MAINLY FOR WOMEN

Greymouth Evening Star, 20 February 1937, Page 9

MAINLY FOR WOMEN

ITEMS OF INTEREST

BLACKBERRY TIME. SOME GOOD RECIPES. Once a year, and only for a short season, blackberries make their. appearance on the countryside. Given fine weather much enjoyment' can be derived from the picnic out in the country to which is added the .joy of blackberry gathering. Many delectable dishes may be made, to delight the palate of the whole family. The addition of apples to most blackberry dishes is wise, as they add to the flavour, besides making a few berries go a long way. Always use good, sound, ripe fruit. BLACKBERRY AND APPLE JAM. ' 41bs cooking apples, 21bs blackberries, 51bs sugar. Pick over the blackberries; place them on a dish, cover them with lib of sugar and leave till the next day. Peel, core, and slice the apples, and put them with the blackberries and juice, into a preserving pan; add the rest of the sugar, and heat gently, stirring until, the! sugar has dissolved. Then boil all to-1 gether for about three-quarters of an| hour. When its sets, when tested on ; a cold’plate, remove from the fire, pour into warm jars and cover closely.

BLACKBERRY AND APPLE JELLY.

61bs blackberries, 2|bs apples, 11b castor sugar, preserving sugar. Remove all stalks from berries. Peel, core and slice the apples. Put the blackberries and apples into a large bowl with lib castor sugar and 1 pint of water, and stand it on a slow fire for such time as the apples are thoroughly ste’wed and the juice is extracted from the fruit. Press the fruit through a jelly bag and collect all the juice. Measure it, and to each pint allow 51b of preserving sugar. Pour the juico into a preserving pan, bring it to the. boil, add the sugar, warmed, •and stir till it has dissolved. Then boil for about three-quarters of an hour, or until a little sets on a saucer. Skim and stir frequently. Pour into warm jars and cover when cold. BLACKBERRY FOOL (with Custard) 1 cup boiled custard, 1 cup blackberry pulp, a little whipped cream. Stew some blackberries and, a little sliced apple. Reserve a. few of the best beairies, rub the ■rest through a sieve. Mix one cup of the pulp with the custard, pile in glasses. Pour a little of the juice over the top, add whipped cream and decorate with the. extra berries. , '

BLACKBERRY TARTS. Stewed blackberries, two-thirds cup butter, 2 cups flour, one-third cup sugar, 1 egg. Mix butter, flour, sugar and egg, slightly beaten, together and sot in refrigerator to chill. Bake in individual tart tins in oven until golden brown. Makes about 12 tarts. Be sure and have paste up to the edges of the tin and be careful not to stretch pastry as this' mixture shrinks easily. When tart shells are cool place small amount of cokl. boiled custard, mixture in each of the shells. Fill tarts with stewed blackberries. Top with whipped cream. BLACKBERRY SHORTCAKE. Stewed blackberries (cold), apples included, if desired, Boz flour, 2oz butter, 2oz sugar, 1 egg, baking powder. Cream, butter, sugar and egg. Beat- in flour and lastly baking powder. Roll out carefully, divide in two. - Place one-half on floured tray rolling out as thin as possible. Spread stewed berries over this. Take second half and spread over berries. Handle carefully as mixture is very soft. Bake in medium oven for 20-30 minutes. When cold cut in squares and sprinkle with castor sugar.

BLACKBERRY & APPLE PUDDING. . f Peel, core and halve four large apples. Butter a piedish and put alternate layers of apples and blackberries. Sprinkle with sugar and put the dis'll in a moderate oven, keeping it there till the fruit is* partly cooked. Now beat 2 eggs and mix them smoothly with half a pint of milk, a tablespoon of sugar, a tablespoon of cornflour and half a teaspoon of baking powder. Pour the mixture over the partly cooked fruit and sprinkle it with a. tablespoon of minced suet. Return the dish to the oven and cook the pudding for half an hour. PRINCESS JULIANA. SLIMMING HONEYMOON. Obeying her mother-in-law’s advice, Princess Juliana is spending a slimming honeymoon. She has gone on a three-meals-a-day diet —with no sweet foods, no cream, no puddings, plenty of ski-ing, writes a correspondent of the London Mail.

Asked why she wants to slim, Princess Juliana, smiled and said: “My mother-in-law, Princess Lippe, advised mo to get a bit thinner. I want to be a good daughter-in-law—'besides my honeymoon is sweet enough.” Doctor’s orders agreed with mother-in-law’s advice. So Prince Bernard, declaring that if his wife were thinner it would be good for her, requested the cooks of the Hotel Oatria, where they are staying, to amend their famous red beef and tripe specialty dinners to simple slimming foods. Result —here are the meals Princess Juliana had one day: Breakfast: Boiled egg: brown bread and toast, with very little, butter; coffee with a little milk and no cream. Tea —Plain English tea served at 4.30. Dinner. —Soup; . fish: meal and vegetables; fruit, Champagne. Princess Juliana is anxious to lose at least a stone in weight. She has taken up winter sports in earnest to help her slimming. Her ski-ing costume is navy blue trousers, a pullover and a scarf.

| WALKING PERFECTLY. A MODERN PROBLEM. Feet, and the way they are placed, i have everything to do with a graceful walk and carriage. “Stand well and you will walk well,” says a physical culture expert. On the other' hand, a clumsy stance will soon bring about a clumsy way of walking, writes “Clelia” in the “Sydney Morning Herald/’ Watch yourself walk in a long mirror. Note your faults and set about curing them. It is w£ll worth the trouble, for not only is a. bad walk unlovely to look at. but it is also bad for. your health and for your state of mind. IL may sound funny, but a walk can be very expressive of it whole attitude of mind. A sagging walk, for instance, does not necessarily express tiredness. It is often the outward sign of a lazy way of thinking.

