HOUSEHOLD HINTS.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 8333, 3 June 1905, Page 3

HOUSEHOLD HINTS.

"When joining a bias piece of material to a straight piece, keep the bias piece underneath, as this prevents it from stretching. The flavour «f sausages ia much improved if, before frying, they are. put into enough cold water to cover them, and heated quickly to boiling point. When machining a thin material, such aa chiffon, place » piece of paper underneath the material. It will prevent it puckering, and can bo easily removed afterwards. To avoid marking velvet when sewing it, lay another piece face downward to rest your fingera on, and you will find when you have finished sewing that the pile will not be flattened. To l^ep sponges soft and white, wash them in water with a little tartaric acid in it, then rinse in plenty' of cold water. Take care not to put in too much tartaric acid, or the sponges will be spoilt. Try fried apples for breakfast. Peel, quarter, and core good tart apples. Put into a fryingpan with a little water added. Boil until nearly tender; drain. Dip. into flour and fry till tender and brown. Buttonholes on shirts should be stitched round with strong cotton just outside the buttonhole stitch, while they are new. If this is done they will last almost as long as the shirt itself without. tearing away. When sewing black cotton materials, such as Italian cloth, sateen and black prints, always use silk, as the black sewing cotton turns rusty with wear and washing, _and apoila the appearance of the articles on wnich it is naed. -, Powdered Horseradish should be prepared as follows:— Slice the horseradish rather thin. { Place in tho oven till thoroughly dry, then j pound it, and store in a bottle: for use. If the horseradish is' thoroughly dry it will keep a long while and be very useful. Potato Cake.— Boil some floury potatoes, pass them through a coarse wire sieve. Take one pound of this mashed potato, three ounces of butter, three ounces? of currants, | one ounce of sugar, a pinch of salt,;, and moisten with an egg. Roll the cakes out thin, and bake in & quick oven. ■ v. ■ Caramel Sauce.— Put a handful of loaf sugar into saucepan with a- little water., and set it on the fire until it becomes a, dark brown caramel, then add more; water (boiling) to produce a dark liquor like strong coffee. Add a few drops of vanilla essence, strain through a sieve and eerve. ;.';■. , : For Coughs. — A severe p&roxyam of- coughing may b» often, arrested by- a tablespconfui of glyoarinejitt' a, winefflawttul of hot milk. . Te Polish Sfloes.— Mi k and ink snake a oheap polish for black glace shoes. itub over with a soft rag, and when nearly dry polish with, a velvet pad. This does not injure the kid. t Nose Bleeding,— -Ordinary cases of nose bleeding may,, ia most instances, be cured by bathing the face and neck in oold water and the nostrifs- with water in which a little alum has been dissolved. Lemon £>uce may also be u*ai with excel-

leut results in a similar manner. Thi3 simple treatment is one of the bast known, remedies, ar.d is often effectual when all other resources hava sigr.ally failed. The art of deep breathing, onco acquired, strengthens the lungs, and helps one's appearance by giving a full, roundsd chest, and improves the voice. Take a d«ep breath through the nostrils, keeping the mouth tightly shut, hold the breath for several momenta, and then breathe it out again, slowly and steadily. This should hs done on first ■waking from sleep, and many times afterwards throughout the course of the day. To wash mew blankets, cut half a pound of best yellow soap into two gallons of water, with 2oz of boras. Boil until the soap is dissolved. Let the blankets soak well in the cold watsr for some hours, then put them into the above; wash thoroughly and rinse in blua water; the blankets will ba like new. If put at once into hot water for the first time, it tends to set the sulphur and turn them black. Ohoose, if possible, a breezy day for washing. -■». good idea for home-dresemakers who find a trouble in fitting themselves, is to buy a yard and a half of strong lining, and cut out a perfectly fitting bodice pattern to come five or six inches below the wa!st-line. Bone and stitch it as if for an ordinary dress. Instead of hooks and eyes, sew together down the front, the nstuff the lining firmiy with saw-dust, shaping it as you proceed. Sew astrong lining across the bottom so as to stand •on a table; add a stock collar at neck, with a piece of lining 1 across the top. This model is most useful for draping and trimming blouses, also for iitting. collars and yokes. Steak a la Francaiss. — Required: A piece of steak two inches thick, 3oz of dripping, one onion, one carrot, parsley, a few peppercorns and three cloves, a tablespoonful of capers. Dissolve the dripping in a fryingpan and when quite hot put in the steak, turning constantly with a knife till quite brown. Take' the steak out and put it in a pan with a tight-fitting cover. Jn the fryingpan put a little sliced onion and car.rot, also some chopped parsley. When nicely browned lay on tho steak, and pour round it a little stock; add the peppercorns and clovos. Cover tho pan down very closely, and set it in a slow oven, where the contents can cook very slowly for two hours. Baste constantly, and serve with a little grravy and chopped capers. Potatoes and boiled green vegetable Bhould accompany this dish. Calf's Tongue and Brown Sauce.—Required: A calf's tongue, 1& pint of stock, 2 carrots, 1. onion ■ and a bunch of sweet herbs, slices of buttered' toast, a dessertspoon fill of vinegar, loz of butter, loz -of. flour. This is an excellent entree. Procure a calf's tongue, scald and clean it, then place in a saucepan and cover with good stock. Cook all slowly for three or four hours, adding an onion, carrots and herbs.- When the tongue is cooked, cut it in half lengthwise, and lay it on slices of hofc buttered toast. Pass the carrots and onion through a sieve into as little of the stock as possible Dissolve the butter in a saucepan, add the flour, and gradually about a teacupful of stock. Colour a- nice brown and stir -while all boils; add the vegetables, vinegar, pepper and salt. Tbe gravy should be very thick and savoury. Pour it carefully over the tonerue. earnish with slices of tomato tinij servo very hot.