Domestic

New Zealand Tablet, Volume LII, Issue 24, 1 July 1925, Page 59

Domestic

■ By Maureen i

; PLEASANT DRINKS. : finger Wine Essence—2 drains of essence cayenne, 3. ditto of essence of ginger £ burnt sugar, loz citric acid, 2 quarts boiling water, 31b lump sugar. Put the- sugar and other ingredients into a pan and pour the . boiling water over. - When cold,-bottle. • For . ' use, ,to half a wineglass of the essence fill up with hot or cold water, according to taste. over 1 with lump sugar : to extract the oil in . the skin. This gives a specially rich flavor not - obtained by peeling. Squeeze the juice . and pour one quart boiling water over, adding sugar to -taste. Do not put in any pips •or white skin, as that, makes it bitter. > ? Barley pearl barley, 12 pieces lump. sugar, the juice of 4 lemons, Thoroughly wash the hirley, then put in pan with the ' required quantity of water. Add sugar,if desired and lemon, boil slowly until cooked. Then strain. Sufficient for six quarts. . 1 _ . . Boiling Milk. - . ' To boil .milk'- without fear of burning' put ~r two or three tablespoonsfui of water in the saucepan ; let it boil rapidly for two or three minutes. Add - the. milk, and 'it will ' not burn,' however fierce the fire may be. : Lemon Snow. ' ;-. * ~t- Whip . the whites of five .eggs to a very stiff froth. - Strain the juice of three large lemons, - make a pint of blanc-mange with good cornflour, .but sweeten it double as much as for ordinary way. Stir until nearly .cold, I then - add the whisked . whites of, eggs and ; . lemon juice. Bea-t until nearly or quite cold. • ' Pour into a mould which has been rinsed with . cold water, and leave to set. Then make a custard with some of the yolk of eggs; and serve poured round the mould; Decorate with stewed plums or prunes. &&&■&£ Worth Remembering. In using large recipes the following equivalents may be useful: —Two cupsful butter . make one pound, two cupsful of granulated - sugar, make one pound, four cupsful of flour make one pound;-four tablespoonsful of flour’ make one ounce, two 2-3rd cupsful, of brown sugar make one pound, four cupsful of liquid in a quart. Your Piano in Winter. - ; piano suffers comparatively little— least, - only to an extent detectable by an expert, s In the’ winter, however, it soon goes out of ' tune. . ' "" ; • -'•% i■ i r»■ j- 'V": ; v^‘ ’ 'v ■- ■. ■ •' ,■- • :y“v -‘ v jiftfo I■: Damp is the piano’s greatest enemy, ' because it renders : the action ineffective, either || by preventing the Hammers from responding promptly .to the touch on the keys, " or by erasing them to fail to release when 'the* CuSgers leave the keys. . As the mechanism wlf’oh assists this action consists of a piece ;of leather or felt elevated on a vertical wire i, connected with the back of. -the key, it .is important that it should be kept v free:from V;, moisture. „ -

; An £ old-fashioned remedy— a lazy one—is to . take out the piano-action 'and place it in front of a fire for a few days. This, however, is inadvisable because it only makes ■ the instrument more susceptible to moisture, and thus upsets the tuning, as well as, in some cases, injuring .the polished woodwork. A much better method is to , place a small linen bag containing unslaked lime inside the piano, at each end. This will absorb any existing moisture. It should" be renewed from time to time. . ; T. ; The piano should always be closed-par-'', ticularly on wet and foggy dayswhen not in use, or when there i s no fire in the room. If possible, avoid placing a piano, in a room which faces north, and if it stand-in a room which is only heated occasionally the top and - fall (keyboard) fshould be opened when there is a fire. . - S In a damp room a useful precaution is -to raise the piano from the floor by means of insulators. This allows plenty of air to get beneath it and helps to keep it. dy. , Another-source of piano trouble is the habit of. decorating it by placing plants or even flowers on the top. The moisture from ■ these is often sufficient to put ..the working of the action out of order. - If after the above precautions have been taken the touch : is. still heavy, expert advice should be ob- - tamed. %- - ,