WOMEN’S INTERESTS

Grey River Argus, 24 April 1937, Page 12

WOMEN’S INTERESTS

HINTS FOR THE HOME

(BY

"TOHEROA”)

In the Kitchen

Wllne Biscuits: Ingredients; A handful of cleaned currants, 1 egg, -Jib self-raising flour. 4ozs. of butter, 4ozs sugar, a little milk, a few carraway seeds, a little yellow colouring, some dessicated coconut and castor sugar. Method: Sift, the flour into a bowl, rub in butter until like fine breadcrumb.'.'; stir in the sugar, then make a well in the centre, add all the col. curing and half of the beaten egg, mixing to a stiff dough with a little milk if necessary. Divide the mixture into four portions, stir the currants into one, the coconut in another, the earrawav seeds in another and leave- the last portion plain. Turn each on a floured board and roll out to 1-8 inch thickness, then cut into small fancy shapes. Brush them over with the remainder o f the egg, sprinkle the coconut with coconut, c arraways with the carraway biscuits and dip the others in castor sugar. Bake in a mod. crate oven for 15 to 20 minutes. • • * • •

St. Georgia Cake; Ingredients: 4ozs of butter, 4ozs. castor sugar, -11 b self raising flour (or flour and baking powder), 2 eggs, 6ozs sultanas, 4 tabie4pons milk.

Method: Cream butter and sugar, then beat in eggs one at a time. Sift the- flour and stir into the mixture, then add the prepared sultanas and, lastly, the milk to make a soft dough Turn into a greased' and lined cake tin and bake for 11- hours in a moderate oven. Dust the top with castor sugar. * * * * $ « v Chestnut Stew: Of all nuts the chestnut is probably of the greatest value a s an article of diet. From it can be made excellent soups and puddings, and served as a vegetable, it is highly favoured. To make a chestnut stew take -Jib chestnuts, one tomato, one small onion. 2oz. mu.-jirooms, loz nut butter, pepper and salt, stock or water. For serving take 2oz boiled rise and one baked or fried tomato. Score; boil and peel the chestnuts. Fry the mushrooms, onion and tomato in butler, add chestnus to vege. tables, with stock and seasonings. Summer one hour. Dish in a border of rice and garni 31 with tomato. ******

Raisin Filling: Mix to a smooth paste one tablespoon of ground almond's, one tablespoon of royal icing, and three table, spoons of mixed chopped walnuts and raisins. Add vanilla to taste. Oatmeal Biscuits: Housewife. —To make oatmeal bis. cuits--, take 3oz. flour, 4 oz, oatmeal,

Boz butter, a.little beaten egg, quarter of a tablespoon baking powder, one teaspoon sugar, half a teaspoon salt. Rub the- butter into the flour and mix all the dry ingredients. Add the beaten egg mixed with a little water and mix to a stiff paste. Turn on to a floured board', roll out thinly and prick. Cut I

into rounds or pquahes, place on al greased tin, and bake in a moderate oven from 15 to 20 minutes. ■K * * * * * Lemon Pudding: Cut some bread int 0 small cubes and ■ heap together in a glas s dish. Soak by pouring over them some lemonade, made- from fresh lemons. Dissolve a ( lemon jelly and when it is cool pour ( it over the soaked bread. Decorate with whipped cream and crystallised lemon slices, when the jelly is set, of f course. Desiccated coconut may be used ' if liked.

****** 1 Pumpkin Soup: Take 11b pumpkin (or more), peel and cut up. Put into pan and cover 1 with water, wit|h small onions, and j boil until soft. You can cither mash c or put through colander. Then add 1 cup milk, 1 tablespoon butter, pepper * and salt to taste and small teaspoon flour mixed to smooth paste w;th cold , water, chopped parsley, if liked; Very p easy t 0 make and very nourishing.

Pteach Chutney: This chutney is excellent and will keep for years. Take six pounds nearly ripe peaches (stoned), 21b halfripe tomatoes, 21b cooking apples, 21b onions, lib seedless raisins (minced), 21b sugar, 1-J pints vinegar, 1 level tea. spoon cayenne, 1 dessertspoon mustard, 1 dessertspoon salt, 1 small sliced cucumber. Cut peaches in half and place in pre. serving pan. Slice tomatoes, peel and slice apples and onions. Then add all other ingredients. Stir oceaslionallj’- and bring to a boil, then allow, to boil gently or just simmer till the fruit is well cooked and the chutney a rich brown colour and thick; time about 2-1 hours. ******* Spanish Nut Cake:

Ingredients; One cup self-raising flour, J cup finely-chopped walnuts, one teaspoon ground cinnamon, two eggs, half-up milk, half-cup butter, one cup sugar. Method: Separate egg yolks and whites. Beat the yolks, adding milk gradually. Cream butter and .sugar and add the yolk mixture, beating well; then add' the- walnuts and the flour well sifted with the cinnamon. Lastly, add the well-beaten egg whites, working them in gradually and bake in a fairly deep tin. from 45 minutes to one hour. Ice- with brown icing (made with brown sugar), flavoured with a teaspoon of cinnamon. z

Tasty Pudding: Make a suet crust with 1 cup of flour, |.cup suet, pinch of .salt, and mix with water. Roll out and cut up in the centre -of the. crust four fairsized onions and three slices of bacon and add a small half-teaspoon of salt.) Pinch the- crust together over thel bacon and onion, tic in a pudding clbth and boil for three hours. Makes a very tasty pudding and is quite a change from an ordinary meat dish.

