THE HOME OFFICE

Southland Times, Issue 20618, 17 October 1928, Page 13

THE HOME OFFICE

CAKE CUSTARD. Sent in by “Nellie,” Invercargill. Cover the bottom of a greased pie-dish with stale cake or biscuit crumbs. Spread a layer of stewed fruit or jam over this i and pour on a custard made with two eggs and a pint of milk, sweetened and flavoured with vanilla. Bake in a very moderate oven until the custard is set. Serve hot or cold. If in a great hurry boil the custard and pour it while hot over the cake crumbs. This may be sprinkled with chopped nuts or desiccated cocoanut. CORNISH TEA CAKE. Sent in by “8.D.”, Mataura. 11b flour, 4oz beef dripping, loz peel, 4oz currants, 2 oz sugar, 1 gill milk, A teaspoonful spice, teaspoonful baking powder, i Sieve the flour and baking powder to- ; gether and rub in the dripping. Add fruit, I spice, sugar and enough milk to bind. Roll I out rather thickly, and brush over with ; egg, after cutting into rounds. Bake on 1 greased baking sheet 10 to 15 minutes in | moderate oven. Split open when ready, and butter each generously. CURRIED ONIONS AND POACHED EGGS. “Sadie” Georgetown sends this recipe. Slice a large won and fry golden brown. Drain off the fat and add a cupful of stock; salt to taste; ’■slf a teaspoonful of curry powder and sufficient cornflour worked into a smooth paste to thicken. Poach gently the required number of eggs. Put on squares of hot buttered toast and surround with the curried onions. WALNUT DROPS. Sent in by “Margery,” Otautau. One cup and a-half flour, half-cup sugar, half-teaspoon cinnamon, half-teaspoon bicarbonate of soda, pinch of salt, one tablespoon blitter, half-pound chopped dates, half-pound chopped walnuts, one egg, one tablespoon boiling -water. Cream butter and sugar, and cinnamon. Dissolve soda in boiling water, add to mixture, then add dates and walnuts. Mix well and drop in dessertspoon on a well-greased glide. Bake in a brisk oven for about 15 minutes. DATE CAKE. Sent in by “Margery,” Otautau. Wash and stone half a pound of dates. Lay them on tins in the oven until they are thoroughly dry. Cream half a pound of butter with half a pound of sugar. Add one well-beaten egg. Beat all together, then add another egg. Beat again. Stir in gradually half a pound of self-raising flour. Add three or four drops of lemon essence, and lastly the dates. Bake in a well-greased and papered cake tin for exactly one hour. The oven should be moderately warm. KIDNEY AND LIVER PUDDING. Sent in by “Matilda” Gore. Alb of ox kidney and Alb of calves’ liver, water, 4oz of bacon, salt, pepper, Alb of flour, about 1 gill of stock, loz of flour, a pinch of nutmeg, 3oz of suet, \ teaspoonful of baking powder. Wash the kidney and liver, dry in a cloth, remove all fat, core and skin, and cut both into small pieces. Remove the rind and rust from the bacon, and cut into small pieces also. Mix the flour, salt and pepper and nutmeg on a plate, and coat the pieces of liver and kidney with this mixture. Put the bacon into a warm frying pan and cook for a few minutes, then lift it on to a plate. If sufficient fat has not oozed from the bacon, add a little dripping, then put in the kidneys and liver and brown a little. Return .he bacon to the pan. Sieve the flour, a pinch of salt and baking powder into a basin, shred the suet and add, mix all to a stiff paste with a little water. Roll ; this out and line a greased baain with it. i Put the liver and kidney mixture in the j centre, add a little stock or water, cover j with the lid of ths pastry and then with a greased paper> and steam for about 3 hours.

QUEEN CAKES. Sent in by “8.D.”, Mataura. Beat 2oz. of butter and 4oz. of caster j sugar to a cream, add 2 eggs, one by one, I beating each in well. Sieve tioz. of flour with ; A teaspoonful of baking powder, and a pinch of salt, and stir it lightly to the but- i ter mixture, adding a very little milk if the mixture be too dry. Add loz. of glace cherries cut in quarters and the grated rind of a lemon. Half-fill some small greased tins with the mixture, and bake in a fairly hot oven about 15 minutes. Currants or sultanas may replace cherries, and a few chopped almonds may be added. FRIED OYSTERS. Sent in by “C.E.,” Invercargill. Use 3 or 4 large oysters for each person to be served. Take a thick white sauce, and to each cup of this add a fourth cup of finely minced boiled ham or devilled ham. Season with a little lemon juice, and celery salt. Coat the oysters with this sauce, i and let stand for several hours. Roll in [ crumbs, beaten eggs, and crumbs again, and | fry in deep fat until a golden brown. Serve on thin rounds of buttered toast with tomato rarebit. • OYSTER RABBIT. Sent in by “C. E.” Invercargill. One cup of oysters, 2 tablespoons of butter, Alb of soft mild cheese (cut in small ■ pieces), J teaspoon of salt, a few grains of cayenne, and 2 eggs. Clean, parboil, and drain the oysters, reserving liquor, then remove beards. Melt the butter, add cheese and seasonings as cheese melts, add gradually the liquor t-nd eggs slightly beaten. An soon as the mixture is smooth, add the oysters. Serve on untoasted side of bread toasted on one side. PICKLED ONIONS OR ESCHALOTS. Sent in by “Zeta” Wyndham. Put the onions into a deep basin or tin, and co Ver with boiling water. This makes the tiresome task of removing the outer skins easier. It :s also a good plan when handling onions to coat the hands tir.-;t with dripping, and see that the finger nails are filled with it; this prevents tne smell i from clinging to the skin. Peel the onions (or eschalots) and put them to soak in | salt and water (strong enough to float an | ‘ egg) for three days; change the water j twice. Then fill *he jars with them. Have some boiling vinegar previously flavoured with a good tabiespoonftil of cloves, 12 ) dried bird’s-eye chillies, and three tables|x)on- 1 fuls sugar to each quart of vinegar. Boil < five minutes, let stand five minutes, then pour into the jars, and see that the spices are distributed evenly. They will be ready in three weeks but improve with keeping for eix weeks. DATE DELIAS. These feather-light, hot and quaintlynamed cakes are delicious for tea. They are easily made, too—which is an undeniable ’ advantage. Carefully sift two cups of flour with three teaspoons of a good brand of baking powder, an I a saltspoon of salt. Rub in two tablespoons of lard. Stir in two wellbeaten eggs, half a cup of dates chopped small, and a quarter of a cup of both candied peel and lemon curd. Toss lightly together. Handle as little as possible. Roll out on a floured board to the thickness of half an inch. Cut with a small round fancy cutter. Cook from 10 to 12 minutes in a hot oven. Serve hot. —Editor Home Office. ROSEMARY HAIR LOTION. Aa a hair tonic, there are few things to ; equal rosemary, which, being an evergreen, is available at any time of the year. Cut up a few sprigs of rosemary finely, and put into a half pint of cold water, and bring slowly to the boil. After simmer . ing 10 minutes, set aside to get cold. Rub ! the scalp with a small piece of linen dipped in this lotion. For greasy hair, a little crushed camphor may be added to the lotion.

BLACK BOWLS FOR FLOWERS. Black bowls make a most attractive setting for gaily coloured flowers; blossom of the pale pink variety, of which there is such an abundance at the moment looking especially well against the black. It is the cleaning of them that is rather a nuisance, for the sediment in the water causes a rim to form inside the bowl which refuses to yield to ordinary washing. The only thing that will remove this is lemon juice, and after drying the polish may be restored to the bowl by polishing it with a good furniture cream.