Miss Parloa's Young Housekeeper - free ebook by Maria Parloa

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Miss Parloa's Young Housekeeper

Maria Parloa

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9 hour read

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733 chapters

PREFACE. ―――――◀▶―――――

PREFACE. ―――――◀▶―――――

WHEREVER I have gone in the last fifteen years in following my calling as a teacher of cooking, earnest appeals have been made to me to plan my next book for the especial benefit of those who have just begun, or who are about to begin, to keep house for two or three. The young wives want to know how to buy supplies for a small family; how to cook economically and well; what to do with food that is left over from any meal; and numerous other things pertaining to their daily work. At last I have s

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CHAPTER I. A WORD WITH THE YOUNG HOUSEWIFE.

CHAPTER I. A WORD WITH THE YOUNG HOUSEWIFE.

IF one were to get a hundred reputed good housekeepers to come together and give their ideas of what constitutes good housekeeping, no two would agree upon all points. There are essentials which every one recognizes, but there are many things which one housekeeper considers of the greatest importance, whereas another may think the same things of minor consequence or of no consequence whatever. It is a sad fact that some good housekeepers are not good home-makers. The young housekeeper should bea

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What to Buy for the Chambers.

What to Buy for the Chambers.

One can get a chamber set for as low a sum as twenty-five dollars; but the prices run up rapidly until the hundreds are reached. Handsome, well made sets, with little or no ornamentation (the quality of the wood, and the finish, giving them a simple elegance not found in more showy pieces) cost from forty to seventy-five dollars. The set includes bedstead, dressing-case, wash-stand, towel-rack, a small table, two common chairs, and a rocker. The more expensive sets have the English wash-stand. N

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Dining-room Furniture.

Dining-room Furniture.

There are two articles which one must have for this room: a table and some chairs. It often happens that the young housekeeper, not realizing the necessity for having these of generous size, and well made, chooses articles that appear good, but which, in a short time, become unstable. Oak is the most satisfactory wood for the dining-room. Have the table of good width, as a narrow one never looks well. The chairs should be strong, broad-seated, and with high backs. Having the chairs and table, yo

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Comfort in the Sitting-room.

Comfort in the Sitting-room.

In the sitting-room, where the family gathers for the evening, and where some members of the household spend a good part of each day, put all the comfort you can. Let it be one of the largest and brightest rooms in the house. There should be a bookcase, a firm table of good size, several comfortable chairs, a couch with plenty of pillows, a good lamp, with a shade that will not try the eyes, some pictures, a few plants and shades and draperies that will soften, but not exclude, the light. If pos

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Selecting Carpets and Rugs.

Selecting Carpets and Rugs.

In buying carpets remember that the best are always the cheapest. The more limited one’s means are, the more essential it is that only a good article shall be purchased. The best quality of body Brussels will outwear two or more of the cheaper tapestry carpets. A finely woven smooth ingrain carpet may cost half a dollar more per yard than one of common texture, but it will be cheaper in the end. Nothing is more unsatisfactory than one of the loosely woven straw mattings. A fine matting, costing

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Choosing a Dinner and Tea Set.

Choosing a Dinner and Tea Set.

To the young housekeeper of limited means the choice of her table china is quite an important matter. One can get sets for seven and eight dollars, but I should not advise buying anything cheaper than a fifteen-dollar set. If a decorated set be wanted, take one having soft tints, because people soon get weary of seeing pronounced colors or patterns. Very pretty English sets of one hundred and fifty pieces, decorated in blue, may be had for fifteen dollars. Minton sets of one hundred and thirty-s

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Dainty Things for the Table.

Dainty Things for the Table.

Glass has largely taken the place of silver on some of the most elegant tables, many housekeepers collecting and prizing cut-glass as they would jewels; but the woman of moderate means and good taste will find it possible to set her table with plain, clear glass of dainty and elegant shapes which will add brilliancy to the entire table service. Water bottles, or carafes, as they are commonly called, are much used, and are a great convenience. Individual salt-cellars are again used instead of the

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Fashions in Cutlery.

Fashions in Cutlery.

Table cutlery, as the designation was formerly understood, included all the knives and forks, nut-picks, etc. To-day, among well-to-do people, all the forks, except that which belongs to the carving set, are either sterling-silver or silver-plated. It is astonishing how the table appliances have multiplied in this luxurious age. For the fish course there are sterling-silver knives and forks of special shapes, and a broad silver knife and fork for serving the fish. Oyster forks of another shape a

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WHAT IS NEEDED IN THE KITCHEN.

WHAT IS NEEDED IN THE KITCHEN.

The kitchen is so important a part of the home that the furnishing should be such as to make the work there both easy and successful. The following list may aid the young housekeeper when making her purchases. The woman with a limited purse may find that she will have to strike out many things from the list, while the woman with a large house and money in plenty will probably extend it....

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The Range.

The Range.

Upon no one article of household furniture do the comfort and well-being of the family depend so much as upon the kitchen range or stove. A poor range will spoil not only food, but also good temper and happiness; whereas the right sort of range, well treated, will be a source of the greatest comfort and economy. No matter what else you feel you must economize in, do not let it be in buying the kitchen range. Some ranges have reached such a degree of perfection that it is hard to see where they c

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List of Articles most in Use.

List of Articles most in Use.

Basins, of granite ware,—one three-pint, one two-quart, one one-gallon. Bowls: yellow,—two two-quart, one three-quart, one one-gallon, two six-quart; white,—six, each holding about a pint; two smooth ones, each holding about a quart. Bread board. Bread pans, two, for small loaves. Broilers,—one for fish, one for other uses. Broom. Bucket, or tin box, for sugar. Cake pans, three,—one deep, two shallow. Carving knife and fork. Case knives and forks, six each. Chairs, three,—one to be low and comfo

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FURNISHING THE LINEN CLOSET.

FURNISHING THE LINEN CLOSET.

In olden times the bride came to her new home with a generous supply of linen, the greater part of which was spun and woven by her own hands; in many cases, indeed, the flax was raised and prepared for the spinning-wheel by her. In some parts of Europe this custom still exists. The bride of to-day takes great pains and pride in providing her household linen, many months being given to dainty sewing and embroidery. Each article has stitched into it many bright hopes and day dreams. Nothing else i

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Imported Linens.

Imported Linens.

Irish, French, Scotch and English table linens cover many grades, from the coarsest to the finest weaving and the most elaborate patterns. All the new designs are large, but in some of the choicest damasks it is possible to get small patterns, if they be preferred. The damask sold by the yard rarely reaches a higher price than two dollars and a half. If one wish for especially pleasing designs and extremely fine quality, it will be necessary to buy the set,—table-cloth and one dozen napkins. The

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Table-cloths and Napkins.

Table-cloths and Napkins.

The range in quality and price of table linen is greater than that of almost any other fabric. It is a long step from the materials that are so coarse, so loosely woven that they might be used for sieves, to the double damask, so fine that even under a magnifying glass it is almost impossible to discern the threads. One can buy three or four yards of the coarse fabric for about a dollar, and it is possible to be asked one hundred times as much for a dozen napkins and a table-cloth, three or four

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Size and Quality of Napkins.

Size and Quality of Napkins.

Fashion has decreed that a napkin shall not be put on the table a second time until it has been washed. Few housekeepers, however, have the means to provide themselves with such a supply of napkins, not to speak of the laundress to care for them; so the napkin ring is still a necessity in the average household. It is important, however, that the supply be large enough to admit of their being changed two or three times a week. For general use a dinner napkin is to be preferred, unless a separate

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A Word about Doilies.

A Word about Doilies.

Small square or round doilies are used a great deal under finger bowls, Roman punch, and sherbet glasses. These dainty bits of napery can be purchased in all the stores where embroidery and materials for needlework are sold; also in the linen stores. These doilies are either hemstitched or fringed. The embroidery is usually in washable silks, fine flowers or Dresden patterns being the favorites. Doilies also come in Irish point, Mexican work, and various kinds of lace. Larger doilies for bread,

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Tea, Carving, and Tray Cloths.

Tea, Carving, and Tray Cloths.

For the small tables that are set for five o’clock teas and card parties, etc., there are many pretty and inexpensive cloths. Plain linen, with a plain or double row of hemstitching, makes a satisfactory cloth. The cost is about one dollar for a cloth measuring a yard square; plain damask, with hemstitching, costs from one dollar and a half to two dollars a square yard, and one dollar more for a cloth measuring two square yards. Some long damask cloths, with open-work borders and a fringe, cost

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Sheets and Pillow Cases.

Sheets and Pillow Cases.

Sheets should always be of generous length and width; never less than two yards and three quarters long, with the breadth, of course, depending upon the width of the bed. While linen sheets are desirable, they are not within the means of all housekeepers of even fair incomes. Cotton cloth makes a most satisfactory all-the-year-round sheet, and a good quality can be purchased at from twenty-five cents to seventy-five cents per yard, the cloth being from two yards to two and a half wide. Indeed, o

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Bed Spreads and Blankets.

Bed Spreads and Blankets.

For many years the honeycomb and Marseilles spreads have been almost universally used. They are still sold in large quantities, and will always be popular, for they need only to be hemmed in order to be made ready for use. They do not rumple readily, they keep clean a long time, and are, indeed, a most serviceable article. The Marseilles quilts cost from two to fifteen dollars. Some come in colors; but let no housekeeper be tempted by their beauty, for she will find it a difficult matter to make

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Bath and Bedroom Towels.

Bath and Bedroom Towels.

In nothing relating to the supplies of her house does the average housekeeper make so many errors as in the matter of towels. It has not been wholly her fault in the past, but it certainly will be in the time to come, if bright borders and deep fringes decorate the towels with which she furnishes her chambers and bath-rooms. As in the past, so it is now: there is nothing so satisfactory for general use as the huckaback towels. They are excellent for absorbing water, and the slight friction is bo

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For Kitchen and Pantry.

For Kitchen and Pantry.

There should be a generous supply of kitchen and pantry towels. Nothing is more satisfactory for glassware than the plaid linen towels. These should be kept for silver, glass, and fine china. Goods of this same character come in stripes, and cost from twelve and a half to thirty-seven and a half cents per yard. Fine Russian crash, when softened by a little wear, makes the best kitchen dish towel. It grows finer and whiter with each week’s use, whereas the very coarse fabric really never softens.

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Every-day Duties.

Every-day Duties.

As there are many routine duties that must be performed every day, I will treat of them here. Special work will have a day assigned to it. It is almost appalling to look at the list of daily duties of the household, when one remembers that it frequently happens that there is but one pair of hands to do all the work; yet there are thousands of women who are well and happy in passing their lives that way, knowing that they contribute to the health and comfort of their families. If there be system

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What to do in the Morning.

What to do in the Morning.

First, make the kitchen fire; take up and sift the ashes. After brushing all the dust from the range, wash off the surface with a cloth and soap and water; then polish it with stove blacking. Rinse out the teakettle, and after the water has been running from the cold-water pipes for about five minutes, fill the kettle and place it on the fire. Sweep and dust the kitchen. Put the breakfast dishes on to heat. Air the dining-room and set the table; then prepare and serve the breakfast. Clear the br

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Special Work for Special Days.

Special Work for Special Days.

On Monday, as soon as the water is warm, put the clothes to soak in strong suds. After the breakfast dishes have been washed, begin to wash the clothes. While one boilerful is being scalded and a second batch of clothes has been prepared for the boiler, put out the line. Now put the scalded clothes in the rinsing water. Take nearly all the hot suds from the boiler, and replace with clean cold water, putting the second batch of clothes to scald in this. Rinse the first lot and put on the lines to

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Where one Servant is Kept.

Where one Servant is Kept.

If there be one servant in the house, the mistress can make these two days less burdensome, if she herself will wash the breakfast dishes, put the dining-room in order, and make the beds. If there be children in the family, they can be taught to do the lighter work. In suggesting that the chamber work be left until the fire is renewed, it is supposed that hard coal is used. If wood or soft coal be used, the fire will have to be replenished frequently; and since these substances burn much more re

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Cleaning a Room by System.

Cleaning a Room by System.

Remove the draperies, and dust and remove all small articles. Dust all the furniture, removing the lighter articles and covering the heavy pieces; dust and cover the pictures. Brush the walls and ceilings, being careful to remove all dust from the tops of the doors and windows. Brush all dust from the window frames, ledges, and blinds. If there be rugs on a bare floor, roll them up and put them out of doors to be beaten and aired; then sweep the floor with a soft brush. After all the dusting and

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The Last Half of the Week.

The Last Half of the Week.

On Thursday, after the regular work is done, the morning should be devoted to various odd tasks, such as cleaning the refrigerator, and inspecting and cleaning the cellar. See that no decaying vegetation, damp paper, etc., is there. Wash the cellar stairs. Next clean the kitchen and prepare something for the evening meal; then serve the noonday meal. The remainder of the weekly sweeping should be done on Friday morning. Every two weeks the silver should be cleaned in the afternoon. Many housekee

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A Day of Rest.

A Day of Rest.

Plan to have as little work as possible to do on Sunday, but do not fall into the error of wearing yourself out on Saturday and making all the family uncomfortable on Sunday, simply because you would not break the Sabbath. The woman who manages to keep her family comfortable and happy on this day, even if it be necessary to do a little extra work to attain that end, will have a better moral and spiritual influence than she who makes all the members dread the day as being one of the most uncomfor

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Two or More Servants in a Family.

Two or More Servants in a Family.

The round of duties for the week having been thus outlined, I wish to make a few suggestions to the woman who keeps two or more servants. The duties must be so divided that each shall bear her proper proportion of the work. In the case where there are several servants, there is greater ceremony in the mode of living. Suppose there be two servants, and the family be fairly large. The second girl must do all the upstairs work, take care of the parlors, halls, dining-room, china closet, etc. It wil

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Proper Management of Fires.

Proper Management of Fires.

ONE of the first things a young housekeeper must master is the science of managing fires. Now, a coal fire is like some people: it will stand a certain amount of nagging, pressure, and neglect, but it will make you suffer in some way for all your abuse. On the other hand, with uniformly fair treatment, it will repay a hundred-fold in comfort. The demands upon the kitchen fire are varied. Sometimes we want a very hot oven or surface, and again we must have only a moderate amount of heat. The degr

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Points about the Furnace Fire.

Points about the Furnace Fire.

The furnace fire should be shaken down and raked perfectly clear in the morning. A few shovelfuls of coal should be put on, and all the draughts opened. The ashes should then be taken up. As soon as the coal begins to burn well and the fire looks clear at the bottom, put in enough coal to come almost to the top of the fire-pot. Keep the draughts open until all the gas has burned off; then close them, and later, if the fire be too hot, open the checks. Except in extremely cold weather, this is al

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Keeping the Refrigerator Sweet.

Keeping the Refrigerator Sweet.

Few duties are more important than that of keeping the refrigerator in perfect condition. If the lining be broken in any part, so that the water soaks into the wood, attend to the relining at once; or, if the refrigerator be not worth that, discard it wholly. Never have the waste-pipe connected with the plumbing in the house. Have the refrigerator placed where it can be flooded with air and light whenever necessary, but, of course, in as cool a place as possible. Once a week have everything remo

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Getting the Greatest Good out of Lamps.

Getting the Greatest Good out of Lamps.

In these days, when lamps are used so much, the care of them is quite an important matter. If the lamps be good and have proper attention, one cannot wish for a more satisfactory light; but if badly cared for, they will be a source of much discomfort. The great secret of having lamps in good working order is to keep them clean and to use good oil. Have a regular place and time for trimming the lamps. Put a folded newspaper on the table, so that any stray bits of burned wick and drops of oil may

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Take Good Care of the Plumbing.

Take Good Care of the Plumbing.

The care of the plumbing is an important duty; yet, provided there be nothing wrong about the plumbing at the start, and the supply of water be constant and generous, this duty will not be found a hard one. The housekeeper should impress upon the younger members of her family the importance of thoroughly flushing the water-closets. She should at least once a day personally see to it that there is sufficient flushing. The best time for this is after the morning work is done. The laundry tubs shou

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About the Bath-room.

About the Bath-room.

The bath-room should have special attention daily, and once a week a thorough cleaning. A woollen carpet is not desirable for this room. The floor may be of tiles, or of hard wood, stained or painted, or be covered with lignum or oil-cloth. Of course, there must be a rug or two. The Japanese cotton rug is cheap and pretty for this purpose; or, one can make rugs from pieces of carpet. Not only should the wash-basin be washed clean and the bowl in the water-closet washed every day, but, if the bat

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Do not Neglect the Garbage Barrel.

Do not Neglect the Garbage Barrel.

The garbage barrel or tub should be thoroughly washed once a week. In summer, after the barrel has been cleaned, sprinkle into it one teaspoonful of carbolic acid mixed with half a cupful of cold water. This will keep the barrel free from offensive odors even in the hottest weather....

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WASHING DISHES.

WASHING DISHES.

Sort the dishes and scrape them free from fragments. Have two pans, one for washing and the other for rinsing. Have also a large tray on which to drain the dishes. Wash the glassware first....

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Proper Care of Glassware.

Proper Care of Glassware.

It must be remembered that even a scratch on the surface of a piece of glass often will cause it to break at that point under the slightest shock; therefore, it is essential that it shall not come in contact with a sharp, hard substance. A grain of sand on the bottom of the dishpan, or on the cloth with which the article is washed or wiped, may be the means of breaking a valuable dish. When possible, a wooden or paper tub should be used in washing glass. A soft silver-brush, soft cloths for wash

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Other Dishes and Utensils.

Other Dishes and Utensils.

After the glass the silver should be washed and wiped. Next wash the china in hot suds, and then rinse in the second pan of hot water. Drain on the tray, and wipe while yet warm. The kitchen crockery should follow the china, then the tins, and finally the iron cooking dishes. Change the dish-water often, having the first water very soapy and the rinsing water hot. Be as careful to have clean water and clean dry towels for the pots and kettles as for the china, and wash in the same way as a piece

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Some Special Cautions.

Some Special Cautions.

Pitchers, bowls, pans, and other utensils used for milk, should have cold water stand in them for half an hour or so, then be washed in plenty of clean soapy water. After this they should be scalded with boiling water, wiped dry, and placed in the sun and open air, if possible, for several hours. Teapots, coffee-pots, chocolate-pots, and the like, should be washed in hot soapy water and be rinsed in boiling water. Use a wooden skewer to remove every particle of sediment that may lodge in the spo

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Care of Silver.

Care of Silver.

Silver that is properly washed and wiped every day will require very little extra cleaning. Remove it from the table on a tray and then put it into a wide-mouthed kitchen pitcher containing warm water. When ready to wash it, have a pan of hot soap-suds and a clean soft dish-cloth. Put all the silver, except the knives, into the suds, and wash a few pieces at a time, rubbing well with the cloth. Wipe the silver, while it is still warm, with a fine soft silver-towel, rubbing it until perfectly dry

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Do not Slight the Knife Blades.

Do not Slight the Knife Blades.

In nearly all cases the blade of the knife requires different treatment from the handle. If it be of unplated steel it must be thoroughly polished every time it is used. If it be of silver, or be silver-plated, a careful washing with soap and water, and a thorough drying, will be all the daily care that is required,—a thorough cleaning about once a week sufficing to keep the blade perfectly clean. There should be a knife-board for the steel knives. Boards covered with leather that come for this

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Rust and Other Annoyances.

Rust and Other Annoyances.

If it should happen that the steel of knives or forks becomes rusted, dip them in sweet oil and let them stand for twenty-four hours, then rub them with powdered quicklime, and the stain will be removed. If the handles of the knives be ivory, and they become stained, rub them with whiting and spirits of turpentine. This will remove all ordinary stains. Still, the appearance of the ivory will be greatly improved by a vigorous rubbing with the whiting and turpentine. Frequent wettings with hot wat

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Satines, Ginghams, and Prints.

Satines, Ginghams, and Prints.

These kinds of goods look better when no soap is used and they are not starched in the usual way. For two dresses make one gallon of starch by mixing one cupful of flour with one pint of cold water. Pour on this three quarts and a half of boiling water. Pour half of this mixture into a tub containing four gallons of warm water. Wash one of the dresses in this, rubbing the fabric the same as if soap were used. Now rinse in two clean waters and hang out to dry. The starch cleans the fabric, and en

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How Flannels should be Washed.

How Flannels should be Washed.

Have a tub half full of strong soap suds, in which has been dissolved a tablespoonful of borax. Shake all the dust and lint from the flannels, and then put them into the suds. Wash them by rubbing with the hands and sopping them up and down in the water. Wring them out of this water and put them into a tub of clean hot water. Rinse thoroughly in this water, then in a second tubful. Wring dry, shake well, and hang on the lines. When nearly dry, take them in and fold, rolling them very tightly. Wr

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The Right Way to Wash Silk Undergarments.

The Right Way to Wash Silk Undergarments.

To three gallons of warm water add three tablespoonfuls of household ammonia. Let the silk garments soak in this for twenty minutes; then rub soap on the parts which are the most badly soiled, and wash the articles with the hands. Never rub them on a board. Rinse in two waters, wring dry, and hang on the line. When nearly dry, take in and fold, and, if possible, iron within a few hours. Never let an iron come in contact with the silk; lay a piece of cloth over the fabric, and iron on that. The a

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How to Launder Washable Curtains.

How to Launder Washable Curtains.

There are many inexpensive cotton or cotton and silk fabrics used for curtains which launder very well if treated properly. Shake out all the dust. Make weak suds with white castile soap. Wash the curtains in this, and rinse them in two waters; then wring dry. Next dip them in a preparation made as follows: Soak half an ounce of isinglass in one quart of cold water for an hour or more. Steep one ounce of saffron on the fire in two quarts of hot water for two hours. Stir the soaked isinglass and

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Cleaning Lace Curtains.

Cleaning Lace Curtains.

Lace curtains will not bear rubbing. All the work must be done carefully and gently. For two pairs of curtains half fill a large tub with warm water, and add to it half a pound of soap, which has been shaved fine and dissolved in two quarts of boiling water; add also about a gill of household ammonia. Let the curtains soak in this over night. In the morning sop them well in the water, and squeeze it all out; but do not wring the curtains. Put them into another tub of water, prepared with soap an

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Points on Starching and Ironing.

Points on Starching and Ironing.

In making and using starch have all the utensils and the water perfectly clean. Mix the dry starch with cold water enough to make a thin paste. Pour on this the required amount of boiling water, stirring all the while. To each quart of starch add a teaspoonful each of salt and lard. Boil the starch until it looks clear, which will be in about ten minutes. Strain it through a piece of cheese-cloth (it will have to be squeezed through the cloth). White articles should be dipped into the hot starch

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A Rule for Making Hard Soap.

A Rule for Making Hard Soap.

Put the fat on the back part of the range, where it will melt slowly. The potash is put into a large earthen or stone bowl or jar. Upon this is poured three quarts of cold water, and three tablespoonfuls of powdered borax is added. This mixture is stirred with a wooden stick until the potash is dissolved; then it stands until cold. When the fat is melted pour it into a butter tub. It must not be hot when the potash is added; should it be, it must stand until so cool that it will hardly run when

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Borax Soap.

Borax Soap.

Shave the soap and put it in a porcelain kettle with the water and borax. Place on the fire, and stir frequently until the soap and borax are dissolved and combined. Pour the hot mixture into a clean butter tub, and when cold, cover. This soap is excellent for washing flannels, blankets, etc....

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Soft Soap.

Soft Soap.

It is best to make the soap a few weeks before you wish to use it, as it is rather hard on the hands when new. Here is a good rule for making the soap without heating the grease:— Put fourteen pounds of crude—not concentrated—potash in a wooden pail and pour over it enough boiling water to cover it. Stir well, and let the mixture stand over night. In the morning pour this mixture into a large kettle and place on the fire. Now add another pail of boiling water, and stir frequently with a stick un

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Setting the Table.

Setting the Table.

The table should stand in the middle of the room. Cover it with a thick felt or a double-faced Canton flannel cloth. Over this spread the white damask cloth, having the centre fold come exactly in the centre of the table. Pass the hand over the cloth to make it lie smooth. If there be a centrepiece, carving, or tray cloths, or table mats, have them lie perfectly straight and smooth on the cloth. At each seat place on the right the knives, spoons, and glasses; on the left, the forks and napkins.

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Refinement not Exclusively for the Rich.

Refinement not Exclusively for the Rich.

The incomes and style of living in this country have such a wide range that it would be impossible to give here directions for the table service which would meet the wants of all classes. The woman of limited means who does her own work could not serve her meals the same as one who keeps one or more servants. As far as possible she will so arrange her meals that it shall not be necessary to rise from the table more than once or twice. Indeed, it is possible to have everything on the table for br

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At the Breakfast Table.

At the Breakfast Table.

Breakfast being the plainest meal of the day, the arrangement of the table should always be simple. The cloth should be spotless. At each person’s seat place a knife, fork, teaspoon or dessert spoon, tumbler, and napkin, and if fresh fruit is to be served, a finger bowl, if there be no servant. If you have a waitress, she will place the finger bowls on as you finish with the fruit. If fresh fruit be served, there must also be placed at each seat a fruit knife and plate. Have the dish of fruit in

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The Dinner Table.

The Dinner Table.

The silver required depends upon the number of courses to be served, but a few suggestions may help one to decide what is proper for her own table. The silver for all the courses except the dessert may be put on the table when it is set, or it may be placed there by the waitress as needed for each course. Dinner plates are placed on the table or not, when it is set, as one pleases. The silver needed for an ordinary course dinner would be a small fork for raw oysters, tablespoon for soup, fork fo

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Luncheon and Tea.

Luncheon and Tea.

Family luncheons and teas are rarely served in courses. Tea, cocoa, or chocolate is, as a rule, served at these meals, so that the table is set in practically the same manner as for breakfast; but the plates are placed for each person, and unless there be meat to carve, the carving knife and fork are not put on. The bread, butter, cake, preserves, etc., are placed on the table when it is set. If hot meats, vegetables, soup, or cakes be served, the cold plates must be changed for hot ones. When m

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Duties of the Waitress.

Duties of the Waitress.

Although every housekeeper may have some methods peculiarly her own in the matter of waiting upon the table, still there are some customs that are almost universal in refined households. If the water has not already been poured, the waitress pours it as soon as the guests sit down at the table. If there be raw oysters, they should be served first. Usually they are arranged on the plates, and placed at each person’s seat before the guests come in. When the oyster plates have been removed, the sou

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Serving Meals without a Servant.

Serving Meals without a Servant.

A housekeeper who keeps no servant is often puzzled as to how to serve dessert, how to serve the other dishes at dinner, whether the plates should be distributed on the table or placed beside the carver, and so forth. The conditions are so different in different families that no arbitrary rules can be given for these things, but here are a few suggestions which may be helpful. Have everything ready in the kitchen to put on the table without delay, and place the dishes where they will keep hot un

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Going to Market.

Going to Market.

WHEN a housekeeper understands just what to do, and can spend the time to go to the market herself, she will find that she can have a better table, with greater variety and at less expense, than when she orders from the provision man who comes to the house each day. It is true that there are a great many housekeepers who have neither time nor strength for daily or even weekly visits to the markets, but the average housekeeper has the time, and she will find that in the end it will add to her men

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Buying Food for a Small Family.

Buying Food for a Small Family.

LOIN. A woman who has to provide for a large family can plan and buy with greater economy than if her family consisted of only two or three. This is especially the case with meats and some kinds of fish. In buying meats, if the family be small, it is wiser to get only the parts actually wanted than to buy large pieces, simply because they are cheaper by the pound. When planning to cook a large piece of meat or fish, its adaptability to being made over into various little dishes should be conside

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Butter, Eggs, and Milk.

Butter, Eggs, and Milk.

Butter is an expensive article, and should be selected with care. If one have the proper place for storing it, and can get it direct from some trustworthy dairy, it would be economical to purchase the winter’s supply in October. About fifty pounds will be enough for a family of two for six months. This should be put up in two or three small tubs. It must be kept in a cool, sweet place. Eggs, of course, are best fresh. It is wise economy for the young housekeeper to pay the extra price, and alway

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About Groceries.

About Groceries.

Flour, if stored in a cool, sweet, dry place, will be better for bread-making if kept several months after being made. All the meals are better when fresh, and only a small quantity should be purchased at a time. Sugar is about the same price, whether you buy it in small or large quantities. It saves much bother to buy the granulated and cut sugar in sufficient quantities to last a month or more. Powdered sugar “cakes,” and only a small amount should be kept in store. English breakfast tea impro

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CARE OF FOOD.

