Ask Happy Homemaker! (page 29)

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ROMANO CHEESE

A hard Italian cheese, Romano is one of the oldest Italian cheeses. It is made by a special method, known as "rummaging curd"; or draining the curd quickly after molding, then piercing the surfaces slightly before salt is applied. There are several different styles of Romano, all of which take their name form the city of Rome. The best known is the sharp, tangy pecorino Romano, made with sheep's milk. Caprino Romano is an extremely sharp goat's milk version; and vacchino Romano is a very mild cow's milk cheese. Most U.S. Romanos are made of cow's milk or a combination of cow, goat or sheep's milk.

Ethnicity: Italian Ingredient

Season: available year-round

How to select: Domestic Romanos aren't as well-regarded as Italian Romanos.

How to store: Romano cheese can be frozen if it's first cut into small (1/2 pound) chunks, and wrapped in an airtight package. Thaw in the refrigerator, and use it up soon after it's thawed.

Substitutions: Parmesan (not as salty) OR aged Asiago (sharper) OR Sap Sago OR Manchego OR nutritional yeast (This substitution works best if recipe calls for cheese to be sprinkled over a dish. Nutritional yeast is low in fat, high in protein and B vitamins, and it's not made with any animal products.) OR a soy-based cheese substitute.

http://www.recipezaar.com/library/getentry.zsp?id=496

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Dear Happy Homemaker,

I have no money for home decorating but really need to put up some curtains in my new apartment. Besides the matter of privacy, I can't stand the stark look of the place. What can I do on a dollar-less budget? The rooms are very small, if that should figure in with your advice.

By the way, I don't have a sewing machine.

Many thanks,

Harriet

Dear Harriet,

Well, Harriet, it's curtains for you!

Stitch Witchery is a polyamide fusible web that permanently bonds two layers of fabric together.

http://www.dritz.com/askus/faq/faq_07.php

Go through all your linens - table cloths, flat bed sheets, etc. - and determine which can be recycled into new curtains. If not, go to a thrift store, where you likely will find oodles of such linens or scraps of fabric for the price of a song. I recommend, given the smallness of your rooms, that you seek out fabric that is non-patterned. Better yet, as close as possible to the color of your walls. The latter will permit a look of continuity and create a sense of flow in your respective rooms.

Once the materials are chosen, split, let's say a flat bed sheet, up its length. Using stitch witch tape [per instructions provided on package], close up the ripped and bleeding rent in fabric. Locate the larger of the two seams found at sheet's end and open up the ends of the pocket. This sleeve will serve at the top, through which your curtain rod will glide seamlessly.

Curtain rod: find an old piece of PVC pipe or any length of comparable tubing or wooden pole. Cut to size, making sure, naturellement, that the overage permitted allows for hanging two supports beyond the upper window frame's width [a given, it should go without saying]. Spray paint the rod the color of the wall. Important to minimize visual chaos. Install hardware - hooks, wall hangers, whatever - securely.

Slip two panels onto rod, assuring that the original, factory vertical seams are meeting in the center [stitch-witched seams are best hidden at window's sides, where they can be tucked under and around. Incidentally, don't forget, while the iron's out and hot and piping, to pass it over the length of the panels to render them smooth.

Voila!

With a lovely set of curtains hanging at your open windows, a nice stiff breeze can readily have you and yours four sheets to the wind. Or whatever number you prefer!

Hope this helps!

Happy Homemaker!

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Everyone wants to make their windows stand out and look beautiful both on the inside and outside. Unfortunately curtains can be very costly, especially if you have a lot of windows to cover. Window covers are a personal taste that expresses your preference. For example, if you like a lot of window exposed you may choose only a valance around the top. If you want more privacy you may choose two panels that can be closed easily when you want to. Because of the need to cover all the windows in your home you may appreciate finding cheap curtains.

http://ezinearticles.com/?Cheap-Curtains---Window-Coverings-On-A-Tight-Budget&id=1083511

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Dear Happy Homemaker,

My bottoms are so old and sagging but I can't afford new ones. This is about my four cane chairs. The cane is in otherwise good repair. Is there a solution that costs next to nothing?

I appreciate your help.

Chaz Chaise

Dear Chaz,

Yes, yes! There is a solution and it's one quart hot water plus 1/2 cup baking soda. Simply soak two cloths in this cheap and effective solution and set one drenched rag upon the surface of the cane while saturating the underside with the other. Mop up excess dampness with dry toweling. Place your four chairs in brilliant sunshine and watch your bottoms tighten up!

Hope this helps!

Happy Homemaker!

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Dear Happy Homemaker,

I live in a very old house whose entire interior is done up in oil-base paints containing lead. While keeping an adequate supply of old-growth trees available for my bevy of beavers (housebroken), still, I am concerned that they might go after my painted cornices and become dizzy or die an excruciatingly painful death.

How do I get the lead out?

Thank you,

Adela Birch

Dear Ms. Birch,

Are your rodents literate? Post this warning sign: THE SURGEON GENERAL HAS DETERMINED THAT GNAWING LEAD-CONTAINING PAINTED SURFACES MAY RESULT IN DIZZINESS OR AN EXCRUCIATINGLY PAINFUL DEATH. I've seen this signage at the local 5 & 10 cent store. If your naughty gnawers do not read English, go online and find the equivalent in an appropriate tongue.

It is imperative that you protect yourself against potential litigation.

May all your waters be dammed!

Hope this helps!

Happy Homemaker!

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Happy Homemaker....

You don't like Mrs. Birch's beaver too much do you?

I don't think your advice was at all helpful.

Jacque Kauf

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When I cut the cheese, hard edges can mean knife slippage and guillotined digits .

Dear Happy Homemaker:

I have no problem cutting the cheese; rather, my dilemma is what sort of fanfare should accompany this?

I am hoping you might have a unique flambe recipe as I do so love culinary drama.

Thank you in advance.

Raven Madd

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Salutations Messrs. Kauf et Madd:

Our Happy Homemaker was doing research on the development and evolution of hard cheeses in the caves of the Caucasus Mountains when the community was hit by a 8.9 temblor. It is reported that a tectonic plate collision of the Arabian plate with a costly set of Limoges Porcelain has given rise to considerable consternation in the 'hood, not to mention a degree of palpable distress among decorators of the Occident, who feel strongly that this brouhaha could very well have its denouement in a cataclysmal clash with the so-called Orient.

There is no accounting for taste, even among genus Castor.

Needless to say, HH is overseas acting as both advisor and peace-maker.

He shall reply to your thoughtful inquiries asap.

With undue sincerity,

Staff

cameo-d

Dear Staff:

"It is reported that a tectonic plate collision of the Arabian plate with a costly set of Limoges Porcelain has given rise to ..."

Well that certainly explains why flying saucers have been sighted over Japan this evening!

YT,

One of the Messers

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Dear Happy Homemaker,

I just found out my friend had a birthday....and I didn't know in time.

It's going to be a belated birthday. What should I do?

Should I just be really late and wait till the bakery cakes go on sale this week-end?

Or should I just throw a mix in the oven and make a dump cake?

Or should I use some of the cheese I have already cut and make it a cheesecake?

Thank you.

Ask Happy Homemaker!

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