THE HOUSEHOLD.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 4866, 3 February 1894, Page 3

THE HOUSEHOLD.

Light Carpets should have a good dusting about twice a week with a flannel cloth tied round an ordinary broom. Silk Handkerchiefs ahould not be ironed until thoroughly dry. If the fabric ia thus treated the desired gloea will be produced by the iron. To Clean Sponges.— There are many recipes, but none so safe aud aimple aa the following -.—Steep the sponge in buttermilk for several hours, squeeze ifc out thoroughly, rinse well in cold water, and lastly in hot. TO C_EANB_ THE AlB OF A BOOM, place a lump of camphor in a saucer and apply a very hot poker to it. Thia will cauße strong fumes, which cleanße the air very apeedily, and at the same time act as a powerful disinfectant. Bics Caudle. — Mix a tablespoonful of fine ground rice with a little cold water, into this pour a pint of boiling milk in water, Boil it well for ten minutes, stirring well, add a little salt, sweeten it, and flavour with grated cinnamon or nutmeg. Thia is a capital child's supper in cold weather.

Apple Cheese Cakes— Firat peel, core, and boil sufficient apples to weigh half a pound. When cooked, add a quarter of a pound of castor sugar. Melt three ounces of butter, and add to the apple the juice of a lemon and the grated rind. Stir the mixture well over a slow fire. Line patty pans with puff paste, put in some of the above mixture, and bake for about twenty minutes in a brisk oven. The same recipe map be used for an oven tart, which should be decorated with bare of pastry aoross it.

Fried Apples and Sausages form a very good dish, and one that has the advantage of being a novelty. Firat prick the sausages and fry, turning frequently ao aa to brown all Bides equally. These will take twenty minutes to cook over a moderate fire. When done arrange on a hot diah. Have some apples cored, and cut into slices of half an inch thick, and fry these in the came pan as the sausages were cooked till tender and slightly browned. Serve round the sausages in the same manner ns potato chips.

On Bed Making.— The practice of having beds made in the early morning, though a very tidy one, is a very bad one. Constantly we ccc a bed made up within half an hour after the sleeper has left the room, wherefore all the exhalations from tha skin during the night are confined beneath the sheets, and are breathed iv again at night. It is en excellent practice, and one which ought to be encouraged in all young people, to turn over the clothea of the bed immediately on rising. The mattress, too, ahould be turned back, so that all may be properly aired and quito cold beforo being remade.

A Useful Food por Young Childbbn i 3 called "Bread Jelly." The process is extremely simple and it is invaluable for poor people, for the basis of it is alwaya at hand. Take a quantity of crumb from a loaf, break it up small, aud pour enough boiling water to cover it; let thia stand for half an hour before drawing off the water. Add more water and place it in an earthen ware saucepan to boil until quite smooth. Drain off the water and the bread will cool into a jelly, which should be mixed with a little milk and sweetened with white sugar. Thare is an old fashioned theory that brown sugar is good for babies and small ohildren, but recently doctors have spoken strongly againat it.

Tomato Soup. — Take the following ingredients, cut them into small pieces, aud. fry in about two ouncea of butter .-—Two ounces of bacon, one carrot, one head of celery, one eschalot, and one or two onions. When the vegetables aro nicely fried, add three pounds of fresh or tinned tomatoes, three pints of stock (white if possible), pepper, and salt. Let the soup boil well for about twenty minutes, ao that it will reduce and become thicker. Then pass it through a hair sieve, return ifc to the saucepan, and when ifc boils sprinkle in gradually one aad a half ounces of fine semolina, and stir it till the semolina is clear and all floating on the top of the soup. If you wish the soup to be a nica colour, do not rab the Bfcock vegetables through tho sieve. Of course smaller or larger quantities of this soup can be made as desired.