CARE OF FOOD.

One may buy food with good judgment, and yet fail to be an economical provider because she does not take proper care of it. Perfect cleanliness is essential for the best preservation of food. The cellar, pantries, storerooms, refrigerators, and all the receptacles in which food is kept, should be frequently inspected and thoroughly cleaned. Heat and moisture tend to cause decay; therefore it is important that all foods should be surrounded with pure, cool, dry air. When it is possible, expose ev

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Clarifying Fat.

Clarifying Fat.

To clarify fat that has been used for frying, put it into a frying kettle, being careful not to let the sediment go in, and place the kettle on the fire. When the fat becomes hot, add three raw potatoes cut into slices, and stir well. The impurities gather on the potatoes. Three potatoes will be enough for four pounds of fat. Whenever there are any trimmings of fat from any kind of meat cut them in bits and place in a frying-pan on the back part of the stove, where they will cook slowly until al

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Odds and Ends.

Odds and Ends.

It is true that the care of remnants and their preparation for the table is not a slight matter; but in the household where attention is given to this matter there is no waste, and a pleasant change of fare can be made daily. If a housekeeper looks into her larder each morning, and avails herself of the opportunities she finds to make little dishes of the bits of food which she sees before her, the work of caring for the odds and ends may become a pleasure rather than a burden; the preparation o

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A Good Plain Stock.

A Good Plain Stock.

Have the butcher cut the shin of beef into several parts. Wash it in cold water, and then cut off any particles that do not seem perfectly sweet. The lower end of the leg, near the hoofs, is apt to be a little tainted. Cut all the meat from the bones, and then cut it into small pieces. Put one tablespoonful of the butter in the soup pot, and place on the hottest part of the fire. Put the meat in the pot, and stir frequently until it is browned. It will take about half an hour for this. At first

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Second Stock.

Second Stock.

Put away in a cold place the meat and bones which were left from the strained stock. In the morning add six quarts of water to it, and cook gently for six hours; then strain and put away to cool. This stock lacks the fine flavor of the first stock, but it is useful for thick soups, sauces, and made-over dishes....

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Macaroni Soup.

Macaroni Soup.

Break the macaroni into small pieces and throw it into one quart of boiling water containing the teaspoonful of salt. Let it boil for twenty-five minutes with the cover off the stewpan. Drain off the water and add the macaroni to the hot stock. Cover, and cook for ten or fifteen minutes, being careful to have the soup only bubble at one side. It may require a little more salt and pepper. Vermicelli and any of the smaller forms of Italian paste may be added to the clear stock and cooked gently fo

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Rice Soup.

Rice Soup.

Wash two tablespoonfuls of rice and cook it the same as the macaroni; then drain it, and add to the pint and a half of hot stock. Cook the mixture gently for ten minutes....

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Beef Soup.

Beef Soup.

Free the meat from fat and cut it into fine pieces. Put it in the soup pot with the cold water and heat slowly to the boiling point. Skim carefully, and set back where the soup will just bubble at one side of the pot. Wash the barley and put it on to cook in one pint of cold water. At the end of half an hour pour off the water and add the barley to the soup. When the soup has been cooking for three hours put the butter, minced onion, carrot, and celery into a frying-pan and cook slowly for fifte

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Oxtail Soup.

Oxtail Soup.

Free the oxtail from fat and cut into small joints. Wash these in several waters and then put them in a stewpan with the cold water. Place on the range and heat slowly to the boiling point; then skim, and move the stewpan back where the water will just bubble at one side of the stewpan. Cook for one hour. Tie the vegetables, herbs, and spice in a piece of netting, and put them in the stewpan. Add the salt, and cook for one hour longer. Strain the broth into a bowl and set away in a cold place. R

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Veal Broth.

Veal Broth.

Cut the veal into cubes and put the bones and meat into a stewpan with the water, seasoning, and vegetables. Place on the fire, and when the soup comes to the boiling point, skim carefully, and then set back where it will just bubble. Heat the butter in a small saucepan, and add the flour to it. Stir until the mixture is smooth and frothy; then stir it into the broth. Simmer the broth for two hours and a half, and, after adding the pint of potato cubes, cook for half an hour longer. The potatoes

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Scotch Broth.

Scotch Broth.

Remove all the fat from the mutton and cut the lean meat into cubes, which should be put in a stewpan with the chopped vegetables, salt, pepper, and the barley, well washed. Tie the bones in a piece of coarse white netting and put them in the stewpan with the other ingredients. Add the three pints of cold water and cover the stewpan. Place the soup on the stove where it will heat slowly to the boiling point. When it reaches that temperature, skim it and set back where it will only bubble slightl

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Vegetable Soup.

Vegetable Soup.

Cut the meat into cubes; then put it in a stewpan and set on the fire with the cold water. When this boils, skim carefully. Mix the flour to a smooth paste with one gill of cold water, and stir into the boiling ingredients. Next add the rice. Move the stewpan back where the contents will bubble at one side for one hour; then add the onion and carrot. Cook for one hour longer, and then put in the turnips, potatoes, salt, and pepper, and simmer for half an hour longer. Serve hot. Two quarts of the

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Chicken Soup.

Chicken Soup.

Wash the rice and put it in a stewpan with the chicken stock. Place on the fire and cook for two hours. The soup must not boil in that time; keep it where it will be at the point of boiling, but do not let it bubble. At the end of two hours put the butter and vegetables in a small frying-pan and set on the fire, to cook slowly for twenty minutes. Now draw the pan to a hotter part of the range, and stir for one minute. After pressing the butter from the vegetables, put them with the soup. Put the

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Cream of Rice Soup.

Cream of Rice Soup.

Make this in the same way as chicken soup, with the addition of one tablespoonful of rice, a slight grating of nutmeg, a tiny bit of mace, and a piece of stick cinnamon about an inch long, and the omission of the parsley. When the time required for the cooking has expired, take out the spice and pour the soup into a fine sieve. Rub all the rice through, using a wooden vegetable masher. Put the strained mixture in a clean saucepan with a pint of milk, and let it boil up once. If you have cream in

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Mock Bisque.

Mock Bisque.

Reserve half a gill of the milk and put the remainder on to cook in the double-boiler. Put the tomatoes on to cook in a stewpan. Mix the flour with the cold milk and stir into the boiling milk. Cook for ten minutes; then add the salt, pepper, and butter. Stir the soda into the hot tomatoes and stir for half a minute; then rub through a strainer. Add the strained tomatoes to the thickened milk, and serve at once. If canned tomatoes be used, stir the contents of the can before measuring, that the

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Tomato Soup.

Tomato Soup.

Put the tomato and stock in a saucepan and set on the fire. Cook the vegetables slowly in the butter for twenty minutes; then press out the butter and put the vegetables in the soup. Into the butter remaining in the pan put the flour, and stir until smooth and frothy; then add to the soup. Mix the corn-starch with four tablespoonfuls of cold water, and stir into the soup. Add the other ingredients, and simmer for one hour. Strain, and serve with toasted or crisped bread....

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Tomato Soup, No. 2.

Tomato Soup, No. 2.

Put the tomato, water, and seasonings in a stewpan and set on the fire. Beat the butter and flour together until creamy. When the soup begins to boil, stir this mixture into it, and cook for ten minutes. Strain, and serve with toasted or fried bread....

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Tomato and Macaroni Soup.

Tomato and Macaroni Soup.

The stock can be made with any bits of dry hard meat, or the bones from roasted or broiled meat; or one can take the water in which a fowl was boiled. Put the tomatoes and stock in a stewpan and set on the fire. Mix the corn-starch with the cold water, and stir into the boiling liquid. Add also the sugar, salt, and pepper. Put the macaroni in a stewpan with a quart of boiling water and boil for twenty minutes. Pour off the water, and put the macaroni in the soup. Add the butter at the same time,

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Corn Soup.

Corn Soup.

Mash the corn as fine as possible, and then put it in the double-boiler. Reserve one gill of the milk, and, putting the remainder with the corn, cook for fifteen minutes. Cook the butter and onions together for ten minutes, and add to the corn and milk. Mix the cold milk with the flour, and stir into the hot mixture. Add the salt and pepper, and cook for ten minutes longer. Strain, and serve hot....

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Potato Soup.

Potato Soup.

Pare the potatoes, and, placing on the fire in enough boiling water to cover them, cook for thirty minutes. Reserve one gill of the milk, and put the remainder in the double-boiler with the onions and celery, and place on the fire. Mix the cold milk with the flour, and stir into the boiling milk. When the potatoes have been cooking for thirty minutes, pour off all the water and mash them fine and light. Gradually beat into them the milk. Now add the salt, pepper, and butter, and rub the soup thr

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Hub Soup.

Hub Soup.

Put all the ingredients into a stewpan and simmer for half an hour, with the stewpan covered; then rub the mixture through a coarse sieve and return to the fire. Simmer for ten minutes, and serve with toasted crackers or bread....

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Lima Bean Soup.

Lima Bean Soup.

Soak the beans over night in two quarts of cold water. Pour this water off and rinse the beans in fresh water. Now put them in a stewpan with two quarts of cold water. Cook slowly for two hours. Cook the vegetables in the butter for twenty minutes. On taking them out, add them to the soup. Put the flour into the butter remaining in the pan, and stir until smooth and frothy. Add this mixture to the soup. Now add the other seasonings, and cook for one hour longer. At the end of this time take out

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Dried Pea Soup.

Dried Pea Soup.

Soak the peas over night in two quarts of cold water. In the morning pour off the water, and put the peas, the meat and bone, and two quarts of fresh water in the soup kettle, and place on the fire. Cook gently. At the end of three hours put the drippings and vegetables in a small saucepan, and cook slowly for half an hour. When the vegetables have been cooked for this time, draw the saucepan forward where they will cook a little faster for one minute. Stir all the time; then draw them to the si

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Cream of Dried Pea Soup.

Cream of Dried Pea Soup.

Make the same as the dried pea soup; and, after straining, add a pint of milk and a little more salt and pepper. Stir all the time until it boils; then strain again, and serve....

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Bean Soup.

Bean Soup.

Make this the same as the dried pea soup....

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Cream of Bean Soup.

Cream of Bean Soup.

Make the same as bean soup; then add a pint of hot milk, and boil up once. Strain, and serve....

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Oyster Soup.

Oyster Soup.

Put a strainer over a bowl and turn the oysters into it. Pour the water over the oysters and stir with a spoon until all the liquid has passed through the strainer. Turn the oysters into a dish and set in a cold place. Reserve a gill of the milk, and, pouring the remainder in the double-boiler, set it on the fire. Put the oyster liquor in a stewpan and heat slowly, being careful not to burn. Mix the cold milk with the flour, and, stirring into the boiling milk, cook for ten minutes. When the oys

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Clam Soup.

Clam Soup.

Separate the heads from the clams, and put them on to simmer with the water for fifteen minutes. Beat the flour and butter together, and stir into the water in which the heads of the clams are cooking. Now add the seasoning and milk; and when the mixture boils, strain into another stewpan. Chop the soft parts of the clams and add them to the soup. Now add the cracker crumbs. Boil the soup for three minutes, and serve....

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Clam Chowder.

Clam Chowder.

Wash the clams in the water and turn both into a strainer which has been placed over a bowl. Cut the soft parts of the clams from the hard, and put away in a cold place. Chop the hard parts fine and put them in a stewpan. Strain on these, through a piece of cheese-cloth, the clam water; after which place it on the fire and cook gently for twenty minutes. Fry the sliced pork for ten minutes; then add the onion, and cook ten minutes longer. Take the pork and onions from the pan and add to the chop

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Fish Chowder.

Fish Chowder.

First, skin the fish; and after cutting all the flesh from the bones and cutting it in small pieces, cook the bones with the water for ten minutes. Cut the pork into thin slices and fry until crisp and brown. On taking it from the pan, put the onions into the fat, and cook slowly for ten minutes. Put a layer of fish in a stewpan and sprinkle half the potatoes, fried onions, and salt and pepper on this. Put in the remainder of the fish, and finish with the rest of the potatoes, onions, salt, and

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Salt Codfish Chowder.

Salt Codfish Chowder.

Wash the fish and cut it into two-inch lengths. Tear these in pieces, and, covering with cold water, soak for three or four hours. Slice the pork, and cook in the frying-pan for ten minutes. Add the onion and cook for ten minutes. Now add the flour, and stir until smooth; after which, stir in one gill of water. Put the potatoes in a stewpan and pour the mixture in the frying-pan over them. Season with the pepper and half a teaspoonful of salt. Place on the fire and cook for ten minutes; then tak

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How to Boil Fish.

How to Boil Fish.

Fresh fish should always be put on to cook in salted boiling water. A little lemon juice or vinegar in the water makes the flesh of the fish firmer and improves the flavor. For some tastes the flavor is improved still more by putting in the water, tied in a piece of cheese-cloth, a few spoonfuls of minced onion, carrot, and celery, two bay leaves, a sprig each of thyme, parsley, and summer savory, a small bit of cinnamon, and two whole cloves. There should be only water enough to cover the fish.

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Baked Fish.

Baked Fish.

For the dressing, mix the cracker crumbs, herbs, salt, pepper, and butter together; then moisten with water, and add the onion juice. Have the fish split and drawn, but leave on the head and tail. Gut off the fins and scrape off any scales that may still cling to it. Wash and wipe dry; then rub one tablespoonful of salt into it, put the dressing in the opening, and pin together with a skewer. Cut slits on the top of the fish, about two inches long and half an inch deep. Cut the salt pork in stri

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Baked Salt Mackerel.

Baked Salt Mackerel.

Wash the mackerel and soak it in a pan of cold water, having the split side down. In the morning put the fish, split side up, in a shallow baking pan. Pour the milk over it, and place in a moderate oven. When the mackerel has been cooking for twenty minutes, mix the butter, flour, and pepper, and stir the mixture into the milk in the pan. Cook ten minutes longer; then slide the fish out on a hot dish and pour the sauce over it. Serve hot. This dish is suitable for breakfast, luncheon, dinner, or

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How Fish should be Broiled.

How Fish should be Broiled.

Simple as is the work of broiling a piece of fish, it is more often done badly than well. If not cooked enough the fish is extremely disagreeable to the taste, and if cooked too much it is hard and dry. It is always best to have an exact rule as to the time it shall be cooked; when the fish is put on the fire, look at the clock, and take it off as soon as it is done. A split fish, such as shad, whitefish, mackerel, scrod, bluefish, etc., should be timed according to the thickness. If the fire be

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Broiled Halibut.

Broiled Halibut.

Have the halibut cut in a slice about an inch thick. Put half the butter, salt, and pepper in a hot soup plate, and stir until the butter is melted. Wash and wipe the fish, then lay it in the plate of seasoned butter. When one side is coated with the butter, turn it down and season the other. Dredge lightly with flour, place in the double-broiler, and cook over a hot, bright fire for fourteen minutes. Put on a hot dish and season with the remaining salt, pepper, butter, and the lemon juice, all

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Fried Fish.

Fried Fish.

Have the fish cut in slices about an inch thick. Season these with the salt and pepper, and roll in flour. Cut the pork in thin slices and fry until crisp and brown. Take the pork from the pan, and put the fish in the hot fat. When it has become browned on one side, turn it and brown the other side. It will take about twelve minutes to fry the fish. Arrange on a hot dish and lay the slices of pork on top. Serve hot. All small fish, such as trout, perch, and smelts, may be cooked in this manner.

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Breaded Fish.

Breaded Fish.

Have the fish free from skin and bones, and cut it into handsome pieces. Season it with the salt and pepper. Beat the egg in a soup plate and dip the fish in it, one piece at a time, getting every part covered with the egg; then roll in the crumbs and lay on a plate. Have enough fat in the frying kettle to float the fish. When it becomes so hot that blue smoke rises from the centre, put in the fish and cook for five minutes. Drain on brown paper and serve very hot. Tartar sauce is particularly g

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Escaloped Fish.

Escaloped Fish.

Use any kind of cold cooked fish; but the white kinds, such as halibut, cod, haddock, etc., are the best. Have it broken into flakes and freed of bones and skin. Season it with half the salt and pepper. Put a generous half of the butter in a small pan and set on the fire. When it is hot add the flour, and stir until the mixture is smooth and frothy; then gradually add the milk. Boil up once, and stir in the remainder of the salt and pepper. Put a layer of this sauce in a small baking dish, then

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Salt Codfish in Cream.

Salt Codfish in Cream.

Cut the salt fish into pieces about an inch and a half long, and tear these pieces into thin strips. Wash them and, putting them in a bowl with one pint of cold water, let them soak over night, or at least four or five hours. In the morning put the fish and water in a saucepan and set on the fire. Heat to the boiling point, but do not let boil. Drain off the water, and, after adding the milk, heat again to the boiling point. Beat the butter and flour together until light and smooth. Stir this mi

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Fish Balls.

Fish Balls.

Tear the raw fish into fine shreds, and measure out a cupful. Pare the potatoes, and put them in a large stewpan. Sprinkle the fish on top and cover with boiling water. Cover, and cook for just thirty minutes. Pour off every drop of the water, and mash the fish and potato together until light and fine; then beat into the mixture the salt, pepper, butter, and the egg, which should first be well beaten. Shape into small balls, and, putting them in the frying-basket, cook in deep fat until brown,—s

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Fish Cakes.

Fish Cakes.

Wash the fish and soak it over night, in one piece. In the morning put it in a saucepan and on the fire, with enough cold water to cover it. When the water is heated to the boiling point set the saucepan back where the water will keep hot, but not boil. Cook the fish in this manner for one hour; then take from the water and cool. When cold, remove the skin and bones and chop the fish fine. Pare the potatoes, and put them in a stewpan with boiling water enough to cover them. Cook for just thirty

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Fresh Fish Cakes.

Fresh Fish Cakes.

Free the cold fish from skin and bones, and shred it fine with a fork. Season it with the salt and pepper. Mash the potato fine and beat the butter and fish into it. Shape into flat cakes. Have the pork fat smoking hot in the frying-pan and put in the fish cakes. When brown on one side, turn and brown on the other. Serve immediately....

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Fried Scallops.

Fried Scallops.

After seasoning the scallops with the salt and pepper, dip them in the beaten egg and roll them in the dried bread crumbs. Put the scallops in the frying-basket and immerse the basket into fat so hot that blue smoke rises from the centre. Cook for two minutes. Drain on brown paper and serve very hot. Do not put more scallops in the basket than can be spread on the bottom. Tartar sauce is especially good for this dish....

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Oyster Stew.

Oyster Stew.

Put a strainer over a bowl and turn the oysters into it. Drain off all the liquor, and then pour one gill of water over the oysters. Pour this liquor into a stewpan, being careful not to turn in the sandy sediment. Place where it will heat slowly, being careful not to burn. When the liquor boils, skim it, and set back where it will keep hot. Meantime heat the milk to the boiling point in the double-boiler. Add the hot liquor, oysters, butter, salt, and pepper to the boiling milk. Boil up once, a

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Oysters on Toast.

Oysters on Toast.

Put the oysters in a frying-pan and set on the fire. When they begin to boil, skim them; then add the seasonings. Have the toast arranged on a hot dish and pour the oysters over it. Serve at once....

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Oysters au Gratin.

Oysters au Gratin.

Heat the oysters to the boiling point in their own liquor; then turn them into a strainer, which should be placed over a bowl. Put a gill of the oyster liquor in a saucepan, and heat slowly. Beat one tablespoonful of the butter and flour together until light and smooth. Stir this mixture into the hot liquor, and cook for three minutes; then add the milk, salt, and pepper. Heat to the boiling point and add the drained oysters. Now turn the oysters into rather a shallow escalop dish. Sprinkle the

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Escaloped Oysters.

Escaloped Oysters.

Put half the oysters in a dish that will hold about one quart. Sprinkle over them half the salt and pepper and half a tablespoonful of butter, broken in bits. Spread half the cracker crumbs over this. Now put in the remainder of the oysters, salt, pepper, and half a tablespoonful of the butter. Spread the remainder of the cracker crumbs over this, and then dot with the remaining tablespoonful of butter. Pour the liquor on the cracker crumbs, and bake in a hot oven for half an hour....

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Fried Oysters.

Fried Oysters.

Drain the oysters, and season them with the salt and pepper. Put a few tablespoonfuls of the crumbs on a plate and roll the oysters in them. Beat the egg in a soup plate and afterward stir the milk into it. Dip the oysters, one at a time, in this mixture, and roll in plenty of bread crumbs. Place them on a platter and set in a cool place. When it is time to cook them, put a layer in the frying basket and plunge into fat so hot that blue smoke rises from the centre. Cook for one minute and a half

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Creamed Oysters.

Creamed Oysters.

Put the milk and mace in the double-boiler, and set on the fire. Mix the flour with three tablespoonfuls of cold milk, reserved from the three gills, and stir into the boiling milk. Cook for ten minutes. Heat the oysters to the boiling point in their own liquor; then skim and drain them. Put the oysters, salt, pepper, and onion juice into the thickened cream, and serve. If milk be used, add a tablespoonful of butter to the thickened milk....

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Lobster.

Lobster.

Lobster should be perfectly fresh. If it be cooked, the odor should be fresh and the shells look bright, and when the tail is drawn back it should spring into position again. If the lobster be bought alive, see that it moves lively. To boil it, plunge it into boiling water and cook gently from ten to twenty minutes. A very small lobster will cook in ten minutes and a large one in twenty. Cooking a lobster too long or at too high a temperature makes it tough, dry, and stringy. When it is impossib

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Curry of Lobster.

Curry of Lobster.

Cut the lobster into small pieces and season with half the salt and pepper. Put the butter and onion on the fire, in a frying-pan, and cook until the onion turns a straw color; then add the flour and curry-powder and stir until brown. Gradually add the stock to this, stirring all the while. Season with the remainder of the salt and pepper, and cook for three minutes. Strain this into a saucepan, and add the lobster. Cook for five minutes. Cut the slices of toast in strips and lay in a warm dish.

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Fricassee of Lobster.

Fricassee of Lobster.

A fricassee of lobster is prepared the same as a curry; omitting, however, the curry-powder and onion. Milk may be substituted for the meat stock....

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Breaded Lobster.

Breaded Lobster.

Split the claws and tail and set aside. Take the meat from the large joints and the body, and chop fine. Mix with this one fourth of the teaspoonful of salt and two tablespoonfuls of the “tom-alley.” Shape this into three small flat cakes. Season the pieces of lobster with the salt and pepper. Beat the egg in a soup plate. Dip the pieces of lobster and the little cakes, one at a time, into the egg; then roll in the bread crumbs, and, after arranging on a plate, put in a cool place until the hour

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Escaloped Lobster.

Escaloped Lobster.

Mix in a saucepan one tablespoonful of the butter and all the flour. Have the stock or cream hot, and pour it gradually on the butter and the flour, stirring all the time. Add half the salt and pepper, and cook for one minute. Have the lobster cut fine, and seasoned with the other half of the salt and pepper. When the sauce has cooked for one minute, add the lobster. Now pour the mixture into a shallow escalop dish. Sprinkle the grated bread crumbs on this, and then dot with the half tablespoonf

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Escaloped Crabs.

Escaloped Crabs.

Prepare the same as escaloped lobster; using, however, only half a pint of crab meat....

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Escaloped Shrimps.

Escaloped Shrimps.

Prepare this dish in the same manner as escaloped lobster; substituting, however, shelled shrimps for the lobster....

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Stewed Clams.

Stewed Clams.

Put the milk on the fire in the double-boiler. Put the clams in a strainer and pour a quart of cold water over them. Let them drain for about one minute, and then, turning them into a stewpan, place them on the stove. Beat the butter and flour to a cream, and stir this mixture into the pan containing the hot clams. Add the hot milk, salt, and pepper, and cook for two minutes longer. Have the crackers soaked for two minutes in cold water, and then toasted. Lay them in the bottom of a deep dish, a

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Roast Clams.

Roast Clams.

Wash the clam shells thoroughly and drain them in the colander for a few minutes. Spread them in an old dripping-pan and put them into a hot oven. The shells will begin to open in five or eight minutes. Take them from the oven, and, holding the shell over a warm dish, let the clam and juice drop out. Season with butter, salt, and pepper, and serve very hot, with thin slices of buttered brown bread. When possible, get the clams twenty-four hours before they are to be used, and after washing them

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Steamed Clams.

Steamed Clams.

Prepare the clams as for roasting, but put them in a dish and place it in the steamer. When the shells open the clams are done....

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BOILING.

BOILING.

IN boiling meats the temperature of the liquid should be kept at about the boiling point or a few degrees lower; that is, the water should bubble gently at one side of the pot or stewpan. Great care must be taken that the water shall never boil rapidly, and that the temperature shall not be much lower than that indicated by a slight bubbling at the side of the stewpan. The meat and liquid will both be spoiled if kept for any length of time in a closed vessel with the temperature too low. A piece

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Boiled Leg of Mutton.

Boiled Leg of Mutton.

Wipe carefully with a damp cloth a leg of mutton weighing between eight and ten pounds, and put it in a deep kettle with enough boiling water to cover it. Set the kettle where the water will boil rapidly for a quarter of an hour. Skim the water when it begins to boil. At the end of the fifteen minutes draw the kettle back where the water will only bubble. If the meat be desired very rare, cook it for an hour and a half; but if you want it rather well done, cook it for two hours, being careful th

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Steamed Mutton.

Steamed Mutton.

When the family is so small that it is necessary to cut a leg of mutton, it is better to steam than to boil it. Place the piece of mutton on a kitchen plate, the cut side down. Set the plate in the steamer and over a kettle of boiling water. Cover closely, and keep the water boiling until the meat is done. A piece weighing about four or five pounds will be cooked rather rare in one hour. If liked well done, cook it longer. Serve the same as boiled leg of mutton....

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Boiled Corned Beef.

Boiled Corned Beef.

A piece of corned beef will take about the same time to cook, whether it weigh four pounds or ten. Wash the meat and put it into a stewpan with enough boiling water to cover it generously. When the water begins to boil, skim thoroughly; then draw the stewpan back to a place where the water will just bubble for five hours. Never let the water boil hard, but it must not get much below the boiling point at any time. If the meat is to be pressed, take it from the boiling water and place it on a flat

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Spiced Corned Beef.

Spiced Corned Beef.

This is a cheap and savory dish for luncheon and tea. Put the water and salt in a stewpan and set on the fire. Stir frequently until the water boils, and then skim carefully. Take from the fire and set away to cool. Remove the bones from the meat by slipping a sharp knife between the flesh and bone and cutting the meat from the bone. Place the beef in a stone jar or earthen bowl, and when the brine is cold pour it over the meat. Cover the dish and set it away in a cool place for six or eight day

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Boiled Ham.

Boiled Ham.

Wash the ham and then soak it in cold water for ten or twelve hours. Put it on to cook in cold water. When the water begins to boil, skim it, and draw the kettle back to a part of the range where the water will only bubble gently. Cook the ham for five hours; then take it up and draw off the skin. Place the skinned ham in a dripping-pan and sprinkle over it one cupful of fine dried crumbs mixed with two tablespoonfuls of sugar. Cook it slowly in the oven for one hour. If only a part of a ham is

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Fresh Tongue.

Fresh Tongue.

Wash the tongue and put it in a stewpan with boiling water enough to cover it generously. Add four tablespoonfuls of salt. When the water begins to boil, skim carefully and draw the stewpan back to a place where the water will bubble gently for five hours. Take the tongue from the boiling water and plunge it into cold water. Draw off the rough skin, beginning at the roots of the tongue. Place the tongue on a dish, cover it lightly with a coarse towel, and put it in a cold place....

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Smoked Tongues.

Smoked Tongues.

Cook a smoked tongue exactly the same as a ham, except that it is not to be browned in the oven. It will require five hours’ time to boil it....

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Pickled Tongue.

Pickled Tongue.

Treat a pickled tongue the same as a piece of corned beef. It will require five hours’ cooking....

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SCIENCE IN ROASTING MEAT.

SCIENCE IN ROASTING MEAT.

A roast of meat, be it rare or well done, should be juicy and tender. One should not roast a tough piece of meat; stewing, braising, or boiling is better, because the cooking can be continued for a long time at a low temperature, and this method will make the toughest piece of meat tender. The meat always should be exposed to a high temperature at first, that the surface may become hardened and the juices protected. If the high temperature be continued all the time of cooking, the meat will beco

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How to Roast Meat in the Oven.

How to Roast Meat in the Oven.

