HINTS AND RECIPES

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 77, Issue 153, 30 June 1934, Page 3

HINTS AND RECIPES

SOMETHING TO INTEREST THE HOUSEWIFE. Cotton-wool dipped in methylated spirits will clean a photograph without injuring the surface. Rub very lightly. Bathing caps of rubber that have been stored during the winter should, before they are used again, be soaked in warm soapy water to which a little ammonia has been added. Then rub between the hands until the rubber is pliable before attempting to stretch over the head. If stretched while they are dry and hard they will probably split.

Bay leaves should always be kept in the store cupboard, as they make a pleasant flavouring for milk puddings, custards, and sauces. The leaves will keep their flavour for a long time if, after being picked, they are well wiped, dried in a warm place, and stored in an airtight jar.

Salt and vinegar make an excellent mixture for cleaning water-bottles and decanters. Put a dessertspoonful of rough salt into a decanter, moisten it with vinegar, and then shake the decanter until the stains have disappeared. Aluminium teapots can be freed from tannin by washing them well in hot soapy water and then scrubbing with steel w.ool and a special soap prepared for aluminium cleaning. If the teapot is always washed in hot soapy water, and rinsed in boiling water after using, the formation of tannin will be prevented.

Dusters which take up the dust and polish at the same time can be made by taking an ordinary duster, sprinkling it with paraffin, and shutting it up in a box for three days before using it. Wash when dirty and retreat in the same way. A Use for Wallpaper Scraps.—Wallpaper left over when the room is redecorated may be used for covering wooden or cardboard boxes and wastepaper baskets. Lay the paper face downwards on, the table, and brush over evenly with paste. Press the paper round the basket, smoothing it down from the centre towards the edges. Washable Walls. Walls covered with washable paint or distemper should be spring-cleaned in this way; — Dust thoroughly with a soft duster tied over a broom, and then wash with an old sponge or a piece of chamois leather and warm, spoay water. Wring out the sponge or leather before using, taking care not to make the walls too wet. Dry immediately with a clean soft cloth. Washable wallpapers may also be cleaned by this method. Cleaning a Carpet.—Here is a recipe for carpet soap:—Shred an ounce of yellow soap and dissolve in a pint of

boiling water. Add three dessertspoonsful of ammonia and a teaspoonful of washing soda. Keep in a shallow jar. For use, make a lather of the soap with warm water and rub the carpet briskly with a soft brush. Wipe off with warm water and a clean cloth. Do not use this freely before testing the quality of the colours in your carpet, as many carpet colours are not fast. To Re-move Tar Marks.—Turpentine is excellent for removing tar marks on clothes. When the fabric is not too delicate the turpentine should be sponged freely over it, or the garment may be soaked in the liquid. When dainty material is to be treated moisten a piece of cloth with the turpentine and rub gently. As soon as the cloth becomes discoloured take a fresh piece. Tasty Rhubarb Dishes. Rhubarb Compote. Wash some young rhubarb, cut it into small pieces, put them into a casserole or stew-jar —an earthenware jam-pot can be used with great success —cover with brown sugar, add a very little water, flavour with ginger or lemon rind, put the jar

very slowly until it is tender, but not mushy. Serve with cream or custard. Rhubarb Fool.—Serve rhubarb fool in individual glasses. Put a ratafia soaked in sherry in the bottom of each glass, cover with a mixture made by adding some stewed sweetened rhubarb, which has been passed through a sieve, to whipped crc-ani or a good egg-custard, and sprinkle with chopped almonds. Tint the fool with carmine or cochineal if too pale. Rhubarb Jam.—Take 61b of rhubarb, wash it thoroughly, cut it into short lengths, put it into an enamelled preserving-pan, and let it stew gently for half an hour. Then add 61b preserving sugar, the juice and finely minced rinds of three lemons, and |lb sweet almonds, blanched and split. Let all boil well until a little dropped on a plate jellies. Rhubarb jam turns a reddish colour when thoroughly cooked. If not bodied enough, it will not keep. Rhubarb Jelly.—One pound rhubarb, quarter point water, 6oz sugar, gelatine, cochineal or carmine, custard sauce. Wipe, but do not peel, the rhubarb and put in an enamel saucepan with the sugar and water. Cook slowly until it has become a pulp, and rub through a fine sieve. Measure, and allow 4oz gelatine to each half pint of liquid. Put the gelatine and rhubarb liquid into a clean pan, and stir over gentle heat till the gelatine is dissolved. Strain into a bowl, stir in a few drops of carmine or cochineal. Pour into a mould rinsed out in cold w’ater. and leave in a cold place till set.

Rhubarb Tart.—Wash and cut the rhubarb into inch lengths and stew it gently with plenty of sugar until it is tender, but not too soft. Take out the pieces without breaking them and lay them in a shallow pie-dish which you have lined with short pastry. Cover the top rather thickly with brown

sugar, dust with flour mixed with a pinch of salt, and a grating of nutmeg. Dot over with butter, arrange a latticework of pastry over the top, and bake for about half an hour in a moderate oven. The drained juice can be thickened and sweetened for sauce, or poured over the sugar before baking.

The only cavern in the world in which the wind produces musical sounds is believed to be Fingal’s Cave on Staffa Island, one of the Hebrides. During a visit there Mendelssohn was inspired to write his overture, “The Hebrides. ’ ’