THE HOUSEKEEPER

Evening Post, Volume CXI, Issue 18, 22 January 1916, Page 13

THE HOUSEKEEPER

SEASONABLE RECIPES.

Sweet, Tomato1 Pickle.—Blanch and skin lib of ripe tomatoes, then cut all in thick slices;! add 3£lb of white preserving sugar, lOoz of gronnd mace, and loz of cinnamon together with a tablespoonful of salt, and lOoz of ground cloves. Boil for a full hour in an enamelled saucepan, let it get cool and stand until next day, then add a quart of tarragon vinegar, and boil all two hours until it is thick like jam, then put it into jars and tie them down with parchment Preserving Ripe Tomatoes.—They do not answer for bottling like ordinary fruit, but must be done with vinegar. Here is the receipe:—Spice a quart of vinegar by soaking in it for a week 2oz of ■ peppercorns, loz of whole ginger, loz salt, £oz allspice, loz finely-chopped shallot, 2 cloves of garlic bruised, and 4 bay loaves, then boiling it gently for an hour Then take a large jar, pack in it small, firm tomatoes- that have been blanched and skinned. In a saucepan boil up the spiced vinegar, adding to it a dessertspoonful, of brown sugar. Pour this boiling into the jar with the tomatoes, and cover it closely to exclude the air This will keep a long time. Plums, to Preserve in Syrup.—Aa equal weight of plum* and loaf sugar Put half the sugar into a preserving pan with the addition of i pint of cold water to each pound of sugar, and boil it to a thin syrup Divide the plums, remove the stones, and put the fruit into the prepared syrup Simmer gently nntil half-cooked, .then turn the whole into an earthenware bowl, cover, and let it remain thus until the1 following day. Strain the syrup into a preserving pan, add the rest of the sugar, and boil to the "crack." Allow it to cool slightly, put in the plums, simmer them gently until tender, then remove them 'very carefully to a deep dish and straiD the •syrup over them. Let the plums remain covered for 48. hours, drain well, spread them on large .dishes in single layers, and when quite dry pack them jn air-tight tins with wax paper between the layers.

Plums, Spiced.—Rrm plumsj eugar, vinegar, cinnamon, cloves, shredded orange-rmd. Prick the plums well with a fork, place them in a large jar with cinnamon, cloves, and orange-rind between each layer Cover with vinegar, and^ on the following day, strain, off and boil 10 minutes. Let it cool, pour it over the fruit, and at the end of 24 hours again strain and measure it. To each pint add 3oz of sugar, boil the two together 10 minutes, pour it over the plums and, when cold, cover closely, and store in a dry, cool place. To Preserve Plums.—Scald them, remove the skins, and weigh them. To each lb allow j,lb of sugar. Pack the fruit neatly in pint bottles and adjust the rubbers. Add to each pound of sugar i-pint of water. Stir until the sugar is dissolved, and pour syrup into the bottles. Lay the caps on looaely; do not fasten them. Arrange the bottles in the boiler with straw round them, and boil 30 minutes after they begin to boil. Lift one bottle at a time and fasten the lid without removing it. Barley water is an excellent summer drink, and the following is a good recipe. Take two ounces of pearl barley, two pints of cold water, the rind and juice of half a lemon, and sugar to taste. Wash-the barley well, and put into a saucepan with sufficient water to cover it. Bring to the boil, and pour it away. Rinse the barley with cold water, and rinse out the saucepan. ' This is to blanch the barley, a.ud if it is not done the barley-water will bo dark-coloured and muddy in appe*r*nce v Saturn ths

barley to the saucepan, and place with it two pints of cold water and the thin-ly-peeled rind of half a lemon. Simmer slowly for two hours, then strain, sweeten to taste, and strain in the lemon juice.

, Banana Pudding.—Two bananas, i lb of castor sugar, i lb of flour, 1 oz of butter, i gill, of cream or milk. and. 3 eggs. 'Cream the. butter and sugar together, beat in the yolks of eggs separately, stir in the flour,' add the cream or milk, and then the bananas thinly sliced, whip the whites to ai stiff froth, add them lightly to the rest of the ingredients, and pour the mixture into a well-buttered mould or several small ones, and steam or bake them, large ones nearly two hours, small ones thirty to forty-five minutes. Serve them with fruit syrup or sweet sauce..

Uses of Batter.—A pancake is an excellent accompaniment of any breakfast dish, or _ batter cooked in other forms. A few slices of rather under-cooked cold beef may be cut in small pieces and fried in batter The beef can be flavoured with pepper, salt, and a little minced parsley, the whole being bound together with the white of an egg. This becomes a. kromesky, and is a delicious way to utilise cold meat or poultry.