THE LADIES’ COLUMN..

Waipawa Mail, Volume XXVIII, Issue 5248, 18 April 1908, Page 6 (Supplement)

THE LADIES’ COLUMN..

HOMELY FARE. Chicken Croquettes Stuffed with Mushrooms.—Required : About half a pound of cooked chicken, four or elx ounces of cooked ham, one teaspoonful of chopped shallot or onion, two teaspoonfuls of chopped parsley, two eggs, breadcrumbs, salt, pepper and nutmeg, quarter of a pound of mushrooms, a little white sauce. Chop the chicken and ham rather coarsely, mix with them the chopped parsley and shallot. Next add about two tablespoonfuls of the sauce and one beaten egg. Stir the mixture over the fine for a few minutes until it is well mixed and the egg Is cooked. Season it carefully, spread It evenly on a plate and leave it until cold. Meanwhile peel the mushrooms and fry them In a little butter until they are quite tender. Chop them finely and mix with them though sauce to bind them together very stiffly. Season this mixture carefully. Form the chicken mixture Into fairly large cork shapes. When all are shaped, make a hole right through the centre of each with the handle of a small wooden spoon, fill up this space by pushing up some of the mushroom mixture. Spread a little of the chicken mixture over tho ends to close them up. Roll the croquettes in crumbs, brush them over with beaten egg and again coat them with crumbs. Fry them a golden brown in plenty of fat so hot that a blue smoke is rising from It. Drain them well on kitchen paper and serve them garnished with fried parsley.

Roast Duck.—Required: One duck, two large onions, half a dozen sage leaves, one egg, one ounce of butter, three ounces of crumbs, salt and pepper. Peel and quarter tho onions, boil them for five minutes in a pan of water, then pour off that water; add fresh boiling water and boll the onions until they are tender. Dry the sage leaves slo-wly In the oven, then rub them through’ a sieve or strainer or between the hands. Drain off the water from the onions, pressing them well; then chop them finely, add to them the powdered sage, crumbs, butter, after gently melting it, salt and pepper to taste, and lastly the beaten egg. Have the bird carefully plucked, drawn, well singed and wiped with a damp cloth. Put the stuffing into the tail-end of the bird. Truss It into shape, tie a picco of greased paper over tho breast, put it into a baking-tin with a good piece of dripping, and cook it either before a clear lire or,jn a moderate oven from three-quarters of an hour to an hour; baste the bird well and often. For the last half-hour remove the paper from the breast so that it may brown nicely. When done, remove the skewers and string, put the bird on a hot dish, and keep it hot. Pour off all fat from the dripping tin, taking care to keep all the goodness in the tin; sprinkle In about two teaspoonfuls of flour and brown it carefully. Next pour in about half a pint of stock or water, and stir this over the Are until it bolls well and thickens; season the gravy carefully, strain Jt Into a hot sauce-tureen, and hand it with the duck. USEFUL HINTS. One of the best ways of keeping suede gloves in good condition is to place a piece of rock ammonia in the box or drawer in which they are laid. The ammonia must not, however, be allowed to touch the gloves. Bedroom water bottles are cosily cleaned with the help of an eggshell. Break up the shell, put in the bottle, and add a few teaspoonfuls of cold water. Shake the bottle well, then rinse out with cold water. Tills Is a French plan, and an excellent one for removing stains. Window blinds, when showing signs of wear, should be turned top to bottom. Of course, it Is a little trouble to take them off their rollers and make fresh hems for inserting the rollers and laths, but It is well worth while as It makes them last twice as long as they would otherwise.

Soda Is a splendid cleanser, but before it Is put into the wash-tub it should always be dissolved In hot water. Undissolvcd soda sprinkled on the clothes causes yellow marks to appear, and after a time those marks drop into holes. Dirty kitchen clothes will be nice and white if a teaspoonful each of paraffin ana spirits of turpentine be added to the soapsuds in which they are boiled.

Rub the garments over with pipeclay, taking care to get it well into the cloth, then fold them up carefully and leave them for a day or two. On taking them out, shake and brush them thoroughly till every trace of the powder is removed, when the cloth will look fresh and clean, unless it has had very hard wear, when more drastic treatment will, of course, be necessary. Any grease spots that remain on the garment after it lias been cleaned with pipeclay must be removed with a llannel cloth dipped In benzine or spirits of turpentine.

Fold a sheet of newspaper across, and lightly twist It into a sort of rope, then make it Into a knot. Put several of these knots in the grate, then place some small bits of coal round them to keep them in position and a few more pieces on the top, and set fire to the paper. In this manner it Is easy to kindle the coal, or a fire may be made of paper alone, very useful occasionally in summer time when one is away from home and wants a. fire In one’s room in a few minutes only, either for heating a Jittlo water, or for some other purpose.