Do you have any suggestions for serving strawberries?
Chefshar, via e-mail
Sometimes the best way to celebrate strawberries is with a simple recipe that lets the fruit speak for itself. Here’s an easy technique for turning them into a juicy compote that’s delicious over ice cream or cake:
Hull and slice 2 cups strawberries. Mix in 2 tablespoons each of sugar and lemon juice. Cover and let macerate at room temperature for 1 hour.
For a special occasion, you might try these strawberry Napoleons:
Strawberry Napoleons
1package (171/4 ounces) frozen puff pastry, thawed
1/2cup plus 2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
1/2cup heavy cream
1/2cup creme fraiche
1vanilla bean, halved lengthwise, seeds scraped and reserved
2pints strawberries, preferably Alpine
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Unfold puff pastry and place on two baking sheets. Bake until dough has puffed but is still soft and not yet browned, 7 to 10 minutes.
Set a wire rack on top of the dough; press gently to flatten to about 1/8 inch. Bake until lightly browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool on a clean wire rack.
Transfer pastry to cutting board. Raise oven temperature to 475 degrees. Using a serrated knife, carefully cut pastry into 18 2-inch by 3-inch rectangles. Evenly dust rectangles with 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar. Return rectangles to baking sheet, and bake until pastry is browned and sugar forms a glaze, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to rack; let cool.
Put heavy cream and creme fraiche in a medium mixing bowl. Add vanilla seeds and remaining 2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar; whisk until stiff.
Transfer whipped-cream mixture to a disposable pastry bag. Cut 1/2 inch from tip of the bag. Pipe a 1/4-inch-thick layer of whipped-cream mixture over 12 pastry rectangles. Top with a single layer of berries.
Stack six filled pastries, face up, on top of the other six. Top each stack with one of the remaining plain pastries.
We have moths in our attic. Is there anything I can use – besides mothballs – to kill moths and prevent them from eating our clothes?
Bluffton1, via e-mail
If you see moths in your house, they are probably pantry pests (the type that infests flour and grains), not clothes moths. You won’t likely see clothes moths (they shun bright light), but if you’ve found holes in clothing, you know you have a problem.
Adult moths won’t do any harm. Damage to woolens is actually done by the larvae of two types of insects: clothes moths and carpet beetles. With moth larvae, you may find silky webbing or cigarlike cocoons. Carpet beetle larvae (more prevalent than moths in most of the country) leave dried skins that look like rice grains.
Natural products
You’re right to be wary of mothballs (and moth crystals). Though they can thwart infestations, they do have some drawbacks. Both products contain pesticides that can be harmful to people and pets. So you’re probably better off without them.
Natural products, such as cedar and lavender, however, have varying levels of effectiveness. The dark-colored heartwood of red cedar contains natural oils that kill clothes-moth larvae, but this alone won’t protect clothing. It’s not effective against carpet beetles and, with moths, it kills only young larvae, not older ones or eggs. The effect also fades as the scent does.
You can replenish the scent of boards, closets and chests by sanding the wood lightly or dabbing on cedar oil, but there’s no way to know if you’ve added enough.
Using lavender to repel clothes moths is an old homemaker’s trick. Sachets filled with the dried plant (or laced with its oil) and suspended in your closet or tucked into drawers are said to protect woolens. Lavender will not, however, kill moth eggs or larvae.
Cleaning up
The truth is, nothing discourages clothes moths and carpet beetles more than keeping things clean and storing clothing correctly. Weekly use of the vacuum and general good housekeeping go a long way toward keeping pests at bay. If you clean often, you may remove them without even knowing it. Vacuuming also removes moth eggs and larvae from carpets before they hatch.
If furniture is infested, you might need an exterminator.
Smart storage
When storing clothing, resealable plastic bags and plastic boxes are best for keeping pests out. (If you’ll be storing items for years, take care, as some plastics may degrade fabric over time.) To protect items from condensation, wrap them in clean cotton before you store them.
Questions should be addressed to Living, care of The New York Times Syndication Sales Corp., 609 Greenwich St., Sixth Floor, New York, N.Y. 10014-3610 or e-mail living@nytimes.com.
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