Seasoning mix allows you to cut back on salt

Dear Heloise: I lost the recipe for seasoning salt. Can you please tell me the mixture/ratio for paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, turmeric, sugar and cornstarch (some call for black pepper, coriander and sweet basil)? Appreciate your help. Shirley Russell, via e-mail

This often-asked-for salt substitute is flavorful and will help you cut back on salt and still be able to enjoy tasty foods, because it calls for powders rather than salts. You will need:

5 teaspoons onion powder

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon paprika

1 tablespoon dry mustard

1 teaspoon thyme

1‚Ñ2 teaspoon white pepper (can use black)

1‚Ñ2 teaspoon celery seeds

Mix all ingredients and store in a tightly covered, labeled container in a cool, dry place. Don’t store this, or any spices, above the stove. They’ll lose their zip. Would you like the recipe for Saltless Surprise, Pungent Salt Substitute or Spicy Saltless Seasoning? Just send $5 and a long, self-addressed, stamped (59 cents) envelope to Heloise/SSS, P.O. Box 795001, San Antonio, TX 78279-5001 for a copy of Heloise’s Seasonings, Sauces and Substitutes Pamphlet. You also will receive some favorite sauce recipes like Cilantro Sauce and Texas Sauce. Did you know that if you don’t have milk and need just a little for a particular recipe, you can use coffee creamer mixed with a little water? It will change the texture a little, but it will work in a pinch! Heloise

Dear Heloise: I recently used a pizza cutter in place of a knife to slice my skillet corn bread and was delighted with the way it cut, leaving no crumbling like a knife does. I also have tried it on bakery goods, and it seems to cut cleaner, leaving the products intact! Sandy Nicometo, The Villages, Fla.

Dear Heloise: I have been using paper towels for the usual tasks and have found a new way to help with soggy sandwiches and limp or bad lettuce.

To keep pre-made sandwiches from getting soggy, wrap them in a paper towel before placing them in any other wrap or container. This will not work if you place lettuce on the sandwich.

To keep any lettuce in the fridge for more than a week, wash the lettuce, either bagged or whole, spin-rinse in a lettuce spinner and then spread the lettuce out on a continuous long sheet of paper towel. Roll the paper towel up and place in a zipper-top bag, but do not close the bag completely.

I can keep lettuce for a couple of weeks or more. Lorraine Morin, Manchester, N.H.

Dear Heloise: I was always bothered by my hot cup of coffee cooling too soon because of the cold milk I had added to it, so I decided to first microwave the milk in my coffee cup for a few seconds before adding the freshly brewed coffee. It stays hot much longer now! Kara Stuhlmiller, Canton

SBlt Send a money-saving or timesaving hint to Heloise, P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, TX 78279-5000, or you can fax it to (210) HELOISE or e-mail it to Heloise@Heloise.com.

King Features Syndicate