THE HOUSEHOLD.

Cromwell Argus, Volume XXVII, Issue 1362, 28 May 1895, Page 7

THE HOUSEHOLD.

Gooseberry CoitroTE. —into a stewpan with two ounces of bugar and a gill of syrup place a pint of green gooseberries, and cool, over a bii*~k. five, as they will keep the coif ii' better than if done slowly. Whec tender, but not broken, pour into a dish, and when cold they will be ready to serve. Ccrried Eggs—A Breakfast Dish.— Mince a small onion very fine; put a tablespoonful of butter into a hot frying-pan, and brown the onion in it; mix a leaspoonful of curry powder with half a cup of milk, pour into the pan, and let it boil until thick; break the eggs in carefully, and poach them in the mixture. A little lemon-juice may be squeezed over them before serving. Gooseberry Fritters.—Make a thick batter of six well-beaten eggs, three-quarters-of a pint of sweet milk (or cream), a tablespoonful of yeast, the same of orange-flower water, and a little grated nutmeg, mixed with as much flower as necessary. Mix with the batter some gooseberries which have been stewed till quite tender, chop it into boiling lard, and fry to a good colour Serve with sugar strewed over them. Bread and Parsley Fritters.—Pour boiling water on six ounces of bread, without crust, cover it up for an hour, and then beat it up with a fork until quite smooth ; add and mix thoroughly an ounce of finely chopped parsley, pepper, and salt to taste, and four eggs well beaten. Fry, in fritters, a nice brown, and serve with brown sauce To Crisp Parsley.—Pick and wash young curled parsley, dry it in a cloth, spread it on a sheet of clean paper in a Dutch oven before the fire, and turn it frequently till it is quite crisp. It may also be nicely crisped by spreading it on a dish before the fire, putting small pieces of butter upon it, and turning it frequently with a fork To Preserve Parsley for Winter Use : —ln the season take fresh-gathered sprigs, 1 pick and wash them clean ; set them on a stew-pan half-full of water ; put a little salt in it; boil, and skim it clean, and then put in the parsley, and let it boil for a couple of minutes and take it out and lay it on z. sieve before the fire, that it may be dried as quick as possible; put it by in a tin box, and keep it in a dry place ; when you want it lay it in a basin, and cover it with warm water a few minutes before you use it. Cheap Baking Powder.—Take of tartaric acid eight ounces, sodium bicarbonate sixteen ounces, starch sixteen ovnees, ammonium carbonate two'ounces. Powder the articles separately —with the exception of ammonium carbonate and dry each thoroughly ; then rub through a fine sieve until a uniform mixture is obtained, the ammonium carbonate being reduced to a hne. powder immediately before adding, ihe ammonium salt may also be left out; but its use favours the productions of a finer and whiter bread than can be obtained without it. To Fry Liver.—To fry liver nicely, cui it in nice slices a third of an inch thick, put them in a pan and pour boiling water over them ; they should remain in the water several minutes, until the blood is drawn out, then roll them in sifted flour, sprinkle salt and pepper over each side of eech slice, and fry until brown, in butter, parboil and chop line some onions, and when the livei is half done put the onions over it, let them fry until brown ; when done transfer to a hot dish, and make a brown gravy and pour over all. A very handsome dish can be made in this way. Vegetable-Marrow Marmalade.—Take a fine fleshy marrow and peel it, and take out all the seeds, cut in pieces about half an inch thick, and three or four inches long. Add half a pound of loaf sugar to every pound of marrow, with rind and juice of large lemon, and half an ounce bruised ginger (tied up in muslin bag). Let all stand together twelve hours, and then boil tbe juice and lemon rind and ginger for a short time, then add the solid marrow, and boil altogether for several hours, till tV>e liquid has become a thick syrup, and tbe marrow soft. The ginger may be tied up in a separate jar, and kept for flavouring apple puddings. To Preserve Green Peas.—Choose peas freshly gathered, and, in order to have them all of the same size, pass them through a fine riddle ; no small ones must be used. Fill champagne bottles with the peas, add one teaspoon ful of powdered sugar to each bottle; then cover the peas with salt arid water thick enough to float an egg ; cork and tie down firmly, taking care that there is one inch space Let ween the cork and water. Put some bay in the bottom of a fish-kettle, place the bottles on it, and pour in enough water to half-cover them ; let them boil once, then simmer for two hours. Let the bottles get cold in the water. When required for use, soak tbe peas in water, then boil in the usual way just to warm them. Nettle Beer.—Boil a good bunch of nettles, freshly gathered, in two and a half gallons of water for fifteen minutes ; strain tbe water from the nettles, and add two and a half pounds of loaf or moist sugar and two ounces of cream of tartar ; stir until the sugar and tartar dissolve. When just lukewarm, add two large tablespoonfuls of good brewer's yeast or half an ounee of German yeast, mixed smoothly in a cup with a little of the beer first; stir into the beer, and leave it twenty-four hours to ferment, covered with a board or cloth. At the end of the twenty-four hours skim every particle of yeast and scum off the top, pour the beer carefully from the sediment, and bottle it. The corks should be sound and soaked in boiling water ten minutes before being used. It is safer to tie the corks down with wire or string. The beer will be ready to drink in two days, and forms a cool, pleasant beverage. It is difficult to define the exact quantity of nettles to use; but, guessing roughly, about a hundred big stalks—with the leaves on, of course—would make a good bunch. | Gooseberry Champagne.—Select the berries when they are full grown, but not ripe. Pick them clean, and mash them without breaking the seeds. About six pounds of green gooseberries may be put to each gallon of water, adding also about three and a-half pounds of the best lump sugar. After the berries are bruised pour on the water, having first taken the chill off it, and then stir so as' to get the pulp, seeds, and skins well separated. After stirring, cover rip the whole of the stuff for about thirty hours, and then strain it carefully, squeezing out all that can be got out of the mass. Let the tub be large enough to contain the whole, add the sugar, and aid its melting by more stirring. Place the tub in a warm place, closely covered, to let the liquor ferment for a da) r or two ; then cask i it in clean barrels, and set them away so as to get out the scum, filling up as needed j with a portion of the must retained for the purpose. As soon as active" working or ferment has stopped, fill up again and bung tight, making a spile hole for vent. In four or five months rack the wine into clean casks, in which has been placed a taste of brandy ; set these aside for about five weeks, and then clear with a little isinglass it" required—half an ounce or so for every five gallons. A good deal of trouble must be t taken to ensure success, and there are many little things requisite which can only be (earned by experience. It is best not tp itteicpt a large brewing at first.