THE HOME.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 13501, 27 July 1907, Page 6 (Supplement)

THE HOME.

THE TABLE.

Ctjkkant Scones : One pound of Vienna flour, 30i5 of butter, " 2oz of castor sugar, 3oz of currants, one teaspoonful of cream of tartar, half a teaspoonful of bi-carbonate of soda, half a pint of -milk, and one, egg./ Method: Sift the flour on to a clean board, or into a basin, add one pinch of salt, and rub the butter in lightly. /: Make a well in the centre, and put in the sugar. Mix the currants with the cream of tartar and add soda. , Pour in the milk and work up quickly into a smooth dough. Divide it into six parts,' shape each into a round and flatten out with a rolling pin to about four inches in diameter. Place them on a floured baking sheet, brush over with beaten egg, and divide each into four with the point of a knife. Bake in a fairly hot oven for about twenty -minutes. - - -•' Currant Soda Cake: One pound of flour, £lb of currants, -j,lb of brown sugar, -jib of butter, two eggs, two teaspoonfulsof treacle, one teaspoonful of bi-carbonate of soda, half a pint of milk. Method— the flour and soda, rub in the butter, add the sugar, currants/treacle, milk, and eggs. Beat all well together, fill in two well-but-tered cake moulds, and bake in a moderately hot oven for about an hour and a quarter. ' ' ' . • , . _ ■ * Queen Cakes: Quarter of a pound of butter, 6oz castor sugar, jib of flour, jib of currants, three eggs, one teaspoonful of baking powder, rind of half a lemon, grated. Method—Beat the butter to a cream and add the sugar, flour, yolks of eggs, currants, baking powder, lemon rind, and lastly: the 5 whites of eggs beaten tc a stiff froth; grease the,tins well and -half fill with the mixture and bake about twenty minutes in a hot even. Currant Turnovers : Half a pound of puff paste, 4oz of currants, 2oz of sugar, 2ozof finely-chopped candied peel, half a teaspoonful of mixed spice. Method —Cut the paste into rather small rounds. Then mix the currants, sugar, peel, and spice in a basin, with just enough warm water to melt the sugar. Drop «i teaspoonful of the mixture on to • each round, moisten the edges and fold over. Brush lightly with white of egg, and sift over castor sugar. Wheaten Meal ' Scones: One pound wheaten meal, 2oz of butter, 2oz of sugar, quarter of a pint of milk, one egg, -Joz of cream; of • tartar, •J'.oz of bi-carbon-ate of soda, £lb of currants. "• Methodßub the cream of tartar and bi-car-bonate of soda through a sieve to prevent any lumpy,; then mix with the meal. Add the butter, rubbing it well in, then add the currants and sugar beat up the egg with the milk. Mix all together to a fairly stiff paste. Divide it into two parts. -Shape each into a round and flatten out with the rolling-pin about four inches in diameter. Place them on a. floured baking-sheet, brush over with beaten egg, and divide each into four with the point of a knife. Bake in a fairly hot oven for about twenty-five minutes. - HOUSEHOLD HINTS. . - , • Tan leather shoes which, have become mud-stained can be beautifully cleaned by rubbing with a slice of raw potato. When dry polish in the usual way. Kitcheners should always be well cleaned once a week, and then polished every day with old newspaper. This gives a better effect than using blacklead every day, and i also saves much hard labour., good embrocation is made by dissolving loz of gum arabic in equal amounts of loz each of spirits of hartshorn, spirits of camphor, oil of spikil, and oil of opodeldoc. Shake well before using. This is excellent for rheumatism and sprains. It is almost impossible to prevent rubbing the surrounding. woodwork when one is cleaning the brass of the keyhole. Why not take a piece of thin cardboard and cut a piece the size of the keyhole out of the middle and/hold it on to the door during : the /polishing : operation? This would" save the paint. "... "/■/>■ ;•'";-■. , .','" f¥' --/ ':H .' An efficient base 'for ticket/writing ink | can be made as follows : —Dissolve an ounce of gum arabic .in six ounces of water, and strain. Their add little good hard white ;spirit',varnish. In order to obtain a black colour, powder some black finely, and mix well. For white, flake white should be used in the same manner; for red, Vermillion ; for green, emerald green; for yellow, chrome, .Apply with a small brush. If /you make the mixture too thick to write easily thin it with a little water., A good brass lacquer can be made by dissolving an ounce of ground tumeric, two drachms of saffron, and two drachms of Spanish annatto in one pint of highly rectified spirits of wine. •Place the bottle in a moderately warm place and leave it for four or five days, occasionally shaking it well. Powder roughly three ounces of good seed-lac and add ;-■ shake* occasionally until the lac has dissolved. It should be slightly warmed and applied with, a clean paint - brush. Should the colour not be quite dark enough add a little more annatto. ; The best way to clean a tapestry chair is first to remove the covering carefully and then fasten it down tightly with drawing pins on to a beard or kitchen table. Dip a soft white cloth into some rectified benzine and rub vigorously. Cloths with fust colours can be successfully treated by the following method: Dissolve 4oz of washing soda in a quart of boiling water, add to it one moderate sized fresh ox gall. Dip a brush in the liquid, rub the grease spots 'first, and - then go thoroughly " over the' whole. When sufficiently rubbed, rinse in cold water until it is clear. Squeeze the water out, but do not twist the material. Shake; well and hang - out' to dry. '/While drying shake into shape to prevent shrinkage. While still -damp iron on wrong side with a warm iron and then finish airing. PAPER THREAD WONDERS. It is not improbable that ladies' dresses made of paper will soon be seen in Paris. This is in consequence of a new invention of paper thread, or cotton made from . paper, which-does not easily snap, and is impervious to damp and non-inflammable. 'Its cost price is one-third that of cotton and a tenth that. of linen./ It can be manufactured into carpet bags, hats, shoes, towels, and light summer costumes for men and women..