Sometimes, when my column is a little of this and a little of that, I call it Elliott Stew after my Cousin Elliot.
He’d come visit and take over my kitchen, tossing everything in the refrigerator into a pot and serving whatever resulted for supper. We called it Elliott Stew.
But sometimes I call the cheapos e-mail love letters from friends. Just to be thought of makes a love letter, even if I am part of a long e-mail address list.
And that’s what this is — a love letter from Claude Aldridge, an old friend who was manager of the Plaza until he retired last June and — at 80 — learned to use computers. And loves it!
“Geneva says she recognizes me now by the back of my head,” he says.
He wrote their daughter, Carol, the story of her birth, and she loved that. So he’s written more than 20 other family stories to their daughters.
He browses the Internet and sends what he finds to whoever might be interested — and that’s how I got these “Household Tips — Things Your Mother Probably Told You But You Weren’t Listening.”
Read on — and enjoy:
- Stuff a miniature marshmallow in the bottom of a sugar cone to prevent ice cream drips.
- Squeeze your pancake batter onto the hot griddle with a meat baster. Perfectly shaped pancakes every time.
- Put an apple in your bag of potatoes to keep the potatoes from budding.
- Add a pinch of salt to the water when you hard boil eggs and the shells won’t crack.
- Get more juice from lemons by bringing them to room temperature and rolling them under your palm against the kitchen counter before you squeeze.
- Remove burnt food from your skillet by adding a drop or two of dishwasher soap and enough water to cover the bottom of the pan, and bringing it to a boil on the stove.
- Spray your plastic containers with non-stick cooking spray before pouring in tomato-based sauces, and there won’t be any stains.
- Too much salt? Drop in a peeled potato for an instant fix. It will absorb the extra salt.
- Wrap celery in aluminum foil when you refrigerate it. It will keep for weeks.
- Brush beaten egg white on pie crust before baking for a beautiful glossy finish.
- Place a slice of apple in hardened brown sugar to soften it.
- Got a headache?Cut a lime in half and rub it on your forehead. The throbbing will go away.
- Freeze leftover wine into ice cubes to use in casseroles and sauces.
- Rub a slice of raw potato on your finger and rinse to remove food stains.
- Rub itchy mosquito bite with soap. Instant relief.
- Got a splinter? Cover it with Scotch tape and pull off. That will remove most splinters painlessly and easily.
- Drop two Alka-Seltzer tablets into the toilet bowl, wait 20 minutes, brush and flush. Two more will clean a glass vase or thermos bottle. To polish jewelry, drop two in a glass of water, add jewelry. Add three to a clogged drain, then a cup of white vinegar. Wait a few minutes and run the hot water. It’s all magic!
Rose Post