Have a dripping-pan of Russian iron and a meat-rack three or four inches shorter than the pan. DRIPPING-PAN. MEAT-RACK. Examine the piece of meat, and if there be any places that have become tainted trim them off with a sharp knife. Wipe the meat with a wet towel. Now season with salt and pepper, and dredge lightly with flour. All the seasoning must be done with the meat resting on the rack, that the stray particles may fall to the bottom of the pan. Dredge flour over the bottom of the pan until

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Roast Rib of Beef.

Roast Rib of Beef.

For three persons one rib will be enough. Wipe the meat with a damp towel. Place a meat-rack in a dripping-pan and lay the beef on it. Dredge with salt, pepper, and flour, turning the meat over in order that every part shall receive a portion of the coating. Dredge the bottom of the pan lightly with the flour and salt. Set the pan in a very hot oven, and watch carefully to prevent the flour on the bottom of the pan from burning. When the flour turns dark brown, pour in enough water to cover the

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Roast Lamb.

Roast Lamb.

Lamb, being immature meat, should be rather well done. The spring lambs are so small that a leg will not make a burdensome roast in a small family. The loin and breast make good small roasts. Roast the lamb according to the rule given for roast rib of beef. Serve with the made gravy and mint sauce. Asparagus, peas, young beets, summer squash, and any delicate summer vegetable, may be served with lamb....

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Roast Mutton.

Roast Mutton.

Mutton is roasted like beef. For a small roast the loin or breast is good. A leg of mutton may be cut into two parts, using one for a roast and the other for steaming. Mutton should always be cooked rare and served hot. Currant jelly should be provided with a roast. The most appropriate vegetables are potatoes, onions, mashed turnips, rice, squash, tomatoes in any form, sweet potatoes, Lima beans, canned corn, etc....

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Stuffed Mutton.

Stuffed Mutton.

Make the dressing given for roast veal, substituting a generous tablespoonful of butter for the chopped pork, and adding also one teaspoonful of onion juice. Have the bone removed from half of a leg of mutton. Cut deep incisions in the inside of the leg, and press the dressing into these. Sew up the leg, and roast the same as directed for roast beef, cooking the meat an hour and a half. The same vegetables as suggested for plain roast mutton are suitable for the stuffed leg....

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Roast Veal.

Roast Veal.

To make the dressing. Soak the bread in cold water for two or three hours. Press out nearly all the water; then add one ounce of salt pork chopped fine, one teaspoonful of salt, one third of a teaspoonful of pepper, the herbs, and crackers. Let this stand while the meat is being washed and seasoned. The parts of the veal that are good for roasting are the loin, breast, and fillet. Veal requires a great deal of seasoning, and is almost always stuffed. It must be remembered that in the loin and br

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Roast Pork.

Roast Pork.

The piece termed the sparerib is the best for roasting. Wipe the meat with a damp towel. Season it with salt, pepper, and sage, using a teaspoonful of powdered sage to four pounds of pork. Follow the directions for roast rib of beef, cooking a four or five pound roast for two hours. Any of the following named vegetables may be served with roast pork: white potatoes, sweet potatoes, rice, hominy, squash, turnips, onions, etc.; and apple sauce always is desirable....

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Roast Ham.

Roast Ham.

Prepare the ham the same as for boiled ham; boiling it for only three hours, however, and baking it slowly for three hours more....

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BROILING.

BROILING.

There are several modes of broiling: over clear coals, before the coals, or under a bed of coals; also under a sheet of flame, as in a gas stove. No matter what the fuel may be or the mode of broiling, the principles are the same. A steak or chop, properly broiled, should have a thin, well browned crust. Beyond this crust the meat should be red and juicy; hardly a shade rarer at the centre than near the surface. A common mode of cooking a steak is to keep it over the coals until one side is rath

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To Broil in a Frying-pan.

To Broil in a Frying-pan.

It sometimes happens that one has no means of broiling over coals or under heat. The next best thing is broiling in a pan. For example, have a steak cut about an inch thick. After making a frying-pan very hot, sprinkle in some fine salt, and lay the steak in the pan. Cook for two minutes; then lift the steak up and sprinkle the pan with salt. Turn the steak and cook for two minutes. Cook the piece of meat ten minutes in all, turning every two minutes. Put the meat on a hot dish, and season with

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Broiled Chops with Bacon.

Broiled Chops with Bacon.

Bacon that is to be broiled should be boneless and fat, and the slices should be about as thin as the blade of a knife. The bars of the broiler should be very close, what is called an oyster broiler being best. Place the slices of bacon in the broiler and over a clean fire, having all the draughts open. Cook the meat for about four minutes, turning constantly. The fat will blaze up continually, but will not hurt the bacon if that be turned all the while. Put the cooked bacon on a hot plate, and

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Beefsteak and Onions.

Beefsteak and Onions.

Pare and slice the onions. Put them in a stewpan with two quarts of boiling water and cook for fifteen minutes. Drain off all the water. Put the butter or drippings in a frying-pan and add the drained onions. Cover the frying-pan and place on the range. Cook for half an hour, being careful not to burn. Stir the onions frequently. Broil the steak rare and lay it on the bed of onions for five minutes, having the pan covered; then place the steak on a hot dish, and arrange the onions around it. The

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FRYING.

FRYING.

The word “frying” may mean either of two modes of cooking food: using a common frying-pan, with only a small amount of fat, or immersing the article to be cooked in a deep kettle of hot fat. The first method is unhealthful, extravagant, and troublesome; the second saves time and is more economical and healthful. When a housekeeper once masters this method of frying, she will not return to the more unsatisfactory and indigestible mode. There should be enough fat to float the article to be cooked.

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How to keep Fat.

How to keep Fat.

When the frying has been finished, take the fat from the fire and let it cook slightly. Next place a piece of cheese-cloth in a colander or strainer, and, after setting this over a jar or pail, strain the fat through the cloth. This straining never should be omitted; for, with good care, the same fat may be used many times....

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The Kind of Fat to use.

The Kind of Fat to use.

Olive oil would be the best liquid to use if the matter of expense were not to be considered. Any pure, clear fat that is free of strong odor will answer. Many folk use mutton and ham fat, and say that they do not find the flavor of the meat in the articles fried; but others would discover the taste at once, and consider it disagreeable. But the housekeeper will select the material she will use according to her taste and means; and attention may as well be turned now to the conditions which will

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The Frying Basket.

The Frying Basket.

While it is possible to fry food in deep fat without the use of the frying basket, that invention will be found a most valuable aid in this branch of cookery. The basket is made of fine wire, and has a bail across the top. Do not get one of coarse wire and open meshes. THE WAY TO LOWER THE FRYING BASKET. After the articles to be fried have been put into it, it should be lowered into the fat; gently, because the particles of moisture which cling to the food are instantly converted into steam, and

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Breaded Chops.

Breaded Chops.

Mutton or lamb chops may be breaded and served with tomato or brown sauce. Have the chops cut an inch thick. Trim them, and season with salt and pepper. Dip them in beaten egg and roll in dry bread crumbs. Lay them in deep fat for six minutes if they are to be rare done, and for ten minutes if to be well done. Slices from the leg may be prepared in the same manner....

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Breaded Veal Cutlets.

Breaded Veal Cutlets.

Have the cutlets about one fourth of an inch thick, and cut into pieces about four inches long and three wide. Season them with half the salt and pepper. Beat the egg in a soup plate, and season with the remainder of the salt and pepper. Dip the cutlets in the egg and roll them in the bread crumbs. Fry them in deep fat for ten minutes. Serve with tomato or brown sauce. If you prefer, the cutlets may be fried in pork fat. In that case fry two ounces of fat salt pork. Take up the pork and put the

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Mutton Cutlets Sauté.

Mutton Cutlets Sauté.

Trim most of the fat from the chops, and season them with half the salt and pepper. Put them in a hot frying-pan and cook them for four minutes, turning often. Sprinkle the flour over them and cook for two minutes longer, turning them twice in that time. Now add the tomato, butter, and the remainder of the salt and pepper. Cook for three minutes longer, and serve very hot....

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Breaded Sausages.

Breaded Sausages.

Beat the yolk of the egg in a soup plate, then beat into it the milk. Prick the sausages with a fork and roll them, one by one, in the egg, and then in the bread crumbs. Arrange them in the frying basket and cook for ten minutes in smoking hot fat. Drain and serve....

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MISCELLANEOUS MODES. Stewed Shin of Beef.

MISCELLANEOUS MODES. Stewed Shin of Beef.

Have the butcher cut the bone into six parts. Wash the shank carefully, being sure to remove any particles of meat or gristle that are not perfectly sweet. They will be found at the small end, if at all. Put the shin in a stewpan with the onion, carrot, bay leaf, parsley, clove, salt, pepper, and water. Place the stewpan on the fire, and when its contents begin to boil, skim the liquid carefully, and set the pan back where the meat will only simmer for six hours. At the end of five hours and a h

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Pot Roast.

Pot Roast.

Wipe the meat and season it with the salt and pepper. Put it in an iron or granite-ware stewpan, and set it on a part of the range where it will brown slowly. Turn it frequently. Cook the meat in this manner for thirty minutes. Now add a gill of boiling water, and draw the stewpan to a part of the range where the contents will cook slowly for four hours. Add a gill of boiling water whenever the liquid in the stewpan becomes low. When the meat has been cooking for three hours, mix the flour smoot

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Braised Beef.

Braised Beef.

Cut the pork into thin slices and fry until brown and crisp. Take out the pork, and, putting the vegetables into the fat remaining in the pan, cook slowly for fifteen minutes. Rub half the pepper and two teaspoonfuls of the salt into the piece of meat, and place it in a deep granite-ware pan. When the vegetables are cooked, put them with the meat, first pressing from them as much fat as possible. Into the fat remaining in the pan put the flour, and stir until it becomes a dark brown. Add the wat

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Beefsteak Roll.

Beefsteak Roll.

Have the steak cut thin. Make a dressing by mixing together the cracker crumbs, thyme, half a teaspoonful of the salt, half the pepper, the butter, a little more than a gill of cold water, and the egg, well beaten. Season the slice of steak with half a teaspoonful of salt, and a little of the pepper. Spread the dressing on it, and roll up. Wind soft darning cotton around the roll, to keep it in place. Put the pork fat in a frying-pan, and set on the fire. Dredge the roll with flour, and place it

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Beef Olives.

Beef Olives.

Have the beef cut in a thin slice. Cut all the fat from this and chop it fine. Mix together the cracker crumbs, chopped fat, half a teaspoonful of salt, one sixth of a teaspoonful of pepper, the herbs, and a gill of cold water. Cut the slice of beef in pieces about four inches long and three wide. Season the meat with the remainder of the salt and pepper. Spread the cracker dressing on these strips of meat and then roll them up. Tie them with soft darning cotton and then roll them in the flour.

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Hamburg Steaks.

Hamburg Steaks.

Have the butcher chop the meat very fine. Season it with the salt and pepper and make it into small cakes about half an inch thick. Rub the bars of the broiler with a bit of fat and lay the cakes in it. Broil over clear coals for six minutes, if the steaks be liked rare; or eight minutes, if to be well done. Place on a hot dish and season with butter and salt. Another method is to put into a frying-pan about a tablespoonful of butter or pork fat and cook the steaks for eight minutes. Place the s

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Beef Stew from the Cold Roast.

Beef Stew from the Cold Roast.

Take the bones and the tough pieces left from a cold roast of beef. After cutting all the meat from the bones, remove all the fat from the meat and put it on the fire in a frying-pan. Cut the lean meat into small pieces. Place the bones in a stewpan and lay the meat on top of them. Take from the frying-pan five tablespoonfuls of liquid fat and put it in another frying-pan. Add the minced vegetables, and cook slowly for half an hour. At the end of that time draw the pan forward to a hotter part o

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Stew from Cold Lamb or Mutton.

Stew from Cold Lamb or Mutton.

With the bones and tough pieces of cold lamb or mutton a stew can be made the same as beef stew with cold roast beef. If you have the small white turnips use a gill of these cut in cubes and fried with the other vegetables....

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Creamed Dried Beef.

Creamed Dried Beef.

Have the beef cut in slices as thin as shavings, and put it in a bowl. Pour upon it one pint of boiling water, and let it stand for two minutes; then turn off the water and drain the beef dry. Put the butter on the fire, in a frying-pan, and when it becomes hot add the beef. Cook for three minutes, stirring all the time. Now pour on one gill of cold milk. Mix the half-gill of milk with the flour, and stir it into the cooking mixture. Cook for two minutes, and serve....

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Frizzled Smoked Beef.

Frizzled Smoked Beef.

Have the beef shaved thin and then cut it into small bits. Beat the eggs well, and add the milk to them. Put the butter on the fire, in a frying-pan, and when it becomes hot, add the beef. Stir the meat for three minutes; then draw the pan back to a cooler place and add the eggs and milk. Stir constantly until the egg begins to thicken; then turn into a warm dish and serve....

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Veal Olives.

Veal Olives.

In making veal olives use a tablespoonful of butter in the cracker dressing, as there will be no fat to cut from the veal. Add half a dozen celery seeds when the gravy is put with the olives. With these exceptions proceed exactly as for beef olives....

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Veal Cutlets Sauté.

Veal Cutlets Sauté.

Nick the edge of the cutlet with a sharp knife; this will keep the slice flat. Cut the pork in slices and cook slowly in the frying-pan for fifteen minutes. Draw the pan forward to a hotter part of the range and take up the pieces of pork. Season the cutlet with half the pepper and salt, and lay it in the hot fat. Cook slowly for fifteen minutes, turning frequently. Now take up the meat and put the flour into the gravy remaining in the pan. Stir until it turns dark brown; then add the cold water

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Fricassee of Veal.

Fricassee of Veal.

Cut the pork in thin slices and fry brown. Have the veal cut in small, thin pieces. Season it with the salt and pepper, then roll it in the flour. Take the pork from the pan and lay the slices of veal in the hot fat. Let them fry until they have a good brown color, turning them when brown on one side. Take up the veal and stir the remainder of the flour into the fat. When the flour is brown, add the cold water, stirring all the time. When this gravy boils up put the browned veal into it and simm

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Ragout of Mutton.

Ragout of Mutton.

Have the mutton free from bones. Cut off all the fat and put it in the frying-pan and on the fire. Cut the meat into pieces about two inches square. When there is about five tablespoonfuls of liquid fat in the pan, take out the solid pieces and move the pan to a part of the range where the fat will become smoking hot. Now put in the mutton, and stir until it becomes brown,—which will be in about six minutes. Take the meat from the fat and put it into a stewpan. Put the turnips, carrots, and onio

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Blanquette of Cold Meat.

Blanquette of Cold Meat.

Veal, lamb, or any kind of poultry, will answer for this dish. Have the meat free from fat and bone, and cut into dainty pieces. Season it with half the salt and pepper. Put the butter in a frying-pan and set on the fire. When hot, add the flour, stirring until the mixture is smooth and frothy; then gradually add the stock. Cook for two minutes; then add the milk and cold meat, and simmer gently for fifteen minutes. Turn out on a warm dish and garnish with rice, toast, or pastry cakes. A teaspoo

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Pork Chops.

Pork Chops.

Season the chops with one teaspoonful of the salt and half the pepper. Put them in a hot frying-pan and cook them rather slowly for twenty minutes. Take up the chops and stir the flour into the fat remaining in the pan. When the mixture is smooth and frothy, add the strained tomatoes and simmer for five minutes. Season with the remainder of the salt and pepper. Arrange the chops on a warm dish and pour the sauce around them. If a plain brown sauce be preferred, substitute cold water for the toma

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Fried Salt Pork.

Fried Salt Pork.

Have the slices cut about one fourth of an inch thick. Drop them into boiling water and cook for five minutes. After draining the pieces of pork, put them in the frying-pan and set them on the fire. Let them cook slowly at first; then draw the pan to hotter part of the range, and cook more rapidly until they are crisp and brown. Draw the pan back, and, taking up the pork, arrange it on a hot dish. Pour all the pork fat, except about two tablespoonfuls, into a bowl. Put the pan back on the fire,

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Salt Pork in Batter.

Salt Pork in Batter.

Have the pork cut in thin slices. Drop it into boiling water and cook for two minutes. Take it up and drain; then put it in a frying-pan, and, setting it on the fire, cook until it turns a delicate brown, which should be in five minutes. Draw the pan back and take up the pork. Make a batter with the flour, milk, salt, and egg. Dip the pork in the batter. Have the pork fat hot, and lay the masked pork in it. Cook until brown on one side; then turn and brown on the other. Serve at once....

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Sausage Cakes.

Sausage Cakes.

Have the meat one fourth fat and three fourths lean, and chopped fine. Soak the bread in cold water until it is soft, then press out all the water. Mix the seasonings and the bread with the meat. When all the ingredients are thoroughly combined, shape into small flat cakes, and fry until brown on both sides. It will take twenty minutes to cook the cakes thoroughly....

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Stewed Kidneys.

Stewed Kidneys.

Draw the thin, white skin off the kidneys; then cut them into thin, round slices, removing the hard, white substance. Wash them, and soak them in salted water for half an hour. At the end of that time put them in a stewpan with the pint of water. Place on the fire; and when they begin to boil, skim carefully. Draw the stewpan to a part of the range where the water will only bubble gently for two hours. At the end of that time put the butter in a small pan, and set over the fire. Add the flour, a

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Kidneys Sauté.

Kidneys Sauté.

Prepare the kidneys as for stewing. Drain and wipe them. Put the butter and flour in a frying-pan, and set on the fire. Season the kidneys with the salt and pepper. Put them into the pan with the butter and flour, and cook for two minutes, stirring all the time. Add the stock or water, cold . Stir until this boils up, then add the lemon juice. Turn the sauté into a warm dish, and garnish with points of crisp toast....

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Broiled Kidneys.

Broiled Kidneys.

Draw the thin skin off the kidneys; then cut each kidney almost in two. Cut out the hard, white substance from the centre. Wash the kidneys and soak them in salt and water for half an hour. At the end of that time wipe them dry. Melt one tablespoonful of the butter and add the lemon juice, salt and pepper to it. Dip the kidneys in this; then roll lightly in flour, and, placing them in the broiler, cook over clear coals for six minutes. Arrange on a hot dish and season with the remaining tablespo

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Stewed Sheep’s Hearts.

Stewed Sheep’s Hearts.

Split and wash the hearts. Season them with half the pepper and salt, and roll them in the flour. Fry the pork in the frying-pan. Put the onions with the fried pork and cook for ten minutes. At the end of that time take the pork and onions from the frying-pan and put them in the stewpan. Lay the hearts in the frying-pan, and cook until they are brown on one side; then turn them and brown the other side. After that, put them in the stewpan. Pour the hot water into the frying-pan and stir until al

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Fried Liver and Bacon.

Fried Liver and Bacon.

Have the bacon cut in as thin slices as possible and keep it cold until the time to cook it. Have the liver cut into slices about one third of an inch thick. If it be calf or sheep’s liver, wash it in cold water and let it drain; but if it be beef liver, after washing it, cover with boiling water and let it stand for five minutes; then drain it. Put the pieces of bacon into a hot frying-pan and turn them constantly until they are crisp; then take them up. Draw the pan back to a cooler part of th

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Calf’s Liver Sauté.

Calf’s Liver Sauté.

Cut the liver in slices one third of an inch thick, and wash and wipe them. Season with one teaspoonful of the salt and half the pepper. Put the butter into a frying-pan and set on the fire. When it becomes hot, stir in the flour, and then lay the slices of liver in the pan. Cook slowly for six minutes, turning often. At the end of that time add the water, stirring all the while. When this boils up, add the remainder of the salt and pepper and the lemon juice, and cook gently for two minutes. Th

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Chicken Livers en Brochette.

Chicken Livers en Brochette.

Cut the bacon as thin as possible. Cut the livers in two parts, and after washing them, season them with salt and pepper. Fold each piece of liver in a slice of bacon and fasten with a small bird skewer. Broil over clear coals for ten minutes. Remove the skewers and serve the liver and bacon on slices of toast....

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Broiled Tripe.

Broiled Tripe.

Wash and drain the tripe. If it has been in pickle, put it in a saucepan with cold water enough to cover it, and place on the fire. Simmer gently for half an hour. If milk be plentiful use half milk and half water. If the tripe has not been pickled, fifteen minutes will be enough time for the simmering. Take it from the hot liquid and drain. Melt the butter in a soup plate. Add the salt and pepper to it and then roll the piece of tripe in the mixture. Dredge the tripe with flour and broil over a

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Fried Tripe.

Fried Tripe.

Wash the tripe and cut it into small pieces. Season it with salt and pepper and roll it in the flour. Put the drippings in the frying-pan and set on the fire. When hot, lay in the tripe, and cook for ten minutes, browning both sides. Take up the tripe, and into the fat remaining in the pan scrape such part of the flour as did not adhere to the tripe. Stir the mixture, and then add the cold water or milk. Cook for two minutes. Taste, to see if seasoned enough, because more salt and pepper may be

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Tripe Fried in Batter.

Tripe Fried in Batter.

Cut the tripe in small squares and season it with half the salt and pepper. Pour the milk on the flour, and beat to a smooth paste. Add the egg, well beaten, and the remainder of the salt and pepper, and beat for two minutes longer. Have the drippings smoking hot in the frying-pan. Dip the tripe in the batter and lay it in the hot fat. When brown on one side, turn and brown on the other. Serve at once. The tripe may be fried in deep fat. In that case it will cook in three minutes....

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Corned Beef Hash.

Corned Beef Hash.

Have the meat about one fourth fat and three fourths lean. Chop it rather coarse. Chop the cold boiled potatoes a little coarser than the meat and season them with the salt and pepper. Mix the potato and meat, stirring with a fork. Add the milk, and stir lightly. Put the butter in the frying-pan, and when it becomes hot put in the hash, spreading it lightly and evenly, but not stirring it. Cover the pan and set where the hash will cook slowly and evenly for half an hour or more. There should be

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Hash of Fresh Meat.

Hash of Fresh Meat.

Any kind of meat can be used to make a meat-and-potato hash; but, of course, nothing is so good as corned beef. Cold roast, boiled, or broiled beef, mutton, lamb, veal, or tongue can be freed from skin, fat, and bones, seasoned highly with salt and pepper, and cooked like corned beef hash. Even two or three kinds of meat can be used. If it happens that you have a bit of steak, a part of a chop, and perhaps a slice of tongue, use them all....

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Sausage Hash.

Sausage Hash.

Chop the potatoes rather coarse, and the sausage a little finer. Season the potatoes with the salt and pepper, and mix the sausage with them. Put the butter in a frying-pan, and when it becomes melted put in the hash. Spread lightly in the pan, but do not stir. Cover the pan and set on the back part of the range, where the hash will brown slowly. Cook for half an hour. Fold it, and, turning out on a hot dish, serve at once....

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Baked Hash.

Baked Hash.

Use any kind of cold cooked meat. Have it freed from fat and bones, and chopped rather fine. Season it with the salt and pepper. Put two teaspoonfuls of the butter in a small pan and set it on the fire. When the butter is hot, add the flour, and stir until the mixture is smooth and frothy. Gradually add the milk, and boil for three minutes. Add the meat to this, and boil up once; then put in a baking-dish. Spread the mashed potatoes over this and dot with the remaining teaspoonful of butter. Bak

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Minced Meat on Toast.

Minced Meat on Toast.

Have the meat free from fat and bones and hashed rather fine. Mix with it the salt, pepper, and flour. Put it into a small stewpan and stir in the stock or water. Cover the pan and set it on a part of the range where the hash will cook slowly for thirty minutes; then add the butter, and cook five minutes longer. Have the toast crisp and brown. Dip the edges in boiling water. Cut each slice of toast into two triangular pieces. Spread the meat on these, and serve at once....

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Tongue Toast.

Tongue Toast.

Use the dry end of a boiled tongue and mince very fine. Put the butter on the stove in a small frying-pan, and when it becomes hot, add the flour. Stir until smooth and frothy; then draw the pan back to a cooler part of the range, and gradually add the milk. Now move the pan to a hotter place and cook its contents for two minutes, stirring all the time. Add the tongue and seasoning, and simmer for five minutes. Toast the bread, and place it on a warm dish. Spread a little of the tongue and sauce

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Meat Cakes.

Meat Cakes.

Season the meat with the salt and pepper, and beat it and the butter into the hot mashed potatoes. Shape into round flat cakes and fry brown on both sides, using the drippings for frying....

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Sanders.

Sanders.

Almost any kind of cold cooked meat may be used; preferably veal, mutton, or lamb. Season it with half a teaspoonful of salt, half the pepper, and all the onion juice. Put one tablespoonful of butter in a small frying-pan and set on the fire. When hot, add the flour, and stir until brown; then draw the pan back and gradually add the stock or milk, stirring all the time. Season with half a teaspoonful of salt and the remaining pepper. Put the meat in this sauce. Divide the mixture into six parts

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Small Timbales.

Small Timbales.

Have the meat free from bone, fat, and gristle, and chopped very fine. Mix all the seasonings and the bread crumbs with it. Now add the stock, and let it stand in a cool place for one or two hours. At the end of that time beat the egg well and mix it with the other ingredients. Butter four small timbale moulds,—small cups will do,—and pack the mixture into them. Put them in a pan and surround them with tepid water. Lay a piece of thick brown paper over the top. Place the pan in a moderate oven a

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Mutton Croquettes.

Mutton Croquettes.

Add the seasoning to the meat. Put the milk in a small pan and set on the fire. Beat the butter and flour together, and stir into the boiling milk. Now add the meat, and cook for two minutes, stirring often. Add one of the eggs, well beaten, and take from the fire at once. Pour the mixture on a plate and set away to get chilled. When it is chilled, shape the croquettes, and bread and fry them. The second egg and the crumbs are for use in breading. Any kind of tender cooked meat may be used inste

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Meat and Potato Croquettes.

Meat and Potato Croquettes.

Mix the meat, potatoes, and seasoning. Put the milk and butter in a frying-pan, and when the liquid boils up put in the meat and potatoes, and cook for one minute. Beat one egg well and stir it into the hot mixture. Take from the fire immediately, and, after pouring out on a plate, set away to cool. When cold, shape into cylinders about three inches long, and bread and fry. CROQUETTES READY FOR SERVING. The second egg and the crumbs are for the breading. Hominy or rice may be substituted for the

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Crust.

Crust.

Use any kind of cooked unsalted meat, and have it free from skin, bones, and fat. Put it in a stewpan. Put the vegetables and butter in a frying-pan, and cook for ten minutes. At the end of that time take the vegetables from the butter and put them with the meat. Into the butter remaining in the pan put half a tablespoonful of flour, and stir until smooth and frothy. Gradually add the stock or water, and stir until the sauce boils. Add this to the meat and vegetables, and place the saucepan on t

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How to Clean and Truss Poultry.

How to Clean and Truss Poultry.

Cut off the head, and then the legs, being careful in the latter case to cut in or below the joints. Now cut the skin on the back of the neck; then turn the skin over on the breast and cut off the neck. Take out the crop, being particular to remove all the lining membrane. Put the forefinger into the throat and break the ligaments that hold the internal organs to the breastbone. Next cut the bird open at the vent, beginning under the left leg, and cutting in a slanting direction toward the vent.

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Boiled Fowl.

Boiled Fowl.

A boiled fowl is one of the most satisfactory and economical dishes of poultry. The meat can be used in making a great variety of dishes, and the water in which the fowl was boiled may be used in soups, or for the foundation of meat, fish, and vegetable sauces. Select a short, plump, fat fowl. Singe and draw it, and wash it quickly in cold water. Put it in a stewpan, breast down, with boiling water enough to cover it. When the water begins to boil, skim thoroughly; then draw the stewpan back, wh

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Roast Chicken.

Roast Chicken.

Have all the materials for the dressing mixed together in a bowl, cutting the butter into small bits. Remember that there is no liquid used in this dressing. Clean the chicken and stuff the crop and body with the dressing. Truss the chicken and dredge it with salt. Rub soft butter over the breast and legs, and dredge thickly with flour. Place a rack in the dripping-pan, and, after laying the chicken on it, put in half a pint of hot water. Set the pan in a hot oven and baste the chicken every fif

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Roast Turkey.

Roast Turkey.

Prepare and cook the turkey the same as directed for roast chicken; cooking it, however, two hours and a half. It makes a pleasant change to stuff the crop with a mixture prepared as for sausage cakes. Fill the rest of the body with the usual dressing....

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Chicken Gravy.

