Hints From Heloise

Dear Heloise: I love to cook. Because some of the things that I make are very sticky and messy, I put a wet towel next to where I cook. Whenever my hands get sticky I can just wipe them off.

Also, to speed up the cleaning process, after I’m finished with a certain item I put it right back. This saves a lot of time. - Kristin Shapiro, Dallas, Texas

Dear Heloise: I enjoy your column immensely! My hint involves not making a mess when attempting to add long pasta such as linguini or fettuccine to a pot of boiling water.

It seems that after I broke the pasta in half, lots of it would fall all over the floor. To prevent this, I now break the pasta in half in the same large bowl that I use to serve it in. Then, I just hold the bowl over the boiling water and slide the pasta in. It works great! - Teresa Orbach, Highland Park, N.J.