WOMEN’S NOTES.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LV, Issue 230, 27 August 1935, Page 10

WOMEN’S NOTES.

COOKING. (By Miss Mary Tallis.) The roly-poly.—The old-fashioned jam or syrup roly-poly is a great favourite with men n,s well as children. Although it may be steamed, this pudding is one that always seems better u Jien boiled. It should bo served piping hot, of course, and if the pudding cloth is scalded in boiling water wrung out tightly and then dredged with flour, this prevents that sodden appearance so often noticeable with any form of jam roll. Also, an old plate placet! at the bottom of the saucepan prevents the ptuldin-r from coming in contact with the pan and gives the roll a better look. Another good tip is always to mix jam or treacle with a teaspoonful or more of breadcrumbs, especially if tho jam is of the “runny” variety. A good foundation mixture for roly-!>°ly.-T° ilb self-raising flour allow' J 11> or breadcrumbs, -Jib shredded suet, a zr ■ teaspoonful of table-salt and sufficient cold water to mix these ingredients to a soft dough. If plain flour is used, a teaspoonful of bakin'* powder must be mixed in with the flour. Method: Sieve the flour and salt and, it plain flour, also the baking powder. Then mix with cold water to a dough soft enough to handle. Flour a pastry board, turn the dough oil to this, knead it lightly, then with a floured rolling-pin roll out once to an oblong shape about {in. in thickness, keeping the edges even. Moisten the edges with cold water. Mix breadcrumbs with tho jam if ver v liquid, and spread the dough evenly'with the mixture. Roil up, sealing' the edges well together. Put into a scalded pudding cloth, which has been well dredged with flour, leaving room for swelling, and tie each end securely. Have a pan of boiling water ready, put the pudding in this and boil for 2 to 24 hours. When taking up. allow it to stand for a minute before removing the cloth, then turn it on to a verv hot dish and lightly sprinkle witli j sugar. This much improves the appearance, and when breadcrumbs have been used the roll should bo as light as the proverbial feather. Instead of jam or treacle, mincemeat is good, and children love this. Currants, sultanas, raisins, marmalade, figs and dates cut up, apples and nuts with a little ginger and honey, or anv mixture of chopped apple, walnuts (or any other kind of nuts) and currants go well, also. If liked, a sweet sauce, or custard, may be poured over the roll when serving, or a tureen of sauce handed with each helping. Instead of cooking the mixture in a roll, it can be put in a basin. Place the lough on a floured hoard, roll out as lefore, then cut into rounds. AVell pease a basin, place ono round of lough at the bottom, then a layer of jh.ni or whatever filling is used, then another round of dough, putting alternate layers of dough and filling till all are used, the top layer being dough. Cover with greaseproof paper and steam 24 hours.

GENERAL. Hotel work as a career.—There are different kinds of hotels right up to perfect palaces of luxury and refinement. For the purposes of this article we take the popular, medium-sized, medium-priced private hotel, that offers three positions of considerable interest to well-educated girls with.-the right personality and ability. First of all there is the book-keeping-recep-tionist. >She is generally quite well paid, and although Hotel hours are long, the life is much more varied than that of an ordinary clerk. She must bo an expert book-keeper, and besides a general commercial training she should take a course in hotel-hook-keeping from a recognised centre. Being more or less in tho limelight. she must be of qood appearance and have an interesting personality. The housekeeper has charge of the maids and is entirely responsible for the cleanliness and general well-being of tho establishment. She must be thoroughly domesticated and a good organiser, with the ability to teach members of tho staff their jobs down to the smallest detail, for she is often supplied by “the powers that be” with very raw material. It- takes a clever woman to clioope, control and keep a staff these days, and a domesj ticall.v-inclined woman with brains will find plenty of scope in hotel housekeeping. Although domestic training colleges are sending out so many certificated girls, hotel managers usually require one kind of training, that of hotel life itself. The girl who wishes to go in for the life should get a post as a linen-keeper. She will have charge of all the linen, sorting and sending to the laundry, and the mending thereof. In many places she will have to press counterpanes, etc., and in all the housekeeper will keep her well employed with needle and iron. The linen-keeper relieves the other officials on their offduty, and this? gives added experience “in the trade” as well as being a welcome break in a very domestic life. The girl who thinks of taking up hotel work in any capacity must be a very strict disciplinarian. If she is too friendly with the understaff she will soon discover that her authority will soon be very little. Alanagers on every side complain of the great difficulty there is in finding the right type of woman, and vacancies are frequently coming up.