INFORMATION EXCHANGED

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXI, Issue 21885, 22 August 1934, Page 5

INFORMATION EXCHANGED

ANSWERS FROM READERS CONDUCTED BY KKMINA Tough Meat In answer to a request how to make moat tender when cooking, " Eve K." (Putarurn) advises soiling it in vinegar for a few minutes. " 11. T." (Taupiri) suggests the following treatment: —Long slow cooking is necessary to make meat, especially tough meat, tender. For gravy beef three hours should be allowed, cutting the meat up fairly small and covering with boiling water, adding seasoning when the meat is nearly cooked, not before. Steak should be beaten well before frying. When too tough to fry it should be cooked in the oven. Put a small piece of fat on each piece and brown both sides, basting with the fat. Then add two or three tablespoonsfuls of boiling water and cover closely till cooked. A casserole or covered roaster is the best medium to use. Stewing steak should be browned both sides, then nearly covered with boiling water and seasoned when almost cooked. Thicken the gravy with flour. Two hours at least should be allowed, letting it simmer very slowly. Boasts should be put in a hot oven to start with and well basted till brown top and bottom. Then finish them in a cooler part of the oven. For a tough roast put plenty of dripping on top of the meat, then place it in a hot oven and brown top and bottom, basting well. Add a little water (boiling) and cover, cooking slowly till done. If no covered roaster is available put a piece of. greased paper over the meat and cook in the centre of the oven with a tray over it.

To roast tough poultry: Prepare the bird as for roasting, but leave out the stuffing. Put two or three inches of boiling water in a large pot, lay two forks or spoons on bottom of tlie pot and stand the bird on these. Steam one hour. Take out, wipe dry and stuff; then roast in the usual war, bastinc well.

Another correspondent suggests the following:—The best way with really touch meat is long and gentle stewing. Add a very little vinegar to it and keep it just simmering three to four hours, or longer if needed. Do not add any salt till it is cooked and you are about to remove from fire. In* cooking tough steak, wash in vinegar. Then Avipe it over, and rub with a little salad oil and lemon juice before putting to cook. Verv tough meats do not make the best of roasts, but long and slow cooking, aided by a wash over with vinegar, salad oil and lemon juice as for the steak above, is a great aid to tenderness. If possible, too, see that the fat or dripping used is free of salt, and do not sprinkle any on the meat till cooking is over.

Harlcot Beans B.K. (Taupiri) would like a recipe for cooking haricot beans so that they are easily digested and similar in flavour to the tinned beans. Removing Wine Stains Inquirer.—To remove wine stains from a. frock, use hot milk, which is one of the best mediums for removing wine stains of all kinds. They should be treated at once. Soak the stain in hot milk until it becomes faint, and then wash it out. If the material cannot be treated this way, the stain should be dabbed with salt and lemon juice and then sponged with clean water. To Knit Quilts Mrs. "VY.B. (Taumarunui) writes asking if a reader will forward instructions for knitting a quilt. Making Moccasins Peter S. (Hikurangi) will be very glad if any reader will forward directions for making moccasins with beaded toe-tops and lining of rabbit fur. He also asks if calfskin could be used to make them and, if so, how it should be cured for the purpose. The Ant Nuisance Anti-ant.—To remove ants try the following suggestion:—Strew powdered sulphur along the skirting board or any place where the ants congregate. Put also in furniture such as drawers, wardrobes or cupboards. It destroys moths, silver fish, etc., as well as ants. These simply fade away. Cover the sulphur with paper where clothes are stored, as it will turn metals black. Another remedy is as follows:—Boil half a pound of sugar in a breakfa:st cup of water to the consistency of treacle. When boiling stir in a iarge tablespoonful of powdered borax. Stir five minutes. Pour while hot into the lids of tins of various sizes, or saucers, and place in the tracks of the ants! Replenish as the liquid dries. The ants will simply crowd into it. Genoa Cake L.W. (Takapuna) has forwarded the following recipe for a Genoa cake in answer to a request which was published recently:— Take three-quarters of a pound of flour, half a pound butter, half a pound sugar, half a pound sultanas, three ounces candied peel five c ßff s > grated rind of one lemon, two ounces almonds, half teaspoon of baking powder. Cream the butter and sugar, add eggs. Stir flour in lightly, and lastly the sultanas, lemon rind and chopped peel. Sprinkle the top of mixture with shredded almonds, and bake in a moderate oven for two hours.

THE COMPLEXION SOME HOME TREATMENT One of the chief functions of a facial treatment is to stimulate the circulation. A fresh supply of blood brings new life to faded tissues and helps to banish signs of tiredness. If for any reason it is not possible to fly to a beauty salon for a face freshener try an Epsom salts facial treatment at home. r J his works'wonders with a tired skin. It takes ten minutes for the actual treatment, and if you spend another ten minutes lying llat in a dark, quiet room you can set forth for your evening's appointment with the assurance that you are looking as fresh as the morning! I'irst of all, rub a cleansing cream well into the skin to remove all the day's impurities. Wipe this off with soft tissues, and rub in a second application of the cream. Leave this on while you make preparations for the Epsom salts treatment. Put two tablespoonsful of Epsom salts into a uowl containing about a pint of very warm water and a similar amount into a pint bowl of ice water or very cold water. Leave the salts to dissolve while you remove the cream from the face and neck. Now saturate a cloth with the hot Epsom salts water and wring it out a little before holding it against the face and neck for a moment. Pepeat these hot applications three or four times. Now dip a second cloth into the iced Epsom salts water and, without wringing it out, hold it to the face and neck. Pepeat this iced treatment 12 or 15 times. Pat the face dry and you will find that nil the tired lines have disappeared. The skin will be glowing with health and the blood will be coursing freely through the veins. If the skin is inclined to bo dry pat in a small amount of nourishing cream after the treatment and leave it on for a few minutes before wiping it off and proceeding with the make-up.