Chicken Gravy.

Wash the giblets—that is, the neck, liver, etc.—and put them in a stewpan with the water. When the water boils, skim it. Simmer for two hours or more. There should be about half a pint of liquid at this time. Take up the giblets. Mash the liver until perfectly fine, and return to the liquid. Put the butter in a small frying-pan and place on the fire. When hot, add the flour, and stir until brown. Pour on this, gradually, the liquid in the saucepan, stirring all the time. Season with the salt and

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Turkey or Chicken Dressing.

Turkey or Chicken Dressing.

Soak the bread in cold water until soft; then press out all the water. Add all the other ingredients to the bread, and mix well. Fill the breast of the turkey or chicken with this, and put the remainder in the body of the bird....

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Breaded Chicken.

Breaded Chicken.

Use a chicken weighing about three or four pounds, and have it split down the back. Singe and wipe it. Let the tips remain on the wings. Turn the wings back and skewer them into place. Fasten the neck under the body. Press the chicken out flat, and press the legs back on the body, skewering them in this position. Season with the salt and pepper, and place in a dripping-pan. Rub the soft butter over the breast and legs, and then sprinkle the crumbs over the chicken. Place the pan in a hot oven an

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Fried Chicken.

Fried Chicken.

Singe the chicken and wipe it with a damp towel. Cut it into handsome joints. Season it with the salt and pepper, and roll it in the flour. Cut the pork into thin slices, and fry it slowly until all the fat has been extracted, then take out the pork. Draw the frying-pan to a hotter part of the range, and when the fat begins to smoke lay in the slices of chicken. Fry the chicken brown on all sides. It will take about half an hour to cook it. When it is done, arrange it on a warm platter. Put the

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Creamed Chicken.

Creamed Chicken.

Have the chicken free from skin, fat, and bones, and cut into long strips. Season it with half of the salt and pepper. Put the butter in a frying-pan and set on the fire. When hot, add the flour, and stir until the mixture is smooth and frothy. Now add the stock, stirring all the time, and when this boils gradually add the milk. Season the sauce with the remainder of the salt and pepper, and the onion juice. Put the chicken in this and simmer for ten minutes. This dish is suitable for breakfast,

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Creamed Turkey.

Creamed Turkey.

Prepare and serve cold roast or boiled turkey the same as chicken....

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Stewed Chicken.

Stewed Chicken.

Singe the chicken and cut it into handsome joints. Wash it, and, putting it in a stewpan with the water, place it on the fire. When the water begins to boil, skim carefully, and draw the stewpan back to a place where the liquid will just bubble at the side. Put the onion and butter in a small pan and cook gently for twenty minutes. Take the onions from the butter and add them to the chicken. Add half a tablespoonful of flour to the butter remaining in the pan, and cook until smooth and frothy. A

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Chicken Pie.

Chicken Pie.

Have the chicken free from fat, skin, and bones, and cut it in delicate pieces. Season it with half the salt and pepper. Put the butter in a frying-pan and place on the fire. Add the flour to the melted butter, and stir until smooth and frothy. Gradually add the stock, stirring all the time. Season with the remainder of the salt and pepper. Stir the chicken into the sauce, and turn into the dish in which the pie is to be baked. Set away to cool. When it is time to finish the pie, roll the paste

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White Fricassee of Chicken.

White Fricassee of Chicken.

Make this the same as the filling for chicken pie....

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Roast Duck.

Roast Duck.

Singe and wash the duck, and then wipe it. Season it with salt and pepper, and put half an onion in the body. Truss it, and dredge lightly with flour. Roast it in a hot oven for half an hour, and serve it with a hot currant sauce. This time will cook the duck rare, which is the proper way to cook all kinds of ducks. If, however, you prefer to have it well done, stuff it, and treat it exactly like roast chicken....

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Roast Grouse.

Roast Grouse.

Cut off the neck and wings close to the body. Cut off the feet in the joints, or just below; see that all the feathers are removed; then draw the bird and wash quickly in cold water. Peel the onion and cut it into four parts. Put these into the body of the bird and then truss it. Season with salt and pepper. Rub the butter over the breast and legs of the grouse, then dredge thickly with flour. Have the pork cut in thin slices and lay it over the breast, fastening it with small skewers or wooden

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Roast Partridge.

Roast Partridge.

Prepare and serve the same as grouse; but as it is white meat it must be well done. Cook it for forty-five minutes, and baste it every ten minutes with a gill of hot stock or water, in which have been melted two tablespoonfuls of butter....

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Roast Ptarmigan.

Roast Ptarmigan.

Cook and serve this exactly the same as grouse, except that it should be cooked but twenty minutes, being smaller than grouse....

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Broiled Small Birds.

Broiled Small Birds.

All birds that are to be broiled must be split in the back; the necks must be cut off, the birds wiped, and the legs drawn up over the breast. This will give a compact form to the bird. Now season with salt. Spread soft butter over the breast and legs, and then dredge thickly with flour. Put in the double-broiler and cook over clear coals, having the buttered and floured side toward the fire at first, that the two materials may unite and form a paste on the bird. Cook quail or squab for ten minu

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Fricassee of Rabbit.

Fricassee of Rabbit.

Have the rabbit skinned and drawn. Wash it, and then cut into joints. Next season it with the salt and pepper, and roll it in the flour, covering every part. Put the fat in a frying-pan and set on the fire. When hot, lay in the rabbit and cook it until brown on all sides. When the meat is well browned take it up. Into the fat remaining in the pan put such part of the flour as did not cling to the rabbit, and stir until brown. Gradually add the cold water, stirring all the time. When this boils u

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Curried Rabbit.

Curried Rabbit.

Prepare the rabbit as for fricassee. Add to the gravy one teaspoonful of onion juice, one heaping teaspoonful of curry-powder, mixed with a little cold milk or water. Always serve boiled rice with this dish....

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Broiled Venison.

Broiled Venison.

Have a venison steak cut an inch thick, and cook it the same as beefsteak. Season with butter, salt, and pepper. Serve currant jelly with the steak....

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Venison Steak Sauté.

Venison Steak Sauté.

Have the steak cut an inch thick. Put the butter in the frying-pan and set it on the fire. When hot, put in the steak. Cook for ten minutes, turning often. When it has been cooking for five minutes add the jelly and seasoning. Serve hot....

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Brown Sauce.

Brown Sauce.

Put the butter in a frying-pan and set on a hot fire. When the butter becomes hot, add the flour, and stir the mixture until it becomes smooth and turns dark brown. Draw the pan back to a cool part of the range, and stir the mixture until it cools slightly. Now gradually add the stock, stirring all the time. Move the pan back to a hot part of the range, and stir the sauce until it boils. Add the seasoning, and simmer for three minutes. It will then be ready to serve....

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Brown Sauce, No. 2.

Brown Sauce, No. 2.

Put the butter in a frying-pan and set on the fire. When it becomes smoking hot, add the flour, and stir until it turns dark brown. Draw the pan back, and gradually add the cold stock or water, stirring all the time. Add the other ingredients, and simmer for ten minutes; then strain and use. If there be no stock, and water be used, add a teaspoonful of beef extract. This sauce may be used with roasted or broiled meats, or when warming up meats; or it may be served with baked fish....

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Mushroom Sauce.

Mushroom Sauce.

Make a brown sauce and add to it half a small can of mushrooms, or four ounces of fresh ones. If canned mushrooms be used, simmer them for five minutes, but if fresh ones be used, simmer twice as long. Any large mushrooms should be cut up....

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White Sauce.

White Sauce.

Beat the butter to a cream, and then beat the flour with it until light and creamy. Add the salt, pepper, and onion juice, and beat a little longer. Pour the hot milk on this. Add the parsley, and place the saucepan on the range. Stir until the sauce boils. Cook for two minutes; then remove the parsley, and serve. A slight grating of nutmeg may be added to this sauce, if the flavor be liked. This sauce is good to serve with boiled fish and various kinds of meat and vegetables....

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Béchamel Sauce.

Béchamel Sauce.

Beat the flour and butter together. Pour the hot stock on the mixture. Add the seasonings, and place on the fire. Stir the sauce until it begins to boil; then move the saucepan back to a place where the contents will just bubble at the side for fifteen minutes. Add the cream; and when the sauce boils up, strain and serve....

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Mustard Sauce.

Mustard Sauce.

Beat the butter, flour, and mustard together until smooth and creamy. Pour the hot milk on this mixture, and place the saucepan on the range. Stir until the sauce boils. Add the salt and pepper, and serve. This sauce is nice to serve with broiled lobster, roasted or steamed clams, and other fish....

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Cream Sauce.

Cream Sauce.

Put the butter in a pan and set it on the fire. When it becomes hot, add the flour, and stir until smooth and frothy. Draw the pan back and gradually add the milk, stirring all the time. Set the pan back in a hotter place. Add the salt and pepper, and stir the sauce until it boils; then serve. It will not do to let this sauce simmer or stand for any length of time....

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Parsley Sauce.

Parsley Sauce.

Put one teaspoonful of minced parsley with the cream sauce. If the sauce be liked richer, a teaspoonful of butter may be added with the parsley....

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Egg Sauce.

Egg Sauce.

Boil the egg for ten minutes; then drop into cold water, keeping it there for five minutes. Remove the shell, and with a plated knife chop the egg rather fine. Put the butter in a small saucepan and beat to a cream. Beat the flour, salt, and pepper into this, and then pour on the boiling water. Cook for two minutes, and finally add the chopped egg and serve. This sauce is suitable for boiled fish....

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Butter Sauce.

Butter Sauce.

Make this sauce in the same way as directed for egg sauce, omitting the egg....

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Caper Sauce.

Caper Sauce.

Set on the fire a small stewpan containing two tablespoonfuls of butter. When the butter gets hot, add the flour, and stir until the mixture becomes smooth and frothy, being careful not to brown it. Draw the pan back and gradually add the water. Stir the sauce until it boils; then add the salt, pepper, and the remaining tablespoonful of butter. Boil for one minute; then add the capers, first taking out a few spoonfuls of the sauce to pour over the mutton....

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Curry Sauce.

Curry Sauce.

Put the butter and onion in a frying-pan and set on the fire. Cook slowly until the onion begins to turn a light straw-color. Now add the flour and curry-powder, and stir until frothy. Gradually pour in the milk, stirring all the while. When the sauce boils up, season with the salt and pepper, and add the half-pint of tender cooked meat, cut very fine. Chicken or turkey is particularly nice for this dish. Less meat can be used. Cook three minutes longer and serve with a dish of rice. The mode of

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Bisque Sauce.

Bisque Sauce.

Beat the butter and flour in a saucepan until smooth and light. Pour upon this mixture the hot stock, stirring all the time. Now add the salt, pepper-corns, onion, and parsley, and stir until the sauce boils; then cover, set back, and cook gently for ten minutes. Add the tomato, and cook for three minutes longer. Finally add the milk, and stir until it boils. Strain and serve at once....

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Hollandaise Sauce.

Hollandaise Sauce.

Beat the butter to a cream; then beat in the unbeaten yolks of the eggs. Add the lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Place the bowl in a pan of boiling water, and beat the sauce for two minutes. Add the boiling water, and continue beating until the sauce is thick and light. It will take about five minutes for this. Serve either in a warm bowl, or poured around or over the fish, meat, or vegetable....

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Tomato Sauce.

Tomato Sauce.

Put the tomatoes, onion, cloves, salt, and pepper in a stewpan and set on the range. Cook for ten minutes after the mixture begins to simmer. Put the butter in a small pan and set on the fire. When hot add the flour, and stir until smooth and frothy. Stir this into the tomatoes, and simmer for four minutes longer. Rub the sauce through a strainer fine enough to keep back the seeds. Serve hot....

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Tartar Sauce.

Tartar Sauce.

Beat the egg, salt, pepper, and mustard together until thick and light; then add the oil, a few drops at a time, beating after each addition of oil, until all is used. As the sauce thickens, add a few drops of vinegar to thin it. When the sauce is smooth and thick, stir in the minced pickle and capers. Tartar sauce may be served with many kinds of breaded, fried, and broiled fish or meat....

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Mint Sauce.

Mint Sauce.

Wash the mint and chop it fine. Put it in a dish with the vinegar and sugar, and let it stand for twenty minutes or longer. If the vinegar be very strong, half vinegar and half water may be used....

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Currant Jelly Sauce.

Currant Jelly Sauce.

Cook the butter and onion together for five minutes. Add the flour, and stir until smooth and frothy. Gradually add the stock, stirring all the time. When the sauce boils up, add the other ingredients, and simmer for five minutes. Strain, and serve hot. This sauce is for roast venison or mutton....

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Maître d’Hôtel Butter.

Maître d’Hôtel Butter.

Beat the butter to a cream; beat the lemon juice into this; then add the seasoning and parsley. This butter is not to be cooked. It should be spread on broiled meats or fish like plain butter. The heat of the food will melt it sufficiently....

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Bread Sauce.

Bread Sauce.

The bread used should be stale, and it should be dried in a warm—not hot—oven. When it is so dry that it will readily crumble, place it on a bread board, and with a rolling-pin crush it lightly; for about two thirds of the bread, when done, should be in the form of coarse crumbs. Measure out half a cupful of these crumbs, and, putting them in the flour sieve, rub all the fine crumbs through. Put these fine crumbs in the double-boiler with the milk and onion. Place on the fire and cook for half a

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Mayonnaise Dressing.

Mayonnaise Dressing.

Put the yolks of the eggs into a bowl, being careful not to let any of the white go in. Add the dry ingredients to the yolks, and place the bowl in a flat pan. Put a little cold water and ice in the pan. Beat these ingredients until light and thick; then begin to add the oil, a few drops at a time. Beat well between each addition of oil. When the mixture gets thick and ropy, a larger quantity of oil may be added each time. When the dressing is so thick that the beater turns hard, add a few drops

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Cooked Salad Dressing.

Cooked Salad Dressing.

Beat the eggs well, and stir into them the sugar, salt, and mustard, which should first be mixed together. Now add the vinegar, and place the bowl on the range in a saucepan of boiling water. Beat constantly with an egg-beater until the dressing becomes thick and light. Take from the fire at once, and turn into a cold bowl to prevent curdling; or the bowl in which it was cooked may be placed in a pan of ice water, and the mixture be stirred until cool. Beat the cream to a thick froth, and stir i

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French Dressing.

French Dressing.

Mix these ingredients together and the dressing is made. French dressing is particularly good for lettuce and cooked vegetables....

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Chicken Salad.

Chicken Salad.

Have tender cooked chicken, free from fat, skin, and bone, and cut into cubes. Season it with the vinegar, salt, pepper, and oil, and let it stand in the refrigerator for an hour or more. Clean the celery and cut it into thin slices. Put this in a napkin and surround it with ice. It should stand for ten or twenty minutes in the ice bath, and will then be crisp. Mix the celery, seasoned chicken, and half the dressing. Heap in a dish and mask it with the remainder of the dressing. Garnish the dish

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Lobster Salad.

Lobster Salad.

Make the same as chicken salad, substituting lobster for chicken and lettuce for celery....

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Fish Salads.

Fish Salads.

Any kind of cold fish may be combined with lettuce and the Mayonnaise dressing or cooked dressing. Oysters to be used for a salad should be heated to the boiling point in their own liquor; then skimmed, drained, seasoned, and thoroughly chilled before being combined with the celery or lettuce....

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Vegetable Salads.

Vegetable Salads.

Any kinds of vegetables may be used in salads. They may be seasoned with the French or cooked dressing. A single vegetable may be used, or several kinds be combined....

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Lettuce Salad.

Lettuce Salad.

Have the lettuce washed clean, and then let it remain for a little time in ice water to become crisp. Drain well, and dress it with the French, Mayonnaise, or cooked dressing. Serve at once. If you prefer, the lettuce may be served plain, each one dressing it to please himself....

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Tomato and Lettuce Salad.

Tomato and Lettuce Salad.

Soak the gelatine in the cold water for two hours. Heat the tomatoes to the boiling point, and stir the gelatine, sugar, and salt into the vegetable. Turn this mixture into a mould, and set away to harden. Have the lettuce washed and chilled. Arrange it in a flat dish, and turn the mould of tomatoes out upon it. Heap the dressing at the base of the mould. This salad may be made in winter when it is impossible to get the fresh tomatoes....

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Beet Salad.

Beet Salad.

Cold boiled beets may be cut into thin slices, and the slices into small pieces; or the beets may be cut into small cubes. Season with Mayonnaise sauce or the cooked salad dressing, and serve....

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Potato Salad.

Potato Salad.

Have the potatoes cut into cubes. Mix the oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, and onion juice together, and sprinkle over the potatoes. Stir lightly with a fork and set away in a cold place for several hours. At serving time add the celery and dressing, stirring lightly with a fork. Turn into a deep dish, and garnish with celery leaves or parsley....

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Potato Salad, No. 2.

Potato Salad, No. 2.

Mix the seasonings and dressing with the potato cubes. Turn into a dish, and garnish with parsley. Let the salad stand for an hour or more before serving, that the seasonings may strike through the potatoes. ALL vegetables should be put in boiling water when set on the stove to cook. Peas, asparagus, potatoes, and all delicately flavored vegetables should be only covered with water, but those with a strong flavor, like carrots, turnips, cabbage, onions, and dandelions, should be cooked in a gene

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Boiled Potatoes.

Boiled Potatoes.

Pare five or six potatoes and let them stand in cold water for an hour or more. Forty minutes before dinner time put them in a kettle and pour boiling water over them,—enough to cover. Put the cover on the kettle and cook the vegetables for half an hour, counting from the moment the water is poured over them. When they have been cooking for fifteen minutes, add one teaspoonful of salt. At the end of the half-hour pour off all the water and set the pan on the back part of the range. Cover the pot

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Stewed Potatoes.

Stewed Potatoes.

Have the potatoes and bacon sliced thin. Spread half the meat on the bottom of a round baking dish. Put half of the potatoes into the dish and sprinkle half of the seasoning over them; then spread in the other half, and use the remainder of the seasonings. Mix the water with the flour, and pour this into the dish. Now spread the remainder of the bacon on top of the potatoes. Cover the dish closely, and, putting into a moderately hot oven, cook for forty-five minutes. At the end of that time take

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Stewed Potatoes, No. 2.

Stewed Potatoes, No. 2.

Pare and cut into cubes enough potatoes to make a quart, and let them stand in cold water for one hour. Cut the pork into thin slices, and fry slowly until crisp and brown; then take from the pan. Add the flour to the hot fat, and stir until smooth and brown; then gradually add the water, and boil for three minutes. Season with the salt and pepper. Drain the potato cubes free from water, and, after putting them in a stewpan, pour the sauce over them and lay the slices of pork on top. Cover the s

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Potatoes au Gratin.

Potatoes au Gratin.

Have cold boiled potatoes cut into small regular cubes. Season them with half the pepper and salt. Put one teaspoonful of the butter in a small frying-pan and set on the fire. When hot, add the flour, and stir until smooth and frothy; then gradually add the stock. When this boils, add the milk and the remainder of the salt and pepper, and boil up once. Put a layer of this sauce in a small escalop dish; then put the potatoes in the dish and pour the remainder of the sauce over them. Sprinkle the

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Hashed Potatoes.

Hashed Potatoes.

Season the potatoes with the salt and pepper. Put the butter in the frying-pan and set on the fire. When hot, add the potatoes. Stir and cut the potatoes with a case knife until they are hashed fine and have become hot and slightly browned. Serve in a hot dish. Ham, sausage, or pork fat may be substituted for the butter....

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Nichewaug Potatoes.

Nichewaug Potatoes.

Season the potato cubes with the salt and pepper. Put a tablespoonful of ham, bacon, pork, or sausage fat in the frying-pan, and set on the fire. When hot, put in the potatoes and stir frequently with a fork until they become brown. When the potatoes are done, turn them into a hot dish and sprinkle a tablespoonful of finely chopped cooked ham over them. Serve very hot....

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Lyonnaise Potatoes.

Lyonnaise Potatoes.

Season the potatoes with the salt and pepper. Put the butter and onion in the frying-pan, and cook slowly until the onion begins to turn a delicate straw-color. Now add the potatoes, and cook over a hot fire for five minutes, stirring with a fork. Add the parsley, and cook for one minute longer. Serve very hot....

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Potato Cakes.

Potato Cakes.

Shape cold mashed potatoes into round, flat cakes. For six cakes put one tablespoonful of butter in a frying-pan, and place on the fire. When the butter is hot, put in the potato cakes and cook until brown on both sides. A tablespoonful of either pork, ham, or sausage fat may be used instead of the butter....

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Potato Croquettes.

Potato Croquettes.

Boil the potatoes for thirty minutes; then drain them and mash fine and light. Beat in the seasoning, milk, and butter. Let the mixture cool slightly; then roll into cylinders or balls. Beat the egg in a soup plate. Coat the croquettes, one at a time, with the egg, then roll in dried bread crumbs. When all are done, fry in hot fat until they are brown,—about a minute and a half. Drain on brown paper and serve at once....

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Boiled Sweet Potatoes.

Boiled Sweet Potatoes.

Potatoes of medium size should be cooked for one hour; very large ones should be boiled for an hour and a half, or be cut into several parts....

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Baked Sweet Potatoes.

Baked Sweet Potatoes.

Wash the potatoes and bake from an hour to an hour and a quarter in a moderately hot oven. The longer they bake, the sweeter and moister they will be....

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Browned Sweet Potatoes.

Browned Sweet Potatoes.

Boil for half an hour three potatoes of medium size. On taking them from the water pare them. Now cut them in two, lengthwise, and lay them in the pan under a piece of roasting meat. Season them with salt, and let them cook for half an hour. Serve in a hot dish. Or, the potatoes may be boiled for three quarters of an hour, paired and split, then laid in a baking pan, seasoned with salt, and finally spread with soft butter. It will take one tablespoonful of butter for three potatoes. Bake in a ho

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Warming over Sweet Potatoes.

Warming over Sweet Potatoes.

Cold boiled sweet potatoes may be warmed in several ways. Cut them in halves, season with salt, and put in the frying-basket. Fry in deep fat for five minutes; then season with salt and serve. Another way is to cut them in thick slices lengthwise, dip them in melted butter, season with salt and pepper, dredge lightly with flour, and broil over clear coals. Serve on a hot dish. Still another mode is to cut them in round slices, season with salt and pepper, and fry in pork or bacon fat....

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Boiled Onions.

Boiled Onions.

Put the onions in a saucepan with plenty of boiling water and cook for one hour. If milk be plentiful, pour off the water when the onions have been cooking for half an hour, and add just enough hot milk to cover them. Simmer for half an hour longer; then season with salt, pepper, and butter, and serve. For half a dozen small onions use one tablespoonful of butter, one teaspoonful of salt, and one fourth of a teaspoonful of pepper....

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Creamed Onions.

Creamed Onions.

Boil three or four onions for one hour in two quarts of boiling water into which one teaspoonful of salt has been sprinkled. Pour off the water and cut up the onions. Put them in a hot dish and pour half a pint of cream sauce over them. Serve hot....

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Onions au Gratin.

Onions au Gratin.

Prepare the creamed onions and put them in an escalop dish. Cover them with a gill of grated bread crumbs and dot with a teaspoonful of butter. Bake for twenty minutes in a quick oven....

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Sliced Tomatoes.

Sliced Tomatoes.

Select smooth, ripe tomatoes. Drop them into boiling water for one minute, then into cold water. This will make the skin come off easily. Put them on a plate and in a cool place,—on the ice if possible. At serving time cut them in slices and place on a cold dish....

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Stewed Tomatoes.

Stewed Tomatoes.

Put all the ingredients, except the butter, in a stewpan, and cook for twenty minutes. Add the butter, and cook for ten minutes longer. One pint of fresh tomatoes may be cooked in the same manner. The crackers may be omitted. Long cooking makes the tomatoes thicker and dark, but for most tastes this is not desirable....

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Tomatoes au Gratin.

Tomatoes au Gratin.

Reserve the grated bread crumbs and half a teaspoonful of the butter. Mix all the other ingredients together and turn into a small baking dish. Sprinkle the grated bread crumbs over this. Cut the butter into small bits, and sprinkle over the crumbs. Bake in a moderately hot oven for half an hour, and serve hot....

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Beets.

Beets.

Beets, when young and fresh, will cook in forty minutes, but as they grow larger they require longer cooking. The time has to be increased as the season advances, and in winter beets require from two to three hours’ boiling. Wash them in cold water, being careful not to break the skin or little tendrils. Put them in boiling water and cook until done,—the time depending upon the season. Lay them in cold water and rub off the skin; then slice them into a hot dish, and season with salt and butter.

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Boiled Turnips.

Boiled Turnips.

Pare and cut up enough of the small flat white turnips to make one quart. Let them stand in cold water for an hour or more. Pour off all the water and turn the turnips into a stewpan containing two quarts of boiling water. Cook for just thirty minutes and then pour off all the water. Put into the saucepan with the turnips, butter, sugar, salt, and one gill of boiling water. Place the saucepan on the hottest part of the fire and cook the turnips rapidly until all the liquid has been absorbed, sha

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Mashed Turnips.

Mashed Turnips.

Pare one yellow turnip or six white ones and cut in slices. Put in a large stewpan with a generous supply of boiling water. If white turnips be used, cook them for half an hour; but if the yellow kind be taken, cook for fifty or sixty minutes. Too little water and too much cooking will make any turnips’ strong-flavored, and give them a dark color. When the turnips are done, drain off all the water and mash them well. Season with salt, pepper, and butter....

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Boiled Carrots.

Boiled Carrots.

Scrape and cut into cubes enough raw carrots to make a quart. Cook them for one hour in three quarts of boiling water, and then proceed as directed in the rule for boiled turnips. White stock may be substituted for the gill of boiling water. Turnips, carrots, and green peas, cooked in this manner, and then mixed together, make a handsome and savory dish. Success in cooking these vegetables depends upon their being boiled in plenty of water, and for only the time mentioned; also in cooking very r

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Parsnips.

Parsnips.

Scrape and slice the parsnips, and let them stand in cold water for an hour or more. Drain them and put them in a stewpan with plenty of boiling water. Cook them, if fresh, for forty-five minutes; but if they have been out of the ground any length of time they will require an hour’s cooking. When they have been boiling for half an hour, add a teaspoonful of salt for about a pint of the parsnips. Drain, and season them with salt and butter; or, pour a butter or Béchamel sauce over them....

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Salsify.

Salsify.

Cook this vegetable the same as parsnips....

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Boiled Cauliflower.

Boiled Cauliflower.

Remove the leaves from the cauliflower, and place it head downward in a pan of cold water, to which add one tablespoonful of salt. Let it stand in a cold place an hour or more. Have about three quarts of boiling water in a stewpan and put the cauliflower into it head down. Cover, and cook gently for thirty minutes. At the end of this time drain the cauliflower and put it in a deep dish. Dredge lightly with salt, and pour the sauce over it....

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Cauliflower au Gratin.

Cauliflower au Gratin.

With a fork, break the cauliflower into small pieces; then sprinkle the salt and pepper over it. Put a layer of sauce in a small escalop dish, next a layer of cauliflower, then a second layer of sauce, then cauliflower, and finish with sauce. Cover this with the bread crumbs and dot with the butter. Bake in a moderately hot oven for twenty minutes....

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Green Corn.

Green Corn.

The fresher the corn is, the less time it will take to cook. It should be freed from husks and the silk threads. Have a large saucepan nearly full of boiling water. Drop the corn into this, and cook for ten minutes. Serve in a napkin....

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Canned Corn.

Canned Corn.

Put all the ingredients in the double-boiler, and heat to the boiling point; it will take about ten minutes. Serve at once. Too much cooking spoils this dish....

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Corn Oysters.

Corn Oysters.

Mix the flour, seasoning, and corn together. Add the butter, melted, and beat well. Beat the egg till light, and add to the mixture. Fry on a griddle, in cakes a little larger than a silver dollar. Serve with the meat course at breakfast....

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String Beans.

String Beans.

String the beans and then break them into pieces about an inch long. Wash them, and let them stand in cold water for an hour or more. Cook them in plenty of boiling water for two hours. When they have been cooking for one hour add one teaspoonful of salt for each quart of beans. When done, pour off all the water and add to the beans one tablespoonful of butter and four tablespoonfuls of boiling water. If not salt enough, add a little more seasoning. Return to the fire for three minutes; then ser

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Butter Beans.

Butter Beans.

These are cooked the same as string beans....

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Fresh Lima Beans.

