WOMAN'S WORLD.

Evening Star, Issue 13102, 7 November 1908, Page 9

WOMAN'S WORLD.

[Bt Viva.] "Viva” will in this column, answer all reasonable : questions relating to the home, cookery, domestic economy, and any topic of interest to her sex. But each letter must bear the writer’s bona fide name and address. No notice whatever will be taken of anonymous correspondence. Questions should be concisely put, and the writer’s nom de plume be clearly written. ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. “Ella.”—Have given both recipes this week. Thanks for kind appreciation. “ Mater.”—Try a little methylated spirits. Then polish with a clean dry duster. “ Anxious.”—Cannot answer your inquiry. You had better consult a specialist. HOUSEHOLD RECIPES. Rice Pudding.—Required : One pint of milk, two ounces of Carolina rice, about one ounce of Demerara sugar, nutmeg, vanilla, and any other flavoring, a few grains of salt. Thickly butter a piedish, wash the rice, and put it in the dish with the sugar, milk, and salt; add the flavoring, or a light dust of nutmeg. Bake the pudding very slowly for two and a-half to three hours. The more slowly it bakes the richer and more creamy it will be. Don’t forget to stir it occasionally during the first part of the time. To ascertain if it is cooked enough, raise a corner of the brown skin with a knife, and take out a few grains and taste them. If through careless cooking the pudding is too stiff, add a little extra milk, and mix it gently in by inserting a knife under the skin, and cook a little longer. Serve hot or cold. In making a sago pudding yon should put the milk in a pan on a fire, and when it boils sprinkle in the sago, stir it over the fire for a few minutes until it reboils and thickens, add the sugar and flavoring, then turn the mixture into the buttered dish, and proceed as for rice pudding. Fillets of Beef with Mushrooms.—Required: One pound and a-half of fillet of beef, about half a pound of mushrooms, two tablespoonfuls of salad oil, one tablespoonful of vinegar, one onion, watercress, two teaspoonfuls of grated lemon rind, salt, pepper, a little glaze. The first thing is to cut the beef into fillets—that is into neat round about three-quarters of an inch thick and the size of the top of a tumbler. Next mix together in a pie dish the oil, vinegar, parsley, lemon rind, and thinly-sliced onion. Lay the fillets in this mixture to “ marinade,” as the correct terra expresses it; it is done to improve their flavor. Meantime examine, stalk, and peel the mushrooms, and see that the fire will be clear and sharp by the time it is needed. Take the fillets out of the marinade, lay them on a heated, greased gridiron, and grill them before or over a clear fire. They will take about eight minutes to cook, and have to be turned at once. The glaze must be placed to melt in a small pan standing in a larger one of boding water. Grill the mushrooms before or at the same time as the meat. Brush each fillet with a little glaze, and arrange them alternately with the mushrooms on a hot dish. Pour round them a little warmed glaze or brown or tomato sauce, and garnish the dish with a few sprigs of washed cress, seasoned with a dust of salt and a few drops of lemon juice.

French Beans a la Tomato.—Required : One pound of French beans, one ounce of ham or bacon, a few sprigs of parsley, one gill of tomato sauce. To prepare the beans, cut off the stalks and tips with a thin strip down each side. This removes any stringy portions. Next cut them into thin strips lengthways, but in a slanting direction. You will notice that you have ready a pan of fast-boiling water, to which add about a teaspoonful of salt and a scrap of soda the size, of a pea; this softens tho water, and preserves the green color of the beans. Then cover them till they reach boiling point; then remove the lid, take off any scum, and boil them quickly for fifteen to twenty minutes, according to their age. They must bo quite tender, so tho safest test ’is to eat a bit when you think they are cooked. Now dram off all the water; this is most easily done by pouring the contents of the pan into a colander; next tho beans are put in a heap in a hot dish, the hot sance poured over, and some sippets of bread cut in neat shapes, fried a golden brown in hot fat, and drained on paper, are put round as a border. These pieces of fried bread are called “croutons.” Put four heaps of the ham, cut in dice and fried, on each side. This recipe is equally suitable for scarlet runners, or in winter for haricot beans.

Tomato Sauce.—Required : One pound of tomatoes, one ounce of butter, one once of cornflour, one onion, two tablespoonfuls of cubes of ham or bacon a bunch of parsley, herbs, and one bay leaf, one pint of stock, six peppercorns, salt. Chop the onion first, and then melt the butter m a stcwpan; add to it the ham, onion, peppercorns, and bunch of herbs, and fry all these gently for about, ten minutes. Slice and add the tomatoes, aliw the cornflour, mixed smoothly and thinly with_ a little cold water. Stir the same until it boils, then simmer it for fifteen minutes. Season it carefully, and rub it through a hair or fine wire sieve: it and serve. Note : Flour can be used instead of cornflour, but then the sance will not have the same transparent appearance that is usual to it. If the tomatoes are being acid you must add a little castor sugar. Stewed _ Rabbit and Rice.—Required : One rabbit, one carrot, turnip and onion, a bunch of parsley, thyme, marjoram, and a bay leaf, quarter of a pound of nee, half an ounce of butter, four tomatoes, two teaspoonfuls of chopped parsley, salt and pepper. Cut the rabbit into neat joints, lay them in a basin of salted tepid water, and let them stand for about half an hour; this whitens them. Next lift them out and dry them on a cloth. VVash and prepare the vegetables, and cut them into neat pieces; tie the herbs in a bunch. Put the rabbit, vegetables, and herbs in a stewpan,_ cover them with hot white stock or milk-and-water, or, if more convenient, plain water. Brin<r the stew just to boiling point; then skmi it carefully; put on the lid, and let it simmer very gently for about three-quarters oi an hour Next sprinkle in the rice, having first carefully washed it in a colander under the cold water tap. Continue to let the stew simmer slowlv until the nee has absorbed nearly all the liquid, but remember, as it gets thicker, it must be constantly stirred, or it will stick to the pan and burn. When the rabbit is tender lift the joints on to a dish, cind keep them hot. Also, remove the vegetables, which will be useful to put into a stock pot. If there is any liquor with the rice drain it off carefully, rub the tomatoes (tinned ones will do if , a . ven 'k fresh) through a sieve, then add this pulp and the butter to the rice, also the parsley, and salt and pepper to taste. Stir this over the fire for about ten minutes. Arrange the joints of rabbit neatly on a hot dish, and put the *i. Ce u 3 - a border roun d. In this recipe the chief points to remember are the slow cooking and the constant stirring when the rice has become thick, both of which arc essential. Of course in making these stews you need not necessarily use the flavorings recommended. Any kind of vegetable can be used.

