OF HMTEHEST TO WOMEN

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXVI, 23 December 1933, Page 9

OF HMTEHEST TO WOMEN

FASHIONS, FULLS aid FURBELOWS i

CORDED AND “SUPPLED” MATERIALS MORE DUSTER CHECKS THE BRIGHTER LINING Ribbed, rippled and crinkled materials, in cotton, silk wool and velvet, are now used even more generally than the plain-surface fabrics, exquisite though most of the latter be. It is an economical fashion, since the rougher surface does not show creases nor wear so readily as does the smooth one. Which probably explains its popularity in these hard times. RIPPLE CREPES “Crackle” or rippled crepes are chosen for day as well as evening frocks. Often they are patterned, but sometimes the effective surface is neither spotted nor barred nor sprinkled with floral sprays. Plain ripple crepe looks wonderful in black or white, and to the woman who is looking for a really hard-wearing day dress, I commend a plainly-cut black one, with touches of white or a pastel shade at neck and wrists. The white crepe is excellent for a little dance dress, especially if some

relief note —in the May of coloured or jewelled shoulder straps, or a vivid velvet sash —be introduced. One model I have seen with a sloping-off-the-shoulders bodice, small puff sleeves, and a full skirt, had a rich' sapphire-blue velvet sash swathed round the M'aist and tied in a big bunchy bow at the back. Another was brightened by a jade-green sash, and the girl M'lio wore it had a jade bracelet on her arm and a jade necklace round her neck. She looked adorable! The white ripple crepe dress, you understand is only for the debutante —it is so essentially “young.” The older woman can follow the' “rough-surface-material” vogue by choosing an ottoman silk gown. White ottoman is lovely for the evening, but rich prune-purple is just as good, and more serviceable. So are the wine and fdchsia and berry shades, and the brown range is favoured by several women whose dress-sense is undeniable. Black ottoman is used by one famous designer for suits, dresses and complete ensembles including hats. He will not have it for evening gowns, though, because ho says it. looks too heavy. I think he is right!

As for ribbed and crinkled cotton mixtures, they are in evidence in the form of blouses, jumpers and cinema frocks. There are some also with check and spotted patterns raised slightly from the backgrounds in the ■weave. BIBBED TRIMMINGS

Pique collars and cuffs still adorn plain business-like little dresses, and fine corded silk fichus and berthes look lovely on more elaborate gowns. In fitet a Paris dressmaker insists on a scrap of fine white ribbed silk either at the neck or the wrists on almost every one of what she terms her “bridge party frocks”—which shows how smart is the idea, for people “dress” quite seriously for afternoon bridge nowadays. DUSTER CHECKS It is interesting to see the favourite duster-check design creeping into the scheme of things this season, just as it did last. It conies hom’ in silk and in fine wool, as well as in the heavier woven materials, and looks extremely well in all.

Black and white clothes having been included in the wardrobes of M-ell-dress-ed women, it is not surprising, to find the duster-cheek pattern carried out in the magpie scheme. And we shall probably see quite a lot of boldly

barred black and white wool suits, as well as neat frocks in silks and silk-and-wool mixtures.

Black-and-red is another good scheme. Good, too, are the real “duster” colourings—blue.-and-white, and red-and-white. Black-and-yellow checks also look well. In Paris now there is something of a craze for the black-and-yellow theme —not necessarily expressed in the check material, but often developed in a black suit and a yellow blouse, or a black frock with pale yellow collar, or berthe, or belt. BRIGHT LININGS

Talking of black suits, the idea at the moment is to have the jackets lined with very bright silk or satin to match the vivid blouses that go with them. Also to line really practical and hard-wearing travelling coats with gay checked material — wool if warmth is the object, artificial silk otherwise.

The chief tone of the lining is “picked up” by the cap, or the quill or ribbon -that trims’ it. And, in the really smart travel outfit, the colour note is repeated again in the blouse or frock beneath the coat. Then suitcase and hat-box are carefully chosen as regards colour to match the clothes, successfully completing a well-thought-out scheme.—Diana Dane.

