Domestic

New Zealand Tablet, 30 March 1916, Page 57

Domestic

(By Maubein.)

"• « ' Ginger Biscuits. Put one and a-half cupfuls of sugar into a basin, add one cupful of treacle, one cupful of lard, or lard and butter mixed; one cupful of hot water, two teaspoonfuls of powdered ginger, two teaspoonfuls of soda, and sufficient flour to make a soft dough. Roll and cut out with a cutter. Lay the biscuits on buttered tins and bake in a moderate oven. ■., : Buttermilk Cake, j • ■ Ingredients: lib flour, |lb dripping, moist sugar, Jib currants, a pinch of salt, 2oz candied peel, one teaspoonful 'mixed spice, one teaspoonful carbonate of soda, buttermilk to mix., Method: Sieve the flour and salt into a basin and rub in the dripping until free from lumps. . Now add the currants, well cleaned, the candied peel, finely shred, and the spice and soda free from lumps. Mix these dry ingredients well together, make a well in the middle and pour in enough buttermilk to make the mixture just moist enough to drop from the spoon. Put it into a well-greased Yorkshire pudding tin and bake in a moderate oven until well risen and firm to the touch. Turn out the cake, when ready, and cool on its side or on a wire tray'. ■ ' ,' To Wash Paint. . Varnished paint must be treated 'somewhat differp.utlv from unvarnished paint to prevent lack of lustre. In the first place dust the paint thoroughly, then dissolve two tablespoonfuls. of powdered borax in a little boiling water, and' add to this sufficient cold water to bring the total amount used to. three pints. Sponge the paint well with this, then rinse in tepid water, drv, and rub with a soft, clean cloth. When thoroughly dry, rub with a little furniture polish. For unvar-

ied paint, the borax ; should be dissolved as; above, ;; then diluted with lukewarm water, a .little .soap jelly, being added to the water.v Apply as before, rinsing it with lukewarm water, .'and washing only a little at a time, drying it as you go along. . To clean white paint and enamel, mix fine whitening to a cream with water arid apply this lightly, rinsing it off with clean water and drying it with a soft, clean cloth. '*-■ • / Cornflour Beads. - " " A girl who is trying to think of something to make for her little sister may .find amusement for a rainy day in making doll beads from cornflour and salt. It is possible to color them ' any shade that suits the individual fancy, and when strung alone or with glass beads between them, they make attractive necklaces for a child to play with. Mix four tablespoonfuls of salt with two tablespoonfuls of water, and add coloring matter to suit your taste. . In a separate dish mix two tablespoonfuls. of cornflour with two tablespoonfuls of water, and add perfume if you wish. Allow the salt to become boiling hot; then stir in the cornflour. Since it cooks instantly, it is best to let someone pour the flour for you while you stir it vigorously. When the mixture is cool enough to handle, knead it with your hands; then take small bits and roll them into beads. Run them on pins and leave them in this position until they are nearly dry ; then remove them. Do not make them too large, and be careful not to let your pins discolor the flour with, rust.-, .. If you wish to keep the dough for future use, wrap it in a wet cloth or cover it with a dish. Household Hints. < To set the color of print dresses, soak in very warm, weak salt brine; let them remain until the water is cold, and then wring out and wash in the usual manner. Potato parings dried carefully and kept in a glass jar are handy things to start a fire Also infinitely safer than coaxing a blaze with paraffin, or even the more deadly benzoline.