Fresh Lima Beans.

Wash the beans and let them stand in cold water for an hour or more. On draining off the cold water, put them on to boil in three pints of boiling water. Cook for one hour; then drain off nearly all the water and add the seasonings. Serve hot....

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Dried Lima Beans.

Dried Lima Beans.

Put the beans to soak over night in one quart of cold water. Two hours before dinner time pour off the water, and, putting the beans in a stewpan with a quart of boiling water, let them simmer gently for an hour and fifty minutes. At the end of that time pour off the water, and add the salt and butter and a gill of boiling water. Let them stand in the saucepan on the back part of the stove until serving time....

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Dried Lima Beans, No. 2.

Dried Lima Beans, No. 2.

Soak and cook the beans as in the recipe just given; then drain off all the water, and add the seasoning and milk, having the latter hot. Simmer for ten minutes and serve....

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Succotash of Dried Lima Beans and Canned Corn.

Succotash of Dried Lima Beans and Canned Corn.

Soak the beans over night, and then cook them in one quart of clear water for an hour and fifty minutes. Pour off the water, and, after adding the seasoning, milk, and corn, cook for three minutes after the mixture begins to boil. Serve very hot....

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Shelled Kidney Beans.

Shelled Kidney Beans.

Prepare the same as fresh Lima beans, but cook for one hour and a half....

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Baked Beans.

Baked Beans.

Pick the beans free from stones and dirt. Wash them, and let them soak over night in three quarts of cold water. In the morning pour off the water and wash the beans in fresh water; then put them in a stewpan with cold water enough to cover them generously, and place on the fire. Have the pork mixed lean and fat. Score the rind. Put the pork in the stewpan with the beans, and simmer until the beans begin to crack open,—not a minute longer. Drain all the water from them and rinse with cold water.

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Green Peas.

Green Peas.

The time of cooking green peas depends upon the age and the length of time they have been picked. If they be young and freshly picked, they will cook in twenty minutes; but it may take forty or fifty if they have matured too much, or have been picked for a day or more. They should not be shelled many hours before they are cooked. Wash the pea pods and drain them, then shell them. Put them in a stewpan with just enough boiling water to cover them, and cook until tender. They must not boil rapidly

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Canned Peas.

Canned Peas.

Turn the peas into a strainer, and pour cold water over them until they are thoroughly rinsed. Put them in a saucepan with the other ingredients, and simmer for ten minutes....

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Asparagus on Toast.

Asparagus on Toast.

Cut off the tough white ends of a bunch of asparagus. Now cut the string that ties the bundles together, and put the asparagus in a colander. Let cold water run on it until it is perfectly free from sand. Tie again in a bundle, and put it in a stewpan with one tablespoonful of salt and enough boiling water to cover it. Cook gently for half an hour. Toast three slices of bread, and dip the edges in the water in which the asparagus was cooked. Arrange these on a warm platter, and spread the aspara

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Asparagus with Cream Sauce.

Asparagus with Cream Sauce.

Cut up enough of the tender ends of asparagus to make one quart. Put these in the colander, and let cold water run on them until every particle of sand is removed. Put them in a saucepan with one quart of boiling water and one teaspoonful of salt, and cook gently for half an hour; then drain, and, after putting in a warm vegetable dish, pour the cream sauce over them. To make the sauce, put the butter on the fire, in a pan, and when it is melted add the flour. Stir until smooth and frothy; then

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Spinach.

Spinach.

Pick over the spinach, removing all the roots and brown leaves. Have two pans filled with cold water. Put the spinach in one pan and wash it, a few leaves at a time, dropping it into the second pan of water. When all is done, turn the water from the first pan, which should at once be rinsed and filled again with clean water. Continue washing the spinach in this way until there is not a grain of sand left in it. This you learn by passing the hand over the bottom of the pan. Put the cleaned spinac

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Greens.

Greens.

Greens of all kinds are cooked in about the same way that spinach is, but they all require boiling water enough to cover them, and most of them require a much longer time to boil. A small piece of salt pork or smoked bacon, or a shank of ham, is often boiled in the water for two or more hours before the greens are put in to cook. This meat is served with the greens, which require no seasoning except salt....

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Hashed Cabbage.

Hashed Cabbage.

Take all the green and broken leaves from a small head of cabbage. Then divide the cabbage into eight parts, cutting from the top down to the stalk. Wash it and let it stand in cold water for an hour or more. Put it in a large kettle of boiling water and boil rapidly for forty-five minutes. The kettle must not be covered. When the cabbage is done, drain, and put in a chopping bowl. Mince rather fine and season with the salt and butter. If the cabbage be fresh from the garden, half an hour’s cook

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Creamed Cabbage.

Creamed Cabbage.

Let the cabbage stand in cold water for an hour or more; then drain off the water and put the cabbage in a stewpan with two quarts of boiling water. Cover, and cook for ten minutes. At the end of that time pour off the water and put in two quarts of fresh boiling water. Cook rapidly, with the cover off, for about three quarters of an hour. When that time has passed, put the cabbage in a colander and press out all the water; then cut it with a sharp knife. Put the butter in a frying-pan and set o

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Baked Cabbage.

Baked Cabbage.

Boil and hash the cabbage, as directed for hashed cabbage. Sprinkle with the salt and pepper, and mix lightly with a fork. Turn into a baking dish and spread over it the pork cut in thin slices. Bake for half an hour in a moderate oven. Serve in the dish in which it is cooked....

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Fried Cabbage.

Fried Cabbage.

Boil the cabbage as for hashed cabbage, and mince rather fine. Add the seasoning. Put the butter or drippings in a frying-pan and set on the fire. As soon as the butter is melted, put in the cabbage and cook one hour, stirring often, and having the pan covered. Serve very hot....

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Squash.

Squash.

Pare the squash and remove the seeds and the stringy substance from the inside. Cut it into small pieces, and place in a stewpan with enough boiling water to cover it. Cook for thirty-five minutes; then drain off the water, and mash fine. Season with salt, pepper, and butter. For a pint of mashed squash use a teaspoonful of salt and one tablespoonful of butter. Serve very hot. The squash may be steamed instead of boiled; in which case cook it for fifty minutes....

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Summer Squash.

Summer Squash.

Get a tender fresh squash. If the rind be very tender do not pare it. Cut up the squash and steam for one hour; then rub it through a colander into a saucepan. Place the saucepan on the fire, and to each pint of the strained squash add one tablespoonful of butter and one teaspoonful of salt. Cook for five minutes, and serve hot....

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Fried Egg Plant.

Fried Egg Plant.

Pare the egg plant and cut it in slices about half an inch thick. Season with the salt. Beat the egg in a soup plate, and dip a slice of egg plant in it, covering every part of it; then dip the slice in fine dry crumbs. Continue this until all the egg plant is breaded. Have the frying fat three or four inches deep, and when it is so hot that blue smoke rises from the centre put two slices of the vegetable in, and cook for about three minutes. Take up and drain on brown paper; then serve....

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Boiled Macaroni.

Boiled Macaroni.

Macaroni varies as to the time it will take to cook. Half an hour is the usual time, but it often requires forty-five minutes. Break it into pieces two or three inches long, and drop it into a saucepan of boiling water. Boil rapidly until tender, having the saucepan uncovered. When it has been cooking for fifteen minutes, add a teaspoonful of salt for every two ounces of macaroni. When done turn it into a colander to drain; then put it into a hot dish, and pour half a pint of sauce over it. The

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Macaroni with Cheese.

Macaroni with Cheese.

Boil and drain the macaroni. Add the sauce to it, and put into an escalop dish. Cover with the cheese, and bake for half an hour....

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Baked Hominy.

Baked Hominy.

Wash the hominy in three waters, and stir it into the boiling water, into which the salt should be sprinkled. Boil gently for one hour, having the cover on the stewpan, and stirring often. Now add the butter, cold milk, and the egg, well beaten, and bake in a moderate oven for one hour. Three gills of cold boiled hominy may be substituted for the fresh article. This is to be served with meat or eggs for breakfast, luncheon, or dinner....

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Boiled Rice.

Boiled Rice.

Wash the rice by putting it in cold water and rubbing it hard between the hands. Do this three times. Drain off all the water, and put the rice in a large stewpan with the boiling water. Place it where it will boil all the time with the stewpan uncovered. When it has been cooking for fifteen minutes add the salt; but do not stir it, for rice is spoiled if stirred during the cooking. When it has boiled for twenty-five minutes, turn it into a colander and drain off all the water. Place the colande

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Baked Rice.

Baked Rice.

Add the egg, well beaten, to all the other ingredients, and bake slowly for half an hour....

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Rice Croquettes.

Rice Croquettes.

Put the milk, rice, butter, and seasoning on to boil. Beat one egg till light, and stir it into the boiling mixture. Cook for one minute, stirring all the time. Turn the mixture out on a plate, and set away to cool. When cold shape into small cylinders. Beat the second egg in a soup plate. Cover the croquettes, one at a time, with the beaten egg, then roll in dried bread crumbs. Fry in deep fat for one minute and a half. Drain on brown paper, and serve at once....

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Vegetable Hash.

Vegetable Hash.

When the above-named vegetables, or any other kinds, such as parsnips and carrots, are left over from a boiled dinner, chop them separately and rather coarse. Season them with salt and pepper, the amount depending upon how well the vegetables were seasoned when served hot. Mix them together. Put the corned beef fat in a frying-pan and set on the fire, and when it is melted add the vegetables and cover the pan. Place on a moderately hot part of the range, and cook for half an hour, stirring frequ

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Celery.

Celery.

Celery should be kept in a cool place, but it must not be wrapped in wet paper or kept in water. Break the blades from the stalks, and scrape off any brown spots that may be found; next wash the celery, and let it stand in ice-water for ten or twenty minutes to become crisp. Put it in a celery dish with some bits of ice, and serve at once....

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How to Keep Lettuce Crisp.

How to Keep Lettuce Crisp.

Lettuce can be kept crisp and fresh for several days, if necessary, by placing the roots in water. Do not let the water come up as high as the leaves. When ready to serve the lettuce, wash it leaf by leaf in a pan of cold water, and drop it into another pan of ice-water. It will become crisp in a few minutes. Shake the water from the leaves before serving....

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Boiled Eggs.

Boiled Eggs.

THE white and yolk should be equally well cooked in a boiled egg, the white being soft and creamy. Put the eggs in a deep saucepan, and pour over them a generous amount of boiling water,—one quart or more of water for four eggs. Cover the saucepan, and set on a part of the range where it is so cool that the hand can rest on it comfortably. At the end of ten minutes the eggs will be cooked to a soft creamy consistency. If the eggs be liked medium well done, cook for five minutes longer; if to be

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Poached Eggs.

Poached Eggs.

Put in a frying-pan boiling water to the depth of two or three inches. To each pint of water add a teaspoonful of salt and a teaspoonful of vinegar. Have the water just bubbling at one side of the pan. Break an egg close to the pan, and drop it gently into the water. Continue putting in eggs until you have the required number. When the white of the egg is set, slide a cake-turner under the egg, and lift it from the water. Slide it upon a slice of buttered toast. In most parts of New England eggs

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Fried Eggs.

Fried Eggs.

These are usually served with ham, but they may be served separately. Put into a pan any kind of clean sweet fat; ham or bacon fat is generally considered as the best. Have the fat about a quarter of an inch deep in the pan. Break the eggs separately, and slide them gently, one at a time, into the hot fat. With a long spoon dip up the fat and pour over the eggs. As soon as the whites are set, slide a cake-turner under the eggs and place them on a warm dish. They may be arranged on slices of ham,

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Scrambled Eggs.

Scrambled Eggs.

Beat the eggs with a spoon. Add the salt. Put the butter on the fire, in a frying-pan, and when hot stir in the eggs. Continue stirring until the eggs begin to set. Instantly turn them into a warm dish and serve....

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Eggs au Gratin.

Eggs au Gratin.

Mix the salt, pepper, cheese, and butter with the crumbs. Beat the white of one egg to a stiff froth; then add the yolk and beat for a moment longer. Stir this egg mixture into the other ingredients. GRATIN DISH. Butter a gratin dish—or a small pie plate will do—and make little nests in it with the preparation. Cook in rather a hot oven for ten minutes. Take from the oven, and then break a fresh egg into each nest. Return to the oven and cook for three minutes longer. If there be objection to ch

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Baked Eggs.

Baked Eggs.

Butter a gratin dish, or a deep pie plate, and break the required number of eggs into it. Put the plate in a moderate oven, and cook until the white is set. It will take from five to eight minutes to bake the eggs. Pretty round and oval dishes come for this purpose. They are made of French china, and are fireproof....

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Breaded Eggs.

Breaded Eggs.

Boil four of the eggs for ten minutes. Drop them into cold water and remove the shells. Cut the eggs in halves, lengthwise, and season them with the salt and pepper. Beat the uncooked egg in a soup plate. Dip the halves of eggs in this, and then roll in the bread crumbs. At serving time put the breaded eggs in the frying basket, and plunge into hot fat. Cook for about two minutes; then drain, and serve on a hot dish with the bisque sauce poured around them....

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Creamed Eggs.

Creamed Eggs.

Cut the eggs into thin slices. Cut the slices of toast in halves, and lay them in a warm platter. Put the butter on the fire, in a frying-pan, and when it becomes hot add the flour. Stir until the mixture is smooth and frothy. Gradually add the cold milk, stirring all the time. When this boils up, add the salt and pepper. Mix the eggs with the sauce and spread on the toast. Bake in a moderate oven for six minutes and serve immediately....

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Egg Cutlets.

Egg Cutlets.

Put four of the eggs in a deep saucepan, and fill up with boiling water. Cover, and let them stand on the hearth or the coolest part of the range for twenty minutes. At the end of this time pour off the hot water and cover with cold water. Remove the shells and cut the eggs in two, lengthwise, using a plated knife. Let a soup plate stand in hot water until heated through. Put the butter, salt, and pepper in this plate, and stir until the butter is melted. Beat the fifth egg in another soup plate

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Plain Omelet.

Plain Omelet.

Beat the egg enough to break it well, but not to make it light. Have the omelet pan warmed, and put the butter in it. Place over a very hot fire. As soon as the butter becomes so hot that it turns slightly brown, pour the eggs into the pan. With the left hand lift the pan a little at the handle side, tipping it forward slightly, so that the liquid egg shall flow to the other side. As soon as the egg begins to set, draw it up to the raised side of the pan. While the egg is yet quite soft, begin t

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Baked Omelet.

Baked Omelet.

Heat one gill of the milk to the boiling point. Mix the corn starch with the half-gill of cold milk and stir into the boiling milk. Cook for one minute, stirring all the time. Add the salt and butter, and take from the fire. Beat the yolks and whites of the eggs separately; then stir them into the cooked ingredients. Turn the mixture into a buttered baking dish and cook in a moderate oven for about twelve minutes. Serve at once....

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Bread Omelet.

Bread Omelet.

Have the bread free from crust. Pour the boiling water over it. When soft, add the salt and milk, and break up with a spoon. Beat the yolks and whites of the eggs separately, and stir into the bread mixture. Put the butter in a frying-pan of good size, and set on the fire. When hot, turn in the omelet, and cook until it begins to set; drawing it back a little, as you would a plain omelet. Fold, and brown slightly. Turn out on a hot dish, and serve at once....

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Welsh Rarebit.

Welsh Rarebit.

Break the cheese into small bits. Beat the egg, and add the other ingredients to it. Put the mixture in a small saucepan, which place in another of boiling water. Stir over the fire until the mixture becomes a smooth, creamy mass. Immediately spread this on the hot toast, and serve. The rarebit can be made on the table in the chafing dish....

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Roasted Oyster Crackers.

Roasted Oyster Crackers.

Melt the butter in the water; then stir the crackers into the mixture, that they may all get a slight coating of butter and water. Spread them in a shallow pan and put in a hot oven for ten or twelve minutes. They should be brown and glossy at the end of that time. Serve in a deep dish with oyster soup or oyster stew....

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Fried Bread.

Fried Bread.

Cut slices of stale bread into half-inch squares. Put into a small frying-pan or granite-ware saucepan six tablespoonfuls of lard, and set on the fire. When the lard is so hot that it smokes all over, put in one square of the bread. If this becomes browned in one minute and a half, the lard is hot enough; if it is not hot enough, make another test very soon. Now put in the rest of the squares of bread,—there should be about half a pint. Fry until brown, which will be in about a minute and a half

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Maple Syrup from Sugar.

Maple Syrup from Sugar.

Break up a pound of maple sugar and put it in a saucepan with half a pint of hot water. Boil for ten minutes. Pour into a pitcher, and when cold, cover, and put in a cool place. It is well to buy maple sugar in the spring and keep it in a cool, dry place for use in making syrup until the fresh syrup comes the next year....

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Batter for Fruit Fritters.

Batter for Fruit Fritters.

Mix the dry ingredients together. Add the milk, and beat the batter until light and smooth. Add the butter, and beat again. Finally add the egg, well beaten. This batter will answer for any kind of fruit....

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Apple Fritters.

Apple Fritters.

Core and pare large tart apples. Cut them in slices about one third of an inch thick. Season the slices with nutmeg, then dip them in the batter. Lift them, one by one, from the batter and drop gently into hot fat. Cook for three minutes; then lift from the fat, drain, and serve immediately. Powdered sugar may be sprinkled on the fritters when they are arranged on the dish. Peaches, bananas, oranges, grapes, pears, etc., may be cooked in the form of fritters....

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Milk Toast.

Milk Toast.

Mix the flour with one gill of cold milk. Put the remainder of the milk in the double-boiler and set on the fire. When the milk boils, stir in the flour mixture, and cook for ten minutes. Toast the bread till it is nicely and evenly browned. Stir the salt and butter into the cooking mixture; then dip the slices of toast in it. Lay the toast in a deep warm dish and pour the remainder of the cream over it. Cover the dish and serve. Indian, brown, or graham bread may be used for this toast....

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Baked Toast.

Baked Toast.

For this toast use a flat dish, such as comes for baking eggs, or a meat platter of stone china. Toast the bread and spread it, one slice deep, in the platter. Cover it with cold milk, and put in a moderately hot oven. When the milk is boiling hot, add bits of butter, and let the toast cook for one minute longer. Serve in the dish in which it was cooked. If salt be liked, sprinkle a little on the toast before the milk is added. Allow one pint of milk and one teaspoonful of butter to five slices

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Soft Butter Toast.

Soft Butter Toast.

Toast stale bread till nicely browned. Dip it quickly into hot salted water, spread it with soft butter, and serve. The butter must be only soft enough to spread easily. It will spoil it to melt it. Use one teaspoonful of salt to a quart of boiling water....

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Cracker Cream Toast.

Cracker Cream Toast.

Toast crackers and drop them into a cream, made as for milk toast. Let them soak in this for ten minutes; then dish and serve. The crackers will be more delicate if they be soaked in cold water and toasted as for butter toast before being put in the cream....

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Cracker Butter Toast.

Cracker Butter Toast.

Split Boston butter crackers and soak them in cold water until they begin to swell. Remove them from the water and drain on a plate. Arrange in the double-broiler and toast brown on both sides. Butter, and serve at once on a hot dish....

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Mush.

Mush.

Time was when the housekeeper was limited to three or four kinds of material for mush; but that is all changed, and the market is filled with many different preparations of wheat, oats, corn, etc. Each new article is pronounced by its makers to be the best. One of the principal recommendations which each manufacturer claims for his product is that it can be cooked in a short time. Many good articles that are prepared for the table by the printed directions on the package, calling for about ten m

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Oatmeal Mush.

Oatmeal Mush.

Stir the boiling water; then sprinkle in the oatmeal, stirring all the time. After adding the salt, cover the stewpan, and set back where the contents will cook gently for half an hour or longer. Do not stir the mush after the first five minutes....

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Corn Meal Mush.

Corn Meal Mush.

Put the meal in a stewpan and gradually pour the boiling water upon it, stirring all the time. Add the salt, and put the stewpan where the mush will cook gently for an hour or more. Stir frequently, and keep the stewpan covered....

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Fried Mush.

Fried Mush.

Mix the dry ingredients well in a stewpan and pour the boiling water on them, stirring all the time. Beat vigorously and cook slowly for three hours, keeping the stewpan covered. At the end of that time dip a small bread-pan in cold water, and pour the mush into it, packing smoothly. Set away to cool. In the morning turn the mush out on a board and cut in slices about half an inch thick. Roll these in dry flour and fry in hot fat until brown. Drain on sheets of brown paper, and serve very hot...

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Boiled Hominy.

Boiled Hominy.

Wash the hominy in two or three waters, and stir into the boiling water. Add the salt. Cover the stewpan, and set where the hominy will cook gently for half an hour or more. Stir frequently. Use the fine breakfast hominy. This mush may be served with sugar and milk, or as a vegetable, with meat....

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Fried Hominy.

Fried Hominy.

Cook the hominy as directed in the rule for boiled hominy. Wet a deep dish and pour the hot hominy into it. When cold, cut in slices about half an inch thick. Roll the sliced hominy in flour. Put two tablespoonfuls of sweet drippings in the frying-pan and place on the fire. When the fat is hot, lay in the slices of hominy. Cover the pan, and cook until brown on one side; then turn, and brown on the other. It will take about twenty minutes’ time to brown the hominy. Serve very hot. Bacon or ham f

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Hominy Cakes.

Hominy Cakes.

Beat the hominy well with a fork, and add the seasonings and the egg, well beaten. Shape with the hands into small, flat cakes, and, after sprinkling these lightly with flour, fry them until brown on one side, and then turn and brown on the other side. Beef, pork, ham, bacon, or sausage fat may be used for frying. Do not use more than the tablespoonful. These cakes are good for breakfast, luncheon, or tea....

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Fruit Sauces.

Fruit Sauces.

All kinds of fruit may be used for sauces. The juicy fruits will require but little water, whereas the dry ones will need a great deal. The amount of sugar used in these fruit sauces depends upon the acidity of the fruit and the taste of the family. If the fruit is to be kept whole, add the sugar when the fruit is put on to stew, and cook slowly. Never cook fruit in tin. Fruit sauces that are to be served with meats should have very little sugar added to them....

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Baked Sweet Apples.

Baked Sweet Apples.

Wash and wipe the apples. Put them in a deep earthen dish, with water enough to come up about an inch. Sprinkle sugar over the apples and bake in a moderate oven for two hours. Baste them twice with the water in the dish. Six apples will require two tablespoonfuls of sugar and a scant half-pint of water....

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Baked Sour Apples.

Baked Sour Apples.

Wash, wipe, and core six large apples, and place them in a deep earthen dish. Fill the holes with sugar, and sprinkle two extra tablespoonfuls over the apples. Pour a gill of hot water into the dish. Bake in a moderately hot oven until tender. It will take about an hour’s time to cook them....

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Broiled Apples.

Broiled Apples.

Pare, core, and cut tart apples in slices about half an inch thick. Dip the slices into melted butter, and broil them over rather a bright fire. When soft, put them on a warm dish and sprinkle with sugar. Serve at once....

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Fried Apples.

Fried Apples.

Pare and slice the apples. Put the drippings in a frying-pan and set on the fire. When hot, add the apples. Cover the pan and cook until the apples are tender, turning them often. Add the sugar, and cook ten minutes longer. These are particularly good when served hot with fresh pork....

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Green Apple Sauce.

Green Apple Sauce.

Pare, quarter, and core some tart apples and put them in a granite-ware or porcelain stewpan. Nearly cover them with water; then cover the stewpan and place on the fire. Cook until the apples are tender, and season with sugar. The exact time of cooking and the amount of sugar cannot be stated for any given measure of apples, because some apples cook so much more quickly than others, and some require more sugar. Should you wish to have the pieces of apple kept whole in the cooking, add the sugar

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Evaporated Apple Sauce.

Evaporated Apple Sauce.

Wash the apples and let them soak over night in the quart of cold water. In the morning put the apples and water in a granite-ware or porcelain stewpan; cover, and place on rather a cool part of the range. Cook gently for one hour; then add the sugar, and cook for half an hour longer. There should be water enough to cover the apples generously when they are put on to stew. Do not stir this sauce. The juice of a lemon may be added if you choose....

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Evaporated Peaches.

Evaporated Peaches.

Cook this fruit the same as the evaporated apples....

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Evaporated Apricots.

Evaporated Apricots.

This fruit is to be cooked the same as evaporated apples....

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Baked Pears.

Baked Pears.

Wash the pears and put them, with the water and sugar, in a deep earthen dish. Cover the dish and bake the pears in a slow oven for three hours....

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Stewed Prunes.

Stewed Prunes.

Put the prunes in a bowl of cold water. Wash them one by one by rubbing them between the hands, and drop them into a bowl of cold water. Wash them in this second water and put them in a stewpan. To half a pound of prunes add one quart of cold water. Place the stewpan on the range and cook the prunes slowly for two hours or more. When done, they will be plump and tender. Turn them into a bowl and put in a cool place....

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Cranberry Sauce.

Cranberry Sauce.

Pick over the cranberries. Wash them, and put in a granite-ware or porcelain stewpan; then add the water and the sugar. Cook the sauce rapidly for ten or fifteen minutes; then turn into a bowl and set away to harden. This gives a sauce that will jelly. If liked softer, use a little more water....

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Cranberry Jelly.

Cranberry Jelly.

Make the same as cranberry sauce, but cook five minutes longer; then rub through a strainer fine enough to keep back the seeds....

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Rhubarb Sauce.

Rhubarb Sauce.

Rhubarb may be stewed or baked. Pare and wash the stalks and cut them in pieces about an inch long; then put in a granite-ware stewpan. To a quart of the rhubarb add one gill of sugar and one gill of water, and stew gently until done; then turn into an earthen bowl. Another way is to put the rhubarb, water, and sugar in an earthen dish, cover the dish, and bake in a moderate oven for an hour and a half. If the sauce be liked sweet more sugar may be used....

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Dumplings.

Dumplings.

Mix the dry ingredients and rub through a sieve. Wet with the milk, and stir quickly into the form of a smooth ball. Sprinkle the bread board with flour and roll the dough into a sheet about three quarters of an inch thick, which should then be cut into small cakes. If the dumplings are to be cooked with the stew, set the stewpan where the contents will cook rapidly, and arrange the dumplings on top of the stew. Cover the pan, and cook for exactly ten minutes. If they are to be steamed, place th

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Hop Yeast.

Hop Yeast.

Put a tablespoonful of hops in one quart of cold water and place on the fire. Now pare and grate into a tin pan three large uncooked potatoes. When the hops and water begin to boil, strain the boiling water on the grated potatoes. Place the pan with the potatoes and hop-water on the stove, and stir until the mixture boils up. Take from the fire, and add one tablespoonful of salt and two of granulated sugar. Let this mixture stand until it is blood warm; then add half a cupful of liquid yeast, or

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Bread Made with Dry Yeast.

Bread Made with Dry Yeast.

For three Loaves. For three small loaves there will be required two quarts of flour, one pint and a gill of blood-warm water, one yeast cake, one tablespoonful of sugar, two tablespoonfuls of butter or lard, and one teaspoonful of salt. Sift the flour in the bread pan. Break up the yeast cake and put it in a quart bowl; then add a gill of the water, and mash with a spoon until the yeast and water are well mixed. Beat in one gill of the flour. Cover the bowl and set in a warm place for two hours.

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Water Bread.

Water Bread.

Sift the flour into the bread bowl. Take out half a cupful to use in kneading. Put the salt, sugar, and half the butter in the flour. Dissolve the yeast and mix with the flour. Beat well with a strong spoon. Sprinkle flour on the board and knead the dough for twenty minutes or half an hour. Return to the bowl, and rub the remainder of the butter or lard over it. Cover with a clean towel; then put a tin or wooden cover on the bowl and raise and finish as directed in the rule for bread made with d

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Potato Bread.

Potato Bread.

Cover the potato with boiling water and cook for thirty minutes. Take it up and mash fine and light; then pour the boiling water on it. Let this stand until it is blood-warm; then beat into it the yeast, sugar, and a pint and a half of flour. Beat well for ten minutes; then cover the dough and set it in a warm place to rise. It will take between four and five hours. When the dough has risen to a light sponge, add the salt and butter or lard to it, and beat well. Sprinkle the board with flour, tu

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Entire-wheat Bread.

Entire-wheat Bread.