“CRAZES” IN FOOD There - are crazeh in food as in everything else. In Elizabeth’s time, a sort of nougat was the fashionable sweet. To-day, chocolate takes the public fancy and ip an important commercial product. In Pliny’s day lupins were the rage. Everybody ate lupins—seed, stalk, root, —boiled, toasted, or caramelled. Indeed, they were the fashion for so long, and played such a large part in the lives of the Romans who fed themselves and their cattle upon them, that it seems strange that they should have dropped, so completely out of the running. The old saying: “He does not know a. libel from a lupin” is derived from the fact that the Romans called the counters witn which they gambled lupins, or beans, and a libel was one of the smaller silver coins.

LUPINS FOR HEALTH AND BEAUTY In f orders to obtain a bright and cheerful complexion, Pliny recommends white lupins soaked in hot water, then dried in hot ashes. Lupins were also highly flavoured in some special way, and eaten in order to provoke thirst, in very much the same way as olives were salted in order that people would desire and enjoy wine. Indeed lupins were considered so excellent for the health of body and soul that a certain artist who was painting a magnificent' hunting scene is said to have lived on them for seven, years to keep his imagination bright! And. when all is said and done, why should the chocolate bean be so. superior to the lupin? We have ‘not tried the latter.

If the ancients bad been confronted witli “Devil’s Food,” or “Nigger in Nightgown,” they would have had every reason to feel alarmed. And if posterity comes across the names of these favourite sweets of to-day it will, no doubt, be extremely mystified. Meanwhile, here is a very excellent way of making a. delicious “Devil’s Food.”

Put four heaped desertspoonsful of unsweetened cocoa into a basin w’ith three-quarters of a teacupful of granulated sugar, and mix with half a cupful of milk. Add the beaten yolk of one egg, and stir the mixture slowly over lom' heat till it thickens. Leave it in the saucepan to cool. Now cream half a cupful of butter and add to it threequarters of a cupful of granulatfid sugar, one well-beaten egg, a quarter of a cupful of milk, and one and a half cupsful of flour mixed with half a teaspoonful of bi-carbonate of soda. Stir the two mixtures together. Have

ready a cake tin lined with buttered paper, and pour the mixture into this. As it rises a good deal, the tin should only be three parts, full. Bake for about three-quarters of an hour to one hour. When quite cold, ice it thus:| Roll and sift a teacupful of icing sugar, and inix it with 2 large dessertspoonsful of cocoa. Melt a tablespoonful of butter, mix it with the sugar, and add just enough boiling water to make a smooth paste which can be poured over the Devil’s Food, and spread on the sides with a knife. ’ NIGGER-IN-NIGHTGOWN

This sweet hails from France, where it is a strong favourite. It is uncooked, and should be made twentyfour hours before it is used, otherwise it may not set. It should be of the sticky, marsh-mallow consistency when ready.

Beat the yolks of four eggs till they are the colour of a lemon. The more you beat them the better they be! Add to them three ounces of fine castor sugar. Now melt three ounces of good strong chocolate in a jam pot placed in a saucepan of hot water. When it is a thick paste, add it to the eggs and beat all together. Pour into a jelly mould, and leave to set. When quite cold, turn out and cover completely with cream. The cream should be whipped sufficiently to prevent it from running, and should be used just before serving the sweet. —M. L. Tyrrell.

OUR “CHRONIC” AILMENTS Chronic catarrh is a term which covers quite a number of ailments, because it can have its root in different organs of the body. Strictly speaking, no complaint should be allowed to become “chronic.” But, human nature being what it is, we let little things slide until they become bad enough to make insistent demands upon our attention.

