Domestic

New Zealand Tablet, 16 November 1916, Page 57

Domestic

(By Maureen.)

Plain Teacakes. Half-pound of flour, into which rub one ounce of butter, add two 'ounces sugar, two ounces currants, and one teaspoonful and a-half baking powder. Enough milk to mix to a soft dough. Work lightly and quickly press out to one inch thick, cut into rounds and bake in a good oven. Split open, butter, and serve hot. Beetroot Pickle. Take six beetroots, and bake them in a moderate oven without breaking their skins. When cool, remove the skins, and cut in half-inch slices. Place in jars. Boil together, one quart best malt vinegar, a horseradish grated finely, half an ounce of black pepper and half an ounce of allspice. Let the mixture become quite cold then pour in over the beetroots. Cover the jars closely, and store in a cool place. Bread Pudding. Three-fourths cupful of breadcrumbs, two 1 ablespoonfuls of butter, two heaping tablespoonfuls of sugar, a. few drops of lemon juice, one-half teaspoonful of orange extract, one cupful of milk and two eggs. Put the sugar and lemon juice into a saucepan and boil to a caramel, then when cool pour in the milk and stand the mixture at the side of the stove until the sugar is dissolved, but do not let it boil : fry the breadcrumbs in the butter until a golden brown, then pour on them the prepared milk, and beat into them the yolks of eggs, the orange extract, and the whites of eggs stiffly beaten. Fruit Drinks for Mot Days. Now that the warm days are coming, the home cook will want to know how to make cooling beverages. They add greatly to the enjoyment of any meal, and are an attractive addition to the hot weather menu.

Below are given several recipes for hot weather drinks. Raspberry and Currant.- a pint of red raspberries and a quart of currants into a preserving, kettle and mash them thoroughly. Set the kettle over moderate heat and let the fruit cook gradually. When the mixture begins to boil, take it at once from the fire and strain it through a jelly bag into a big bowl. When it is clear and cold, sweeten to taste and put against the ice to chill. This is generally served in small wine glasses. Pineapple Lemonade. Boil one pound of granulated sugar in a pint of water until it is a thick syrup. Take off the scum as it rises. Squeeze the juice of three lemons in a bowl and peel a pineapple, cutting out all the eyes. Then grate the pineapple into the lemon juice, pour in the sugar syrup after this and stir briskly for about three minutes. Add a quart of fresh water and strain into a glass pitcher, putting in a lump of ice when serving. Mixed Fruit Drink. The more varieties of fruit used in this the better the drink. Cut, up the following fruits in small bits and cover (hem for three hours with plenty of sugar: Pineapples, oranges, lemons (also peel of these), grape fruit, one or (wo hum' apples, and some juicy pears. When ready to serve, cover the fruit with distilled or mineral water, add maraschino cherries, a, few softened figs, several slices of preserved citron, and some big sprigs of fresh mint. Put in cracked ice and serve the drink in a big glass pitcher, so that the pretty effect of the fruit can be seen. Household Hints. When black-leading the grates add a few drops of turpentine to the blacklead. Spotted tiles should be rubbed with lemon juice, then dried with a soft cloth. To clean white paint, take a damp flannel, sprinkle it with whitening, and rub over the paint. When putting a stopper into a bottle always give it a half-turn round after it is in. This will prevent it from sticking.