HELPFUL HINTS

By HELOISE

LITTLE ROCK — DEAR HELOISE: Save the tough or root ends of celery, asparagus, carrots, onions, turnips, etc., and put them in a freezer bag, then into the freezer. When needed, put any combination in boiling, salted water and simmer for 20 minutes.

It makes a wonderfully flavored broth to add to any dish or in whichto cook rice or pasta, or add to soups. None of the scraps goes to waste, and it's even more flavorful than the canned products you buy at the store. Use your imagination and make it in bulk.

- Cost Conscious in Katy, Texas DEAR READER: It's easy and cheap to make a base with little bits and pieces. A good homemade broth is a delicious, healthy and cheap way to enhance your favorite recipes and to "recycle" veggies that might otherwise wind up in the trash.

And did you know that adding a small amount of pureed carrots can give most soups a sweeter taste and cut the acidic flavor of tomatoes in spaghetti sauce?

DEAR HELOISE: Just by accident, we discovered that when you cook your frozen pizza in a toaster oven, it works well to use the toaster setting for the first three minutes, then finish off the remainder at the oven setting, giving the pizza a toasty finish on top and bottom.

- Bobbi Schott of Castroville, Texas

DEAR HELOISE: I had the ingredients to make cookies. However, I remembered that the spills on the bottom of my oven made a smell when heated. I thought, What would Heloise do?

So, I got a paper towel doubled and ran it under hot water, then poured white vinegar on the paper towel and laid it on the spill on the bottom of a cold oven. Twenty minutes later, the spill wiped up easily.

- Carolyn J. Moore, Valparaiso, Ind.

Send a money- or time-saving hint to Heloise, P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, Texas 78279-5000; fax to (210) 435-6473; or e-mail HELOISE@CompuServe.com

Family, Pages 39 on 03/11/2009