HELOISE: Nancy's lucky to have old wooden rolling pin

Dear Heloise: Could you please tell me how to clean and sanitize an old wooden rolling pin? Nancy Null, Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio

Sure can, and how lucky if you inherit one! Wash and scrub in hot, sudsy water, rinse well and allow to dry completely. To sanitize, mix 1 tablespoon of unscented liquid chlorine bleach in a gallon of water and pour all over the area, or wrap the pin in a paper towel and soak with the solution. Let it sit for 15 minutes, then rinse and allow to air-dry. Heloise

Dear Heloise: Often you give recipes for simple, cheap and quick meals and dishes. I have never seen this one in your column. I use a mixture of frozen vegetables, such as peas, broccoli and cauliflower, and warm them in my microwave. Strain and top with some pasta or cheese sauce, and heat again in the microwave. Top with Parmesan cheese. You can add turkey meatballs if you would like. Donald Shirkey, Center Point, Texas

Sounds yummy, and here is another quick use for leftover veggies:

Dear Heloise: Leftover vegetables? No problem. I make a cup of white sauce, combine it with leftover green vegetables, put it in a casserole, top it with buttered cracker crumbs and bake until hot. Delicious money-saver, and it’s nutritious, too! Jeanette from Ohio

Dear Heloise: I enjoy reading your column in The (Amsterdam, N.Y.) Recorder. I read the hint for making coleslaw and putting the dressing in a zip-top bag. I used to use this hint but found it wasted a lot of the dressing. I now make it by putting 1/3 of the dressing in the bottom of the bowl, adding slaw, adding another 1/3 of the dressing, more slaw and finally the last 1/3 of the dressing and slaw. It mixes a lot easier this way, and in the days of not wanting to waste anything, I like this idea better! C.T., Amsterdam, N.Y.

Dear Heloise: I recently made a discovery that has dramatically extended the life of our steel-wool soap pads. In the past, I kept the used pads in a dish under the sink. Within a day or two, they were rusted and unusable. Now I put a used pad in a plastic sandwich bag and tuck it back into the box. I have been using the same pad for more than three weeks, and no rust. Mary Crane, via e-mail

Dear Heloise: As baby boomers start to retire, we are not interested in buying large lots for most of our groceries and supplies. A suggestion to all companies out there: Why not start a warehouse-type store of small-quantity sizes? With the airlines requiring 3.4 ounces or less, this seems like another good reason to specialize in small sizes. Bebe Hall in Texas

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