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Show Dear Vi: If you love dried beans, as we do, but hesitate to have them often because be-cause of their gaseous effect, try this: Cover them with water with a teaspoon of baking soda added. Boil at least five minutes (The beans may change color.) Let them set about an hour, then drain, rinse, add fresh water and cook until tender. I'm learning new ways to use soda all the time, many from your column, Vi. Have you tried it on a sticky iron? Use it dry as you would scouring powder on a warm iron. I prefer soda to scouring powder pow-der for many chores: to remove the greasy film that collects on cupboards cup-boards and shelves; to de-stain plastic dinnerware; to scour glass oven doors, clean and deodorize the refrigerator, etc. DcAnn Whitney San Diego, Calif. About the beans: Don't add salt to the water in which they are boiled or they may never cook to tender goodness. If you have a pressure cooker, do use that. They'll be tender in a half hour or less, depending de-pending on the type. We should use beans often. They're so cheap, versatile, and nutritious. Have you tried combining them with rice? Cook separately. Add onions, bits of bacon or ham, and seasonings of your choice. Both will take on an entirely different character. Dear Vi: Our dog "owns" the back seat of our car, so I was glad to discover that those gloves with plastic drizzled driz-zled over them (mine are orange) wisk off even embedded hair better than the special tools that look like a squeegee. When our ironstone dinnerware pieces, especially the coffee cups, get stained, I put them in a sink full of water with a cup of chlorine bleach (also the sponge and dishcloth) and in 15 minutes or so everything is clean and sanitized. Ugly slime and stains will rinse off your dish mat if you pour about a half cup of vinegar on it and let it set overnight. We live at a high altitude and baking is making me crazy! Is there a booklet you can recommend for altering my recipes? My cookies look like cow patties. If you use any of these ideas, I'd like your "Kitchen Tricks" booklet. Nancy Marsh Panguitch, Utah You need to add more flour to your cookie recipe, Nancy. The directions di-rections on most cake mixes, for example, tell you to add three tablespoons of flour for altitudes over 3500 feet. According to my cookbook, you can also get special recipes for high altitudes from the Stale Extension Office, the Home Service Department of your utility company, or Colorado State University, Uni-versity, at Fort Collins, Colo. Thought for the day: People used to solve their problems quietly over a drink and a cigarette. Now that's their problem. Readers: Thanks to all of you who have shared your good ideas with us, and for those who haven't, why not jot yours down today and mail it to It Makes Cents, 328 South 300 East, St. George, Utah, 84770. $2 or a copy of "Kitchen Tricks," if your letter is used here. . If you would like a copy of this booklet full of time- and money-saving money-saving ideas, send $2.49 plus $1 for postage and handling to the above address. |