WOMEN’S NOTES.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVII, Issue 200, 24 July 1937, Page 12

WOMEN’S NOTES.

SWEETS

(By AJiss Alary Tallis) Home-made lollies. —Chocolate raisins : Cut 4oz. chocolate into small pieces and place in a jar. Add 1 teaspoonful of water and stand the jar in a saucepan of boiling water. When chocolate is melted stir briskly. Take }lb. stoned raisins and neatly pat raisins into shape and dip each one (on a fork) rnto the chocolate. Give a half twist to the -wrist as you lift each raisin out of tho chocolate. Dry on greaseproof paper. Almond toffee : Put lib. brown sugar, J teaspoonful of cream of tartar and 1 gill of water into a saucepan and heat slowly until sugar is dissolved. Then lx)il until a little will snap when tested in cold water. Add 1} oz. butter in small pieces. Boil for a minute or two. then pour into a buttered tin on which 2oz almonds, blanched and split, have been spread evenly. Cut into small oblongs when cold. Lemon drops: Grease the j inside of a saucepan with Joz. butter] and put in lib. loaf sugar and 5 tablespoonsful of strained lemon juice. Dissolve the sugar over gentle heat, then bring to the boil and boil for 10 minutes. Drop the mixture in 3 teaspoonsfnl upon buttered paper and leave until cold. Coconut figs: Put 1) teacupsful of granulated sugar. 1 tablespoonful of milk and a small piece of butter into a saucepan. Bring to tlie boil and continue to boil for 15 minutes. Add J teacupful of desiccated coconut and beat until the mixture is creamy. Stir in \ teacupful of chopped figs, and drop from a teaspoon on to a waxed paper. Springle with dry coconut. Honey snowball : AUnce 11b dates and 1 cupful shelled nuts. Alix together and add 2 tablespoonsful of honey and a pinch of salt. Shape into small balls and roll in powdered sugar.

DRESS. Rain-proof.—Gaiety tempered with common sense is, of course, the rule for the rainy season, and there is a whole world of attractive new rainwear from which to choose. Smart waterproofed coats of velvet corduroy, transparent oilskins with a lovely gleam that makes you look as if every single raindrop in the sky had alighted on you and left you shining, but dry; satin-surfacerl “macs” in almond green, Lido blue or cherry red ; very trim spot designs, white-dotted navy bine or pine green. These are just a few of the temptations to be found in the shops, and they almost invariably have pert little- turn-up hats to match. If your curls are difficult by nature and it is essential to keep them .dry, you can choose a dainty umbrella, too. and with a reasonably nice pair of shoes your rainy day outfit is good for several seasons' faithful wear. The chief winter enemy to beauty is cold; and everything you can do to keep yourself warm will help. Do try hard to get at least half-an-hour’s exercise each day. even if it means getting up a little earlier to walk to the office, or, if you are a housewife, planning your shopping differently so that you go out each dav instead of three times a week. If you arc ono of the “frozies” and. try as you will, your nose turns pink and your complexion slightly mauve when you go out in the cold air, try the effect of a course of calcium tablets from your chemist. Calc’um is invaluable for giving your. Wood the nourishing elements it needs, and splendid for chilblains.

GENERAL. Kitchen craft: The dirtiest frying pan will come clean if soaked in ammonia and water for a few minutes. To measure the treacle quickly dip the measuring spoon or cup in scalding water and the treacle will turn out quickly. To prevent a blister after a burn smear with a paste of whitening and water. A good lasting polish can be put on a stove by mixing the stove polish with black tea and a little sugar. Half a clotlies-peg kept in the kitchen will bo found very useful for lifting the close-fitting lids of tins. When black suede shoes become shabby a good way of restoring tlie colour is to mix an equal quantity of olive oil and black ink and apply to the shoes with an old toothbrush. When quite dry the mixture brings up the nap beautifully. After giving shoes tho final polish, wipe the edges where leather meets hose with soft tissue paper, and thus avoid smears on stockings. Cooking by Electricity.-—Because on many electric cookers tlie hot plate or discs are made of solid metal on the top, and the elements which contain the heat are either underneath or inside the disc, an even hc.it is distributed all over that area. To get the maximum heat from the amount of current used, the bottom of the saucepan should be tlie same shape as the disc, and should cover the whole area and be completely in contact everywhere. This isn’t possible with a light-weight saucep.in, because the beat causes it to wobble, and instead of the contents Iveing warmed the beat is merely wasted. I once heard the new user of an electric cooker complain that it took ages to boil an egg; it transpired that she had used a small saucenan with a. rounded

bottom which only came in contact with the heat at the centre. It was explained to her that if she had used a larger saucepan of a heavier type, the size of tlie disc, and perfectly flat at the bottom,, the result would have been satisfactory. Lots of saucepans become buckled after they have been in use for some time because of the metal expanding when hot and contracting when cold; therefore saucepans for electric cookers should have thick bottoms and thinner sides. Tlie bottom of the saucepan on the outside should be unpolished and the surface slightly rough, as this absorbs the hr.it much more readily than the brightly-polished surface. The tendency to buckle is overcome to a very large extent by the thickness of the metal. Some cookers have a spiral heater, which gets hot in a much shorter time lint, of course, it cools much more quickly. AYitli the solid disc you can turn the current off and there will bo still enough heat to boil the kettle. On the other hand von can use lighter utensils with tlie spiral he n ter.

Brushing your hair. —Do you know the correct way to brush your hair? It is upwards from the base of tho neck to the crown, from the iorehead to the crown, and from the temple to the crown. Try it, and you will find it stimulates the scalp and keeps it clean (dust and smuts will settle on the head if they are {lying about) and also that it improves the texture of your hair.