Here are some great tips from readers:

For crunchier coleslaw, cut a cabbage in half and soak it in salted water for an hour. Drain well and use.

If cookie dough gets gluey, resist the impulse to add extra flour – doing so will make your cookies tough. Instead, cool the dough in the fridge until it becomes firm, or roll it out between 2 pieces of waxed or parchment paper.

Pat Clement sent in this helpful tip:

I was burned with hot butter over most of my hand. I immediately cut a russet potato in slices, placed them over the burn and wrapped my hand with a kitchen towel. The starch in the potato stopped most of the blistering and eased the pain.

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Reena’s Tips of the Week:

There are a number of options to freezing garlic:

1. Peel and chop cloves or leave them whole. Pack them into suitable containers, seal, label and freeze. Grate or break off pieces to use as needed.

2. Leave head unpeeled. Pack in suitable containers, seal, label and freeze. Peel off cloves as needed.

3. Peel and chop cloves or leave them whole. Lay them in a single layer on a cookie sheet and freeze. Transfer frozen garlic to suitable container, seal, label and freeze.

4. Garlic in Oil: This method preserves the flavour of garlic the best. However, it needs to be used immediately when removed from freezer. It should not be stored in the refrigerator (for more than one week) or at room temperature where it can support the growth of Clostridium Botulinum. To prepare, peel cloves. Make a puree with oil in a food processor (1 part garlic to 2 parts oil). Pack in suitable containers, seal, label and store in freezer. Puree will stay soft enough to scoop out as needed for sautéing. You can also leave cloves whole and pour oil over them instead of creating a puree. Read the rest of this entry »

Reena’s Tips of the Week:

• A great way to recycle egg shells is to put them in the bottom of plant pots as a substitute for rocks. Egg shells are much lighter than stones and carry plenty of nutrients for plants

• Position crushed egg shells on the ground surface of new plant stems such as peppers, tomatoes, broccoli, cabbage. Doing this deters slugs and cutworms

• Lastly, instead of throwing out egg shells, lay them in the soil near tomatoes. Calcium is great for tomatoes; the extra calcium helps prevent blossom end rot

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Hair conditioner can do a lot more than rescue your hair from a tangled mess, and if there’s one person who can find multiple uses for this inexpensive household item, it’s Reena Nerbas. Click on for this week’s tips! Read the rest of this entry »

Reena’s Finger-Lickin’ Good Tips of the Week!

Juice from canned peaches, apricots or pears may be mixed with melted butter and lemon juice and used as a yummy baste for broiled chicken.

The most important factors contributing to perfectly fried chicken are the temperature of the oil and the actual step of frying. Vegetable shortening, lard, and peanut oil are all popular frying mediums as they have a high smoke point.

To get truly golden-brown and crispy chicken, you’ll need a cast iron skillet, which cannot be beat when it comes to even heat distribution and temperature maintenance.

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Reena’s Tips of the Week:

Sure, everyone knows that olive oil is great for the heart. And yes, it even possesses some inhibiting properties for certain cancers. But if you think its health benefits stop there, then you have to click on to see what else this Mediterranean liquid wonder can do.

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Reena’s Tips of the Week:

With bikini season looming, who isn’t trying to shed those extra pounds before everyone starts baring skin! To that end, Reena’s got a couple of belly trimming tips.

Substitute up to one-third of the total butter or oil in a cookie or cake recipe (light-coloured batters) with apple sauce, pureed pumpkin or sweet potato. And if you’re making a chocolate dessert, substitute with pureed prunes.

Substitute the mayonnaise in tuna, egg, pasta and chicken salads with pureed, seasoned tofu or plain low-fat yogurt, and seasonings. Keep in mind that although you may cringe at the thought of tofu, it really has no flavour of its own and picks up the flavour of whatever you add it to.

The difference in taste will be negligible if you apply these simple substitution solutions, but your party guests will sure see the difference in how those short shorts fit on you!

Taste is everything, so to punch up your dishes, toast your nuts to enhance their flavour: Bake them at 350°F in a shallow pan, stirring occasionally for 10 minutes. And for spices and seeds, briefly toast them in a hot skillet and stir until fragrant. They make great additions to salads and casseroles.

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Reena has some of the best solutions for your everyday household problems, but so do her readers! This week, we’re featuring two:

Yesterday, my daughter got gum in her hair, and I was dreading the ‘peanut butter’ treatment! Rather than use ice, or cut her hair, I took the section of hair that was full of gum and put a paper towel behind it, then sprayed it thoroughly with Pam cooking spray. I let it sit for a couple of minutes and was able to comb all of the gum out. A quick hair shampoo, and problem solved! The paper towel was used to help catch the spray from soaking into the rest of her hair. Take care, Tina.

Was interested in your column about using leftover rice. Sometimes I make rice pudding – place rice in bowl, add 1-2 cups of low fat Cool Whip, rinse half to 1 cup of raisins and add about 2-3 tsp of cinnamon. Mix well and cool in fridge until needed. It is delicious. This recipe would be good for about 2 cups of rice. Love your books and always read your column! Gail.

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Reena’s Tips of the Week:

Do you ever have trouble telling whether the eggs in your fridge are raw or hard-boiled? There’s a very simple test you can do to find out.

Because blinds are such a pain to clean, most of us just ignore it. At some point though, the layer of dust becomes so thick it’s just unhealthy. We can’t promise an easy (or less time-consuming) solution, but we do have a tip that’ll help keep the dust from gathering on your blinds.

And for our final tip of the week, we are addressing a reader’s question:

Hi! I have a trailer in Florida and have a big problem with musty smells. It’s mostly inside closets, drawers, and cupboards. As long as I have windows opened and all cupboard doors closed I can’t smell it. I tried many things – even varnished the inside of the cupboards – but the smell is still there. I heard of Ozone machines. I asked about it and they say I would have to be out of the building for at least 24 hours or more. And it’s costly. Do you know if this works? I really hate this musty smell. It goes into clothes and everything. I would appreciate your help.

Thank you so much, Denise.

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Reena’s Tips of the Week:

Freshly baked home-made cookies anytime. There’s a healthier alternative to the dough boy’s usual offerings.

Notice how you always get too much rice when you order Chinese takeout? We’ll tell you why you should keep it!

While we’re on the subject of not letting food go to waste, there’s also a great way of using that pizza crust that everyone leaves behind. Read the rest of this entry »