Domestic

New Zealand Tablet, 2 March 1922, Page 41

Domestic

By Maureen

CURRIED EGGS. Melt two tablespoonsftil of butter; add two tablespoonsful of flour mixed with a quarter of a teaspoonful of salt, half a teaspoonful of curry powder, and one-eighth of a teaspoonful of pepper. Stir until well blended, then pour on gradually, while stirring constantly, one cupful of milk. Bring to the boiling point, and add three "hard-boiled" eggs cut in eighths lengthwise. LEMON CREAM CAKES. Take half a pound of self-raising (lour, a quarter of a pound of sugar, six drops of essence of lemon, three ounces of butter, one egg, and a quarter of a pint of fresh milk. Cream the butter and sugar, add the egg, and beat well for seven minutes. Drop in the flavoring, sift in gradually the flour, soda, and cream of tartar; then mix into a smooth paste with the milk. Drop a teaspoonful at a time on well-greased tins, and bake for 15 minutes. BREAKFAST OR NO BREAKFAST. What would the average man do without his breakfast? He certainly would be the Grossest mortal on the face of the earth if he did not have his coffee, and perhaps some eggs and bacon, in the morning. A man feels that breakfast is one of the most important meals of the day. With that meal he lays the foundation for his day's work. It is the victuals of the morning that furnish him with fuel for steam for his daily toil. Without it he would be like a furnace without coal. After the night, when the stomach has had time to digest the food taken the day before and has emptied itself, lie feels the need of a little ballast, and he seeks it at the breakfast table. In recent years some doctors have made an attempt to banish breakfast. A large number of people, and among them many who boast wealth, culture, and brains, have banded together under solemn promise to eschew the early meal of the day, and the password of their crusade is "No breakfast." The physiological basis of the plan as laid down by one of the medical experts is as follows: Properly digested, food only restores waste muscular tissue, supplies heat and force, and feeds the brain and nervous system. The brain and nervous system control and give power and action to all the muscles of the body, including the stomach. This power of the brain is derived from rest and sleep alone, and not from food. The digestion of food is a tax upon the brain energy, and it is necessary that the tax should occasionally stop.

During sleep comparatively little waste occurs. Food is not so much needed after a long sleep as after long work. All curative power is brain energy. The defence of the no-breakfast theory made by the adherents of the plan are interesting. One robust young man with a glow of health in his cheeks and eyes snapping with fire and vigor recently recounted his experience. He had had no breakfast for several months. He allowed himself a cupful of tea at morning and night. He said that to begin with, there was a real pang of hunger in the morning, but this he ignored. He took his first meal at 12.15 and the second at 6.15.

An athlete who had tried this new cure said the best way to get on with it was to avoid talking about it, as publicity always subjected the experimenter to all sorts of chaffing. He reported that ho was thriving on the new regime. He had not told any one of his experiment until several months after he had tried it, and contended to his friends that he was in much better health than ever before. Critics of the new school have arisen, and they have bitterly denounced the plan, saying that it is physiologically incorrect and based upon a wrong assumption, the fundamental error being, in the breakfastless idea that The brain does not supply energy to the muscles. The latter derive their power from the digested food and blood tissues. What the brain does, is to liberate muscular energy when refined. Thus, in this article you have opinions on both sides of the question.

HOUSEHOLD HINTS.

A little boiling water added to an omelette as it thickens will prevent it from being tough. Sun your dishcloth whenever possible, and boil it in soda water at least once a week.

The washing of pans and kettles will involve half the labor if done immediately after using.