A jerky ungraceful walk, too, shows a jerky, k uncontrolled temperament, and proper control of your movements when walking will help to give you control in other ways as well. First let us see what is the correct position of the feet when standing. The inside edges of the feet should be almost exactly parallel, though the feet should be a few inches apart. The toes should not turn out, but should be quite straight. This keeps the ankles in a" correct position, and also the arches.

Now, your feet thus, slightly stiffen your legs at the knees, throwing all the weight on the balls of the feet. Straighten youT back and gradually lift the basket of the ribs so that all your weight is lifted off your waist and hips. Do not raise your shoulders in doing this, but make this lifting movement only with the ribs and spine. After that, lift youlr head so that you feel that your neck is in correct alignment with yoUr back. You should almost feel now as though your body were in two pieces, divided at the waist, with the legs suspended. This gives them complete freedom when you start to walk. .There is a distinct pleasure in standing in this perfect position. It gives one a feeling of strength and control.

BEND THE FEET. Walking should be just this position in action. The weight of the body should fall directly over each anklebone in turn. Try to imagine that you are walking on one line, not two. So many girls appear to be walking on two lines, one for each foot, which gives them a- waddling gait. One very important pbint to remember is that, as you lift each foot from the ground, it should be bent, not held rigidly, as so many people do. You should be walking right on the tip of it before you lift it to put it in front of the other one. . Natives who go bare-foot always bend the foot in walking, and consequently faller arches are unknown among primitivi people. . . . You will never get flat foot if you acquire this supple foo habit, and your feet will stay alway young, and bear’ you happily and wel Deep breathing helps enormously ir the attainment of a graceful walk, and so do all leg exercises. Dancing is ex i cellent, too, for it strengthens the thigh and spine. The following simple exercise one of the very best to practise if you are dissatisfied with your carriage:-— ' j Stand straight, your hands on your hips, your weight on the balls of your I feet. Slowly bend forward from the | hips, youlr back held stiffly until your i body makes almost a right-angle with your legs. Keep your head as straight as possible, while doing this. Now, the body still bent forward, walk with perfectly straight legs and knees stiff once, up and down your room. You will not be able to advance very far at each step, as your hips will feel cramped. Then suddenly straighten up and begin to walk naturally, your head erect and your chin in. You will feel conscious of walking with, the greatest ease and grace. This exercise not only gives the correct looseness to the limbs, but it helps the balance greatly. Never forget, in walking, the necessity of carrying the head erect. On this depends the whole grace of the shoulders and strengthens the spine.

CHINESE CUSTOMS. POWDERED PEARLS FOR SKIN. An old Chinese eulstom still followed by the women of modern China is to take internally powdered pearls, states an exchange. Tiny doses are prescribed to keep the skin young and fresh. The powder is purchased at chemists’ shops or the pearls are bo'ught and powdered at home. . Another Chinese custom is using the whites of eggs as a wash for the skin. This is, of course, an ingredient in many Western beauty treatments. Chinese women use it as an astringent. Bean powder, which has cleansing properties, is also used as a skin food by Chinese sjyomen. Superfluous hairs are removed by twisting a silken thread about them. Dipstick has been adopted instead of cotton soaked in powdered rouge. For the nails, European polishes' have superseded the old custom, in which a coloured paste made from flower petals was wrapped about with cotton wool and allowed to remain overnight. Many Chinese women prefer their hair sleek and uhwaved, although the younger women have deserted the tradition of centuries and' have indulged in permanent waves. Generally the hair is shampooed only once a month, and again the white of an egg is used to give gloss. Chinese women usually have slim figures, yet they do not diet or exorcise. and their proportions are ideal for the slim-fitting tunics, which it is felt will never be entirely discarded for Western dress.

WATERPROOF HATS. NEW FABRIC PRODUCED. LONDON, January 16. Waterproof paper hats are promised as the next fashion for headwear. A Scottish firm, after ten years oi research. has produced by a secret process a fabric, evolved from the same basis as certain strong manilia papers. In appearance it resembles ordinary glazed paper, and its more durable qualities are not suspected until it is handled. It is impervious to water, and will stand any amount of rubbing, and even scrubbing. The material, which has been given the trade name of “Linson Fabric." was shown at British Industries House this week, and attracted immediate atuntiun. At the moment it has not yet been placed upon the market, but

its popularity seems assured from the moment it is distributed to wholesalers. The fabric is produced iu many colours and in several qualities —glazed linen, canvas', tusso, calico, morocco, pebble, crocodile, antique, ami doeskin. It may be used for hats, shoe.uppers, belts, handbags, curtains, and book covers. Attractive hats of nicely-blended colours are made by cutting the material into thin strips, about an eighth of an inch wide, and then weaving or plaiting them. Already the Ministry of Transport has adopted the fabric as a covering for driving licences. Tests have shown that it may. be folded 300,000 times before.it will break down. The price at which it will bo offered to the public has not yet been decided, but it is believed that if will be inexnpnsivp.