Sift the flour into the mixing bowl, but take out a gill to use in kneading. Dissolve the yeast in the water. Mix the salt, sugar, and butter with the flour, and stir in the yeast and water. Beat well; then knead for twenty minutes or half an hour. Cover, and set to rise. Finish the same as water bread. This bread must be mixed as soft as possible and should be baked thoroughly. Bake a loaf of medium size one hour and a quarter....

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Graham Bread.

Graham Bread.

Sift the meal and flour into the mixing bowl, turning in the bran also. Dissolve the yeast in the water, and add the salt and molasses to it. Turn this mixture out on the flour, and beat the dough vigorously for twenty minutes or longer. Cover the bowl and let the dough rise over night. In the morning wet the hand in cold water and beat the dough for five or ten minutes; then shape, and put in a well buttered pan. Let it rise to nearly double the original size, and bake for an hour and a half, h

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Rye Bread.

Rye Bread.

Substitute rye meal for graham, and proceed exactly as directed for graham bread....

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Rye Bread, No. 2.

Rye Bread, No. 2.

Make this bread as directed for entire-wheat bread, substituting fine rye flour for the entire-wheat flour....

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Boston Brown Bread.

Boston Brown Bread.

Sift all the meal into a bowl. Put the milk, molasses, and salt into a bowl. Dissolve the soda in the cold water and add to the liquid ingredients. Stir this into the meal and beat vigorously for five minutes or more; then put into a well buttered brown-bread tin and steam for five hours; or the batter may be put into three one-pound baking-powder cans. They will steam in less time than if in the large loaf. Whatever sort of tin the loaf be steamed in, it must have a cover. It will do no harm to

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Steamed Indian Bread.

Steamed Indian Bread.

Sift the meal and flour into the mixing bowl, and add the salt. Mix the milk and molasses together. Dissolve the soda in the water and stir into the milk and molasses. Add this to the flour and meal, and beat well. Now add the butter, melted, and turn the batter into a well buttered bread pan. Cover the pan and place in the steamer. Cook for four hours and a half. Take the pan from the steamer, and cook in a moderate oven for half an hour longer. This bread is delicious served hot from the oven,

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Pulled Bread.

Pulled Bread.

Tear the crust from a part of a loaf of baker’s bread. Now tear the crumb of the loaf into long, thin pieces. Spread the torn bread in a pan and put in a hot oven to become brown and crisp. It will take about fifteen minutes. Serve hot with cheese. Pulled bread is also nice with chocolate or coffee....

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Rolls from Bread Dough.

Rolls from Bread Dough.

It is almost impossible to shape and raise rolls for an early breakfast, but if one have a cold room or a refrigerator the rolls can be put in the pan the night before, and they will then be ready to bake for breakfast. Reserve about a pint and a half of the risen bread dough and work into it a tablespoonful of butter or lard. Put the dough in a bowl; cover it with a plate and place the bowl in the refrigerator or in a cold room. In the evening shape the dough into rolls and rub a little soft bu

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Sponge Rolls.

Sponge Rolls.

Sift the flour into a bowl; then add the salt and sugar. Melt the butter in the warm water (be sure it is not above 100°), and add the yeast. Put this mixture with the flour, and beat thoroughly with a strong spoon. Cover the bowl and let the dough rise over night. In the morning butter a French-roll pan and half fill each compartment with the sponge, being careful not to break it down unnecessarily. Let the rolls rise for an hour and bake them in a moderately hot oven for half an hour....

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Parker House Rolls.

Parker House Rolls.

Boil the milk, and let it cool. Sift the flour into the mixing bowl. Mix the salt and sugar with the flour. Make a hole in the middle of the flour, by drawing it back to the sides of the pan. Pour the milk very gently into this place, being careful not to wet the flour above the point where the milk will come when it is all poured in. Now add the dissolved yeast, stirring gently at the bottom of the pan. Cover the bowl and set in a warm place for four hours; then stir the mixture until a dough i

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Milk Rolls.

Milk Rolls.

Boil the milk, and add the butter, sugar, and salt to it. Let the mixture stand until it becomes blood-warm; then add the yeast. Pour this new mixture on the flour, and beat well with a strong spoon; then knead on the board for twenty minutes. Return the dough to the bowl, and cover closely,—first with a towel, then with a tin or wooden cover. Set in a warm place over night. In the morning shape in either long or cleft rolls, and let these rise in the pans for an hour and a quarter, or until the

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Luncheon Rolls.

Luncheon Rolls.

Make the dough for milk rolls. In the morning work it well in the bowl; then sprinkle the board lightly with flour, and roll the dough down to the thickness of a quarter of an inch. Spread this with soft butter and roll up as for a jelly roll. Cut from this slices about an inch thick, and set them on end in a buttered baking-pan. Have the rolls a little way apart and let them rise to double the original size. Bake them in a moderately hot oven for twenty-five minutes....

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Baking Powder Biscuit.

Baking Powder Biscuit.

Mix thoroughly in a sieve the flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder, and then rub through the sieve. Rub the butter and lard into this mixture. Have the oven very hot, the pans buttered, the board, cutter, and rolling pin ready. Now add the milk to the mixture, stirring quickly and vigorously with a strong spoon. Sprinkle the board with flour and turn out the dough upon it. Roll down to the thickness of about half an inch and cut with a small cutter. Bake in a quick oven. Do not crowd the biscui

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Quick Luncheon Rolls.

Quick Luncheon Rolls.

Follow the rule for baking powder biscuit; then roll the dough thin, spread it with soft butter and roll up like jelly roll. Cut the roll into slices about three quarters of an inch thick and set them on end in a baking-pan, having them a little way apart. Bake them in a quick oven for about fifteen minutes....

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Pin Wheels.

Pin Wheels.

Make the dough for milk rolls, and when it has risen, roll it as thin as possible. Spread it with soft butter and sprinkle over this half a cupful of sugar and one tablespoonful of cinnamon mixed together. Roll up like a jelly roll and cut into slices about half an inch thick. Place these slices in a well buttered pan and let them rise to double the original size. Bake in a moderately hot oven for twenty-five minutes. If you prefer, a baking powder biscuit dough may be used and the pin wheels be

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Crumpets.

Crumpets.

Put the flour, salt, and sugar in a bowl. Add the water and yeast, and beat vigorously for fifteen minutes. Cover the bowl, and set in a warm place over night. In the morning beat in the melted butter and pour the batter into buttered muffin pans. Let the crumpets rise for an hour, and bake them for half an hour in a moderate oven. If you choose you may add the butter to the mixture at night. In that case the risen sponge may be taken out by spoonfuls, being careful not to break it down, and the

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Sally Lunn.

Sally Lunn.

Sift the flour and mix with it the sugar and salt. Heat the milk to about a hundred degrees, and dissolve the butter in it. Dissolve the compressed yeast in two tablespoonfuls of tepid water, and stir into the milk and butter. Separate the parts of the egg, and beat the white until light; then beat the yolk well. Add the milk mixture and the egg to the flour, and beat well. Pour this batter into a well buttered cake pan. Cover, and let it rise in a warm place for two hours. Bake for half an hour

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Flour Pop-overs.

Flour Pop-overs.

MUFFIN CUP. Pop-overs should always be baked in stone or earthenware cups that come for the purpose, the former being by far the better. Have a dozen cups buttered and arranged in an old dripping-pan. Put the sifted flour, sugar, and salt in a mixing bowl. Beat the eggs until very light; then add the milk to them. Pour this mixture on the flour, only half of it at first, and beat until the batter is smooth and light, say for about five minutes. Pour the batter into the cups and bake in a moderat

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Rye Pop-overs.

Rye Pop-overs.

Make these the same as flour pop-overs, only bake them one hour....

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Graham Pop-overs.

Graham Pop-overs.

Made the same as the rye, substituting graham for rye....

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Wheat Gems.

Wheat Gems.

Beat the egg till it is light, and add the milk to it. Add half of this mixture to the flour, salt, and sugar. Beat well, and add the remainder of the milk and eggs; then beat for five minutes longer. Pour the batter into hot buttered gem-pans and bake in a quick oven for twenty-five minutes....

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Raised Wheat Muffins.

Raised Wheat Muffins.

Put the flour, salt, and sugar in a deep earthen bowl. Boil the milk and add the butter to it. Let this mixture stand until only tepid; then add the milk, butter, and yeast to the flour, and beat well. Cover the bowl and let it stand in rather a cool part of the kitchen, unless the weather be very cold; in which case it will be necessary to keep the bowl in a warm place. When morning comes, the batter will be found to have risen to a light sponge. Beat the egg till very light and add it to this

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Sour Milk or Buttermilk Muffins.

Sour Milk or Buttermilk Muffins.

Melt the butter in a hot cup. Put the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. Beat the egg till it is light. Dissolve the soda in the water and add it to the milk. Stir well, and add to the dry mixture; then add the egg, and finally the melted butter. Beat well and pour into hot buttered gem-pans. Bake for twenty minutes....

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Graham Muffins.

Graham Muffins.

Mix the graham, flour, salt, and baking powder together, and rub through a sieve. Beat the egg till very light, and add the milk and molasses to it. Turn this mixture on the dry ingredients, and beat vigorously for about a minute. Fill a dozen well buttered muffin cups with the batter, and bake in a moderately hot oven for half an hour. Sugar may be substituted for the molasses. These muffins, when cold, are good for luncheon or dinner....

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Rye Muffins.

Rye Muffins.

Make them the same as graham muffins....

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Graham Muffins with Sour Milk.

Graham Muffins with Sour Milk.

Make in the same way flour muffins are made, and bake for half an hour....

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Rye Muffins with Sour Milk.

Rye Muffins with Sour Milk.

Make these the same as graham with sour milk, substituting rye meal for graham....

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Cream of Tartar Muffins.

Cream of Tartar Muffins.

Mix all the dry ingredients and rub them through a sieve and into a bowl. Add the milk, and then the butter and lard, melted. Beat quickly, and put into heated and buttered iron gem-pans. Bake for fifteen minutes in a quick oven. If more convenient, two scant teaspoonfuls of baking powder may be substituted for the soda and cream of tartar. With these ingredients a dozen muffins can be made....

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Blueberry Muffins.

Blueberry Muffins.

Make these the same as cream of tartar muffins, using, however, two tablespoonfuls of sugar, and lightly stirring into the batter half a pint of blueberries....

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Yellow Corn Meal Muffins.

Yellow Corn Meal Muffins.

Mix all the dry ingredients and rub them through a sieve and into a bowl. Melt the butter in a hot cup. Beat the egg till light. Add the milk to it and turn this mixture into the bowl containing the dry ingredients. Add the melted butter, and beat quickly and vigorously. Pour into buttered muffin pans and bake for half an hour in a moderate oven....

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White Corn Meal Muffins.

White Corn Meal Muffins.

Put the butter in a hot cup and pour the boiling water over it. Set on the back part of the stove. Mix all the dry ingredients and rub through a sieve and into a bowl. Beat the egg till light, and add the milk to it. Stir this mixture into the dry ingredients. Add the melted butter and water. Pour into buttered muffin pans and bake for half an hour in a moderate oven. With these ingredients a dozen muffins can be made....

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Corn Bread.

Corn Bread.

Mix all the dry ingredients together and rub through a sieve. Beat the egg till light, and add the milk to it; then pour this mixture on the dry ingredients, which should be beaten well. Now add the butter, first melting it in the hot water. Pour the batter into a well buttered pan and bake for half an hour in a moderately hot oven....

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Spider Corn Cake.

Spider Corn Cake.

FRYING-PAN. Have a small short-handled, cast-iron frying-pan heating on the top of the stove. Put all the dry ingredients, except the soda, in a sieve and rub through into a bowl. Dissolve the soda in half a cupful of the sweet milk, and add it to the sour. Stir this mixture and the well beaten egg into the dry ingredients. Butter the hot frying-pan with the one tablespoonful of butter, and pour the batter into the pan. Now pour the other half cupful of milk, slowly and gently, over the mixture

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Corn Dodgers.

Corn Dodgers.

Put the meal, salt, sugar, and butter in a bowl and pour the boiling water on the mixture. Beat the batter vigorously for two or three minutes; then shape it with the hands into small, flat cakes. Have in the frying-pan hot fat to the depth of half an inch. When it is smoking hot, put in the cakes and fry on one side until brown, then turn and brown on the other side. Serve very hot....

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Baltimore Hominy Bread.

Baltimore Hominy Bread.

Wash the hominy, and stir it into the pint of boiling water. Add the salt, and boil gently for one hour, stirring often; or half an hour will do, if you can afford no more time. Take the cooked hominy from the fire and beat the butter into it; then add the milk, and beat for four or five minutes. Beat the eggs till light, and add them to the other ingredients. Butter a deep earthen plate and pour the mixture into it. Bake in rather a hot oven for half an hour. Serve in the dish in which it is ba

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Buckwheat Cakes.

Buckwheat Cakes.

Put the buckwheat, meal, and salt in a deep pail, and add to the mixture the water, yeast, and molasses. Beat vigorously for twenty minutes. Cover the pail and set in a warm place until morning. In the morning rub the soda through a fine sieve, letting it fall on the batter. Beat well. Fry on a griddle, serving as soon as cooked. Reserve one pint of the batter for raising the next batch of cakes. It should be kept in the refrigerator or the cellar. Remember that success in making buckwheat cakes

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Sour Milk Griddle Cakes.

Sour Milk Griddle Cakes.

Dissolve the soda in the water and stir into the sour milk. Add the flour, salt, and sugar, and beat well; then add the egg, well beaten, and the butter, melted. If there be plenty of sour cream, use a gill, and omit the butter. Put the cream in the measure and then fill up with the sour milk....

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Baking Powder Griddle Cakes.

Baking Powder Griddle Cakes.

Mix all the dry ingredients and rub through a sieve. Pour the milk upon them, and beat well. Add the butter, and beat a minute longer. Fry in small cakes on a griddle....

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Sour Milk Indian Griddle Cakes.

Sour Milk Indian Griddle Cakes.

Make these the same as flour griddle cakes, using half flour and half corn meal....

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Sour Milk Graham Griddle Cakes.

Sour Milk Graham Griddle Cakes.

Make these the same as the Indian, substituting an equal quantity of graham for corn meal....

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Hominy Griddle Cakes.

Hominy Griddle Cakes.

Put the hominy and half the salt in the boiling water, and cook for half an hour, stirring frequently. At the end of that time take from the fire and add to it the milk, flour, and remainder of the salt, and beat vigorously for fifteen minutes; then add the eggs, whites and yolks beaten separately. Fry in very small cakes on a hot griddle....

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Hominy Griddle Cakes with Sour Milk.

Hominy Griddle Cakes with Sour Milk.

Have the hominy freshly cooked or warmed over. Dissolve the soda in the cold water and stir into the sour milk. Add the flour, salt, and hominy, and beat well; then put in the egg, also well beaten. Fry in small cakes....

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Ground Rice Griddle Cakes.

Ground Rice Griddle Cakes.

Put the milk on to heat in the double-boiler. Mix the rice flour with one gill of the water and stir into the boiling milk. Cook for twenty minutes, stirring often. Turn the cooked mixture into a large bowl and stir occasionally while cooling. This is to prevent the forming of a crust on the batter. When cold, add the salt and sugar, and the soda, dissolved in half a gill of cold water. Now beat in the flour. Finally add the eggs, whites and yolks beaten separately. Fry in small cakes on a hot g

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Blueberry Griddle Cakes.

Blueberry Griddle Cakes.

Dissolve the soda in the cold water. Stir this into the sour milk. Now add the flour and salt, and beat well. Stir the berries in very gently. Fry the same as any other griddle cakes....

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Bread Griddle Cakes.

Bread Griddle Cakes.

Soak the bread in the milk for several hours, then rub it through a colander. Add the seasonings, the soda, dissolved in a tablespoonful of cold water, and then the flour. Beat well, and add the eggs, well beaten. Fry on a moderately hot griddle. These cakes take longer to cook than the ordinary batter cake. If eggs be dear, use two more tablespoonfuls of flour, and omit one egg....

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Raised Flannel Cakes.

Raised Flannel Cakes.

Boil the milk and pour it on the corn meal. Let this stand until it becomes tepid. Add the yeast, and pour the liquid mixture on the dry ingredients. Beat well; then cover the bowl and let it stand in a warm place over night. In the morning add the egg, white and yolk beaten separately. Fry the cakes on a griddle....

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Waffles.

Waffles.

Warm the milk, and melt the butter in it. Let the mixture cool to about blood-heat. Beat the yolks of the eggs till light, and add the milk and butter to them. Pour this mixture on the flour and beat well. Beat the whites of the eggs to a froth, and stir them into the batter. Add the salt. Have the waffle-iron hot and well greased, and fry the waffles at once. Serve them the moment they are taken from the irons. WAFFLE-IRON. If eggs be scarce, use one egg and half a teaspoonful of baking powder.

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Hominy Waffles.

Hominy Waffles.

Stir the butter and salt into the hot hominy. Gradually beat in the milk; then let the mixture cool. Mix the baking powder with the flour, and sift into the hominy mixture. Beat well; then add the eggs, well beaten, and cook in hot irons. Serve the waffles the instant they come from the irons....

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Raised Wheat Waffles.

Raised Wheat Waffles.

Boil the milk, and, after adding the butter to it, let the mixture stand until cool. Put the flour, sugar, and salt in a bowl. Add the milk and yeast, and beat well for fifteen minutes, or even twenty. Let this batter rise over night. In the morning add the egg, well beaten. Have the waffle-irons hot and well greased, and cook the cakes quickly. They should be served the moment they come from the irons. They will be sufficiently cooked as soon as they are browned on both sides....

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Raised Fruit Cake.

Raised Fruit Cake.

Dissolve the soda in the cold water and work into the dough. Now add the butter, sugar, nutmeg, wine, and the eggs, well beaten. Mix all thoroughly, and then beat in the flour. Stir in the raisins, and put into a deep well buttered bread-pan to rise for one hour. Bake for an hour and a half in a moderately hot oven....

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Spice Cake.

Spice Cake.

Beat the butter to a cream. Gradually beat into it the sugar, then the spice and lemon, and next the molasses. Now dissolve the soda in one tablespoonful of cold water, and stir it into the sour milk. Add this and the egg, well beaten, to the other ingredients. Lastly, add the flour, and beat briskly for half a minute. Pour into a well buttered pan, and bake in a moderate oven for about fifty minutes. This cake will keep moist for a week or ten days. If one like fruit, half a cupful of stoned ra

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Blackberry Jam Cake.

Blackberry Jam Cake.

Beat the butter to a cream, then beat in the sugar. When very light, beat in the jam and nutmeg. Dissolve the soda in one tablespoonful of cold water, and add it to the sour cream. Add this and the egg, well beaten, to the other ingredients. Now add the flour, and beat for half a minute. Sprinkle a tablespoonful of flour over the raisins, and stir them in lightly. Pour the batter into a well buttered pan, and bake for fifty minutes. This makes one small loaf. This cake may be put away to be used

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Rich Sponge Cake.

Rich Sponge Cake.

Grate a little of the lemon rind into a deep saucer. Squeeze the juice on this. Beat the yolks of the eggs and the sugar together until the mixture is a light, spongy mass. Add the lemon juice and rind, and beat a little longer. Beat the whites of the eggs with a whisk until a thick white froth is formed. Cut the flour and whites of eggs into the sugar and yolks, adding only a little at a time, and doing the work lightly and gently, so as not to break down the frothy egg. Pour the mixture into a

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Plain Sponge Cake.

Plain Sponge Cake.

Beat the eggs together until light. Add the sugar, and beat with a spoon for ten minutes or longer. The sugar and eggs must be beaten until they form a light, spongy mass. Add the juice of the lemon, and beat a little longer. Dissolve the soda in the cold water. Mix the cream of tartar with the flour. Stir the water and soda into the egg mixture; then add the flour. Beat well, and pour into the pans and bake. These materials will make two sheets, or one sheet and a small, round loaf, or one shee

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Corn Starch Cake.

Corn Starch Cake.

Beat the butter to a cream, and gradually beat the sugar into it. Beat the eggs separately, and stir them into the creamed sugar and butter. Dissolve the soda in the milk, and add this. Mix together the flour, corn starch, and cream of tartar, and add to the other ingredients. Flavor the batter, and beat vigorously for a few seconds; then turn into a well buttered shallow cake pan. Bake for thirty minutes in a moderate oven. A good flavor for this cake is one tablespoonful of lemon juice and a l

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Angel Cake.

Angel Cake.

Mix the cream of tartar with the flour, and sift four times. Beat the whites of the eggs to a stiff, dry froth. Sift the powdered sugar on the eggs, and beat for three minutes. Add the vanilla. Gradually add the flour, and beat it in quickly. Pour the batter into an ungreased pan, and put into rather a cool oven. Bake for about forty minutes. When the cake is baked, take the pan from the oven and invert it, letting it rest on a sieve or rack, so that there shall be a current of air under and ove

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Rich Cup Cake.

Rich Cup Cake.

Beat the butter to a cream, and gradually beat the sugar into it. Beat the eggs separately, and add to the sugar and butter. Dissolve the soda in the milk, and stir into the mixture. Now add the flour, in which the cream of tartar should be mixed. Flavor with any spice or extract you like, or with the grated yellow rind of a lemon and one tablespoonful of the juice. Pour the batter into a buttered pan, and bake in a moderate oven for forty-five minutes, if in a deep loaf; but if in a sheet, thir

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Plain Cup Cake.

Plain Cup Cake.

Beat the butter to a cream, and gradually beat the sugar into it. Add the egg, unbeaten, and beat the mixture vigorously for three or four minutes. Add the flavor and milk, and lastly the flour, in which the soda and cream of tartar should be thoroughly mixed. Pour the batter into a shallow cake pan, and sift powdered sugar over it. Bake in a moderate oven for twenty-five minutes....

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Cold Water Cake.

Cold Water Cake.

Beat the butter to a cream, and gradually beat into it the sugar. Add the yolks of the eggs, and beat well. Dissolve the soda in the water, and add to the mixture. Beat vigorously until the water will not separate from the other ingredients. Now beat in the spice. Beat the whites of the eggs to a stiff froth, and add them to the mixture. Now add the flour, and finally stir the fruit in lightly. Bake in one deep loaf, or in a thick sheet. If in a loaf, cook for one hour; if in a sheet, about thir

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Swiss Cake.

Swiss Cake.

Measure the butter scantily, and make it soft in a warm bowl. Beat the sugar into it. Have the eggs well beaten, and then beat them with the sugar and butter for five minutes. Add the flavor, then the milk, and finally the flour, in which the baking powder should be mixed. Bake for about twenty-five minutes in a buttered, shallow pan. The cake is to be eaten fresh....

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Tea Cake.

Tea Cake.

Beat the butter until soft. Beat the sugar into it. Add the unbeaten egg, and beat vigorously for five minutes. Add the nutmeg and milk, then the flour, in which the baking powder should be mixed. Beat vigorously for a few seconds, and pour into a buttered cake-pan. Bake in a moderately hot oven for twenty minutes, and serve warm....

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Blueberry Cake.

Blueberry Cake.

Mix the baking powder, sugar, and salt with the flour, and rub through a sieve. Rub the butter into this mixture. Beat the egg till light, and add the milk to it. Add this to the dry ingredients, and beat well. Now add the berries, stirring as little as possible. Spread the mixture in a well buttered shallow baking pan, having it about an inch and a half thick. Bake in a moderately hot oven for about twenty-five minutes. Serve hot. The batter may be put in buttered muffin tins, and baked for abo

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Hermits.

Hermits.

Beat the butter to a cream, and gradually beat in the sugar and spice. Dissolve the soda in the milk, and beat this into the sugar and butter. Add the egg, well beaten, and finally the flour and currants. Roll out about an inch thick, and cut in squares. Bake in rather a quick oven for about twelve minutes. The sugar should be the soft maple. The clove may be omitted. If maple sugar is not to be had, white sugar may be used....

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Maple Sugar Gingerbread.

Maple Sugar Gingerbread.

Break up enough maple sugar to fill a half-pint cup. Put this into a saucepan with a gill of boiling water, and boil until reduced to half a pint; then cool. Beat the butter to a cream, and beat in the syrup and flavors. Dissolve the soda in one tablespoonful of cold water, and stir it into the sour milk. Add this and the egg, well beaten, to the other ingredients. Now add the flour. Beat well for half a minute and pour into a well buttered pan. This quantity will make one small loaf or a thin s

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Soft Molasses Gingerbread.

Soft Molasses Gingerbread.

Beat the egg till very light and beat the sugar into it, working vigorously for three minutes; then add the molasses, spice, and salt, and beat for two minutes longer. Dissolve the soda in the cold water, and stir into the sour cream. Add this and the flour to the other ingredients, and beat vigorously for half a minute. Pour into a well buttered shallow pan and bake in a moderately hot oven for twenty-five minutes. If you cannot get sour cream, use sour milk and two tablespoonfuls of melted but

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Soft Molasses Gingerbread, No. 2.

Soft Molasses Gingerbread, No. 2.

Put the molasses and butter in a tin pan and set on the stove. When the mixture boils up, add the soda and ginger, and take from the fire immediately. Add the milk, the egg well beaten, and the flour, and beat well. This will fill three round deep plates, or one shallow cake pan and a plate. Bake in rather a quick oven for twenty minutes....

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Soft Molasses Gingerbread, No. 3.

Soft Molasses Gingerbread, No. 3.

Put the molasses, butter, soda, and ginger in a tin pan, and place on the stove for two minutes; then add the boiling water and the flour. Beat vigorously for five minutes, and then turn into a buttered shallow cake pan and a deep tin plate. Bake in a quick oven for twenty minutes....

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Clinton Doughnuts.

Clinton Doughnuts.

Here is a rule which gives doughnuts that will keep moist and good for several days:— In the evening beat the butter to a cream and beat the sugar and spice into it. Beat the eggs until light, and stir into the mixture of butter and sugar. Dissolve the soda in half a tablespoonful of cold water. Stir this mixture into the sour milk and add all to the sugar, butter, and eggs. Now stir in the flour. Cover the mixture and set it away in a cold place until morning. In the morning sprinkle the mouldi

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Dropped Doughnuts.

Dropped Doughnuts.

Beat the white of the egg to a stiff froth and beat the yolk and sugar with it for three minutes. Add the seasonings, next the milk, and finally the flour, in which the baking powder should be mixed. Beat well. Drop a teaspoonful of this mixture into hot fat and cook for about four minutes, turning the doughnuts frequently. Lift them from the fat with a wire spoon or a fork. Do not stick the fork into them. When they are drained, sprinkle them with powdered sugar. Be careful not to have the fat

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Strawberry Short Cake.

Strawberry Short Cake.

For the Cake. Mix the dry ingredients together and rub twice through a sieve. Rub the butter through this mixture; then wet with the milk. Butter a large, deep tin pie plate. Divide the dough into two parts and roll them out the size of the plate. Lay them in the plate, one on top of the other, and bake in a quick oven for twenty minutes. On taking the two cakes from the oven, tear them apart. Place the under one on a warm plate and butter well; upon this spread one pint of strawberries, slightl

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Strawberry Short Cake, No. 2.

Strawberry Short Cake, No. 2.

For the Cake. Beat the butter to a cream; then gradually beat in the sugar. Now add the unbeaten egg, and beat the mixture vigorously for three or four minutes. Beat in the milk and then the flour, in which the baking powder should be mixed. Bake this batter in two well buttered deep tin plates. They will require about twenty minutes’ time in a moderate oven. When baked, put them on plates to cool....

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Filling.

Filling.

Measure the gelatine generously and put it in a cup with the cold water. Let it soak for an hour or more; then place the cup in a pan of boiling water and stir until the gelatine is dissolved. Have the whipped cream in a bowl and set it in a pan of ice water. Stir the sugar and dissolved gelatine into it. Continue stirring this mixture until it thickens. Spread half of this cream on one of the cakes, and on this spread about two thirds of the strawberries. Put the second cake on top of this. Spr

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Icing.

Icing.

Put the unbeaten white of the egg into a bowl, and gradually beat into it the powdered sugar. When smooth and light, add the water and sugar. Spread smoothly on the cake and let it stand in a cool place until it hardens. If in a hurry to have it harden, omit the water....

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Chocolate Icing.

Chocolate Icing.

Make the white icing. Shave one ounce of plain chocolate and put it into a small pan with three tablespoonfuls of powdered sugar and one of boiling water. Stir over a hot fire until smooth and glossy, and then stir this into the icing. If it seems too thick, add a few drops of water. Do not use the lemon in the white icing when the chocolate is to be added....

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Delicate Paste.

Delicate Paste.

