HOME SCIENCE LECTURES

Hawera Star, Volume LIII, 26 August 1933, Page 13

HOME SCIENCE LECTURES

MISS MACMILLAN’S ACTIVITIES PROGRESS OF SOUTH TARANAKI GROUPS. Miss Violet MacMillan, who is conducting a course of lectures for home science study groups in South Taranaki, submits the following report on her activities for the last week:—

“This week has been spent with the groups which began their courses during the first week, and for most of them it was the final meeting. On Monday afternoon Meremere’s dressmaking group met at Mrs Murray’s, and put in a most industrious afternoon of practising finishes and stitching. In the evening there was a small muster of the Ohangai sewing group at Mrs Elme’s, where after a talk on the tests to employ in the selection of uiaterials, I gave a demonstration of draping. On Tuesday morning the cooking class met once more at Mrs Songster’s. On this occasion because it was the last meeting, there was very little cooking, but much lecture. 'Recalling the introductory talk on “Food and Health,” we came to the conclusion that we had successfully achieved the purpose of the course namely, to obtain reliable information to enable the housewife to plan nutritious and health-giving meals. “The country housewife is fortunate to have at her command for an extremely reasonable cost of cash or effort, vegetables, fruits, milk, eggs, cheese and butter, the foundations of good nutrition. It only remains for her to plan meals built over and around these foundation foods and she will “see her children rosy an-.l healthy, her family accounts free from doctor’s bills and an atmosphere of serenity in her home.” (The quotation is from Mrs Rose, a . leading American dietetian.) The discussion dealt with the advisability of planning meals in advance so that in each day" the individual’s daily needs may be met, of working to patterns and measurements as when dress-making. (No one would slash into the material without one —there would be too much danger of spoiling it and looking a ‘guy,’ so it seems very strange that when the consequences of failure are so much more serious, that more house wives do not measure up the foods needs of the various members of their families, and use this for a foundation pattern adding the ‘trimmings’ only as dictated by likes and dislikes of the family.)

The proof of one’s ability to cook is shown not so much by the variety and excellence of her afternoon teas, but •by the health of our families. Menus are judged first on their nutritive value; secondly, on their digestibility enhanced by good cookery and attractive appearance; and thirdly, their economy as regards cost of ingredients, time spent in preparation and fuel consumed. _

1 ‘After the fine points of menuplanning had been considered, a second | topic was taken up—“ The School ( Lunch.” I will reserve this topic forj mention in a later letter, and merely j mention here that members brought j examples of good, bad and indifferent ■ lunches, and samples of .wholesome biscuits suitable for inclusion in tpe lunch box. These constituted the major part of the class lunch which was held at Mrs Sangster’s, after which everyone settled down to a ‘sticky’ afternoon of making dressforms. Five models and nine helpers 1 took part and five forms were created, j all most satisfactory duplicates of the models. . “That evening, having been invited by the committee of the Hawera Wo-, men’s Club, w-hich had most kindly elected me to a visiting membership,, to address its members, I gave a pot-! pourri (or a haggis if you prefer the metaphor) of impressions and meinor-; i'es of my tour across America and; Northern Europe in search of the per- 1 feet home and its creator. I was again, the guest of Mrs Simpson and next morning held my final lecture and a draping demonstration at Mokoia on the" wide verandah at the Hawken. homestead. The Whakamara dress-: making group met for the third and last time at Mrs Buckrell’s. That: evening an open meeting was held at Mrs Scott’s at Whakamara. The' theme, “Ideal Home Life,” dealt with I women’s contribution in the partnership of the home, and was closely followed by those present, included amongst whom were several men, the senior partners. “After spending the night at Mrs C. J. Hawken’s, and a loiig tow before the the car would start in the frost, I arrived at Mrs Jenning’s at Fraser Road, where the cooking group was assembled ready to hear about “Milk as Food and Tonic.” The discussion on meal planning was first held, then the virtues of milk extolled, and whilst some members copied recipes, the others and myself prepared a milky lunch. Cottage cheese, carrot, apple, and cabbage salad and ham; savoury custard; cauliflower and cheese sauce; potatoes in white sauce; caramel junket and pears, comprised the menu. In the afternoon the dress-making group also met for the last time, its subject being dressform demonstration. “Next morning, Friday, my car elected to jib again and it was only after the united efforts of my hostess and all the members.of the family that I was able to reach the Hawera Technical School (whore I had been invited to o-ive the “Food and .Health” talk) bein'* absolutely in disgrace on the score of unpunctuality. In the afternoon I gave the “What to Wear” lecture in the Normanby Town Hall, and making a prompt start after the meeting arrived back in Palmerston IXorth early in the evening.^ “After an absence of four weeks there is a good bit of work to be done in the office, as well as visits to be made to Hawke’s Bay and Auckland. I plan to be away from Taranaki for one week and then to return for the remaining three w r eeks of the visit.

‘ ‘ Many people have asked me the Cottage Cheese Recipe. Here it is: Make a junket and warm it to well over blood heat after it has set so that tne curd and the whey will separate easily. Cut up and strain through double butter-muslin. Press out whey. Turn curd into a basin, break up with a fork, season well, add either salad dressing (if for use in salad) or butter, and mix well. Press into shape and it is ready to serve.”