CATERING FOR ONE

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22389, 8 April 1936, Page 6

CATERING FOR ONE

THE BACHELOR WOMAN SAVOURY DISHES ARE GOOD The bachelor woman who would like a place of her own is sometimes deterred from taking a small fiat by the food problem. While she can afford a charwoman to keep the place clean she does not as a rule feel justified in employing the more expert labour required to cook for one. If, thereforo, she is to have adequate food the woman living in a flat by herself will do well to know what can be done with an egg, a fillet of fish, a slice of ham, or chop or steak to make an appetising meal without too much trouble. If there is a plug in the living room many quick dishes can bo prepared on an electric boiling plate or in a chafing dish. When there is time more elaborate dishes like pot roasts, fricassees, braises, and stews can also be cooked in this manner. All sorts of quick savoury dishes can be made with eggs as a foundation. Melt some butter and fry in it for a few minutes half a roughly chopped onion, a little raw ham cut into pieces, a skinned tomato, and a few chopped, mushrooms. When soft add one or two seasoned, beaten eggs and stir for a minute or two until the egg sets. Or a potato left from a previous meal should be fried with a little chopped parsley and onion and the egg added to this. Many varieties of this dish can be evolved, but the more savoury the other ingredients the better. Sheep's kidney, cod's roe, lamb's liver, or beef marrow, any of whtch can be bought in quantities small enough for one and which take but little cooking, are excellent with eggs. The kidney or other ingredient can bo fried in buttor after being chopped up, and then the beaten egg poured over them as suggested. Or an omelet ean bo made in a small omelet pan separately and stuffed with the meat. Or make a slice of toast, cover it with the meat (mixed with a little gravy if possible), and then with a poached or fried egg.

Steak or Fish Fillets Fillets or steaks of fish can be cooked in a savoury way as follows. Mix together a tablespoonful of breadcrumbs, a teaspoonful of prepared suet, a pinch of herbs, and some chopped parsley, pepper and salt. Mix with a little milk to moisten. Placo inside the fillet or over the steak, put some butter on the top, and cover with greased paper. "Bake for about 20 minutes. Here is another savoury dish. Partly boil a couple of potatoes and a small onion. Drain, and put two tomatoes into the boiling water for a minute so that they can bo skimmed. Grease a dish and cover the bottom with tomatoes and onion thinly sliced; season them. Put a whole small plaice or one or two fillets on top and sprinkle with pepper, salt, and lemon juice, then put some butter on top. Slice the potatoes and arrange them round the fishs- Bake in a moderate oven for about half an hour, basting occasionally. When a little meat is left from a 1 previous meal a slice of ham can be made into a good meal. Mince the meat and mix with an equal quantity of breadcrumbs, a little chopped onion, parsley, and seasoning. Bind with egg or milk, spread over the ham and roll up. Stew in a little gravy for about half an hour. The same can be done with a thin slice of steak, if thero is some ham left for stuffing.

.Sausages in Batter When there is a very hot oven available sausages in batter make a good, substantial meal. Tho batter can be ma da the day beforehand or in tho morning and loft to stand, for which it is all the better. Beat an egg with three ounces of flour and a breakfastcupful* of milk. Add a pinch of salt and make into a smooth batter. When required put the sausage in a greased dish, pour the batter over, and bake in hot' oven for 30 to 40 minuteY Minced meat, lightly cooked, can bo used instead of sausage. Mutton or veal cutlets are good if dippsd in egg and breadcrumbs and slowly fried in hot fat. Serve with tomato sauce and mashed potatoes. A delicious way of cooking a chop is to remove the bone and stuff the space with tho stuffing mentioned or with sausage meat or with mushrooms, onions, and breadcrumbs, or chopped bacon, breadcrumbs, and seasoning, binding with egg and dripping or milk and dripping. Tie round with tape and grill on both sides or bake in the oven.

TO CLEAN CARPETS TREATMENT OF STAINS To keep carpets in good condition they should bo rubbed occasionally with a little soap. A good soap for the purpose is made by dissolving half a pound of yellow soap in a pint of boiling water; when it has cooled, add two tablespoonfuls of ammonia and mix well. To use the soap, first of all vacuum or brush the carpet thoroughly to remove all loose dust. Then get a clean flannel cloth, dip it into the soap, and rub it thoroughly over about a square yard of the carpet, rubbing up the pile.* Then wring out another cloth in fresh water and wash off all the soap, taking care not to wet tho carpet through. IJepeat until the whole of the carpet is clean, and do not allow it to bo walked on until it is dry. This treatment will remove all dirt and many marks, but stair and hall carpets, which get badly marked at times, need a little extra treatment. Therefore, a little turpentine and ammonia should be added to a bowl of hot water, a cloth wrung out in this and rubbed over the carpet. To bring up tho colours and pattern of a carpet wring out a cloth in equal parts of vinegar and water, and rub briskly.

Stains should be removed as soon as they appear. Methylated spirit is good for damp ink stains, but if the stain lias dried, vinegar should be tried, rubbing it off with a clean rag after it has been applied. Sometimes milk or lemon juice will do tho trick. Tar stains can be removed if a paste made with fullers' earth and turpentine is allowed to dry on, afterwards being brushed off. Or butter can be used, but it must be removed with benzine afterwards. Grenso stains can be sprinkled thickly with Hour, left for a time, then brushed off. Afterwards rub the spot with a few drops of turpentine. More obstinate grease stains can be removed by rubbing on a pasto made by dissolving half a pound of soap in a cupful of water and adding four ounces of fullers' earth. Soot stains should be dusted with plenty of salt, and soot and salt brushed up togethor. Blacklead stains can be removed with a pnste made of fullers' earth and water, with a few drops of ammonia added.