BRIGHTER ROOMS

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 77, Issue 23, 27 January 1934, Page 3

BRIGHTER ROOMS

SOME WAYS TO HELP. So many rooms look dingy and few know that a dull room is instantly lighted up if the walls are papered or distempered a soft sunny yellow and then varnished—for a shiny surface reflects the light much better than a dull one. The woodwork could be painted a very pale yellow, so pale as to be almost ivory, resembling, as far ar possible, the exquisite golden tint which sunshine always throws over white paint. Then, if yellow is introduced as the predominating colour in the carpet and curtains, and the shades of the lights are of daffodil yellow, the room will be bright indeed. To a bedroom furnished in this way add primrosecoloured cushions, and an eiderdown of gold and brown. Yellow can also be introduced successfully into any otiher colour scheme. Always its note is one of warmth and brightness. It will fit in anywhere and everywhere. You have a room furnished in blue or mauve. In excellent taste, yet still a little cold and sombre. A touch of yellow will often make all the difference. Perhaps a few pieces of shining yellow pottery, a cushion or two, or a yellow silk lampshade, wihich, when the lamp is lit will look even warmer and more glowing if it is lined with pale pink silk. In a dull, gloomy room curtains of yellow rippled artificial silk in a lovely shade of old gold would be perfect, accentuating the sunshine as it creeps round them. Bronze-coloured shot silk, glinting with a golden stripe, will have a similar happy result. And finally, a delightful effect of sunlight can be obtained by draping a gold silk net curtain taut on rods from the top lof the lower window pane to the bottom, against the glass. This is a very useful way of blotting out an ugly landscape, and even on the dullest of days the light will filter through and seem to splash gold about the room. CATERING FOR TWO Variety is the secret of success in catering for two. Although food can usually be bought more cheaply in ‘ large quantities, it is not an economy to buy for two in this way, since there is a definite limit to the ways in which the one kind of food can be served and to the length of time which it will keep. The art of buying for two lies in purchasing just enough for one meal or one day’s meals, thereby avoiding waste and monotony. Joints are not a practical purchase for two; the quantity of meat needed is so small that after being roasted it has lost most of its succulence, shrivelled to almost half its original size, and used a good deal of gas. The casserole and the steamer are ideal cooking utensils in a small household. Longer cooking makes it possible to use cheaper cuts of meat without any loss in flavour. A small round of Jbeef, for example, cooks deliciously with a little butter or margarine in the casserole, and it is far more economical than the oven. A steamer with four fitting compartments, the bottom one holding boiling water, the second meat, the one above potatoes, and the top pan vegetables, is a boon in preparing meals for two people. Three things arc cooking at the same time on one gas J Gt - , , . Time and temper may be saved in preparing food in small quantities if the kitchen culinary equipment is appropriate in size. Small fireproof dishes, both glass and earthenware, basins, saucepans, etc., may be bought in every hardware shop now. Individual dif-hes for custards, milk puddings, fish scallops, and so on are also a practical investment. Egg dishes are dear and tiresome to prepaic for a large family, but, where there aie only two, omelettes, savoury, scrambled, and stuffed eggs with tomatoes, mushrooms, or spinach are welcome additions to the menu. Keeping loods such as bread, cheese, cakes, and biscuits, although you buy them in the smallest possible quantities, is a problem. Loaves keep moist much longer ii they are wrapped in a cloth and kept in an airtight tin. Cheese for toasting, etc., should be wrapped up in a piece of greaseproof piper, while cheese for the table may be prevented from going dry or acquiring a 4 fur coat” by putting a lump of sugar in the cheese dish. Different kinds of cakes and biscuits must be kept in separate tins, otherwise they Wil! not retain their crispness fcr more than a few hours. Imagini’tion il. buying, cooking, and serving mnkes cooking for two a delightful job, which brings its visible reward in good health and good temper. SIMPLE SWEETMEATS The following recipes require no expert knowledge of sugar-boiling, and are quickly and easily prepared. Cream Fondants.—Half a pound best icing sugar; 1 dessertspoon of cream; 1 white of egg. Method.—Roll sugar until quite smooth, then sieve. Put into basin with cream; add whipped white of egg, just enough to make the mixture into a firm paste. Dust board with icing sugar; roll out fondant on this, using sugar to keep from sticking. Cut into neat squares with a knife dipped into sugar, and leave for 24 hours in a warm place to dry. Colour, if liked, with vegetable colouring. Cherry Fondants.—Take fondant mixture, dip fingers into icing sugar and form into sweets. Press a small round piece of glace ciherry on to each sweet and strips of angelica to form stalks and leaves. Walnut Creams.—Take a small ball of cream fondant, press half a walnut upon each side, roll in granulated sugar and leave to dry. ’ Peppermint Creams. —Work e > urr of peppermint into £lb. of cream fondant until it tastes pleasantly of essence. Colour a pale green with vegetable colouring. Roll out the paste and cut into rounds the size of a penny with a biscuit cutter.