Heloise

Dear Heloise: As a child, I watched all of the effort, and egg whites, that it took my mom to make her beautiful angel food cake. She baked it, then would grab a glass soda bottle to invert the pan onto while it cooled. Note: She let it cool, sliced it in half, filled the layer and the entire cake with chocolate-chip-flavored cream, and then put it in the fridge. It was wonderful.

Today, a packaged angel food cake mix can be mixed in 2 minutes and bakes beautifully, but it still has to be inverted as soon as it is taken out of the oven, and then cooled.

I take 4 soup spoons, lay them face-side-down on my cake dish at the degrees 12, 3, 6 and 9 would be on a clock, and then invert the angel food pan onto it. It works beautifully. Once it is cool, it is easy to loosen with a knife or spatula and release it from the pan. — Nancy Lukunich, Simi Valley, California

SLIP IN-AND-OUT OF CAR

Dear Heloise: I read in the Bradford Era about a hint to help an elderly mom in and out of the car using a satin fabric. Well, my helper is cheap and portable: a large slippery garbage bag.

Do not use the kind of bag that stretches, because you will not be able to pivot it to the front and side. I use one in my work van because I have fabric seats. I can easily get in another car and just tuck one in my purse if necessary. This makes trips to the doctor or trips to physical therapy after a surgery much easier. Hope this helps someone else. Love your column! — Marianne West, Kane, Pennsylvania

MICROWAVE HINT

Dear Heloise: One of your readers wrote that she used a coffee filter to cover foods to prevent a mess in the microwave. Great idea, and here’s another: We used the glass lid of a pyrex dish to heat our food. No muss, no fuss! — D.R., San Antonio

PREPARING LETTUCE

Dear Heloise: To prepare lettuce ahead, take a head of Romaine lettuce, wash it and remove the outer leaves an inch or two off the top. Make a long slit down one side of the leaves and another one down the other side. (Do not slice off any of the leaves.) Then, starting at the top, cut 1-inch slices down to the core. Take a clean dish cloth and put the cut-up Romaine in it. Roll the cloth up like a cinnamon roll and let it sit for five minutes or so. Lift the rolled-up towel, and keeping it closed, shake the lettuce out into a bowl or bag. The Romaine lettuce shakes out perfectly, and you’ve got cut up lettuce for several meals. — Sharon Waitman, Beaumont, California

PET PAL

Dear Heloise: My cat, Maui, always follows me when I walk my dog, Bagel. She loves to come with us. — Sheila Pollack, via email

Readers, to see Maui and Bagel, as well as our other Pet Pals, go to Heloise.com and click on “Pet of the Week.”

Do you have a furry friend to share with our readers? Send a photo and a brief description to Heloise@Heloise.com. — Heloise

Send a money-saving or timesaving hint to Heloise, P.O. Box 795001, San Antonio, TX 78279-5001, or you can fax it to 1-210-HELOISE or email it to Heloise@Heloise.com. I can’t answer your letter personally but will use the best hints received in my column.