THE HOME.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVIII, Issue 14787, 16 September 1911, Page 6 (Supplement)

THE HOME.

PAPER BAG RECIPES.

Invalid's Lamb Chop.— the chop

neatly and remove unnecessary fat. Dust with pepper sad salt, adding a good pinch

of chopped parsley. Place the chop in a

bag, previously rubbed on the inside with butter, secure it carefully, and cook for five or six minutes. Have a hot plate ready, slide the chop on to it and the invalid will find a perfectly cooked dinner before her. Tripe and Onions.—This is an easily prepared dish, and one that invalids should

indulge in. Rub over the inside of the

bag with dripping, place in it one pound of carefully cleaned tripe, four onions

sliced thinly, and a teacupfulof milk. Work half an ounce of butter into half an ounce

of flour, season with pepper and salt, add to the tripe, etc. Fold and secure the ends of tho bag carefully and cook for threequarters of an hour. Never omit to place

tho bag on the grid in the oven.

Mince. Chop the meat you wish to use, add a little powdered sweet herbs and a couple of small onions cut in slices. Dust all with pepper and salt, and dredge with seasoned flour. Add a spoonful of good gravy and a couple of lean slices of bacon, with a final flavouring of any sauce preferred.' Grease the inside of a bag. Place the mince in it and cook gently for half-an-hour, turn out to serve.

For Boiled Fowl.—Place a nicely prepared and trussed fowl in a paper bag, put a little bacon or fat ham on the breast. Place in the bag a sliced carrot, one onion, in which two cloves are stuck, a small bunch of sweet herbs, a strip of lemon peel, salt and pepper according to taste, add three-quarters of a pint of water. Seal up the bag, tie a piece of string round the ends of the bag in case any of the broth j should be lost Place on a grid, and cook | from three-quarters of an hour to sixtyI five minutes, according to the size of the I bird. Dish the fowl, strain the broth, and I make some nice white sauce with it.

Lamb's Sweetbreads. three or four lamb's sweetbreads in boiling water. Take off tho skins. Grease a bag thickly. Season each sweetbread with pepper and salt lightly, and pour over each a tablespoonful of thick white sauce; or, better still, if you have it, cream. Slip into the j bag, cook in a very moderate oven slowly for forty minutes. Slit the bag, slip the contents* on to a hot. dish, and serve with a border of boiled French beans and small rashers of bacon. HOME HINTS. Drink sweet milk after eating onions ; I it will purify the breath so that no odour j will remain.

To carry butter to a picnic in hot weather pack it into a cup and press a piece of ice in the centre to keep it cool.

When washing brushes of any kind add fa little ammonia to the water. There ■ is less danger of tho bristles dropping | out.

Do not leave wooden tubs dry, or they j will quickly crack and come apart. Keep j a little water always standing in them.

Fingers stained with fresh fruit, wal- | nuts, etc., should be dipped in strong ! tea, nibbed with a nail brush, and then ; washed in warm water.

.To remove fly spots from mirrors: and j picture glasses, take a cloth and dip in a little pure paraffin, rub the spots well, j then polish with a dry duster or chamois.

Always commence to cut a cucumber ; at the thick end; the thin end has a >:bitter taste. If the whole cucumber is not cut lip, stand the" cut end of the unused half in a basin of cold water. I

Before Filling Salt "Cellars, place the table salt in a slow oven to dry thoroughly. Allow it to get cold, and by doing so the salt will keep finely powdered instead of hardening into a solid mass.

To make new potatoes scrape easily put them to soak a little while with a small piece of common soda in the water. You will find them scrape and clean beautifully ; also the fingers twill not be soiled.

To stop the ravages of moths, when they have made their appearance, wrap the article in thin cloths, then cover with wet Turkish towels and put them in the oven to steam. This will always rout moths.

If a teaspoonful of glycerine be added to every 4ib of any kind of jam or marmalade a quarter of an hour before boiling is completed it will bo found to remove the foggy appearance, and make the preserve transparent and firmer than the usual home-made jams.

For removing grass stains from flannel get some lump fuller's earth from the chemist, wet it, and place on the stain. Let it remain there for a couple of hours, and then rub lightly. If the first application does not remove the stain, apply a second time, brushing off when perfectly dry.

