THE HOME OFFICE

Southland Times, Issue 20111, 23 February 1927, Page 13

THE HOME OFFICE

CAPE GOOSEBERRY JAM. “M.H.” Woodlands, sends the following recipe in answer to “J.C.” 61bs cape gooseberries, 4 libs sugar, 1 quart water. Boil the sugar and water for 10 minutes then add the berries (after removing the shells) and boil until it responds to fest. It. should be ready in 25 to 30 minutes and should be a clear amber colour. Do not bottle hot like the other jams or the fruit will rise. Allow it to cool till about 175 deg. F. MOCK CREAM. “Oney,” Herbert street, sends the following recipe in answer to “Thelma. Make 4 cup of stiff cornflour, beat 2 tablespoons of icing sugar and butter to a cream. Then gradually add cooked cornflour and beat well. SCONE LOAF. “Oney” also sends this recipe. Three cups of flour, 1 tablespoon of sugar, ]- teaspoon salt, 1 egg, H cups of milk, 4 teaspoons of baking powder. Mix dry ingredients well, break in egg. pour in milk to a stiff batter. Bake 20 minutes. NAPOLEON CAKES. “Irene” sends this recipe. Four eggs, 4 heaped tablespoons flour, puff pastry, 4 level tablespoons sugar, 3 tablespoons chopped almonds, flavouring and icing. Make a sponge of the eggs, sugar, flour and flavouring to taste. Place in a large square sandwich tin and bake. Do not make the sponge layer too thick. Any good sponge cake mixture will do instead of the above. Roll out very thin two pieces of puff pastry the same size as the sponge; prick it over to prevent bubbles and bake in a quick oven without letting it colour brown. Make an icing flavoured to taste. Now place one piece of the pastry on a thick sheet of white paper, place the sponge on it (top side up. Some people put a filling between but it is usually better without). Now spread a layer of apricot or raspberry jam on the top of the sponge. Lay over it the other piece, of pastry. Spread this with icing and sprinkle with almonds blanched and chopped. Stand in a cool oven to dry. Cut when cold into squares or oblongs with a sharp knife. OATMEAL BISCUITS. “RJ.” sends this recipe. Half pound flour, 4oz oatmeal, 4oz sugar 4 teaspoon ginger, 4 teaspoon cinnamon, 4oz butter or dripping, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1 rggRub butter into the flour, add the beaten egg and a little milk if necessary, mix to a stiff paste, roll out very thin and cut into rounds, bake in a moderate oven until a light brown. ICED CHOCOLATE CAKE. “Brenda” sends this recipe. Six oz flour, 2oz ground rice, 4oz grated chocolate, 6oz sugar, 4 eggs, 1 teaspoon i baking powder, vanilla flavouring. Dissolve the chocolate in a tablespoon of hot milk; let it get quite cold. Cream the butter and sugar, then add the dissolved chocolate. Beat the eggs till light and thick, then add them to the creamed butter and sugar, etc., lastly the flour, ground rice, baking powder and esence of vanilla. Bake in a deep sandwich tin in a moderate oven for about 1 hour. Ice with chocolate water icing. APPLE JELLY. “Eliza,” Winton sends this recipe. Green apples or windfalls will do for this. Wash them and cut them up without peeling or coring. Put in the preserving pan with cold water to cover barely. Add one or two lemons and some bruised ginger and boil till quite soft. Strain well, and then add one heaped cup of sugar to each cup of juice. Boil gently from seven to fifteen minutes from the time it comes to the boil. Test at intervals to see if a little put on a plate will jelly. Skim well. Use a jelly bag or folds of butter cloth for straining.

