HOUSEHOLD HINTS.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 8100, 27 August 1904, Page 3

HOUSEHOLD HINTS.

A Useful Hint.— lf a tablesjsoonfuf of lemon juice be added to the water in which rice is boiling it will make the rice nice and white, and will keop the grains separata. A Hint in Mixing Mustard. — If hot water be used instead of cold, and a pinch of salt, added, it will be found that mustard keeps fresh much longer, and also retains its colour. To Remove the Smell of Cooking.— lnto a pint of boiling water pour a. few drops of cil of lavender. Open the window of the room and carry the basin round a iew times, in a few minutes all odour of cooking will have disappeared. Brewers' yeast — which many people use' for bread-making instead of German yeast — if a little cold water is poured over it, will keep good for several days. "When needed pour tho water carefully oif, and use in the ordinary way. Vegetable Sandwiches are a novelty, and greatly appreciated. Taks any cold vegetables that you 'have by you, bean?, potatoes, carrots, almost anything ia good. Chop finely, season wiih a liitle Mayonnaise sauce, and spread on thin slices of 'bread and butter. The addition of chopped hard-boiled egg is thought an improvement by some people. To Lengthen the Wear of Blankets.— Blankets woven in pairs wear chiefly at tho ends and in the middle. To prevent this, sew the ends lightly together, exactly like a roller towel. The fold at the top can be constantly changed, and tlie blankets will be worn equally all over. Single blankets may be joined in pairs, and used in the earne way. Black Stockings.— Bran water is excellent for washing these if you v/ant to keep them a. good colour. To make, tie up a, breakfastcupful of bran loosely iv a cloth, and boil in half a gallon of water for at leapt ten minutes. Add a. little vinegar to the ringing water, and remember that, if ironed when dry, a very bot flat iron should nover be used if you want them to keep their colour. Fastening Knife Blades into Handles.— Cican out the holes of the handles, then fill lightly with a, mixture of equal parts of resin and briekdus't, -taking care -that the latter is dry. Mako the tangs or spikes of tha blades hot enough to melt tho resin, and push into place in the handle. When cold the handles will be firmly fixed, and any of the coment that' has 'been forced out may be chipped off. A little practice. "to get the light heat of the spike and the amount of filling will soon make the process satisfactory. To Clean Glass Water-bottles.— Take a teacupful of vinegar, dissolve a piece of salt the size of an egg in it, and shake the mixture m each bottle vigorously, afterwards wc-d rinsing wtth cold water. The vinegar and salt can be kept in a bottle for use any length of time, and if used regularly pnce a week will keep glass beautifully clear. If any. bottle has become marked with hard lines from neglect, a raw potato, cut in dice, and added to the vinegar and well shaken round, will be found most effectual. New carrots are among our most whole- 1 some vegetables; they are delicious cooked as follows:— Scrape lightly a.ni cut into straws ; «ook in salted water. Strain off th* waler; season with salt, pep'pfer, a Utti- onion juice and a lump; of butter, and return to the saucepan until the butter is melted, shaking the carrots about ih it until all are glazed. Pour into a hot dish for serving; if you have green peas, boil a cupful of them and pour over the carrots when they aro in tae d.»h. « makes one of the prettiest of vegetable dishes, and is as good as it looks. ' „ , I/ace collars, cuffs and turnovers, which do so much towards brightening tip a costume, particularly on a gloomy day, may be oleaned by washing them in warm soapsuds to which a little borax has been added, rinsing them clean in warm water, and pinning them out on a flat surface to dry; or by sprinkling them thoroughly 'wr**- powdered •chalk cr magnesia, placing theni between caeeis ef white tissue-paper tinder a hSavj • weigh. for twenty-four hours, then shaking them entirely free from the powder. Jf »* be desired to give tfc«n » yellow time, iW may be

dipped in cl«ar coffee, and afterwords pinned on a flat curiace until dry. Black iace trimmings may ba dipped in one basin after another of cold tea, until they seem clean, and then pinned out on a piece of black silk until quite dry. -o Brighten Carpet- *fter Spring Cleaning.— Have tka carpets taken up a-ud beaten, have them re-laid and brushed again. Dissolve two ounces of toft soap in two quarts of hot water, add a tablespoonful of liquid ammonia. Dip a small brush in this mixtuie, and wash a -marl portion of -the carpet a.t a> time, then w:pe with a duster wrung out in clean water, and rub dry at onoe with dusters. Do not start this process till you h»ve plenty of clean clusters ready, and only do a small portion of the carpet at one time, taking great oare not to make it very wet. Giblet Pie is very good, if carefully prepared. First wash one pound of giblet3, and cut into pieces of convenient si.c; also cut -up one pound of juicy 6teak. On to a plate put two tablespoonfuls of flour, a, teaspoonful of chopped parsley, pepper and snit, with a good pinch of nllspice. 801 l each piece of meat in this, and set in a stewing-jar, coyer with ■water, ed'ii two onion 3 cut in four pieces, and a te_spoonful of "Worcester sauce. Stew veiy gently in the oven for an hour and a half. Do not remove the cover of tbe jar till it is cold. Place tho meat in % pie-dish, cover with a good crust, and bake .ill the pastry is done. Serve hot. Grated Orange Marmalade.— Tliis novel -way of making marmalade is greatly appreciated by those who have tried it. For iwo pounds of oranges weighed whole allow one lemon to eacb two Seville oranges', four poundo of best preserving sugar, two ■ and a half pints of water. Grate the peel from both oranges and lemons. Then boil the fruit in the above quantity of water for twenty minutes; take out the orange, and lemons, cut into email pieces, a.nd put back into the water. Boil for twenty minutes more ; pass all through a hair sisve. Put both pulp and grated peel back into the preserving pan, add the sugar, and boil hard for twenty minutes, while stirring continuously. _ . A woman of experience gives this *- her method ifor sugar cured bacon:— To 501 bof ham or " side bacon " allow 31b of sugar and a. pint of molasses, 6lb of salt, ono full tableBpocn of saleratus and the same of saltpetre. Cover the bottom of your firkin with p.alt (about 21b). Mix sugar, molasses, saltpetre, saleratus and the remaining salt into a pasio. Rub each piece thoroughly with this, work it in well and bard, and pack iuto the firkin, the rind downward. Cover all witb cold water— just enough to rise tho meat. Lay a heavy board on top, weight ifc with a stone to keep the meat under water, and leave it thus for four weeks, turning tho meat and stirring' up the pickle every week. Take out. then wipe, rub into the pieces as much dry salt and an equal quantity of sugar as they will take up ; pack iv . a dry firkin and leave for twenty-four hours before sending to the smokehouse.