Chronic cold in the head is a catarrhal condition due usually to recurring doses of infection. Uidess the germs are cleared out, and the nasal pmsages toned'up, heavy “colds” are sure to follow one another in rapid succession. Daily washing by mean's of a nasal douche filled with a mild thymoline solution, or with common salt and warm water (proportions, 1 teaspoonful otksalt to pint of water) is the only effective remedy. The treatment must, of course, be carried on for'a considerable time before cure can be expected. The common causes of chronic throat trouble are mouth breathing, and much use of the voice which brings on what is known as “clergyman’s throat.” Soothing and mildly astringent gurgles used several times a day, and a course of artificial sunlight (ultra-violet rays) are the best ways of dealing with this. A few applications of the “sunlight” throughout the year will often save a teacher’s or speaker’s throat from reaching the loss-of-voice stage, but these rays should only be administered upon a doctor’s prescription and by a skilled operator. A chronic tendency to bronchitis can frequently be checked by the oldfashioned means of wearing a small chest protector of chamois leather under the clothing during any chilly “snap.” This, being windproof, prevents any sudden rush of cold air from striking directly upon the bronchial tubes and chilling them, with the consequent setting-up of catarrh. Elderly people will find this a safeguard well worth trying. Many people suffer from a chronic cough, the cause of which may be enlarged or inflamed tonsils, irritation behind the nose, irritation from the ears, of, of course, smoking. Smoking may also be responsible in part for any of the other chronic catarrhal conditions mentioned.

Cough mixtures, throat pastilcs, and the .like, are mere palliatives. The origin of the trouble must be found, and dealt with, if a euro is to be effected. Wherever thero have been signs of chronic catarrh, the great importance of building up the general health should be remembered. kitchepTcorner TESTED RECIPES Eggs on Tomatoes A little supper dish which you can prepare quickly is always welcome. Take an equal number of large tomatoes and small ones, one of each for each person. Cut the tops from the tomatoes and remove the pulp. Season the tomato cases and pour in an egg with the yolk unbroken. Place ‘the tomatoes in a greased baking tin and bake in a hot oven till the whites of the eggs are set. Baste every few minutes with a- little butter. Serve piping hot on founds of buttered toast.

Scrambled Egg as the Dutch prepare it

Break a new-laid egg into a saucepan, add half an ounce of butter, a dessertspoonful of milk, and a little salt and pepper. Cook very slowly, stirring with a spoon, and add a dessertspoonful of (hiked cooked haddock. When set sufficiently, pile on a round of toast, and sprinkle with grated cheese. Brown the cheese under the grill before serving.

Lamb Sweetbreads in White Sauce

■Steep the su'cetbreads in warm water for a couple of hours, changing the water once or twice. Then put them into a saucepan of boiling Mater and cook for 2 or 3 minutes. Afterwards plunge them into cold M'ater, take off all skin, dry in a cloth, and put them on a plate with another weighted plate on top. Press thus for an hour. Finally put the sweetbreads in a double saucepan, cover with milk, simmer gently for half to three-quarters of an hour, take up, and keep hut. Make the white sauce, using the milk the sweet-

breads were cooked in. put in the sweetbreads, and let them simmer till wanted. Vegetarian “Nut Roast” Half pound ground nuts, one onion, one. tablespoon fat, three or four tomatoes (skinned or chopped), salt and pepper, one egg (optional), two breakfast cups bread (or one of bread and one of cooked rice or mashed potatoes), one teaspoon marmite mixed with quarter pint of water. Fry the onion, put it with the bread crust and crumb through the mincer (or nutmill if you have one). Mix all ingredients, adding sufficient liquid to moisten them well. Bake in a well-greased till one hour till browned'all over, or form into a round hall and hake 30 to -10 minutes, hasting with butter. Serve with bread, sauce, gravy, fried potatoes, and green vegetables. This is enough for six or seven people.

Banana Jam Six pounds bananas, 21b juicy pears, two lemons,' 4Mb sugar. Peel, scrape, and cut the bananas into small pieces. Peel and cut pears into same sized pieces. Put the pears into a preserving pan, with 111) sugar and the juice of

two lemons, and when these boil, add by degrees the remaining sugar and bananas. Stir carefully until it boils, and boil for one hour, keeping skimmed. Put into pots immediately.