To take out rain marks, iron the cloth on the right side with a moderately hot iron, placing a clean damp cloth between the material and the iron. The cloth must be kept damp in order to be a fiuccess. Treated in this way, the rain marks will not only disappear but the cloth will not spot again. DOMESTIC POINTS. Coare salt sprinkled occasionally on the floor before sweeping is said to be a good preventive of moth. Safety matches can be struck just as easily on a piece of smooth coal as they can on the safety match-box case.

All traces of mud can be removed from skirts and gentlemen's black garments by rubbing the stains with a raw cut potato. Bread should be kept in an earthenware pan, which should have a cover. This pan ought to be scalded once a week, and then carefully dried.

Always put a cauliflower in plain water, so as to draw out any insects. . If salt is placed in the water it kills the insects and they are left in the vegetable.

It is surprising how much more juice you can get from the heated lemon. Place the lemon in a heated oven, and it will yield more juice than one that is squeezed when cold.

Remember when frying fish that if the fat in which it is fried is not quite boiling the fish will be greasy, sodden, end unwholesome. _ Never put in the fish till a blue smoke is rising from the fat.

If grease is spilled on a wooden table, pour cold water over it at once. The cold water will harden the grease and prevent it sinking into the wood. It can be easily removed with a knife.

When two glass tumblers or dish, s stick together eo that there is danger of breaking in getting them apart, put c.M water in the inner one and hold the out one in warm water, and they will separate at once. .

Scrubbing brushes after use should be put away with the bristles downwards. If turned the other way, the water soaks into the wood of the brush, and the bristles are apt to become loose in consequence.

A quick way of making breadcrumbs is to put the crumbs from a etale loaf into a muslin bag, tie it at the top, then rub gently between the hands for a few minutes. The crumbs will be fine enough for any purpose.

Art muslin curtains should never be washed in warm water. Make a lather with hot water, and when it is nearly cold wash the curtains. If these are green, add a little vinegar; if lilac or pink, a little ammonia. Salt will set the colour of black and white muslin.

Tablecloths will last much, longer if, when they are washed, they are folded one week in three and the next in four. If folded exactly the same way each time the folds will wear into holes, while the rest of the cloth is goo«l»

KITCHENETTES.

Turpentine is excellent for washing sinks which have become dull and dirty.

The juice of a tomato is said to be excellent to remove ink, wine, and fruit stains."

When mixing starch, tho addition of a few drops of turpentine will give a fine gloss to collars and cuffs. «

All traces of mud can easily be removed from black clothes by rubbing the spots with a raw potato cut in half.

Hot lemonade is one of the best remedies in the world for a cold. Its acts promptly and effectively, and has no unpleasant after effects. " - ,

For the destruction of ants, spiders, and cockroaches, a strong solution of alum in boiling water poured over the infested parts will be found excellent.

Directly tea is spilt on a tablecloth cover the stain with common salt. Leave for a little while, and when the cloth is washed all stains will have disappeared.

A little turpentine dissolved in warm water is tho best thing to wash window glass, mirrors, or glass globes. A little alcohol will also do wonders in brightening glass.

Burns often occur in the kitchen, so it is well to remember that a raw potato is a good remedy. Scrape or grate the potato, and apply it like a poultice to the injured surface; it will be found most soothing.

Lemon is not only good for whitening clothes, but it also removes stains from handkerchiefs. Cut a lemon, into slices, rind and all, put it into tho boiler with the clothes, and let it remain till they are ready to come out.

The dripping from roast mutton, when used for making pastry, sometimes gives it a tallowy taste. If a few drops of vinegar and a very little good salad-oil be beaten up with the dripping, it will be found as good as beef dripping for cakes.

When an egg has been boiled too long, it can be softened again by instantly lifting the pan off the fire and quickly placing under tho tap, allowing a good stream of cold water to pour into it. The sudden shock from hot to cold has the curious effect of softening the egg.

When boiling new milk, to prevent a skin from forming on tho ton as it cools, add two tablespoonfuls of cold milk to every pint when at boiling point, and stir for a minute. The so-called '' skin" will then be reabsorbed, and the milk will not be \ impoverished.

