Celebrate celery!
Dear Readers: Celery is a delicious, light and crisp vegetable. Perfectly boat-shaped to hold peanut butter, cream cheese or cottage cheese for a snack, it’s also a staple of stir-fry, salads and soups, and makes a perfect palate cleanser for chicken wings, and, of course, a garnish for a bloody mary.
Related to parsley, celery will stay fresh in a plastic bag for a week in the refrigerator. Wash the stalk to remove dirt, and cut off the leaves and whitish root. Save the leaves for soup stock.
A serving of celery (two stalks) has a mere 15 calories, no fat and about 2 grams of fiber. Enjoy! — Heloise
COUPON CLUES
Hi, Heloise: I started couponing because there was “too much month at the end of the money.”
ANYONE can coupon, in any space and in any budget. The key is to buy what you are able to use and store within a reasonable amount of time.
Another key point with couponing is that sales come in cycles. All of these deals will come back again. — Katie, via email
MAXIMUM STACKING
Dear Heloise: I’m an avid reader, and I have lots of books. (I never really got on board with the whole electronic-reader craze.) I store my books on a wall unit I had built, but I store them horizontally rather than vertically. This makes reading the titles on the dust jackets easier. — Harris B. in Indianapolis
PHONE NOTE
Dear Heloise: Since cellphones have to be unlocked, having emergency info stored there might not be of much help if something happened.
I taped onto the back of my phone a small note that says, “In an emergency or if this phone is found call: xxx.xxx.xxxx.” — Jacqueline H., via email
CASE MANAGER
Dear Heloise: Whenever I change the bed linens, I put TWO pillowcases on each pillow. After a few days, I simply remove the outer pillowcase to expose the clean pillowcase underneath.
This is a quick and easy way to “freshen” the bedding without changing everything. — Laurie L., Costa Mesa, Calif.
TEA PEEVE
Dear Heloise: Here is a pet peeve of mine: Why don’t restaurants, of any kind, have decaf tea on the menu? Some do have it, but many do not. They would never think about not having decaf coffee any time of the day or night.
Some of us do not drink coffee at all, only tea, and would prefer decaf after 5 or 6 in the evening, just as many people prefer/require decaf coffee in the evening. Just a thought! — Donna C., via email
It may be available; ask your server. — Heloise
CLEAN SHEETS
Dear Heloise: I have an easy fix for cookie sheets with baked-on grease: Spray with oven cleaner! Let it sit for a few hours and clean with a scouring pad. Good as new! — Carole W., via email
Send a money-saving or timesaving hint to Heloise, P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, TX 78279-5000, or you can fax it to 1-210-HELOISE or email it to Heloise@Heloise.com. I can’t answer your letter personally but will use the best hints received in my column.