Fish Omelet.—Required : Three eggs, one ounce of butter, about a tablespoonful of any chopped cooked fish, one tablespoonful of milk, one teaspoonful of chopped parsley, salt and pepper, about two teaspoonfuls of any Kind of fish sauce. Remove all skin and bone from the fish and chop it. Put it in a small pan with a tiny piece of butter and the fish sauce. If you have no sauce a littlo milk will do just as well, provided you season it and keep it hot while the omelet is being prepared.. To do this, beat up the egg m a basin,, add the milk and seasoning to taste. Heat the butter in an omelet or frying pan. When it has almost ceased bubbling pour in the eggs and stir them over the fire, shaking the pan gently at the same time. When the mixture is soft and creamy collect it towards the handle of the pan, which should be well tilted up; shake the omelet into a neat cushion. Take a spoon and make a slight omelet, put in the fish mixture, and cover it gently over with,some of the creamy

omelet. Turn the omelet with 'this " side downwards on, a hot dish, and serve at once, , j ; -• \*’- 1 ■; i A Delicious Filling for Sandwiches.— Required : Two hard-boiled eggs, one ounce and a-half of butter, two tablespoonfuls of cream, one ounce of shrimp paste. Pub the yolks of the eggs in a t. basin with the butter and shrimp paste. Mix these well together with a woodeh spoon, season the mixture carefully and rub it through a hair sieve. Whisk the cream until it is just stiff, then add jt gradually to tho mixture, stirring it lightly. It is then ready. Sandwiches made of thin brown broad with this filling are particularly delicious. HOUSEHOLD HINTS. Shoos Out of Glove Tops.—Wo dislike putting small children’s feet into hard leather shoes, so make baby’s little bootikins out of either velvet or the tops of old kid gloves. Wo fasten them on with ribbon tics, and put a tiny rosettes on each toe, and they look so nice. It is quite easy to take a paper pattern of one in calico, if one stuffs out a pair of woollen chocs that are the right size, and then pins the paper or calico on. To Keep Off Flies.—Brush your gilt frames over with water in which an onion haa been boiled, and the flics will not settle on them. ’Io Loosen Stiff Chains cm Hanging Lamps.—Brush tho chains well with tho blacklead brushes, moving them up and down so as to get at every part. Blacklead is an excellent lubricant fop chains and hinges. Io Clean Marble.—First wash with soap and water. Then wipe dry, and apply a posto of powdered bathbrick and lemon-juice. Rub it well into the discolored parts and rinse off in clean, cold water. In using a gas stove, tho flame should never flare round the kettle or pot. If the gas merely acts upon the bottom, without appearing at all against the sides, one is using all the best strength of the heating power. For combing furs, keep a comb with teeth set wide apart. Use this carefully to fluff up long-haired furs. Never tug violently, or the material will be spoilt. I uvs that have been packed away and flattened should be shaken out, and set in a room where there is a good fire, then vigorously shaken at intervals. To Wash Tam-o’-Shanters. — Wash the hats in a nice tepid lather made from warm_ water and soap powder or jelly, with just a few drops of ammonia added. Do not rub, but squeeze and pull through the hands till quite clean. Rinse finally in water to which a very small quantity of the jelly has been added. When perfectly clean stretch the tammv over a large dinner plate, and allow it to dry like that._ \on will find it has not shrunk nor lost its shape. MATRIMONIAL EPIGRAMS. An Irishman once said ; “ I think trio happiest period of married life is the time just before you are married.” I don t know who invented tabloid honeymoons. jThoy seem to havo crept in with automobiles—if automobiles ever do creep—and exclusion trains. All tho world may love a lover, but I am sure all tho world hales a newly-married couple that conducts its post-nuptial courtchip so that all may sae and I heard a man onco say : “ There are two fiontfi of society—genuine aristocracy and the society that pays its way.*’ lew men that are not hopelessly oldfashioned nowadays think any worse of a woman because she smokes; “ but I don’t think any man t-hmks more of a woman because she does smoke. If I ware told that for ray sins I meet maixy one of six women who had nothing but their good looks to recommend therm oir a woman with only a keen sense oil humor to recommend her, I should criocee the woman with the sense of humor. Some meat think no more of getting married than they do of going into their club and ordering a bottle olivine. Probably come think loss about it, for they will examine the cone of the bottle, whereas they won't even trouble to ascertain trie brand of trio girl they are going to many, —From the ‘lrony of Marriage,’ bv Bas’d Tozer.