Boots and shoes to be kept in good order ought often to be cleaned, whether they are worn or not, care also being taken that they are not left in a damp place or put too near the fire to dry. In cleaning take care to brush and not scrape the dirt away from the seams.

' Never throw away old pieces of soap. They can bo used for making soap jelly for washing flannels, blouses, etc. Put by tho pieces till you have a good collection, then pour on enough boiling water to just cover them, and stir till dissolved. Keep in a jar and use as required.

When a pipe from a lavatory basin or a bath becomes clogged with soap, mix a handful of soda and a handful of common salt together, and force it down into pipe. Leave this for half an hour, then pour down a large kettelful of boiling water, afterwards rinsing the pipe thoroughly with warm water.

A duplicate list of clothes sent to the laundry is such a useful thing to have that it is well to keep on hand, with the tablet for writing the original list, a sheet of carbon paper. This paper, placed under the original list as it is written, will give a perfect copy. It should be of the same size as the sheets of. paper "composing the tablet.

If you are already* troubled with flies in your kitchen place a few.live coals on a pan in the middle of the room, and put some bits of carbon on them. Leave the door open, and the fumes will soon clear the room. Put some oil of lavender in a saucer and pour hot water over it. Place it in the bedroom, and it will keep your room clear of flios and such-like pests the warm weather brings us. A FRENCH RECIPE FOR COOKING SPINACH. Separate the leaves, removing the stems and dead leaves, let the spinach lie in cold water for one hour and then put •it in boiling water which has been slightly salted. Cover the saucepan and boil the leaves until they are tender. When they are done they will sink. Pour them into a colander and drain them, then return them to the saucepan with a little pepper and some butter, having first emptied out the water in which they were boiled and wiped the pan. When the batter is well mixed with the spinach, put it in the dish and place slices of hard boiled egg on the top. Keep the dish very hot. Chop the spinach finely before putting it in the dish with the eggs, and stir through it a tablespoonful of drawn butter. ; ,

THE WEDDING RECEPTION. The wedding reception is always rather a trying time for everybody, especially if it follows the nuptial ceremony. The bride is all flurry and discomposure ; the bridegroom looks" bored and anxious to get away. The various mothers have red noses and eyes lately mopped from crying, and the fathers are too strenuous in the amusement of their guests. The guests, too, are rather restless. Everyone is so bent upon being pleasant and lively at any price that the result is somewhat depressing. Then there are the maiden ladies who are determined to fare sumptuously. i bride or no bride; and young men about \ town sniffing at the quality of the champagne, and married people busy recollecting their own nuptial splendours, and everybody anxious to see if their present has been effectively displayed. Altogether most people are glad when it is all over and the bride and bridegroom are allowed to depart. However, the old-fashioned wedding reception is quickly becoming a thing of the past. There is still, of course, a kind of "at home after the ceremony, but the chief entertainment generally takes place the night before in the shape of a dance. This ia by far the better method and something to be looked forward to. Sometimes this dance takes place in the bride's own home, but generally that arrangement is inconvenient, especially if there is to be a short reception held there next day. CONFESSION. Never be ashamed to confess that you have been in tho wrong. It is but owning what you need not be ashamed of, that you now have more sense than. you had before to see your error, more humility to acknowledge it and more grace to correct it. -I

THE WOMAN OP LAUGHTER. The girl who knows when and how to laugh has acquired one of the best weapons with which to fight her way in the world. There was a time when the tearful woman was as fashionable as the fainting damsel of the early Victorian period, but that day is happily passed. The woman of laughter has supplanted the woman of tears, and the world is a happier place in consequence. DUTY. " Duty is far more than Love. It is the upholding law through which the weakest become strong, without which all strength is unstable as water. No character, however harmoniously framed and' gloriously gifted, can be complete without this abiding principle ; it is the cement which binds the whole moral edifice together, without which all power, goodness, truth, happiness, love itself, can have no permanence j but all the fabric of existence crumbles away from under us, and leaves us at last sitting in the midst of ruin astonished at our cwfl desolation.''*—Mia, Jameson.