Chocolate Fruit Cake Ingredients: 4.\ox cup chocolate, (ioz flour, 2oz currants, 2 eggs, 2oz castor sugar, -jib butter or margarine, 2o’z sultanas, 1 teaspoon baking powder. Method: Pick over, wash, and dry fruit. Sift flour, chocolate, and baking powder into a basin. Grease a cake tin, and line with 2 layers of greased paper. Beat butter and sugar to ft. cream in a basin.' Stir in 1 egg at a time, beating well between each addition. Add (lour and fruit alternately with a little milk, just enough to make a thick batter. Stir in a few drops almond essence, then turn mixture into cake tin. Bake in a moderate oven (350 degrees F.) for about hour. Test with a skewer to see if cake is dry before removing from oven. If not, bake a. little longer. Turn on to a cake rack and leave till cold.

Priory Seed Cake Ingredients.—Mb of butter whipped to a cream, Mb sifted sugar, and the yolks of four eggs put in separately and each one well mixed before add- - ing another; loz citron in small pieces, loz carraway seeds, Mb Hour, well dried. Method.—Mix well. Then whisk the whites of four eggs very well and add just before putting it in the oven. Bake in moderate oven for 11 _ hours. Weight, when baked, about 21b. Scotch Shortbread

Ingredients—lib flour, 3oz sugar, loz citron peel, loz orange peel, loz blanched almonds, Alb butter, and a little melted butter for mixing. Method. —Sieve flour, rub in the butter, add the sugar, rub in well, add tho peel and tho almonds blanched and shredded, then just enough melted butter to make into a stiff paste. Roll out about 1 Ain thick, divide into three rounds, and stain]) each until a wooden mould or pinch up the edges if you have not one. Bake in a moderate and then a slou r oven for one to 1J hours.

When cold, pipe a greeting on them. Properly speaking, they should be decorated with a few pink and M’hite carrawav comfits, or, failing this, a thin slice of citron peel may be put on before the shortbread, is baked.

Place some pieces of stale sponge cake in the bottom of a glass dish. Cover with the pineapple (saving a few pieced for decorating) and juice. Make a nice boiled custard and pour over. When cold, pile with uhipped cream and decorate with the pineapple. 'This dish is much improved if prepared the day before it is needed. The Christmas Turkey Place the turkey in a baking dish M'ith plenty of good dripping in a hot oven, basting frequently. Allow 2 hours for a small bird, and 3 or 4 hours for a large bird. Seasoning: Alb breadcrumbs, ; ] lb beef suet, salt and pepper, 2 tablespoons chopped parsley, rirnl of half a lemon, .] teaspoon nutmeg, 2 eggs; grate the suet, add breadcrumbs and all other ingredients. Mix thoroughly, and stuff the bird. Serve with bread sauce and gravv. Roast Duck Clean, Mash and wipe very carefully. Stuff with sage and onions. Baste frequently. To make the stuffing take 1 onion, (i sage leaves, I egg, 4oz breadcrumbs, 1 Aoz butter, 1 teaspoon of salt and A teaspoon pepper. Put the onion in boiling M’ater and boil for ten minutes; scald the sage leaves, chop the onions and sage very line ami mix. M'ith the other ingredients.

Stuffed Christmas Goose One pound finely chopped onions, lib of breadcrumbs, 1 dessertspoon chopped sage, 1 teaspoon thyme. Soak breadcrumbs in a little water and squeeze dry. Mix with the onions, sage, thyme and seasoning: add 1 beaten egg and loz melted butter. Wipe goose inside and out with damp cloth, stuff, then dredge with Hour. Put into baking dish; cover bird with plenty of dripping and sprinkle with salt. Keep well hasted in hot oven and bake 2 or 3 hours according to size. Turn bird over after first hour. Cover with greased paper. If the Fowl is Tough A tough fowl can he made delicious if it is parboiled before being roasted, and stuffed in the following manner: Boil 3 onions for an hour; strain and chop them. Add half cupful ot breadcrumbs, teaspoon sage, a small piece of butter, salt and pepper to taste. Mix well together. Take the fowl from the pot, drain it and leave to cool. Then fill with the. onion stuffing and tie up securely. Cook slowly, hasting frequently, for 2 hours. Put a little water in"" the baking dish. Make thick gravy with giblets and make bread sauce. Quick Mince Pies

Peel and core 3 large apples, put through mincer, then mince Mb of seeded raisins and a piece of peel. Add 3oz of sugar (brown), 1 teaspoonful of ground ginger, 3oz of chopped suet, a pinch of salt, juice of lemon. Mix all well together, and bake in crust, either flat on slide or as pies in plates.

