HOME INTERESTS.

Otago Witness, Issue 3912, 5 March 1929, Page 65

HOME INTERESTS.

STRAWBERRY SHORT CAKE. An attractive Canadian recipe is the following Mix by hand 11b flour, soz butter, 2oz caster sugar, one teaspoonful carbonate of soda, one teaspoonful cream of tartar until it has the appearanefe of breadcrumbs. Then make into a rather soft dough with half a pint of milk. Roll out iin thick, cut into rounds about 3Jin in diameter. Place one above another, bake 15 minutes; separate. On lower round place a thick layer of-strawberries, cover with cream and sugar. Replace upper round and cover in same way. Serve either hot or cold. CRAB APPLE JELLY.

Required: Nine pounds- of crab apples, three quarts of water, about Jib of loaf sugar to each pint of juice. Wipe the apples clean, but do not peel or core them. Put them in a pan with the water and let them boil gently until they break. Be careful to remove the pan from the fire before they get into a pulp. Next pass them through a jellybag, putting the juice Into a preserving pan. Boil it quickly for a quarter of an hour, then measure it and add sugar in the given proportion. When the sugar has dissolved, boil the syrup until a little sets in a jelly when allowed to cool on a plate. Pour it into clean, dry jars and cover them when cold. BLACK CURRANT JELLY.

Ingredients: Four quarts of black 'currants, lib of sugar to each pint of juice. Pick the fruit on a dry day, remove the stalks and wash it. Put into a jar, cover, and place the jar in a pan of cold water; bring to the boil and simmer until the juice flows freely. Strain through a clean teacloth tied, on to the legs of an inverted chair, or a jelly bag. Do not press the fruit. Measure the juice, put it into a pan, and boil for a few minutes. Add a pound of loaf sugar to each pint of

juice, stir until the sugar has melted, then boil fast until the jelly sets when tested, about 10 minutes. Put into small pots and cover. BLACK CURRANT CHEESE.

Required: Equal quantities of black currants (weighed after removing the stalks) and loaf sugar. Gather the fruit on a dry day, remove the stalks, weigh, wash, and put into a pan with the sugar. Stir over very low heat until the sugar has melted, then bring slowly to the boil and simmer for about an hour, or until the currants are soft. Keep well skimmed. Rub through a hair sieve, -bring to the boil, and press into small jars and cover as jam is covered. These are two excellent recipes for using up black currants, the skins of which are rather tough and not very digestible either for adults or children. > GINGER AND FRUIT SYRUP.

Ingredients : One ounce bruised ginger, one lemon, Jib of seeded raisins, one orange, a pinch of powdered cinnamon, 11b of loaf sugar, two pints of water. Cut up raisins and place them in a basin with the powdered cinnamon, the juice of the orange and lemon, and a little of the sugar grated. Just cover with boiling water and leave until the syrup is ready. Place the ginger, lemon rind, and remainder of the sugar in a saucepan, with a pint of water, and boil to a syrup. Remove the lemon rind and ginger, then strain the juice from the fruit to the syrup. Return the pan to the stove for a minute, when the syrup is ready to bottle. Use a tablespoon of the syrup in a glass of hot water. BAKED HADDOCK.

Required: One fresh haddock, two tomatoes, loz of flour, half a lemon, 2oz of breadcrumbs, loz of butter, salt, pepper. Wipe the haddock, remove the skin and bones, and cut the flesh into neat pieces. Mix the flour, salt, and pepper on a plate, and dip the pieces of fish in the mixture. Grease a fireproof dish, put in a layer of fish, then a layer of tomatoes, peeled and sliced. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and lemon juice, and continue layers until the ingredients are used up. Cover with breadcrumbs, put a few small pieces of butter here and there over the fish, and bake in a moderate oven about three-quarters of an hour, or until the fish is cooked. Serve in the dish in which it was baked. Any white fish may be baked in this manner. STUFFED ONIONS.

Ingredients: Four Spanish onions, two tablespoonfuls each of any kind of cooked minced meat and breadcrumbs, one teaspoonful of chopped parsley, salt, pepper, a pinch of nutmeg, one tablespoonful of brown sauce, 2oz of dripping, one gill of stock. Method : Choose onions as much the same size as possible, cut off the roots and tops, remove all brown skin, put the onions into a pan of boiling salted water, and cook for 10 minutes. Strain and put the onions into a basin of cold water to cool slightly. Carefully scoop out the centres. Chop these and put them into casserole with the dripping and gill of stock, and make hot. Mix the minced meat, breadcrumbs, and parsley, add enough sauce to bind the mixture, season, add the nutmeg, and insert some of this stuffing into each onion, piling it high in the centre. Place the onions in the casserole with the stock, cover with greased paper, put the lid on the casserole, and cook in a moderate oven, or by the side of the fire, for about two hours. Serve in the casserole.