ALMOND SHORTBREAD. I have received this recipe from “Ann,” Southland. Four ozs flour, loz cornflour, 2ozs castor sugar, 14ozs chopped almonds, 3ozs butter, 1 egg. Cream the butter and sugar, beat in the yolk of the egg, put in half the chopped almonds. Work in the flour and cornflour with the hand until it becomes a stiff dough. Roll out, cut info small rounds or squares, brush over with the white of egg and scatter the remainder of the almonds on top. Bake in a moderate oven a pale brown. SCOTCH SHORTBREAD. “Jean,” Wyndham, sends this recipe:— Required: 41b of butter, 11b of flour, jib of caster sugar, comfits, citron peel. Put the butter into a basin and work it near the fire with a wooden spoon until soft, add the sugar and flour gradually, and knead it with the hands until a soft, smooth paste is formed. Shape into a round the size of an ordinary round layer cake tin about an inch thick. Mark a border with the back of a knife and pinch the edges with the finger and thumb to form scallops round the edge. Prick all over with a fork and decorate with fancy shapes cut out of the citron peel, or with small comfits. Place carefully on a greased baking tin and bake in a slow oven until pale brown and firm to the touch. Leave it on the tin until cold. Time to bake about 30 minutes. MARROW JAM. From “N.D.” I have received this recipe: To each pound of marrow, weighed after peeling and removing the seeds, allow 11b of preserving sugar, 1 lemon, |oz of ground ginger, water. Wash the marrow, dry, then peel it, cut it into quarters and remove the seeds. Weigh, and then cut the marrow into cubes. Put them with the sugar, the grated rind and strained juice of the lemons, and the ginger into a large basin. Put the seeds and peel into a pan, cover with water, and boil for about half an hour, strain, and to each pound of marrow allow ] pint of this liquid. Add it to the marrow, cover the basin with a cloth and leave for 24 hours. Put all into a preserving-pan and boil from $ to 1 hour, or until the marrow looks transparent, and the jam sets when a little is put on a plate and left to cool. Stir almost continuously. Put the jam into pots and cover. Oranges may be used in place of lemon if desired. TASTY POTATO DISHES. From “H.T.” I have received these recipes : TO SERVE WITH PORK, GOOSE, OR DUCK. Parboil some peeled potatoes, cut them into fairly thick slices, mix them with an equal quantity of peeled and sliced cooking apples, and stew gently in butter until both potatoes and apples are soft, but not broken. Sprinkle with salt, and serve very hot. AS A SUPPER DISH. Cut one pound of boiled potatoes into slices, fry them in butter, and arrange them in layers with a pound of sliced cooked sausages, also fried in butter. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and serve very hot with brown sauce. POTATO SCALLOPS. Sieve some cooked potatoes and to each lb of the puree add i pint of cream or milk, an ounce of butter, and 2ozs of grated cheese. Season this and then put/ the mixture into greased scallop shells, cover with more grated cheese, and put a few tiny pieces of butter here and there over the top. Brown in the oven or under a griller. PLUM PICKLE. “Reta,” Edendale, sends these recipes:— To 141 b of plums allow 2oz each of cloves and cinnamon (stick), 61b of granulated sugar, and 1 quart of vinegar.

As for bottling, the fruit should be gathered on a dry day. Wipe it and remove the stalks. Put it in layers in an unglazed jar, with the sugar and sp • sprinkled between each layer. Pour the vinegar over, place the jar in a pan oi boiling water, and simmer until the sugar has melted and the juice flows freely from the fruit. Then put the jar in a cool place. Next day drain off the syrup, boil it, and pour it over the fruit. Do this daily for a week, then let the plums stand for a week. Finally remove the plums singly from the liquid, place them in jars, boil up the syrup, and pour it over the fruit. TO PICKLE PEARS. Rub about one dozen good-sized stewing pears with a cloth; remove the stalks, but do not peel the fruit. Peel and slice about 6 onions and put them into a pan with the pears, 14 quarts of vinegar and a teaspoonful of salt. Simmer until the pears are tender, but not broken, then remove the pears; strain off the vinegar and rub the onions through a sieve. Return the vinegar to the pan, add a clove of garlic, 4 teaspoonful of cloves, ,| of allspice, loz of whole bruised ginger, 1 teaspoonful of bruised mustard seeds and the same quantity of peppercorns, and 2 blades of mace. Boil for 10 minutes, add the onion pulp and boil a further 10 minutes. Peel, core and cut the pears into 6 pieces each, put them into jars and strain the vinegar over. Divide the spices evenly amongst the jars. PEANUT CRISPS. “Alma” Riverton writes:— Roasted peanuts are quite easy to obtain nowadays, and cooked in this way make very dainty little cakes. Cream together half a cup of butter and a cup of sugar, and add two wellbeaten eggs, ground nutmeg to taste, a cup of chopped peanuts, and sufficient flour, mixed with a heaped teaspoonful of baking powder, to form a stiff batter. Beat the mixture hard and drop by the teaspoonful on a buttered baking sheet, allowing plenty of room between, as the biscuits spread in cooking. Bake for 15 minutes in a quick oven. RICE TIMBALES. “Interested Reader” sends this recipe:— 21b of rice, 1 egg, 2oz of walnuts, 1 pint of stock or milk, loz of margarine, salt, pepper. Wash the rice in several waters and put it into a double saucepan. Add the milk or stock, the butter, salt, and pepper; cook until the rice is quite soft and has absorbed all the liquid. Remove the pan from the fire and stir in the beaten egg. Blanch the nuts, put them through a mincing machine, and add. Put the mixture into some small greased moulds, cover with greased paper, and place them on a baking tin, surrounded with sufficient hot water to reach half-way up the moulds, and bake them in the oven for about 15 minutes or until firm to the touch. Turn out neatly on to a hot dish and garnish with parsley. Serve with tomato sauce.