THE HOME.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVI, Issue 14223, 20 November 1909, Page 6 (Supplement)

THE HOME.

THE STRAWBERRY SEASON.

SOME DELICIOUS DISHES.

Strawberries and Bananas : Cut bananas into • slices and arrange them alternately with strawberries in layers, sprinkling each layer with castor sugar. Strawberries should make the last layer. Pour a glass of sherry over the whole.

Strawberries and Lemon: After removing the stalks, place the fruit in a deep dish and sprinkle well with castor sugar, then squeeze the juice of a lemon all over the fruit, and allow it to stand for about ten minutes. One lemon is sufficient for each pound of fruit. The lemonjuico brings out the flavour of the strawberries.

; Strawberry Souffle: Steam and wash a quart or more of strawberries and put into a saucepan with the grated peel of half a lemon and a cupful of sugar. Let simmer on the back of the stove or in a double' boiler until the sugar is entirely dissolved. Beat the yolks of four eggs in a pint of milk. Sweeten to taste and cook in a double boiler until thick. Lino the sides of a glass dish with the strawberries, making a high wall of the fruit but leaving the centre hollow. When the custard is cold pour it into the centre and cover with a meringue made of the whites of the four eggs.

Strawberry Tapioca: Soak a cupful of tapioca in cold water over night. In the morning put half of it in a buttered dish. Sprinkle with sugar and put in a quart of strawberries. Sprinkle the strawberries with sugar, put in the rest of the tapioca, sprinkle again with sugar. Fill the dish with water, which should cover the tapioca for half an inch. Bake in a moderate oven until the pudding has a clear look. If the water evaporates when the pudding is baking, add more. It should be eaten cold with cream.

Mock Strawberry Cream : Take a dessertspoonful of strawberry preserves or a cupful of fresh ones carefully stemmed, with enough cream to fill any mould desired, say a pint or a quart, and rub the strawberries and cream tnrough a sieve. Dissolve twothirds of an ounce of gelatine in half a pint of hot water. When almost cold stir it into the cream. Pour into the mould and set on ice for some hours.

Strawberry Salad: Fill some glasses with strawberries that have been cut in half, and having prepared some orange jelly pour it •over them warm. Let this jelly sot, turn it out on some lettuce leaves and cover the whole with French dressing which has beeii made with lomonjuice instead of vinegar. To make the jelly, dissolve a tablespoonful of gelatine in a little cold water with a tablespoonful of sugar, a pint of hot water, aud the juice of two small oranges. Strain this and use it.

''. Strawberry Frappe : Boil together a quart of water and two clip's and a-half of white crystallised sugar for ten minutes, then strain it. Add to it a cup and a-half of strained pure strawberry juice and half freeze the whole mixture. Open the freezer quickly and add to the mixture a large cup of whipped cream, then close the freezer and let the delicacy stand for an hour before using it. ; It should be served in glasses, with a little rum poured over • each one.; Any liqueur that is liked may' be used for the" purpose instead of rum. .

Strawberry Tartlets : Take some thin pieemit and line some patty pans with it, then bake it, and when it is cold till each one with freshly- strawberries which havo been stalked, a teaspoonful of powdered sugar on each one and a suggestion of maraschino. When serving the tartlets put whipped cream on the top of each one. -

Frozen Strawberries: Take a quart of maehed strawberries and add to it a syrup in the proportion of half a pint of water boiled for five minutes with a cupful of sugar. Add to this the juice of two; oranges, then etrairi the mixture' and freeze it in a mould, afterwards turning it out and garnishing it. • _ ;• , ; ; .

USEFUL HOUSEHOLD ECONOMIES.! '{ Straw matting should always be washed with warm water and salt. Water alone would turn it yellow, but the salt has a counteracting effect. ' ' : When gas globes have become very dirty with smoke, they should be soaked in warm water and soda for a while, and then washed with soap and water to which ammonia has been added. Finally they should be rinsed in clear cold water and dried with a linen glaes cloth. , After washing cut glass, it must be dried thoroughly and brushed over with powdered chalk. A soft brush should bo used,' and all the crevices carefully gone into. Japanned trays or coal-scuttles which have become dull and lustreless may be restored by polishing them with a mixture of white brick and vinegar applied with a piece of rag. This should then be wiped off with another piece of cloth, and the article rubbed with a dry chamois leather till a brilliant polish is secured. Tea leaves, when eprinkled upon a carpet for sweeping, are apt to stain it if trodden uDon. To prevent this, let the leaves stand for a few -hours in a pan of water, then squeeze them dry just before using. They will not injure the most delicate carpet if treated in this way. Damp bran makes an excellent substitute for the tea leaves, for it cleans the carpet during the sweeping process, and * prevents the dust from rising also. A bicycle pump is a great help if used when cleaning out the pipes of the gas stove, as it blows out the dirt that cannot easily be reached. For cracked finger-tips try castor oil and keep hands as dry as is possible. Wear gloves as much as is possible when at dry work. Fill a stone hot-water bottle before going to bed, wrap it up in flannel, and place at foot of bed between sheets, and it will keep hot ajl night. If not wanted it will be hot enough to wash with in the morning.

OUR HOUSEWIVES' COLUMN. The Bedroom : Nothing is more surely to be relied upon to secure a freehand healthy complexion than pure air and sunshine. Allow every ray of sunshine, that strikes the window of the sleeping apartment to enter the room. Keep the window always open, and invariably during the hours of sleep. The Dressingroom: The girl who has come home from her holidays with tanned and freckled hands should try washing them in very hot water in which a little vinegar has been dropped. The juice of a lemon is also beneficial, but if the sharp acid is baneful to the hands it is a good plan to take the juice of a lemon and to add a little powl dered borax to it and dilute it with twice as much water.

The Diningroom : Should leather-covered, chairs look shabby, boil half a pint of linseed oil, and when it is cold stir into it half a pint of vinegar. These ingredients should be mixed thoroughly and the result be bottled for use. When it is required, shake the bottle well and pour a little of the mixture on a soft flannel and rub it thoroughly into the leather. Polish the leather with soft dusters.

• The Drawingroom: To remove ink stains from mahogany, rosewood, or black walnut furniture, put* half-a-dozen drops of spirits of nitre in a spoonful of water and touch the stain with a feather made wet with the mixture. .As .soon as the .ink disappears rub the place with a cloth which has been dampened with cold water, or the nitre will leave a white spot that will not be easy to remove. If the ink spot still appears after washing off the nitre apply the treatment a second time. , .... ...