Mix all the dry ingredients together and rub through a sieve into a bowl. Add the butter and lard, and cut and mix with a knife until the shortening is in fine bits. Now add the cold water, still stirring with a knife. Sprinkle the board lightly with flour, and turn the paste out upon it. Roll down into a square sheet about one fourth of an inch thick. Fold up and roll down again. Do this four times; then put away to chill. This paste is suitable for meat and fruit pies, baked dumplings, tarts,

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Plain Paste.

Plain Paste.

Make this the same as delicate paste, except that it is to be rolled but twice. This paste answers for meat and fruit pies when one does not wish to use pastry as rich as the delicate paste....

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Mince Meat.

Mince Meat.

Put the beef in a small stewpan and just cover with boiling water. Cook for three hours, having the water only bubble at one side of the stewpan. Take from the fire and let the meat cool in the water, with the cover off the stewpan. When cold, remove all fat and gristle, and chop the meat rather fine. Put it in a large bowl with all the other ingredients except the cider, and mix thoroughly. Now add the cider, and let the mixture stand in a cold place over night. In the morning turn the mince me

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Apple Pie, Sliced.

Apple Pie, Sliced.

Pare the apples and cut into thick slices. Line a large plate with paste and then fill with the apples, being careful not to break the paste. Sprinkle with the sugar and nutmeg, and then with the water. Roll the remainder of the paste a little larger than the pie plate. Make a slight opening in the centre. Cover the pie with this, tucking the edges under the lower crust. Bake in a moderately hot oven for one hour. Reduce the heat after the first half-hour....

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Stewed Apple Pie.

Stewed Apple Pie.

Cover with a thin crust a pie plate of medium size. Roll a piece of the paste into a narrow strip about one fourth of an inch thick, and long enough to go around the edge of the plate. Wet the edge of the undercrust with cold water and lay the narrow strip of paste over it. Now fill the plate with the seasoned apple. Roll the remainder of the paste a little larger than the pie plate. Place a larger plate on this, upside down, and cut around it. Remove the plate, cut a slit in the centre of the p

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Mince Pies.

Mince Pies.

Make mince pies in the same way as directed for stewed apple, but bake them for one hour....

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Peach Pie.

Peach Pie.

Make this in the same way as sliced apple, but use only half as much sugar....

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Berry Pies.

Berry Pies.

Make this in the same way as sliced apple pie, and bake in a moderate oven for fifty minutes. Sour and juicy berries will require more sugar and no water....

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Lemon Pie.

Lemon Pie.

Mix the corn starch with one third of the water, and put the remainder on to boil. Stir the sugar, salt, and corn starch into the boiling water, and cook for one minute, stirring all the time. Take from the fire, and add the juice and the grated yellow rind of the lemon. When cool, add the yolks of the eggs, well beaten. Line a deep plate with the paste and fill with the mixture. Bake in a moderate oven for half an hour. Take from the oven and cool for fifteen minutes. Beat the whites of the egg

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Squash Pie.

Squash Pie.

Put the milk and cinnamon on the fire in the double-boiler, and cook for twenty minutes. Rub the squash through a fine strainer, and add the salt, sugar, butter, and nutmeg to it. Pour the boiling milk on this mixture. Remove the cinnamon, and beat well; then set away to cool. When cool, add the eggs, which should have been thoroughly beaten with a spoon. Line a deep plate with pastry and pour the squash mixture into it. Bake for forty-five minutes in a moderate oven....

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Sweet Potato Pie.

Sweet Potato Pie.

Make these the same as squash pies; using, however, a scant measure of sugar....

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Cream Pie.

Cream Pie.

Make this the same as cup cake and bake in a deep tin plate, in a moderate oven, for about twenty minutes. When the cake is cool, split it with a sharp knife, and fill with a mixture made as follows:—...

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Filling.

Filling.

Put the milk in the double-boiler and set on the fire. Mix the flour and sugar together and add the unbeaten egg to these ingredients. Beat with a spoon until light; then stir into the boiling milk and cook for fifteen minutes, stirring often. Now add the salt, and take from the fire. When cool, add the flavor, which may be anything you choose. If orange, lemon, or vanilla extract, use half a teaspoonful. Use the same flavor for the cake....

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Washington Pie.

Washington Pie.

Make the cake the same as for cream pie, but bake it in two deep tin plates for about twelve minutes. Spread one sheet with any kind of jelly or marmalade. Lay the second sheet on top of this and dredge with powdered sugar....

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Chocolate Pie.

Chocolate Pie.

Make the same as cream pie, but add to the cream one tablespoonful of chocolate dissolved with one tablespoonful of sugar in half a tablespoonful of boiling water. Cover the cake with a chocolate icing....

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Berry Tart.

Berry Tart.

Put the berries in an oval vegetable dish that has a broad rim. Mix the sugar and flour together and sprinkle over the berries. Pour the water over the mixture. Roll the paste to the shape of the top of the dish, but a little larger. Prick with a fork, and cover the top of the dish, turning in the edges. Bake in a moderate oven for about fifty minutes. When cold, sprinkle powdered sugar over the crust, and serve. The sugar is for blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, and cherries

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Apple Turnovers.

Apple Turnovers.

Mix the flour, salt, baking powder, and sugar. Rub this mixture through a sieve and then rub into it the butter. Now beat the egg till light, and add to it the milk. Stir this liquid into the dry ingredients. Sprinkle the moulding board with flour, and roll down the dough to the thickness of about one fourth of an inch. Cut this dough into cakes the size of a saucer. It is a good way to lay a saucer upside down on the dough and cut around it with a jagging-iron or knife. Put two tablespoonfuls o

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Steamed Apple Pudding.

Steamed Apple Pudding.

MELON MOULD. STEAMER. Pare and core the apples and cut them into eighths. Mix the flour, salt, baking powder, and half a tablespoonful of sugar together, and rub through a sieve. Warm a little of the milk, and dissolve the butter in it. Add the remainder of the milk to this, and pour upon the flour. Stir into a smooth ball, and, putting it on a board that has been well sprinkled with flour, roll very thin. Line a buttered melon mould with it, having the sheet of dough large enough to hang over t

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Quick Steamed Apple Pudding.

Quick Steamed Apple Pudding.

Put the apples, water, sugar, and nutmeg into a broad porcelain or granite-ware saucepan, and set on the fire. When the apples begin to boil, set back where they will cook gently. Now mix the flour, salt, and baking powder together and rub through a sieve. Rub the butter into this dry mixture and then wet with the milk, stirring rapidly into a soft dough. Sprinkle the bread board with flour, and roll the dough into a round piece about the size of the top of the saucepan. Lay this on the apples;

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Baked Apple Dumplings.

Baked Apple Dumplings.

Make the paste the same as directed for delicate paste. (See Pastry, page 253.) Pare and core the apples. Cut the paste in five equal parts, and roll one piece at a time until large enough to cover the apple. Place an apple in the centre and fill the hole with sugar. Grate a little nutmeg over it. Now draw the paste over the fruit, pressing the edges together, and place in a baking pan, the rough side down. Bake in a moderately hot oven for half an hour. Serve with a hot liquid sauce....

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Steamed Apple Dumplings.

Steamed Apple Dumplings.

Make these the same as baked dumplings, using, however, only half as much shortening; and steam for forty-five minutes....

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Apple Tapioca Pudding.

Apple Tapioca Pudding.

Wash the tapioca and let it soak over night in the water. In the morning put the tapioca and water in the double-boiler and cook for one hour. Now stir into the cooked tapioca the salt, sugar, lemon, and apples. Pour the mixture into a pudding dish, and bake in a moderate oven for an hour and a quarter. Let it stand in a warm place for an hour before it is served. Powdered sugar and cream should be served with it....

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Apple and Indian Pudding.

Apple and Indian Pudding.

Have the milk boiling, and pour it gradually upon the meal, stirring all the while. Turn into the double-boiler, and cook for an hour, stirring often. Now add the molasses, butter, salt, and nutmeg, and beat well. Stir in the apples, turn into a buttered pudding dish, and cook in a slow oven for two hours and a half. The apples may be sour or sweet, but sweet are the better. Serve with cream or with hard sauce....

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Peach Tapioca Pudding.

Peach Tapioca Pudding.

Make this the same as apple tapioca, but use fresh, canned, or evaporated peaches. If the last named be used, soak them over night in water enough to cover them, and in the morning simmer them for ten or twenty minutes....

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Sponge Apple Pudding.

Sponge Apple Pudding.

Have the apples pared and sliced. Beat the egg until light; then add the sugar, and beat five minutes longer. Now add the milk, and finally the flour, with which should be mixed the baking powder. Beat the batter, and pour it into a well buttered pudding dish that will hold about a quart. Cover with the apples, and bake in a moderately hot oven for about forty minutes. Serve with a hot liquid sauce....

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Prune Pudding.

Prune Pudding.

Soak the gelatine in half a pint of cold water. Wash the prunes thoroughly, and put them in a stewpan with a pint and a half of water. Cook them slowly for two hours. Take the prunes from the liquid, and remove the stones. Measure the liquid, and if there be more than half a pint, boil it rapidly until reduced to that amount. If, however, there be less than half a pint, add enough water to make the full measure. Return the liquid and prunes to the fire. Color with a few drops of cochineal. Add t

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Prune Tapioca Pudding.

Prune Tapioca Pudding.

Wash the tapioca and soak it over night in the three cupfuls of cold water. In the morning put the tapioca and water in the double-boiler and cook for one hour. Before putting the tapioca on to cook, wash the prunes, and, putting them in a saucepan with cold water enough to cover them, place on the fire. Let them simmer gently until they absorb all the water; then turn out on a plate to cool, and remove the stones. When the tapioca has been cooking for an hour, stir all the seasonings into it. S

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Raspberry Tapioca Pudding.

Raspberry Tapioca Pudding.

After measuring the tapioca, turn it out on the moulding board and crush it as fine as possible with the rolling pin. Now wash it, and soak it in the cold water for three hours or longer,—better over night, if there be time. Put the soaked tapioca in a double-boiler and cook it until it is perfectly clear. If it has been soaked over night it will cook in half an hour, but if soaked for only three hours it will require cooking for an hour and a half. When the tapioca is clear, add the sugar, salt

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Little Fruit Puddings.

Little Fruit Puddings.

Put the flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder together. Mix well, and rub through the sieve. Rub the butter into these ingredients. Pour the milk on this mixture, and beat well. Have six little earthen cups well buttered. Put a tablespoonful of the batter in each cup, and draw it to the sides of the cups, making a well in the batter. Put three tablespoonfuls of stewed and sweetened fruit in these wells, and cover with half a tablespoonful of the batter. Bake the puddings in a moderately hot oven

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Blueberry Pudding.

Blueberry Pudding.

Beat the butter to a cream, and add the sugar gradually, beating well. Now add the egg, well beaten, and beat vigorously for three minutes. Grate in the nutmeg. Dissolve the soda in the teaspoonful of cold water; add the sour milk to this, and stir all into the butter and sugar mixture. Now stir in the flour, and lastly add the berries, stirring lightly. Turn into a well buttered mould and steam for two hours. Serve with a hot sauce. Foaming sauce is particularly good with this pudding....

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Blueberry Pudding, No. 2.

Blueberry Pudding, No. 2.

Cut the bread in thin, slices and spread the butter on it. Line a pudding dish with the bread, and sprinkle thickly with berries. Put in another layer of bread, then the remainder of the berries, and finish with bread. Beat the eggs, sugar, salt, and nutmeg together, and add the milk to them. Pour this custard over the bread and berries and put away in a cool place for two or three hours. Steam for one hour and a quarter, and serve with hot sauce. The pudding may be covered with a plate and bake

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Berry Pudding.

Berry Pudding.

Beat the butter and sugar together. Add the egg, well beaten, then the milk, and finally the flour and baking powder, mixed together. Beat well, and then stir the berries in lightly. Turn into a buttered pudding dish, and bake in a moderately hot oven for forty-five minutes. Serve with a hot sauce. This pudding may be steamed. It will require two hours’ time for that mode of cooking....

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Blackberry Pudding.

Blackberry Pudding.

Make this in the same manner as the first blueberry pudding, substituting blackberries for the blueberries....

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Steamed Black Pudding.

Steamed Black Pudding.

Cut the bread in thin slices and butter them. Simmer the berries, sugar, water, and nutmeg together for ten minutes. Butter a mould or a large bowl and spread a layer of the buttered bread in it. Cover this with berries and juice; then put in another layer of bread. Continue this until all the materials are used, having the last layer one of fruit. Let the pudding stand for two hours, and then steam for one hour and half. At the end of that time turn into a pudding dish and serve with a hot sauc

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Rhubarb Pudding.

Rhubarb Pudding.

Have the butter soft. Cut the bread in thin slices, and spread the butter on it; then dip it in cold water. Have the rhubarb peeled and cut in thin slices before measuring. Put a layer of bread in a pudding dish, then a layer of rhubarb. Sprinkle half the sugar over this; then put in another layer of bread, rhubarb, and sugar. Finish with a layer of bread. Cover the dish and steam for one hour; then take the dish from the steamer, remove the cover, and bake the pudding until it turns a delicate

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Jam Pudding.

Jam Pudding.

Use the same materials as are given in the first rule for blueberry pudding; omitting, of course, the berries, and stirring into the butter, sugar, and egg mixture one gill of any kind of jam....

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Steamed Batter Pudding.

Steamed Batter Pudding.

Have a covered mould well buttered. Beat the eggs till light, and add the milk and salt to them. Pour half this mixture on the flour, and beat well. When the batter is smooth, beat in the remainder of the liquid mixture and pour the batter into the mould. Cover closely and steam for one hour. Serve with a hot sauce. This pudding should be turned out of the mould very carefully, and served on a hot dish....

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Quiver Pudding.

Quiver Pudding.

Beat together the eggs, sugar, salt, and nutmeg. Use a spoon and beat very thoroughly. Butter a quart mould. Cut the bread in thin slices and put a layer in the mould. Sprinkle some of the raisins over this, then put in another layer of bread. Continue until all the bread and fruit have been used. Pour the custard on this, one spoonful at a time. Cover, and stand in a cool place for three or four hours. Steam for one hour, and turn out on a warm dish. Serve with either vanilla, creamy, or golden

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Plum Pudding.

Plum Pudding.

Pour the milk on the cracker crumbs and spice. Add the butter, and set away to cool. Beat together the yolks of the eggs and the sugar. Add this and the fruit to the cooled mixture. Beat the whites of the eggs to a stiff froth and stir them into the pudding. Turn the batter into a well buttered mould; then cover closely and steam for five hours. Serve with a hot sauce. This rule may be doubled, making two small puddings, one of which can be kept in a cool place for a couple of weeks. Steam it at

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Chester Pudding.

Chester Pudding.

Put into a large bowl the suet, molasses, spice, lemon, and raisins, and beat together for one minute. Dissolve the soda in the milk, and add the milk to the ingredients in the bowl. Beat well, and then add the flour. Beat for three minutes, and turn into a buttered pudding dish. Steam for five hours, and serve hot with wine sauce or any rich sauce....

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Wayne Pudding.

Wayne Pudding.

Beat the butter to a cream, and beat into it the molasses, spice, and salt. Dissolve the soda in the milk. Beat the egg till light, and beat it into the butter and molasses. Now add the milk and soda. Add the flour next, and finally the fruit, beating the mixture well. Turn into a buttered mould and steam for three hours. Serve with a hot liquid sauce....

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Turkish Pudding.

Turkish Pudding.

This is made the same as Wayne pudding, substituting prunes, dates, and figs for the currants and raisins. These fruits must be washed, and cut into small pieces. Use half a pint of the mixed fruit....

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Graham Pudding.

Graham Pudding.

Sift the graham into a bowl. Dissolve the soda in one tablespoonful of the milk. Add to this the remainder of the milk, and the molasses and salt. Stir well, and pour upon the graham. Beat the butter vigorously for five minutes; then stir in the raisins. Turn the mixture into a buttered mould, which should then be covered and placed in the steamer. Cook for four hours. Serve with golden or creamy sauce....

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Steamed Indian Pudding.

Steamed Indian Pudding.

Mix the suet, molasses, and salt together. Dissolve the soda in a tablespoonful of cold water. Add to the sour milk, and stir into the other ingredients. Now add the meal, and beat well. Pour the batter into a well buttered mould, and steam for four hours. Serve with molasses sauce....

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Steamed Indian Berry Pudding.

Steamed Indian Berry Pudding.

When blueberries and blackberries are in season add half a pint of either kind of berries to the batter for steamed Indian pudding, and steam and serve as directed above....

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Steamed Indian and Apple Pudding.

Steamed Indian and Apple Pudding.

Make the batter as directed for steamed Indian pudding, and add to it a cupful and a half of pared and sliced apples. Steam and serve the same as the plain Indian pudding....

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Baked Indian Pudding.

Baked Indian Pudding.

Boil one pint of the milk, and pour gradually upon the meal, stirring all the time. Turn the mixture into the double-boiler and cook for half an hour, stirring frequently. At the end of that time take from the fire and add the molasses, butter, salt, and the quart of cold milk. Add the milk gradually, beating well. Pour the mixture into an earthen pudding dish that will just hold it, and bake in a very slow oven for four hours. When it has been cooking for one hour, set the dish in a pan of hot

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Mock Indian Pudding.

Mock Indian Pudding.

Wash the rice and mix it with the other ingredients; using, however, only half the butter. Turn into an earthen dish and bake slowly for two hours. At the end of the first hour add the second half tablespoonful of butter, and stir well. Serve with cream....

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Bread Pudding.

Bread Pudding.

Break the bread into small bits and measure it lightly. Let it soak in the milk, in a cool place, for two or three hours; then mash it with a spoon. Beat the sugar, salt, and egg together, and stir into the bread and milk. Pour into a small pudding dish and place the dish in a larger tin dish in which there is warm water enough to come within one inch of the top of the pudding dish. Place in a moderate oven and bake for about thirty-five minutes. Serve with vanilla or creamy sauce....

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Cake Pudding.

Cake Pudding.

Put any kind of stale cake on a plate and in the steamer, and steam for half an hour. Serve with a hot liquid sauce....

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Sponge Pudding.

Sponge Pudding.

Beat the egg till light; add the sugar, and beat for five minutes; then add the water, salt, and flavor, and finally the flour, with which the baking powder should be mixed. Turn into a well buttered pudding dish and bake in a moderate oven for about twenty-five minutes. Serve with a hot liquid sauce. The lemon juice may be omitted....

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Cottage Pudding.

Cottage Pudding.

Beat the butter to a cream; then beat the sugar into it. Next add the unbeaten egg and beat vigorously for three or four minutes. Add the salt and milk, and then the flour, with which should be mixed the baking powder. Beat for a few seconds, and, turning the batter into a small, well buttered pudding dish, bake for about twenty-five minutes in a moderate oven. Serve with a hot liquid sauce. The measure of flour is for pastry flour. If the new-process flour be used, measure a very scant half-pin

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Lemon Pudding.

Lemon Pudding.

Mix the corn starch with three tablespoonfuls of water. Put the remainder of the water in a saucepan and set on to boil. Stir the mixed corn starch into this and cook for five minutes. Take from the fire and add the salt and the lemon; reserving half a teaspoonful, however. Beat the butter to a cream, and gradually beat into it the granulated sugar, then the yolk of the egg, and finally the milk. Stir this mixture into the cooked ingredients, and, pouring all into a pudding dish that will hold a

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Cream Pudding.

Cream Pudding.

DOUBLE-BOILER. Reserve half a gill of milk and put the remainder on the fire, in the double-boiler. Mix the flour and salt to a smooth paste, with the cold milk. Add to this mixture the eggs, well beaten, and stir into the boiling milk. Cook for eight minutes, stirring three times. Turn the hot mixture into the pudding dish and spread the sugar over it. Wet the sugar with the wine or fruit juice, and set away to cool. The sugar and fruit juice make the sauce....

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Chocolate Pudding.

Chocolate Pudding.

Reserve half a gill of milk and put the remainder on the fire, in the double-boiler. Mix the cold milk with the corn starch and salt. Beat the egg well and add to the corn starch mixture. Stir this into the boiling milk, and beat well. Put the shaved chocolate, sugar, and boiling water in a small frying-pan and set over a hot fire. Stir until the mixture is smooth and glossy; then beat this into the pudding, and cook for two minutes longer. Take from the fire and add the vanilla. Dip a mould in

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Chocolate Pudding, No. 2.

Chocolate Pudding, No. 2.

Reserve one gill of the milk and put the remainder on the fire, in the double-boiler. Beat the yolks of the eggs well, and add to them the sugar and salt. Mix the milk with the corn starch and add this to the sugar and yolks of eggs. Shave the chocolate and put it in a pan with two tablespoonfuls of sugar and one of boiling water. Stir over a hot fire until smooth and glossy, and stir this mixture into the hot milk. Now add the corn starch mixture and stir well. Cook for eight minutes, stirring

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Caramel Pudding.

Caramel Pudding.

Soak the gelatine in one gill of cold water for two hours. Put the sugar and the other gill of water in a small saucepan and set on the fire. Boil until the mixture becomes a thick syrup. Now add the gelatine and vanilla, and heat again to boiling point. Beat the whites of the eggs to a stiff, dry froth. Pour the hot syrup slowly on the eggs, beating briskly all the time. Turn the mixture into a mould, and set away to cool. When firm, turn out on a flat dish, and serve with a custard sauce....

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Custard Sauce.

Custard Sauce.

Make this sauce as directed for soft custard. (See Sweets, page 289.) Serve it cold....

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Corn Starch Pudding.

Corn Starch Pudding.

Reserve one gill of milk and put the remainder on the fire, in the double-boiler. Mix the milk with the corn starch and salt, and stir into the milk when it boils. Beat well, and cook for ten minutes, stirring often; then turn into a pudding dish, and let it stand for ten minutes. Serve with sugar and cream, or with an egg or fruit sauce....

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Custard Pudding.

Custard Pudding.

Break the eggs into a bowl and add the sugar and salt. Beat well with a spoon,—never with an egg beater, as they must not be light. Add the milk to them and turn into a small pudding dish. Place the dish in a pan of warm water and set in a very moderate oven. Bake the pudding until firm in the centre. It should take not less than half an hour; better longer, as the slower the custard cooks the smoother and richer it will be. The oven must not be hot enough to have the water boil. Test the custar

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Cocoanut Pudding.

Cocoanut Pudding.

Soak the cake in the milk for one hour. Beat the whites of the eggs to a stiff froth, and beat into them the sugar and yolks of eggs. Stir this mixture into the cake and milk. Add the salt, lemon rind, and cocoanut. Turn the mixture into a buttered pudding dish, and bake slowly for about thirty-five minutes. Serve cold....

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Tapioca Pudding.

Tapioca Pudding.

Wash the tapioca and let it soak over night in one pint of cold water. In the morning pour off the water and add the milk. Cook for one hour in the double-boiler. Stir in the salt, and cook for half an hour longer. Serve with sugar and cream, or with preserved fruit. The hot pudding may be turned into a mould which has been dipped in cold water. Let it stand in a cool place for several hours; then turn out on a flat dish, and pour preserved fruit around it....

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Oatmeal Pudding.

Oatmeal Pudding.

Put the water and raisins in a stewpan; cover, and simmer for half an hour. At the end of that time stir in the salt and oatmeal. Boil rapidly for one minute; then set the stewpan back where the contents will only simmer for one hour. Rinse a mould or bowl in cold water and turn the pudding into it. Set away to cool. Serve with sugar and cream....

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Boiled Rice Pudding.

Boiled Rice Pudding.

Wash the rice in three waters, rubbing it well between the hands. Put it on the fire in one pint of cold water, and let it cook for ten minutes. Drain off the water and add the salt and milk; then cook in the double-boiler for two hours. Do not stir it while it is cooking. Serve hot with sugar and cream. If raisins be liked mix a gill of them with the rice when the milk is added....

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Rice Balls.

Rice Balls.

Cook the rice the same as for boiled rice pudding. Wet small custard cups or after-dinner coffee cups in cold water and fill them with the hot pudding. Let them stand where they will keep warm until serving time; then turn them out on a flat dish and put a bit of bright jelly on top of each ball. Serve with soft custard. The rice ball must be hot and the custard cold....

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Cold Rice Pudding.

Cold Rice Pudding.

Wash the rice and soak it in cold water for an hour. Pour off this water and put the rice on the fire in a pint of cold water. When this boils, drain off the water and add a pint of milk. Cook in the double-boiler for an hour. Mix the corn starch with a gill of cold milk and add to the rice mixture. Let this cook ten minutes longer; then add the sugar, salt, the remainder of the cold milk, and the flavor, which may be the grated yellow rind of an orange or lemon, a slight grating of nutmeg, or a

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English Rice Pudding.

English Rice Pudding.

Wash the rice, and mix it with the suet, sugar, raisins, and salt. Add one pint of the milk; then place in a very moderate oven and cook for half an hour. At the end of that time stir in the second pint of milk, and continue cooking slowly for two hours. Serve hot....

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Baked Rice Pudding.

Baked Rice Pudding.

Wash the rice and put it in a pudding dish with the sugar, salt, cinnamon, raisins, and a pint of the milk. Bake in a slow oven for one hour, stirring it twice in that time. Add the second pint of milk and cook an hour and a half longer. Serve hot. This pudding does not require a sauce....

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Hot Farina Pudding.

Hot Farina Pudding.

Put the milk in the double-boiler. Measure the farina into a cup. When the milk boils, add the salt, and, with a tablespoon, stir the milk rapidly. When it is well in motion begin to sprinkle in the farina, stirring all the while. Beat the mixture well, and cook for thirty minutes. Serve with sugar and cream....

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Cold Farina Pudding.

Cold Farina Pudding.

Put the milk in the double-boiler and set on the fire. When it boils, stir rapidly until all parts are in motion. Continue the stirring, and sprinkle in the farina. Now add the salt, and cook for forty minutes; then beat in the sugar and flavor. Dip a mould in cold water and turn the hot mixture into it. Set away to cool. Serve with sugar and cream, or any kind of preserved fruit....

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Farina Fruit Pudding.

Farina Fruit Pudding.

Make the pudding the same as for cold farina, omitting the sugar and flavor. When it is cooked, add to it one gill of preserved jelly or marmalade. Turn into the mould and set away to cool. Serve with plain or whipped cream and sugar, or with soft custard....

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Rose Pudding.

Rose Pudding.

Soak the gelatine in the cold water for two hours; then pour the boiling water on it, keeping it in the same bowl in which it has been soaked. Add the sugar, and stir until the sugar and gelatine are dissolved. Now put in the wine and lemon juice. Strain the liquid into a large bowl and let it stand until cold; then place the bowl in a pan and surround it with water and ice. As soon as the liquid begins to thicken, beat it with a beater or a whisk until it is light and spongy. It will then be of

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Snow Pudding.

Snow Pudding.

Soak the gelatine in the cold water for two hours. Pour upon this the boiling water, and stir until the gelatine is dissolved; then add the sugar and lemon juice, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Set the bowl in a pan of cold water to cool; ice water is the best. Stir frequently; and when it begins to congeal, add the unbeaten whites of the eggs, and beat constantly until the mixture becomes a thick, white sponge that will just pour. Immediately pour it into a mould that has been dipped in

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Snow Pudding, No. 2.

Snow Pudding, No. 2.

Put the sugar, lemon juice, and boiling water in a small saucepan,—not tin,—and set on the fire. Mix the cold water with the corn starch and stir into the boiling liquid. Put the saucepan in another pan of boiling water, and, after covering, cook the mixture for ten minutes. Beat the whites of the eggs to a stiff, dry froth, and stir them into the cooked corn starch. Wet a mould in cold water and turn the mixture into it. Set away to cool. Serve with a custard sauce made the same as for snow bla

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Orange Snow Pudding.

Orange Snow Pudding.

Make this pudding the same as snow pudding No. 1, and serve with the same kind of sauce....

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Snow Blancmange.

Snow Blancmange.

Reserve one gill of the milk, and, putting the remainder in the double-boiler, set it on the fire. Mix the cold milk with the corn-starch. When the milk boils, stir in the corn starch and cold milk. Add the sugar and salt, and beat well. Replace the cover of the boiler and cook the pudding for ten minutes. Beat the whites of the eggs to a stiff dry froth. Add the flavor and the whites of the eggs to the pudding, stirring gently, but mixing well. Dip a mould in cold water and turn the pudding int

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Custard Sauce.

Custard Sauce.

