A USEFUL FOOD.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIV, Issue 30, 6 February 1933, Page 10

A USEFUL FOOD.

THE HOMELY POTATO.

11l these days of chronic depression when the housekeeping allowance seems to get leaner and leaner, no housewife can afford to overlook anything that i& cheap. So she cannot afford to overlook the potato—that staff of the dinner, luiicheon or even breakfast table, when the left overs can be fried and tucked inside a rasher of bacon. Besides its cheapness, much of the popularity of the potato ifi due to its good keeping power and its unobtrusive flavour. Those who would be slim shun it as a flesh former, but it is only when fat or butter is added that it does this. So for children who» need fleshy (and don't mind it), mothers are _ wise to add fat of some kind to the dish. The Irish, who live on potatoes, add buttermilk to supply any lacking quality, and then liavo a very stable food. For good health (at little cost) the potato is important. It can be served regularly and does not pall even when it appears meal after meal in its boiled state. But to relieve the monotony for those who pride themselves on their palate, the wist* housewife will serve them as attractively as possible. If it were necessary for potatoes to be the only vegetable for a succession of meals, it would not matter (and family tempers would be preserved) if they were made appetising by their variety. There is nothing, quite so dull as a badly-boiled old potato that is losing its epidermis, as it were, in large soggy flakes. So to prevent this, here is a good easy recipe that Will please. It seems ridiculous to tell people how to serve mashed potatoes, but the unappetising splodges that we have all eyed and turned aside at some time or another, warrant it. Maelied Potatoes. —When the potatoes are boiled, strain them well and break up with a masher or fork, adding a lump of butter the size of a walnut. Add a little milk. Just before serving whip in a teaspoonful of baking powder to make them fluffy. An onion very finely chopped is a savoury change, and chopped parsley can make yet another change and a garnishing. Stuffed Potatoes.—Scrub the skins of good-sized potatoes and bake until tender in their jackets. Cut off the top and scoop out centre, and beat the potato thoroughly with butter or dripping, pepper, salt, 'chopped celery or cooked beetroot. Put back into potato skin and grate very thickly over the top some savoury cheese. Bake in oven' until hot. The filling can be any cold scraps added to the mashed potato. DIXIELAND. There was a very large attendance at the novelty night held at Dixieland Cabaret on Saturday evening. Special novelty numbers by the Dixieland Band were greatly appreciated by the many dancers. Shaded lights made the cabaret most attractive and the charm was added to by the cool breezes which wafted in through the large windows at the far end of the room.