DEAR HELOISE: Too often, I find a tiny speck of red in organic eggs, regardless of the brand I buy. Are these eggs safe to consume? This has been an issue with "regular" eggs, but with much less frequency. I discarded those eggs in the past.
-- Donna M.,
Fort Wayne, Ind.
DEAR READER: Donna, don't throw out those eggs. They are safe to eat. It doesn't matter if the eggs are regular, organic or even blue. That little speck is a blood spot (aka meat spot) and means the eggs are very fresh. Older eggs generally do not have a blood spot because there is more water in the yolk, which dissolves the spot.
DEAR HELOISE: Here is an easy method for making homemade croutons: After drying leftover hamburger buns or bread, use kitchen scissors and cut the dried bread into 1/2- to 3/4-inch strips, then into bite-size pieces.
-- M. Rose,
New Bremen, Ohio
DEAR READER: Why waste old bread when you can use it for delicious croutons, toppings or filler? Or just crumble up the bread to use in recipes, such as filler in meatloaf or to thicken a stew. For a different filler in meatloaf, try crushed pretzels, potato chips or crackers.
DEAR HELOISE: I often make cake using doctored-up cake-mix recipes. Most of the recipes I find use an 18.5-ounce box of cake mix. Most available cake mixes are 16.5 ounces.
I have a box of white cake mix in a sealed container. I use 2 ounces (or about 5 tablespoons) of this to add to such recipes. This has worked on recipes regardless of the cake-mix variety.
-- Beverly, via email
DEAR READER: Hmmm? I looked in my pantry and found three weights -- 16.5 ounces, 16 ounces and 15.25 ounces. It pays to look at the fine print. I've never had a problem using them in a recipe, but older recipes do state an 18.5-ounce cake mix.
DEAR HELOISE: Referring to the reader who had purchased a supply of canned goods for emergency use: The person missed the point of emergency storage. It should be used and restocked periodically. That way, the use-by dates will never be passed.
Donating to a charitable organization is a good thing, but using it before it goes out of date is better.
-- P.A.C., Southern Pines, N.C.
DEAR HELOISE: Regarding your article about draining meatloaf, I put the liquid in the refrigerator, skim off the solidified fat and use it in soups or to make gravy. It's too good to throw away.
-- Jane Scanlon,
Rochester, Minn.
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Food on 04/22/2015