LADIES’ COLUMN

Thames Star, Volume LXIII, Issue 17663, 14 August 1929, Page 2

LADIES’ COLUMN

TESTED RECIPES. Semolina and Apple Pudding. Copk 4oz. semolina in a pint of milk, until thick; if it thickens too much before the semolina is cooked add a little milk. Add four or five apples peeled, cored and chopped, the grated rind of a lemon, 2oz. sugar, and a well-beaten egg. Mix together well and pour into a pie-dish lined with browned bread-crumbs, cover with greased paper and bake in a moderate oven. As apples are now so cheap and plentiful, this dish can be made at any time of the year. Prune Pudding.—Rub jib stewed prunes through a sieve. Soak jib stale bread in a teacupful of cold milk until soft, and mash with a fork until the bread is perfectly soft. Sieve it also. Add 2oz castor sugar, the grated rind and strained juice of an orange, the prune juice, and the sieved prunes. Mix well with the beaten yolks of two eggs. Whip the whites ; of the eggs to a stiff froth and stir | them lightly to the mixture. Put into i a greased mould and bake in a moderate oven for about ! an hour. This may be served hot or cold. Richmond Pudding.—Four ounces of ground rice, 1 teaspoonful baking ! powder, 1 teaspoonful salt, 4oz flour, 4oz currants, 4oz suet, loz sugar, j teaspoonful grated nutmeg, the grated rind of a lemon. Mix all the dry ingredients together and then add an egg and enough milk to fnake a thick batter. Put into a greased basin and steam for two hours. Serve with hot jam sauce. Baked Banana Pudding.—Cut a stale sponge or Madeira cake into thin - slices, peel and slice four or five bananas, into a pie-dish put a layer of cake slices, then one of lemon bind and castor sugar, and repeat until tilio dish is full. Beat two eggs lightly, mix with a pint of milk and pour it gently over the top. Bake until set in a very moderate oven. MOTHER AND HOME. Don’t make coffee with cold water and bring slowly to the boil, or it will have a "dead” taste. Make' it with boiling water, and allow it to simmer sufficiently, or its flavour will be too sharp. It should boil slowly for at least fifteen minuted over a low flame. A USE FOR A BISCUIT TIN. When you are taking your holidays in a country cottage or seaside bungalow, you often find the oven very inadequate. Supplement it by turning a biscuit tin into an oven. In it small joints, puddings, chops, and even cake« and pastry can be successfully baked. See that the biscuit tin fits properly on top of a. gas ring or oil stove. Have two holes made on opposite sides of the tin, near the top, and two screw-on handle* inserted. A handle may also be inserted on the lid. Inside the tin there should be a strong wire meat-grid for the dishes to stand on.

CHOOSING VEGETABLES. It is well toi know Low to choose vegetables, for not ajll of Ug are lucky enough to grow them in our own garden. Cucumbers and asparagus, for instance, are both often spoiled by being cut a day before' they are wanted and put in a damp, warm frame to swell; but thi s can generally be detected by their flabbiness or inelasticity after being pressed. Cabbages, again, are spoiled by being piled on top of each other, for the consequent heating and fermentation render them flabby also and unwholesome. . Unpacked and sprinkled with water they may look well, hut it is needless to say they never regain their freshness. Some vegetables are best when they are green, others when they aie white. Asparagus, savoys, hrussels sprouts, and all winter greens sluyild be as green 'Us possible; but cauliflower and seakale should be as white as possible. Seakale, to he good, should be per- : fectly blanched, for when coloured it is indigestible with some people and leaves an unpleasant after-taste in the mouth. Celery should also he as white as possible, and when fresh it should break, off quite clean. If it leaves stringy ends it has either been warmed to makq it swell, or else kept too long. Crispness is a good test for all vegetables, in fact. A cucumber with the white bloom on is easily seen to be fresh; but this may he rubbed off when early in the market. In choosing a oucmmber, therefore, it is best to handle it in the centre. If it lies firm and stiff in the hand it is fresh; but if the ends droop or shake, or the whole thing seems soft, it has been cut some time.

USEFUL HINTS A red-hot poker held for a minute or two on the head of a tight screw will loosen it so that it can be quite easily withdrawn. Prevents Slipping.—lf a little thick

starch is rubbed on polished' floors where mats are to be put down., the latter will keep their position and the danger of shipping will be eliminated. Cleaning the Bath.—Much labour is saved when cleaning a. bath by using a Avet flannel sprinkled Avith soap poAVder. Rinse Avith hot Avater.