MORNINGS IN THE HOUSE. Nearly all young brides start off their married life with the noblest of resolutions about looking smart and pretty, no matter what hour of the day, and particularly in the mornings, whilst attending to the heavier 'Of the household' duties.

But all too soon if. happens that some frocks or other which is no longer so tre.fi becomes relegated ty the position of “working,” and is worn, often without overall or apron, until

it gradually becomes more and more shapeless.

And there is no need for this. Since housekeeping is a job like any other, why should not the housewife wear a uniform for it? The' uniform can be as gay and attractive as she pleases so long as it is efficient. Tub proof gingham is very cheap, it cuts and sews easily and launders well, and you can buy it in plain browns or greens or the gayest of patterns as you choose. Why not make up such gingham into a uniform frock, cut with high neck and with long sleeves which can be buttoned back when necessary? The best style for it would be to make it on coat frock lines, to button down the centre front, and' a s plain as possible, s 0 that it is easy t 0 launder and iron.

And when you are on the job of making one, why not (make half a dozen, all exactly alike in style but different in colour or print? It would take no time at all to wash one at the end o f each day, quickly iron it. out, and so have a fresh one ready each morning. Morning duties could then be carried out with the housewife looking smart and properly dressed for her job, just as she looked' in the days when she 'went out to business. THINK BEFORE YOU EAT. Tw 0 English doctors/, carrying out experiments by means of X-rays, have made a number of interesting discoveries regarding the digestion of food. One reason why certain foods do not digest easily is that they are eaten in combination with the wrong things. Increase in the amount of fat, for in stance, is liable to make all food in. digestible. They found that lemon water drunk soon after eating potatoes is likely to cause fermentation and prolong digestion. All foods, moreover, are not digested in the same time if eaten alone. Water takes 45 minutes, raw milk 61 hours, boiled milk 5, lightly.boiled eggs, 2-J, 2oz. o f cane sugar 14, 4oz

boiled beef 3, vegetable salad 2J, 4oz banan 41, 4oz white bread 3f, 4oz butter 6 and soz potato 4.

Household Hints Chop a piece of apple finely- and add it to the green salad. Almost every salafi is improved by this addition. * * •* *' * * * Articles made of celluloid may be easily cleaned by using a metal polish. If a large candle will not fit into a candlestick with a small barrel, plunge the end of the candle in hot. water then press it into the socket. To avoid tears when peeling 'onions, have a bowl full of cold water and peel the onions below the surface of the water. * * * * * * To keep lemons fresh, put' - them in a dish o f cold water and renew the watei every three or four days. To make meat tender, add a. dessert, spoon of lemon-juice to the water in which the meat is to be- boiled. Squeeze it on to the meat that; is required for baking, grilling, etc. ] ****** I Soup in which bacon bones have been boiled is sometinies too salty. Rectify this by putting a whole, peeled potato in the saucepan. Remove the potato before serving. ■ Dents or bruises in furniture may be brought out -if the mark is damped and a pad of cotton-wool placed over it. Hold a hot iron to tho pad, being careful that the iron does not

touch tjhe surface of the wood. To splice invisibly when knitting, ' :plit each end and break off half the , number -of strands about three inches . long. Then untwist each end with a ■ rubbing movement between fore-finger ( and thumb, holding the strands care- ( fully. Overlap the ends for four -inches. } Twist the two together s m °othly and ; continue knitting. 1 , # $ * * $ $ $ Egg-wlrites not used in coking can ( be used' to garnish meats and salads. u Put the whites in a well-greased jar. stand' jar in water, and cook till set " and firm. .When cold, turn out, and cut in( 0 facy shapes.

If your decanter i s stained, pul -into it one tablespoon of salt, one tablespoon vinegar, one tablespoon tea leaves and half fill with water. Leave it to soak and shake- occasionally till the stain is removed. Rinse and'drain upside down in a jug, then rinse again in cold wafer and dry with a linen towel

To clean a gas stove wipe off all sur. face stains with newspapers and wipe the in Ade of the oven while hot with a damlp cloth. Remove the dirt from black parts with a paraffin cloth. Clean the steel. Wash the enamel slab and tin griller and polish the tops. Each week wash the 'Oven shelves and the inside of the oven with hot' water and soap. Remove all the bars and burners and scrub them with hot water > and Koda. Dry and blaeklead them, being careful -t-o omit the holes of the burn, ers. Replace- and blaeklead the -rest ot the stove. Attend' to the steel, enamel taps. etc. - ■ - 1 - iva