COOKING HINTS

Taranaki Daily News, 21 April 1928, Page 18

COOKING HINTS

NURSERY MENU. .SOUP AN ESSENTIAL. Aly doctor used to insist on the essential importance of soup in the children’s diet. It makes them healthy and strong, and ensures them straight bones and good teeth, when made from fresh meat, Bono soup especially is excellent, since it contains lime and the salts which are so necessary to bone-making, and that ensure sound teeth for proper mastication. Chicken and fowl bones come first in the doctor’s category. All bones should be chopped up, covered with water, and boiled slowly for five or six hours to get the gelatine and salt from them. Then strain and skim off the fat. Vegetables can ba added, also, an hour before straining. Use a very fine soup-sieve to make certain that no small portions of bone get through the mesh. Aleat and bone soup in the menu solves the problem of the growing child who refuses to eat meat. The nourishment is supplied without the: child being so worried to' eat food- it' is dislikes that much of its nutritive value is necessarily lost. LUNCHEON DISHES.

The woman who is able to serve uneconomical and yet attractive lunch possesses a real household art. In many homes lunch is a very informal meal. The men folk are away, probably, and the housewife breathes a sigh of relief at the thought of the small wash-up. But tiers are frequent occasions when something a little more elaborate has to be served. Perhaps someone comes in unexpectedly, and there is very little in the house. It is a question of preparing what there is as appetisingly as possible, and it is surprising what can be done with “left-overs." A scrap of .■old meat that one would be ashamed to place on the table as it is may with a little trouble 'be turned into a deliciously savoury dish. With the addition of a little boiled macaroni, cold meat makes good croquettes. Boil half a cup of milk and three tablespoonfuls of flour into a thick paste, and add half a cup of finely chopped beef or mutton, half a cup of boiled macaroni, 1 tablespoon butter, 1 dessertspoon curry powder, 1 tablespoon of finely chopped parsley, and a little bit of very finely chopped onion, pepper and salt. Turn on to a plate till cold, then form into balls, dip in egg and bread crumbs, and. fry in hot fat. Meat fritters, too, are enjoyable. You need 3oz flour, 1 eggs, I dessertspoon oiled butter, half a gill tepid water, a little tu.., slices of cold meat. Slake a batter of the yolk of egg, water, flour and oiled butter. Beat the white of egg to a stiff froth on a plate with a broadbladed knife, and stir gently into the batter. Put the frying saucepan on to the fire, and. make the fat perfectly hot. With a skewer dip the pieces of meat into the batter, and when covered drop in the fat. The fritters will float, and must be turned when golden brown on the turner side. Then lift from the fat with a skewer, and place on drain-

ing paper. Arrange on a hot dish with a napkin underneath.

Certain savouries make delicious light lunchecu lishes. Welsh rarebit is a quickly prepared favourite. To make it, grate 3oz cheese, and stir it over the fire with teaspoon mustard, 2 tablespoons butter, 1 tablespoon milk, and pepper and salt, until all is dissolved. Serve piping hot on toast. A poached egg served with the rarebit makes it more substantial.

Eggs, served. In their innumerable variations, are saiisfac.ory as a luncheon dish. Eggs baked in tomatoes are a change from the usual methods of preparation. Choose fairly large tomatoes. Cut off the tops and scoop out some of the pulp. Season and drop an egg into each, 'flace on a greased dish, and bake for about 12 minutes. Take the scooped-out part, season it, and heat it over the fire, with some butter. Put this through a sieve, reheat, and serve as sauce. The tomatoes can ba served ‘on slices of toast or fried bacon.