HINTS AND RECIPES

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 19846, 21 May 1927, Page 16 (Supplement)

HINTS AND RECIPES

If vinegar is boiled in a kettle that has become badly furred, the deposit will soften and break away from the sides and bottom. Powdered starch rubbed over walls with a soft cloth will remove all stains. To keep the drains wholesome, pour hot salt and water down the sink occasionally. Never have a jam spoon in the jam, or a fork in the picklesA vr verdigris will result. Any cooking utensils that retain the smell of onions should be rubbed thoroughly with salt, and then washed in warm water. If a fruit cake mixture is not put into a really hot oven at first, the fruit will sink to the bottom of the tin. Stone window-ledges that have become green with damp should be scrubbed with damp salt. To keep the kitchen table white, scrub it with salt and water. Moist table salt will remove egg stains from silver. To fresh«# stale vegetables, soak for an hour in cold waler to which the juice of a lemon has been added. Leather that has become greasy can be cleaned by rubbing with a mixture of one part linseed oil < boiled and eooled) and the same quantity of vinegar. Polish with a soft duster. To clean the glass of pictures, dust them first. then wash with a little methylated spirit and warm water, and dry and polLsh with a chamois leather Never iron embroidery on the right side. l>ay the article face down on several thicknesses of Turkish towelling, j and iron the back. Stale bread is excellent for cleaning , light-coloured suede gloves. To Clean Cloth Gaiters. Drab and light-coloured gaiters can be cleaned in the following way: Peel I some potatoes and grate them finely: sponge the gaiters with the grated'po- i tatoes until they are quite damp, then ' hang them to dry. Brush off the po- ; tatoes. and the gaiters will look quite 1 fresh and clean. When Washing Elastic. The reason why it perishes so soon is that it is subject to too great heat. It . is a good plan to wash anything that contains elastic in warm, not hot water, not to dry it near a fire. and not to let the iron touch it whon ironing. It is the beat which rots the rubber. To Keep Windows Clean. After the windows have been cleaned. smear them lightly with a little glycerine on a dry duster. Then rub off with another polish. The glycerine will also prevent the inside surface of the window steaming. Glycerine will remove frost on windows, and keep them clean on a damp day. Caramel. To make a fruit cake dark, a small quantity of caramel is generally added, and well mixed with the other ingredients. To make caramel, put one pound of castor sugar ami tablespoonful of water into a saucepan, and stir over a gentle heat till it becomes dark brown. Bring to the boil, add three gills of water, stir till it boils again, then sim mer till the caramel becomes a syrup. Leave to cool, then bottle and use a little when required to darken cakes and puddings. Some Soup Recipes for Use in Cold Weather. Tomato Soup.—Required: 21bs. tomatoes, 4oz. lean bacon or ham. one carrot, one onion, one stick celery', a bunch of herbs, a sprig of parsley, loz. crush ed tapioca, a little sugar, salt, pepper, and one pint stock or water Prepare the vegetables, cut up the bacon into dice and fry with a little bacon fat, then add the vegetables (cut up), and fry very lightly, stirring the whole time. This preliminary frying of the vegetables in fat adds very much to the quality of any soup. Then add the tomatoes (cut in halves), the stock or water, the herbs and seasoning. Boil all together for an hour, remove herbs, and pass the soup through a sieve. Return to the saucepan, shake in the tapioca, stirring all the time, and let it simmer till the tapioca is cooked. Add a little sugar to bring out the flavour, and serve with croutons of bread. Pea Soup.—Take a marrow bone and put it in about four quarts of cold water (according to the thickness and quantity required), add 2lbs. of the best peas to the cold water and marrow bone: add to this two carrots, two turnips, six small onions, a stalk of celery (cut in pieces), a bunch of thyme and some black pepper. Let this boil for two hours When the peas are quite soft, put the soup through a sieve into another pot. Rub it well through until the pulp is mixed with the soup, and heat it again for a few minutes. Serve with tiny pieces of toast. Potato Soup.—One pound of potatoes, loz. margarine, two sticks of celery, II pints of hot water or light stock, one tablespoonful of crushed tapioca, two onions, one pint of milk, salt, pepper. Wash, peel and slice the potatoes, wash and chop the celery and peel and slice the onions. Melt the butter in a pan.'add the vegetables, and stir until the butter is absorbed without browning. Add the boiling water or stock and a little salt, bring to the boil and simmer very gently until the potatoes are soft, then rub through a wire sieve. Rinse out the pan, put in the sieved soup, add the milk. Mir until boiling, then sprinkle in the tapioca and simmer very gently until it is quite transparent, which will take about eight to ten minutes. Season the soup, which should be about as thick as a good cream. Put it into a tureen and serve with dice of toast.