DEAR HELOISE: Some restaurants are quite generous with french fries. I take them home and "recycle" them by dicing and sauteing them in a bit of olive oil, adding seasonings such as herbs or cayenne.
Refrigerate the fries when you get home, and they will hold for several days, until you're ready to use them. It takes very little oil, and I saute them over medium heat until they are just getting nicely golden and crispy.
They've become one of my husband's favorite potato dishes. Mine, too, since it takes just a few minutes to dice and a few more minutes to prepare.
-- Marilyn G., Conway
DEAR READER: A good french fry is a sad morsel to waste. Saute some diced onions, throw in the diced fries and cook until just right for quick breakfast hash browns or what my family calls "sheepherder's potatoes." Sounds good for Sunday breakfast.
DEAR HELOISE: What is the best way to wash fruits and vegetables? Am I supposed to really wash them with soap and water?
-- Jim S. in Indiana
DEAR READER: No, you don't "wash" them with soap and water -- water is all you need. The Food and Drug Administration tells us not to use bleach, produce wash, soap or any detergent. Produce should be "washed" using running water while you rub the surface with your hand or a paper towel. Use a vegetable brush if washing potatoes, cantaloupes or other produce with hard skins.
DEAR HELOISE: Pitted olives are supposed to have no pits, but the pitting machines are not perfect. It really hurts to chomp down on an olive that you assume has no pit, only to discover that you're wrong.
When I add pitted olives to a salad or other dish, I cut them in half. This enables me to find any stray pits. It also disperses the olive flavor better.
-- Maureen A. in San Diego
DEAR HELOISE: A cool way to separate eggs is by using an empty water bottle. My kids turn the bottle upside down, squeeze, place the opening against the yolk and let go. The yolk is pulled up into the bottle. They then move the bottle and squeeze out the yolk. Fun and easy.
-- Jamie D., via email
DEAR HELOISE: Yep, this idea has been "floating" around the Internet for a while. The Heloise Central Test Team used a 16-ounce plastic bottle. It worked just fine, but do be sure that the bottle is clean.
DEAR HELOISE: We eat a lot of berries with breakfast. We replace the skimpy absorbent sheet that comes in the package with a folded paper towel. The berries stay fresher for much longer.
We also transfer berries to a larger container and spread them out, which helps retain their freshness. Transferring them makes it easier to pick out moldy or damaged fruit.
-- Stan and Linda
Carpenter in Florida
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Food on 12/17/2014