Domestic

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XLIII, Issue 18, 4 May 1916, Page 49

Domestic

(By Maureen.)

Russian Pilaf.

This is an especially nice way of serving the remains of roast lamb or chicken. Cook'half a cupful of .rice until dry and fluffy ; set a saucepan over the, fire, melt three tablespoon of butter in it; add the rice, toss two minutes; stir in a half-pint of stewed tomatoes, and a pint of minced lamb or chicken, simmer till very hot, and season with salt and cayenne. " , > '

Chocolate Raisin Pudding.

One and one-half breakfast cupfuls of fine crumbs, two and one-half cupfuls of milk, one-third cupful of treacle, one-fourth teaspoonful of salt; One egg, one cupful of stoned raisins, one-half , cupful, of cocoa, or two squares of chocolate, melted. Soak bread crumbs in milk, add remaining ingredients, turn into a buttered pudding dish, and steam four hours. Serve either hot or cold with cream sauce.

Mutton Sausages.

One-half pound of cold mutton, one egg, one and onehalf cupfuls of boiled rice, two ounces of suet, salt and pepper, bread crumbs, and minced parsley. Mince the mutton, suet, and rice; mix and season with the pepper, salt, and parsley, bind with the yolk of-the egg, and form into sausages. Dip them in the white of egg, roll in bread crumbs, and fry in boiling fat. , Place on a hot dish and serve with gravy or tomato sauce. These make a nice dish for breakfast or luncheon.-

Apple Jelly.

Take one pound of good sound apples, peel, core, and cut them into small pieces, and put them in a saucepan with three heaping tablespoonfuls of sugar, ‘one cupful of cold water, the grated rind of half a lemon, and a squeeze of the juice. Put the saucepan on the fire, and cook the apples very gently till they are tender, stirring occasionally to prevent the fruit sticking to the bottom of the. pan. When tender rub them through, a sieve, and add a few drops of red coloring and tpvo heaped tablespoonfuls of powdered gelatine, dissolved ,in one gill of boiling water. Wet a mould with cold water, ornament the bottom with preserved cherries, and pour in the apple mixture. When firm turn out and serve with whipped cream.

- • Stewed /: Pears with r Rice.

:■ Peel five medium-sized pears, but leave : them whole. >: Make a syrup with one-half .cupful',bf sugar, one cupful ‘ of water, and the strained 1 juice of half a lemon, and cook the pears in this until they are tender. Lift them put and allow them to cool. Then cut a thick slice off each lengthwise,, scoop ; out the inside, and fill up with a mixture ,of chopped preserved fruits and bound together with a little raspberry jam. Cover with the pieces of pear cut off, so as to give the pear its original shape. Have ready some boiled, rice, ' sweetened and flavored to taste, and to . which a little milk has been added.' Arrange this in a square shape on a pretty dish, placing the pears on the top; ,Reduce the syrup in the pan to a nice consistency, and when cool pour over the pears. . Decorate with strips of angelica and whipped and sweetened cream. Serve cold.

Uses of Borax.

This is one of the most useful and inexpensive articles a housekeeper can be, supplied with, and one should always have a large can of it in the house. When used in the Bath it will improve -and whiten the -skin. Borax-water will remove all stains from the hands and heal all scratches. For this purpose prepare in this way: Put some borax into a bottle aqd till with hot water; when this dissolves, add more borax until the water will dissolve no more. When wanted for use, pour enough from the bottle to soften t the water in the wash bowl. Borax is much better than soap for washing windows. Nothing whitens the clothes or softens hard water like borax. Use a handful to ten

gallons of water. It will not injure anything and; will remove the yellow cast on garments which have been laid aAvay. ‘•

Using Cotton Reels’

You can make hanging baskets for ferns, flowers, etc., of cotton reels. A circle or square of wood is used for the bottom, and the reels make upstanding supports. Wires are, of course, run through the centres of the reels. The earth is enclosed in moss. The baskets are hung by wires. The reels and woodwork, are painted greeif. Another way of using cotton reels is in home-made furniture. The reels, . ■ with a thin rod running through five or~six of them, make supports for the tiers of hanging bookshelves, and they can be -Used for the legs and cross-pieces of afternoon tea- , tables or progressive whist tables. In each case a stout ‘ wire support should be run through the reels; the latter should also be glued together, and the whole should be stained or painted. Another idea is to make, with cotton -reels, toys for children. ■ The reels can be used as wheels for little waggons or toy wooden horses.