HOUSEHOLD HINTS.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 6496, 27 May 1899, Page 3

HOUSEHOLD HINTS.

'Almond Meal.— Take of powdered borax joz, Castile soap lozy essence of almonds tenf drops. Blanch the almonds and rob to a fine powder. Mix with the other ingredi-! ents, and sieve, adding the essence last. : Cure for Corns:— One teaspoonful of tar,, one of coarse brown sugar and one of salt- ' petre ; the whole to be warmed together Spread it on kid o rthiri leather the size of < the corns, and" in two days they will be drawn out. Te Remove Paint or Varnish. — For removing : old paint and varnish from: woodwork, apply au emulsion' formed of; two parts ammonia shaken up with one part' of turpentine. This so softens the paint; that after a few moments it can be scraped i or rubbed off i ■ , ' Fish on Toast.— Separate the meat' from the. bones of any fish that may be left from dinner, and place aside. Break into a. bowl one or two eggs, according '-.to' the amount of fish,- add salt, pepper,' 'and one teaspoonful of flour ; mix thoroughly. Poor into a frying-pan in. which is a little hot butter, stiv rmfcil very hot, spread on' toast, and serve. ■■.'■■':. For Freckles. — Acid is a wett-knowtt^ene- , my of freckles. Lemon juice, frequently apv plied, will aid materially hi driving tmemi' away. Powdered nitre (saltpetre) is usually; an effective remedy for them. Dip the finger in water, and then in the powder, and' , apply to the freckles, repeating the operation at brief intervals until the spots disappear. Tomatoes a la Madras.— Select some tomatoes as nearly the same size as possible, carefully cut off ! a little piece from the top. of each, remove the seeds, and fill with a ; well-made diy curry ; place pna tin, covered with ''buttered paper, in a moderately hot oven, for from twenty to twenty-five minutes.; Serve the tomatoes. on a wall of boiled rice, and fill the middlje with a thick curry sauce., Macaroni Pudding. — Put one pint ofmilfc in a saucepan with the rind of half a lemon, and. sugar to taste. When the milk ' quite boils, drop in 2oz of macaroni (broken into short lemgths), and simmer for thirty minutes. Then beat up an' egg, which must be stirred into the macaroni when it haa cooled a little. Pour into a greased piedish, scatter some powdered cinnamon over, and bake for ten minutes. Red hands. — When the hand* are red, wash them every night in hot water, using good soap, and giving them a thorough'^ bath"; then, having dried them thoroughly, on a soft towel, put a little almond meal in the palm of one hand, moisten it, and rub ib over the hand exactly as, if it were soap, and put on a pair of gloves. Continue this two weeks or so, after which the hot bath alone ought to keep them white. * Savoury Pancakes. — Take any scraps of cold mutton, chop fine, with a slice of onion; and a sprig of parsley, put into a stewpan. with a tablespoonful of floor, pepper and salt to taste ; mix with it enough stock to make it moist (not too much so), cook gently, stirring continually, then make some pancakes, omitting the sugar, put a sp"bonful of mince into each pancake, roll up neatly, serve in a pile with fried parsley. To Cure Dandruff.— An excellent and yet simple remedy for this complaint is to apply sweet almond oil freefy to the scalp at night, rub thfs in thoroughly with the finger tips; after, two or three nights of this treatment, wash tEe iiead with this " shampoo." Beat up the strained yolk of an egg with a pint of soft water and an ounce of rosemary spirit. After it iv thoroughly rubbed into the hair, rinse clean in soft warm water. Baked Breaded Chops.— For a change, make a paste of fine, dry bread crumbs, salted and peppered, and a beaten egg. Spread this smoothly over the chops that have been neatly timmed, and bake them quickly upon a grating or wire rack set in a' pan. The oven must be hot, but not too hot. When, they are brown on two sides— which should be in about fifteen minutes — they are done, and delicious to eat with peas, crisp, fried potatoes, or boiled potatoes chopped, seasoned, and browned in the oven. Stewed Celery. — Trim and cut to the same length the heads of celery you wish to use, splittnureafch in too fengtawise. Tie into bundles* and parboil in salted water for ten minutes. Drain tnem, line the bottom of a stewpan with slices of bacon, set the celery over, with a bunch of sweet herbs, two onions, pepper and salt to taste, - and enough stock to barely cover all. Simmer till the celery is just tender. Have ready a square of toast, set the celery on it, having removed the string. Then take some of the stock, strain and remove all fat, thicken it with browned flour and a piece of butter, pour over the celery and serve. Gingerbread Fingers.— Dry one pound or flour and pass it through a sieve. When quite cold again rob in two ounces of buttet and three ounces of lard. Then add to the flour, etc., two teaspoonfuls of bakingpowder, a dessertspoonful of chopped, can-' died orange peel, half an ounce of ground ginger, and six ounces .of. brown sugar. Warm half a pound, of golden syrup and mix with the other ingredients so-as to form a good dough. Roll out thin, cut into finger-shaped pieces, place on a well- greased tin, and bake slowly tall the biscnits are perfectly crisp. : Directly these are cold place in a tin and cover tightly. To make Home-made Bread. — Take one cupful of yeast, 81b flour, one tablespoonful of salt, 4^ pints of tepid water. &hake the flour into a deep dish, work it round the aides, leaving a hollow space in the centre. Then pour hi tiiree pints of warm water, the salt, and tie yeast. Have prepared 3 the remainder of the water and put in as much as will make it into a nice soft dough, kneading it well with both hands. When it is nice and smooth sprin&le a little flour over it and put it in a warm place with a clean towel folded thickly over it, and . leave it for three or four hours ; then knead it for a quarter of an Bour; cover it, and set it to rise again. Divide, into six loaves and bake in a quick oven:for an hour and a quarter to an hotrr add a half. Quince Marmalade."— -Peel the quinces carefully and remove the core and pips. As they are peeled throw the- pieces of quince into cold water to preserve their colour. To every four pounds of fruit placed .in a jar add one quart of water, cover down tightly, and stew for several hours till the ftjiit has turned a nice red colour and is perfectly tender. Let it stand till next day, then weigh the pulp, and to every pound add three-quarters of a pound of crushed lump sugar. Put the fruit into a preserving-pan, and bring ft slowly to the boil, stirring constantly. Let the preserve boil gently for about twenty-five minutes. Take the pan from off the stove and work the marmalade down to n paste while it is hot ; place in jars while still boiling. Cover at once with white paper brushed over with beaten, white of egg. Store in a cool, airy cupboard.

The great pyramid of Cheops is the largest structure ever erected by the hand of man. Its original dimensions at the base were 764 ft square, and" its' perpendicular height on the highest point 448 ft. It covers' 4 acres 1 rood 22 rods of ground, and has been estimated by an. eminent architect- to KbaiTO-cos^nodessKaianxjß^iXKVflOO.