Salted Almonds Ingredients. —jib almonds, 1 tablespoon butter, salt. Method.—Blanch the almonds and dry them. Heat the butter in a small pan, add the almonds. Stir constantly to brown evenly. Drain on paper. Sprinkle with salt and serve in small dishes. Devilled Peanuts

Ingredients. —Jib peanuts (when shelled), 1 tablespoon butter, salt and cayenne. Method. —Shell the peanuts and remove the thin brown skin. Make Die butter hot in a small pan, add the peanuts, stir over a low gas till evenly browned. Drain on paper. Mix 1 teaspoon salt and J teaspoon cayenne on clean paper, toss the peanuts in it till well coated. Serve in small dishes.

Trifle Ingredients.—About 1 dozen stale sponge cakes or some sponge fingers, jam, sherry, 4 pint custard, loz almonds (blanched), a few macaroons, i pint cream, 1 dessertspoon sugar, few cherries. Method.—Cut the cakes in halves, spread with jam, arrange in a glass dish piling high in the centre, with a few macaroons and chopped almonds between each layer. Sprinkle with sherry. Make'the custard, when cool, pour over the cake. Whip the cream and sugar together; decorate through a cream bag and pipe, ornament with strips of almonds and cherries cut into rings.

Chocolate Nut Cream Filling Ingredients: loz cup chocolate, Jib butter, % tin condensed milk, jib brown sugar, 3oz chopped nuts, 1 tablespoon water. Method: Place sugar and water in a saucepan, bring to boil, boil 5 minutes. Add milk, butter and cup chocolate. Boil for 3 or 4 minutes, stirring constantly. Add nuts. Cool slowly. Add a few drops of vanilla essence. Use when cold. •

Chocolate Scrunch Ingredients: Mb cup chocolate, -J teaspoon vanilla, J teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1 cup stoned dates, 1 cup stoned raisins, 1 teaspoon grated orange rind. Method: Put stoned dates and raisins through a mincer. Add orange rind, cinnamon and vanilla. Mix ingredients well and form into balls. Melt chocolate in a double boiler. Dip balls in, one by one, using a wire chocolate dipper'or very tine knitting needle. Place on waxed paper to cool and harden. HOUSEHOLD HINTS

THINGS USEFUL TO KNOW To preserve and clean leather furniture, prepare a mixture of vinegar and linseed oil, using one part vinegar to two parts oil. Apply this mixture to the leather part of the furniture in order to preserve its appearance. Use very little, rubbing it on with a soft cloth; then polish with a silk duster. If the leather is stained it may be cleaned with white liquid shoe-cream. Apply sparingly with soft muslin, and polish with a silk duster.

Washing Lace Curtains Ecru lace curtains should be soaked for one hour in cold, soft M'ater before being M’ashed by squeezing in lukewarm soapy M'ater, using soap flakes to make a good lather. Rinse by squeezing the curtains in clear warm water, M’ring, and dry. Their appearance will be much improved by the use of a little starch—one part of ecru to two parts of white. Stains on Silver . Wet salt M'ill remove egg stains from spoons, whitening mixed with ammonia Mill take auuiy other marks without any trouble or injuring the silver. When the stains have been removed the silver should be M’ashed and polished. Ebony Backed Brushes Ebony backed brushes soon show M'hite marks if water is allowed to soak into the wood M’licn the brushes are Mashed. To prevent this, spread a little olive oil over the ebony and rub off aftonvards M’ith a dry duster. In addition to protecting it, this M'ill give the wood a beautiful polish.