HINTS FOR THE HOUSEWIFE

Dominion, Volume 19, Issue 254, 10 July 1926, Page 16

HINTS FOR THE HOUSEWIFE

HOME COOK

t SWEET SANDWICHES. Marzipan.—Work together a quarter of a cupful each of grout.d almonds and . powdered sugar, add a pinch of salt and , bind with a very small amount of beaten yolk of egg. Mix to a stiff paste, then > add enough thick cream to make the ■ right consistency for spreading. Place • between slices of thin white bread and butter and cut into fancy shapes. ' Mixed Fruit.—Well blend together a ' quarter of a cup each of finely chopped preserved ginger and small pieces of shelled walnuts, two tablespoons of finelysliced orange (without peel, pith, or pips), a tablespoon of ginger syrup, and a few grains of salt. Lay between slices of thin brown bread and butter and cut into fingers. Prunes and Walnuts.—Finely chop some prunes after removing stones, and mix with chopped walnut kernels, allowing three nuts to every six prunes. Moisten with a thin syrup made by boiling together equal quantities of sugar and water for five minutes and flavouring with lemon juice. Spread between thin slices of white bread and butter and cut into rounds with a vegetable-cutter. MAYONNAISE DRESSING. “Prahran” asks for a recipe for mayonnaise dressing, and also for a recipe for potato salad. The following recipe for dressing without oil will be found satisfactory. Melt 'a dessert-spoonful of butter iu a saucepan, add a dessert-spoonful of flour, mix well, and add gradually a cupful of milk, stirring well. Cook gently for five minutes, then remove from the fire and add a well-beaten egg. Heat again for a few minutes, season with pepper and salt, and then stand the sauce aside to get cold. Mix a dessert-spoonful of mustard and a table-spoonful of sugar carefully with a very little water. When the dressing is nearly cold stir into it the mustard mixture and enough vinegar to give it the desired tartness. The quantity used is a matter of taste. Strain and set in a cool place until needed. Mix the two' preparations gradually, 'tasting often until the mixture is palatable. . More vinegar may be added if I liked, as some people prefer it sharpier than others. The addition, just beI fore serving, of a little whipped cream is a great advantage. Potato Salad: Boil the pared potatoes until they are well cooked, but not broken Drain them well. Let them get quite cold, and then slice them into a salad bowl, adding a few spring onions or very thin slices of mature onions. Sonic people pref o’ - , instead of adding the onions, to rub the dish into which the potatoes are put with garlic. Make a good mayonnaise dressing and pour it over the salad. FRUIT AND SAVOURY. Savoury fritters made of kidney, brains, meat, fish—especially smoked—or cheese, are verv economical and appetising, and can be used also for hors d'oeuvre. Fruit fritters, served with a dusting of castor sugar, can bo made of almost any kind of fruit, so that there is scope for variety in size and shape.

DOMESTIC JOTTINGS

USES OF VINEGAR. Vinegar and hot water applied to any kind of bad bruise will give almost instant relief, and will take down the swelling. Vinegar and granulated sugar mixed will stop hiccoughs. Vinegar and water will clean anv kind of brassware if the latter is boiled in it. . . , , Two tablespoons of vinegar in a hot bath will take away stiffness. Vinegar and washing soda . poured down the sink occasionally will keep it fresh. Vinegar, diluted, will keep meat fresh hi muggy weather. Vinegar, made liot, will remove paint marks from glass. Use vinegar for a compress (liot or cold) for throat, arms, or ankles. Vinegar and bran make an excellent poultice for aches and bruises. Vinegar rubbed on discoloured steel makes it easy to clean and improves Vinegar, olive oil, and honey (or sugar) in equal parts make a good reliever for colds and whooping-cougn.

HOW TO WASH SHETLAND WOOL'. Make a good lather with shredded soap and boiling water, then add cold water until the lather is pleasantly warm to the hands. Put the shawl in, squeezing and kneading it, then immerse in a second lather of the same temperature. Continue squeezing and kneading, then rinse in clear, warm water. Squeeze out the water, wrap the shawl in an old towel, and beat with the hands to extract further moisture. Finally, pin out flat on a sheet to finish drying. TO WHITEN WOOD. Sometimes a wooden drain board at the sink, or a bread board, or a wooden potato masher, or some other articles of wood, becomes so discoloured that soan and water will not make it look really clean. In such a case, use one of the woven-wire polishers for polishing aluminium or the kind intended for scouring kettles. A handful of steel wool is equally effective, but is not so convenient to handle. Anv of these polishers can be procured at a hardware store, are inexpensive, and last indefinitely. With them anvthing made of wood can easily be kept as white and nice looking as. when new. Little rubbing is required. CUSHION' COVERS. Washable cushion covers can be made so that they are as easily lemovable as pillowslips. The material must lie cut to the width required, and one side left one and a half inches longer than the other. The tops are hemmed with an inch hern, for which allowance must have been made when measuring for the size of the cover. The material is then to be turned inside out. the hem of the longer part folded down on the right side, so that the two sides become of equal size, and (besides and bottom stitched together. When the case is turned right side out one hem will fold over the other one. These Peins arc fastened together with patent snaps or buttons and loops, ami may be sewn to each other for an inch cr two beyond each side scam. This keeps them tidy.