THE HOUSEKEEPER

Evening Post, Volume XC, Issue 86, 9 October 1915, Page 11

THE HOUSEKEEPER

SEASONABLE RECIPES. A Delightful White Soup.— Clean, and out small, one parsnip, four leeks, and six potatoes. Have ready three tablespoonfuls of tapioca soaked in three tablespoonfuls of milk. Boil the vegetables in eight breakfastcupfuls of water till quite soft. Rub them through a sieve or colander ; return to the saucepan ; boil up, and add the softened tapioca. Stir in a large tablespoonful of butter, add' a piece of sugar, and a seasoning of salt and pepper. Simmer slowly for fifteen minutes, and serve with fried bread. Baked Potatoes and Cheese. — Take four large boiled potatoes and five ounces of grated cheese, two ounces of breadcrumbs, and a tablespoonful of chopped parsley. Put through a squeezer, then butter a pie-dish, and turn the mixture into it. Bake for twenty-five minutes and serve hot. Mayonnaise of Lamb. — Slice a cucumber and line a dish with it. Sprinkle lightly with a little finely chopped onion, and over this pour_ a dressing of three parts oil and ono vinegar, seasoned with salt and pepper. Cut some neat slices from a leg or bhoulder of lamb, and arrange these over the cucumber. Make a mayonnaise sauce, and put a dessertspoonful of this in each slice of meat. Garnish the dish with tomatoes thinly sliced, and serve with a salad of cold peas and lettuce. A Vegetable Curry. — Cut an onion into small pieces and brown it in two ounces of_ butter. . When a light golden brown stir into it one large tablespoonful of good curry powder and half a pint of milk. Allow to simmer, stirring all the time till the curry powder is cooked. Then add_ two carrots, two potatoes, and half a pint of peas (fresh or bottled), which have been cooked previously, all cut into small pieces. Cook for five minutes, then serve with rice on a separate dish. Plain Gingerbread.— This makes a cheap and wholesome gingerbread cake. Crumble into ilb of flour a tablespoonful of butter or good dripping. Add a tablespoonful of sugar, a teaspoonful of ginger, half a teaspoonful of baking soda with the lumps pressed out, and 2oz of sultana raisins, washed, dried, and picked. Mix a tablespoonful of treacle with three-quarters of a teacupful of buttermilk, and stir these into the cake, adding lastly an egg well beaten. Put into a prepared cake-tin greased and floured. Either a roasting-tin or a cake-tin may be used. This cake is baked in a very moderate oven for half an hour. If baked ma shallow tin cut the cake, when cold, into squares or fingers. Passionfruit and Sago.— Take half a cup of _ juice and pulp of passionfruit, three times the quantity of sugar, one egg, one tablespoonful of sago._ Wet the sago, and boil up the fruit juice with a little water. Then pass the juice through a sieve till it is all strained through, leaving only the seeds. Add a lit.tle boiling water to the sago and juice ; boil for a few minutes ; then take off the fire and add the beaten-up egg; put on again and stir till the mixture boils. This makes a good tart filling or sponge sandwich mixture. Whipped cream on top is a delicious addition. HOME HINTS. You can prevent jam burning by dTopping a two-shilling piece into the preserving pan. When it boils the coin -will naturally move round, and so keep the mixture on the move. The jam will not be_ otherwise affected, nor will the silver coin. A good use can be made of an old tennis racket. Take out all cords, and the frame is an excellent medium fqr beating rugs. Milk is often found an invaluable means of removing inkstains. As soon as the article becomes' inked it should be soaked in a little milk until the 6tain almost disappears. It should then come entirely out when washed. To avoid the expense of having a feather recurled, 6prinkle it with a fair amount of ordinary 6alt, and shake before a fire until quite dry. The feather will be quite fresh again.If clothes-pegs are dipped in white enamel 'paint and dried in the sun, they can then be kept perfectly clean, and will not split or markthe clothes. Instead of sewin.g up the fourth side of cushion covers, sew on a few patent fasteners. This will save you time and trouble as well as saving the wear and tear of the cover. A good_ thing with which to clean windows is_ a little powdered washiner blue ;and liquid ammonia, mixed well together. Put a little of the mixture on a piece of racr, then polish the windows. It will make them very bright. Chairs and sofas upholstered in leather last much longer if the following lotion be applied regularly: — Ono part vinegar, two parts h"n."eed oil (well shaken to. gether). Apply a little on a soft rag, and polish with a silky duster. This keeps leather soft, and prevents cracking. To clean paint that is not varnished. — Take a flannel and squeeze nearly dry out of warm water, and dip in a little whitening-. Apply to the paint, and with a little rubbing it will instantly remove grease, smoke, or other stains. Wash with warm' water, and rub with a soft cloth. It will not injure the most delicate colour ; makes it look like new, and last much longer than if cleaned with soap- and water. Methylated 'spirits are very useful when washing white silk blouses and children's frocks, if two tablesnoonfuls of the spirit is added to each gallon of hot water, the silk w*ll iron with a gloss and firmness equal to new. To prevent bed-sores in long illness, daily sponge the patient's back, and dab it .well when it is dry with methylated spirit. This will harden the skin and save endless suffering.