harsh chemicals, as I’m concerned about the smell/taste of it transferring over to the food once I’m …