Q: Whenever I use baking soda, my eyes always fall guiltily on the packaging, which tells me that I should buy a new box every month. As much as I bake, there's no way I could go through an entire box of baking soda in a month, so it seems wasteful to follow their instructions unless there's a real reason. 

Q: I recently fell in love with making my own kimchi, which uses a tablespoon of salted shrimp in each batch. While I now have a lot of amazing kimchi, I also have a jar of salted shrimp in my fridge. It's something that I want to use, but I have no clue where to start. Help!

Sent by Amy

Q: I recently had some delicious shishito peppers at a restaurant and I want to try and make some myself. Does anyone have ideas about how to prepare them? Or suggestions for what they might go well with?

Sent by Madeleine

Q: Since my husband and I discovered Fresh & Easy we have been overjoyed to have an easy place to get British back bacon. (He is English, and I lived in England for several years.) Well, Fresh & Easy is in the process of closing up shop. 

Q: I recently purchased Indian black salt (kala namak) to use in some vegan breakfast recipes as a replacement for eggy taste. I have a lot of this unusual salt, and I would love to use it more often. Do your readers have any suggested recipes? I'm not vegan, so I'm open to any type of recipe.

Q: I'm pregnant and probably the thing I miss most is my occasional glass of bourbon! I have other beverages so I don't feel too left out, but I really miss that smokey, rich, slightly sweet taste of bourbon. I know nothing will be the same, but I've been trying to think of a beverage or "mocktail" that might give a similar experience. Any ideas?

Sent by Jen

Q: I bought an inexpensive heel steak from a Mexican market labeled "carne para asar." It is sliced very thin and doesn't seem like a traditional roast. What is heel steak commonly used for and how can I cook it?

Sent by Amy

Q: Excited to try cooking gluten-free, I recently bought coconut flour. In the past I've substituted almond meal or flour for all-purpose flour in a 1:1 ratio with great success. However, when I researched coconut flour I read that it is really absorbent and difficult to bake with. 

Q: I have recently developed a sensitivity to chocolate. It's not a serious allergy, but the symptoms are just bad enough to be seriously annoying. My mother has the same sensitivity and her solution is 'don't eat chocolate.' This is highly logical advice that I am finding near impossible to follow! 

Q: Help! I have a bottle of Campari that is gathering dust, and I would like some ideas for incorporating that into more recipes, especially into food. I am exhausted after countless Campari-sodas and Negronis.

Sent by Angela