Beat the eggs, sugar, and salt together. Add the milk, and, putting the sauce in the double-boiler, set it on the fire. Stir all the time until the custard thickens. It will take about five minutes if the water in the lower boiler was boiling when the upper boiler with its contents was put on the fire. Cool, and add the flavor....

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PUDDING SAUCES. Wine Sauce.

PUDDING SAUCES. Wine Sauce.

Beat the butter to a cream and gradually beat into it the powdered sugar. When this mixture becomes light and frothy, beat in the wine, a tablespoonful at a time. When all the wine has been beaten in, place the bowl in a pan of boiling water. Add the hot milk slowly, beating all the time. Take the bowl from the hot water immediately, and the sauce will be ready to use....

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Foaming Sauce.

Foaming Sauce.

Beat the butter to a cream. Gradually beat into it the powdered sugar. Now add the well beaten white of the egg, and beat for two minutes longer. Add the wine, a spoonful at a time, and continue beating until the mixture is perfectly smooth. Place the bowl in a pan of boiling water and stir for three minutes. Serve in a hot bowl....

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Creamy Sauce.

Creamy Sauce.

Beat the butter to a cream, and gradually beat in the powdered sugar. Now beat in the wine, a little at a time. Next add the milk, half a spoonful at a time, beating until perfectly smooth. Place the bowl in a pan of boiling water, and stir the sauce for about two minutes. Half a teaspoonful of vanilla may be substituted for the wine....

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Fruit Sauce.

Fruit Sauce.

Beat the white of the egg to a stiff dry froth, and gradually beat into it the jelly or fruit....

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Egg Sauce.

Egg Sauce.

Beat the white of the egg to a stiff dry froth, and gradually beat into it the powdered sugar. Now add the yolk of the egg, the flavor, and the milk. Serve at once....

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Vinegar Sauce.

Vinegar Sauce.

Mix the flour and sugar together, and pour the boiling water upon the mixture. Add the salt, butter, nutmeg, and vinegar, and simmer for ten minutes....

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Molasses Sauce.

Molasses Sauce.

Mix the flour and sugar together. Pour the boiling water upon it. Add the molasses, and place on the range. Simmer for ten minutes; then add the other ingredients, boil up once and serve....

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Clear Sauce.

Clear Sauce.

Put the water and sugar in a small saucepan and set on the fire. Simmer for twelve minutes, and add any flavor you wish. If wine, three tablespoonfuls....

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Clear Lemon Sauce.

Clear Lemon Sauce.

Put into a saucepan one gill of sugar, a gill and a half of water, a thin slice of the yellow rind of lemon, and a slight grating of nutmeg. Cook gently for ten minutes; then add two tablespoonfuls of lemon juice, and serve....

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Cinnamon Sauce.

Cinnamon Sauce.

Mix the sugar and flour together and pour the boiling water upon the mixture, stirring all the while. Add the cinnamon, and place the saucepan on the fire. Simmer for ten minutes; then add the other ingredients and cook for two minutes longer. Strain and serve....

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Nutmeg Sauce.

Nutmeg Sauce.

Mix the flour, sugar, and nutmeg together, and pour the boiling water on them. Place on the fire, and stir until the mixture begins to boil. Simmer for ten minutes; then add the salt and butter. Boil up once and serve. Any flavor may be substituted for the nutmeg. This is one of the simplest and most useful pudding sauces made....

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Italian Sauce.

Italian Sauce.

Boil the sugar, water, nutmeg, and the rind of lemon for fifteen minutes. When this mixture has been boiling for ten minutes, begin to beat the whites of the eggs to a stiff dry froth. Add the butter and lemon juice to the boiling syrup; then, when all boils up, pour the syrup in a thin stream on the whites of the egg, beating constantly. Beat for two minutes and the sauce will be ready to serve. It is particularly good for any kind of moist, steamed, or baked pudding....

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Golden Sauce.

Golden Sauce.

Beat the butter to a cream. Gradually beat into it the powdered sugar. Next add the yolk of the egg, and beat well. Beat the white of the egg to a stiff froth and stir into the sauce. Add the flavor. Place the bowl in a pan of boiling water and cook for four minutes, stirring all the time. Three tablespoonfuls of wine may be substituted for the vanilla....

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Hot Cream Sauce.

Hot Cream Sauce.

Beat the white of the egg to a stiff, dry froth; then gradually beat into it the powdered sugar and corn starch. Next add the yolk of the egg and beat well. Pour upon this the cupful of boiling milk, and place on the fire. Stir until it boils, then add the butter and vanilla, and serve. Any other flavor may be substituted for the vanilla....

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Soft Custard.

Soft Custard.

Beat the eggs and sugar together for six minutes, and add a gill of cold milk to them. Put the remainder of the milk in the double-boiler and set on the fire. When this milk comes to the boiling point, pour it over the ingredients in the bowl, and stir well. Turn the mixture into the double-boiler, and, placing it on the fire, cook, stirring all the while, until the custard will coat the spoon. It will take about five minutes. Take from the fire, and instantly turn into the cold bowl. Stir const

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Baked Cup Custards.

Baked Cup Custards.

Make these the same as the custard pudding, and pour into four custard cups. Place the cups in a pan of warm water and bake in a moderate oven until firm in the centre....

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Steamed Cup Custards.

Steamed Cup Custards.

Make the same as the baked custards, but steam over boiling water until firm in the centre....

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Tapioca Custard.

Tapioca Custard.

Wash the tapioca in cold water; then put it in a bowl with the cupful of cold water and soak it over night. In the morning put the milk in a double-boiler and set on the fire. Beat together the sugar, eggs, and salt. Drain off any water the tapioca may not have absorbed. Add the tapioca to the eggs and sugar, and, as soon as the milk boils, stir in this mixture. Cook for five minutes, stirring all the time. Take from the fire and add the vanilla extract. Pour into a bowl and set away to cool. At

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Rennet Custard.

Rennet Custard.

Make the milk blood-warm, and then add the sugar and rennet wine, stirring only enough to mix the ingredients. Pour this into glass custard cups, and grate the nutmeg over the custards. Let them stand in a warm room until the mixture becomes firm; then set in a cold place until serving time. The prepared rennet, which can be bought in small bottles, may be substituted for the rennet wine....

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Slip.

Slip.

Have the milk blood-warm,—about one hundred degrees. Flavor it, and pour it into the dish in which it is to be served. Now add the rennet wine, and stir gently, to mix it. Let the dish stand in the warm room until the mixture has stiffened; then place it in the refrigerator, or in a cold room, until the time to serve. The slip must not be disturbed until you are ready to serve it on the table, as it may separate into curds and whey when once broken....

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Strawberry Bavarian Cream.

Strawberry Bavarian Cream.

Pick over the strawberries, put them in a bowl with the sugar, and crush well. Let them stand for two hours. Soak the gelatine in the cold water for two hours. Next whip the cream. Rub the strawberries and sugar through a strainer into a large bowl. Pour the boiling water on the gelatine, and when this is dissolved, add it to the strained strawberries. Place the bowl in a pan of ice-water and let it stand, stirring all the time, until it begins to thicken. Immediately add the whipped cream, stir

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Sea Moss Farina Blancmange.

Sea Moss Farina Blancmange.

Put the farina in a bowl, and gradually pour the milk over it, stirring until smooth. Turn into the double-boiler and cook, stirring frequently, until the mass looks white; then add the sugar, salt, and flavor. Rinse a mould in cold water, and turn the blancmange into it. Set away in a cool place to harden. It should have three or four hours for this. Serve with powdered sugar and cream....

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Chocolate Blancmange.

Chocolate Blancmange.

Make as directed for the sea moss farina. While it is cooking put into a small pan two tablespoonfuls of shaved chocolate, two tablespoonfuls of sugar, and one of hot water. Stir over a hot fire until smooth and glossy; then stir into the hot blancmange. Pour into moulds and set away to harden....

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Moss Blancmange.

Moss Blancmange.

Measure the moss loosely. Wash it and pick out all the pebbles and seaweed. Continue washing it until every particle of sand is removed. Put it in the double-boiler with the cold milk, and place on the fire. Cook for twenty minutes, stirring frequently; then add the salt, and strain into a bowl. Now add the sugar and flavor. Rinse a bowl in cold water, and, after turning the blancmange into it, set it away to harden. Serve with powdered sugar and cream....

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Wine Jelly.

Wine Jelly.

Soak the gelatine in a gill of cold water for two hours. Heat the remainder of the water to the boiling point, and pour it upon the soaked gelatine. Add the sugar, lemon juice, and wine. Place the bowl in a pan of boiling water and stir until the liquid is clear. Strain through a napkin and pour into moulds. Set away to harden....

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Cider Jelly.

Cider Jelly.

Soak the gelatine in half a pint of the cider for two hours. Heat the rest of the cider to the boiling point and pour it on the soaked gelatine. Add the sugar, and place the bowl in a pan of boiling water. Stir until the liquid is clear; then strain, pour into a mould, and set away to harden....

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Lemon Jelly.

Lemon Jelly.

Soak the gelatine for two hours in the cold water. Pour the pint of boiling water on the lemon rind and let it stand for two hours. At the end of that time place on the fire; and when it boils pour it over the soaked gelatine. Now add the sugar, and, placing the bowl in a pan of boiling water, stir until the liquid is clear. Strain through a coarse napkin, and, turning into a mould, set away to harden. In hot weather be generous in the measure of gelatine....

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Orange Jelly.

Orange Jelly.

Soak the gelatine in the cold water for two hours. Squeeze the oranges, grating the thin yellow rind from one into the juice; but be careful not to grate off any of the white skin. Add the lemon juice. Pour the boiling water on the soaked gelatine. Add the sugar, and place the bowl in a pan of boiling water. Now add the fruit juice, and stir until the liquid is clear. Strain through a napkin and pour into moulds. Set away to harden. Whipped cream is a desirable addition to this jelly when it is

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Strawberry Jelly.

Strawberry Jelly.

Make in the same way as the orange jelly, using half a pint of strawberry juice....

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Raspberry Jelly.

Raspberry Jelly.

Make in the same way as orange jelly, using raspberry juice....

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Blackberry Jelly.

Blackberry Jelly.

Use a pint of blackberry juice and half a pint of water, and proceed as for orange jelly....

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Coffee Jelly.

Coffee Jelly.

Soak the gelatine in the cold water for two hours or more. Pour the boiling water and hot coffee on this. Add the sugar and lemon juice. Set the bowl in a pan of boiling water and stir until all the sugar is dissolved; then strain through a coarse napkin and turn into a mould. Set away in a cold place for six or more hours. Serve with whipped cream, or with plain cream and sugar....

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DIRECTIONS FOR FREEZING.

DIRECTIONS FOR FREEZING.

MALLET AND ICE-BAG. The mixture to be frozen should be icy cold. Put it in the freezing can, and place this in position in the wooden tub. See that every part of the freezer is properly fastened, and that the can and beater work with ease when the crank is turned. Pound the ice in a bag until it is almost as fine as snow. Put a layer of ice in the freezer, having it come about one third the height of the tin can. Now add a layer of salt, and, with a wooden paddle or a flat stick, pack the salt a

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Vanilla Ice Cream.

Vanilla Ice Cream.

Set the milk on the fire, in the double-boiler. Put the flour, half the sugar, and the unbeaten egg in a bowl, and beat until light. Stir this into the boiling milk, and cook for fifteen minutes, beating frequently. On taking from the fire, add the remainder of the sugar and the cream. Beat well, and set away to cool. When cold, add the flavor, and freeze. Any other flavor may be substituted for vanilla. For coffee ice cream use three tablespoonfuls of the extract of coffee; for lemon, three fou

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Chocolate Ice Cream.

Chocolate Ice Cream.

Make the foundation the same as for vanilla cream. Shave one ounce of plain chocolate and put it in a small pan with two tablespoonfuls of sugar and one tablespoonful of boiling water. Stir this over a hot fire until smooth and glossy; then stir it into the cooking mixture. Finish with the cream and sugar, the same as when making the vanilla cream, and freeze....

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Pistachio Ice Cream.

Pistachio Ice Cream.

Make the cream the same as for vanilla ice cream, but flavor with a teaspoonful of pistachio extract and half a teaspoonful of almond. Color with one eighth of a teaspoonful of the green coloring that can be bought of first-class grocers. This is a delicious cream. Be sure to get the flavor and coloring of a reputable manufacturer....

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Peach Ice Cream.

Peach Ice Cream.

After paring and stoning the peaches, mash them in a bowl with the sugar and let them stand for an hour or more; then rub them through a fine strainer, and add the cream and almond to them. Freeze. A little liquid cochineal may be added to the cream to give it color....

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Strawberry Ice Cream.

Strawberry Ice Cream.

Hull the strawberries and mash them in a bowl with the sugar. Let them stand for two or more hours; then rub through a strainer fine enough to keep back the seeds. Add the cream, and freeze....

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Lemon Sherbet.

Lemon Sherbet.

Boil the sugar and water together for twenty minutes. Cool the syrup, add the lemon juice, and freeze....

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Orange Sherbet.

Orange Sherbet.

Grate the thin yellow rind of three oranges into a bowl. Squeeze the juice of two oranges on this and let the mixture stand for an hour or more. Boil the sugar and water together for thirty minutes. Add the orange and lemon juice to this. Strain the juice in which the rind has been soaking, and add to the mixture. Freeze. In grating the orange rind great care must be taken not to go beyond the thin yellow surface. If the grating be deep, the sherbet will be bitter. The juices of any acid fruit m

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Milk Sherbet.

Milk Sherbet.

Cut the thin yellow rind from the lemon and put it in a bowl. Pour the water on the rind. Cover the bowl and set it on the back part of the range for half an hour. Mix the lemon juice and powdered sugar together. When the rind has steeped for half an hour, strain the water on the lemon juice and sugar. Mix the corn starch with three tablespoonfuls of milk. Put the remainder of the milk on to boil in the double-boiler. Stir the corn starch mixture into the boiling milk, and, after adding the suga

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Peach Ice.

Peach Ice.

Boil the sugar and water until the syrup is reduced to one pint. Mash the peaches fine, and rub through a strainer. Add the syrup to the strained fruit, and freeze....

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Apricot Ice.

Apricot Ice.

Rub the apricots through a sieve. Add the water and sugar to the strained fruit, and freeze. The sugar and water may be boiled together for fifteen minutes, and, when cold, added to the strained apricot. This will give a smoother and richer ice....

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Tea.

Tea.

THE making of a good cup of tea is one of the simplest things in the world. Use an earthenware or china teapot. Fill it with boiling water and let stand for four or five minutes; then pour out the water, leaving not a drop in the pot. Put the dry tea into the warm pot and after putting on the cover, set back where it will keep warm for a few minutes; then pour the boiling water on the tea and send to the table. This is for all the light kinds of tea, such as Oolong or black tea. English breakfas

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Coffee.

Coffee.

COFFEE-MILL. Much of the quality of a cup of coffee depends upon the berry, and the process of making. There are two classes of berries: the strong and the mild. To the strong belong the Rio and Santas; to the mild, the Java, Mocha, Maracaibo, and others. The last named kinds are usually the highest priced. Coffee should not be roasted a long time before it is ground. Few housekeepers roast their own coffee. Only a small amount of the roasted article should be bought at a time. It should be kept

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Boiled Coffee.

Boiled Coffee.

Scald the coffee-pot with boiling water. Put the dry coffee into it and pour the boiling water upon it. Place on the fire, and, when it begins to boil, draw the pot back where the coffee will just bubble for five minutes. At the end of that time add the salt and cold water. Set the pot back where the coffee cannot boil, and let it stand for two or three minutes; then serve. There is a coffee settler in the market which can be used instead of the salt and water. An egg makes the coffee richer in

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Filtered Coffee.

Filtered Coffee.

COFFEE BIGGIN. Coffee biggins come expressly for making filtered, or “drip” coffee. There are two compartments to this pot. In the upper one there is a double strainer, on which is placed the coffee. Above the coffee there is placed another rather coarse strainer. This upper compartment is placed on the lower one; boiling water is poured through the upper strainer and it falls like rain upon the coffee below. The points to remember when making coffee in this way are to have the pot hot, the coff

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Cocoa.

Cocoa.

Several preparations are made from the cocoa bean. We find the product in the market in the form of chocolate, plain, and also sweetened and flavored. This is the roasted bean ground to a smooth, fine substance, which retains the oily substance known as cocoa butter. This makes a rich beverage which few people can use daily. The chocolate is valuable in the preparation of various kinds of food and confections, and to use occasionally as a beverage. In its sweetened form it can be taken in the po

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Chocolate.

Chocolate.

Put the milk on the fire, in the double-boiler. Shave the chocolate, and, putting it into a small pan with the sugar and water, stir over a hot fire until smooth and glossy. Stir this into the boiling milk; then beat the chocolate with a whisk, to make it froth. Pour into a hot pot, and serve at once. Long cooking separates the oil from the chocolate and spoils the beverage....

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Breakfast Cocoa.

Breakfast Cocoa.

Put the milk in the double-boiler and set on the fire. Mix the cocoa to a smooth paste, with the cold water. When the milk boils, add the cocoa, and boil for one minute. Serve hot. The flavor of this cocoa is always finer when the milk actually bubbles up after the cocoa is added. If water or part water be used, measure the cocoa more generously. Nothing is much more delicious than a good cup of cocoa, and nothing is more disappointing than the slops one so often gets under this name, because ma

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Broma.

Broma.

Broma is prepared the same as cocoa, but requires a few minutes’ longer cooking, because of the addition of a starchy substance to the powder....

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Cocoa Shells and Nibs.

Cocoa Shells and Nibs.

The thin shells that are removed from the roasted cocoa bean, and a part of the nut in a roughly broken state, are used for a beverage. The shells are sometimes used alone, but this makes rather a poor drink. The shells and nibs are put into a cocoa pot with boiling water and simmered for four hours or more. Use a gill of the shells, one tablespoonful of the nibs, and a quart of water. This will give a generous pint of the beverage. Serve it with hot milk and sugar....

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Lemonade.

Lemonade.

Squeeze the lemon and strain the juice. Add the sugar and water to it and use at once. It should be very cold or very hot. Add ice in warm weather. When the water is not good, or in case of sickness, boiling water may be poured on the sugar and fruit juice; then cool the lemonade. When making a lemonade for a company of people, it may be mixed in a large handsome bowl. Add to it all or any one of the following named fruits:— For one gallon of lemonade use four quarts of water, twenty lemons, one

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Quality of the Fruit.

Quality of the Fruit.

IT is a waste of time and strength to preserve unripe, over-ripe or inferior fruits. One should select sound, ripe, well flavored fruits for this purpose....

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What to do with Fruit Pulp.

What to do with Fruit Pulp.

When making jellies with crab apples, quinces, peaches, etc., there is always a great deal of pulp left. The thrifty housekeeper does not like to throw this away, although all the fine flavor of the fruit has been extracted with the juice. If fruit be plentiful and cheap, it will be economy to throw this impoverished pulp away; if, on the other hand, fruit be high and scarce, add some fresh fruit, sugar, and water to the cooked pulp, and boil until a smooth marmalade is formed. Cooked quince may

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Preserved Peaches.

Preserved Peaches.

The peaches should be sound and ripe. Weigh the fruit, and for every nine pounds make a syrup with three pounds of sugar and one pint of water; skimming the syrup as soon as it boils up. Have ready a kettle of boiling water and a bowl of cold water. Fill a wire basket with peaches and plunge into the boiling water for two minutes. Lift the basket from the water and turn the peaches into a bowl. Pare them, and drop them into the cold water. This is to preserve the color. Drop the peaches, a few a

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Preserved Pears.

Preserved Pears.

Make a syrup like that for the peaches, allowing one quart of water to three pounds of sugar and nine pounds of pears. Pare the pears with a silver knife and drop them in a bowl of cold water to preserve the color. On taking them from the water drop them into the boiling syrup. Cook them gently until they can be easily pierced with a silver fork. The time depends upon the ripeness of the fruit. The pears may be preserved whole or in halves. Put the cooked fruit into hot jars, and, after filling

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Crab Apples.

Crab Apples.

Make the syrup as for peaches; allowing, however, half a pound of sugar to a pound of fruit. Clean the blossom end of the apples by rubbing, and drop them into water. Wash and drain them. Drop them, a few at a time, into the hot syrup, and cook until they can be pierced with a silver fork. Fill the jars with the fruit, and, after filling up with hot syrup, seal the jars. The stems are left on crab apples....

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Preserved Plums.

Preserved Plums.

Make the syrup for the large white plums the same as for crab apples. Peel the plums by plunging in boiling water, like peaches. Cook and finish the same as crab apples....

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Preserved Damson Plums.

Preserved Damson Plums.

These are preserved the same as the white plums, except that they are not peeled. They will cook in about three minutes....

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Grape Preserve.

Grape Preserve.

This preserve should be made with a tender-skinned grape. The Concord grape is too tough-skinned to make a satisfactory preserve. Squeeze the pulp out of the skin, and, after putting it in the preserving kettle, set on the fire. Stir frequently, and cook until the pulp will break up readily. This will require only a few minutes’ boiling. Rub the pulp through a sieve, rejecting the seeds. Measure the skins and pulp, and put them in the preserving kettle. For every quart of the fruit add one pint

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Preserved Quinces.

Preserved Quinces.

Have a kettle of boiling water on the fire. Pare the fruit and remove the cores; then weigh it. Drop the pared fruit into the boiling water, and cook gently until so tender that it can be pierced with a straw. Take it from the water and drain it. Make a syrup the same as for peaches, and put the cooked fruit into it. Simmer for about half an hour; then put up in jars. This amount of sugar—one pound to three pounds of fruit—makes a fairly rich preserve. Less may be used if one prefer to have the

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Preserved Pineapple.

Preserved Pineapple.

Pare the pineapple, remove the eyes, and cut the fruit into thin slices, cutting down the sides until the heart is reached. Weigh the sliced fruit and put it in a bowl, with half a pound of granulated sugar to every pound of fruit. Mix the fruit and sugar well, and put it in a cold place over night. In the morning put the fruit and sugar in the preserving kettle, and place on the range. When the syrup begins to boil, skim carefully; then fill the hot jars with the preserve and seal them. The pin

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Preserved Uncooked Pineapple.

Preserved Uncooked Pineapple.

Pare the pineapple and take out all the eyes. With a sharp knife, cut the fruit in thin slices, cutting down the sides until the heart is reached (this is to be discarded). Weigh the sliced pineapple and put it in an earthen dish. Add to it as many pounds of granulated sugar as there are pounds of fruit. Stir this gently; then pack the fruit and sugar in pint jars, leaving space for two tablespoonfuls of Jamaica rum in each jar. Add the liquor; then put on the covers and tighten them. Set away i

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Sun Cooked Strawberries.

Sun Cooked Strawberries.

Pick over the berries and weigh them; then put them in the preserving kettle. Add to them as many pounds of granulated sugar as there are of strawberries. Do not have the fruit and sugar more than three or four inches deep in the preserving kettle. Place on the fire and heat slowly to the boiling point. Let the preserve cook for just ten minutes from the time it begins to boil, skimming well. Take up and pour into meat platters, having the preserve not much more than an inch and a half deep. Set

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CANNING FRUITS.

CANNING FRUITS.

The destruction of germs and the exclusion of air are the principles upon which canning is based. The article to be preserved is cooked for a short time, and then put in jars from which the air has been expelled by heating them to the boiling point. They are then sealed, and when cold are set in a cool, dark place. If all the conditions be right, the fruit will keep for an unlimited number of years, and when opened will be found to have nearly all the freshness and aroma of newly gathered fruit.

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Filling the Jars.

Filling the Jars.

To fill the jars, have on the stove two pans partially filled with water. Let the water in one be boiling, but in the other not so hot that the hand cannot be held in it with comfort. Put a few jars and covers in the cooler water, turning them now and then until all parts become warm; then put them in the boiling water. This does away with all danger of breaking. When the jars have been heated in boiling water, drain, fill, and seal them one at a time. In filling the jars be sure that they stand

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Different Fruits Need Different Treatment.

Different Fruits Need Different Treatment.

Now, as to the different modes of treating various kinds of fruit. We know that, when the germs are killed and the air is excluded, sugar is not necessary for the preservation of the fruit. But there are few kinds of fruit that are not improved by some sugar, because it fixes the color and flavor, and gives much finer results. Some kinds of fruit require but little sugar for this purpose, while others are poor indeed without a generous amount. One has only to contrast the flavor and quality of t

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To Can Small Fruits.

To Can Small Fruits.

Any fruit, if boiled long enough to have all the germs killed and the air expelled, will keep indefinitely if sealed while boiling hot. Sugar helps to preserve the fruit, but it is not absolutely essential to its preservation. Sugar, however, preserves the fine flavor and color of the fruit. Some fruits are not good when canned, unless a great deal of sugar be used, whereas just the contrary is true of other kinds. Tastes differ as to the amount of sugar to be employed; each housekeeper must stu

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Canned Rhubarb.

Canned Rhubarb.

Get tender rhubarb. Pare it, and cut in pieces about two inches long. Wash, and then pack it in glass jars. Fill the jars with cold water, and let them stand for ten or fifteen minutes. Pour off the water and fill the jars to overflowing with fresh cold water. Seal the jars and put them in a cool, dark place. This will keep for a year or more, and should be treated the same as fresh uncooked rhubarb when required for use....

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Blackberry Jam.

Blackberry Jam.

After picking over the berries, put them in the preserving kettle and set on the range. Stir the fruit frequently. Let it boil for twenty minutes, counting from the time it begins to bubble. Take it from the fire and rub it through a sieve fine enough to keep back the seeds. Measure the strained mixture and put it back in the preserving kettle with a pint and a half of granulated sugar for every quart of strained fruit. Heat the preserve slowly and stir frequently. Let it simmer for forty-five m

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Raspberry Jam.

Raspberry Jam.

Pick the fruit free from leaves, stems, and imperfect berries. Put it in a preserving kettle and set on the fire. Stir frequently. Simmer for half an hour after it begins to boil; then add the sugar, and simmer for one hour longer. Put the jam in hot jars, and seal while hot....

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Currant and Raisin Jam.

Currant and Raisin Jam.

Cut the raisins in two and seed them; then cook them for one hour or more in the pint of water. Pick over the currants and put them on to cook in the preserving kettle. Add the orange juice, and cook for fifteen minutes after the fruit begins to boil. Remove the seeds from the orange, and, after chopping the pulp and peel very fine, rub through the sugar. When the currants have been boiling for fifteen minutes, add the other ingredients to them, and cook for fifteen minutes longer. Put into jell

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Pear Marmalade.

Pear Marmalade.

Boil the lemons in clear water until the peel can be pierced with a broom splint; then cut it into small pieces. Peel and chip the pears, and cut the ginger in thin slices. Put all the ingredients into the preserving kettle and simmer for two hours. Pour the marmalade into jelly glasses. This quantity will fill eighteen. The water in which the lemons are cooked is to be thrown away....

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Jellies.

Jellies.

In no department of preserving does the housekeeper feel less sure of the results than in jelly making, so much depends upon the condition of the fruit. This is more pronounced in the case of small fruits than with the larger kinds. When currants are over-ripe, or have been picked after a rain, the result of using them will be uncertain. Perhaps we notice it more with this fruit than with any other, because it is so generally used for jelly. An understanding of the properties of fruit which form

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Covering Jellies.

Covering Jellies.

There are several methods of covering jellies. Pasting paper over the top of the glass is one of the oldest. Thin sheets of cotton batting, tied over the top, make a good covering. A piece of white tissue paper cut to fit into the glass, and simply laid on top of the jelly, is all that some people use. It is stated that the jelly will not mould or shrink so much when covered in this way as when the paper is pasted over the glass....

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Currant Jelly.

Currant Jelly.

After freeing the currants from leaves and stems, put them in the preserving kettle and set on the range. Crush the fruit with a wooden vegetable masher, and stir frequently until heated to the boiling point. Have a large square of cheese-cloth in a strainer which is set over a bowl. Turn the crushed fruit and juice into this and let it stand long enough to drain thoroughly. Do not use any pressure to extract the juice. Have a flannel bag suspended over a bowl, and pour the strained juice into t

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Currant Jelly, No. 2.

Currant Jelly, No. 2.

Pick the currants free from stems and leaves, and put them, a few quarts at a time, in a large earthen or granite-ware dish, and crush them with a vegetable masher. Put the crushed fruit into a square of cheese-cloth, and press out the juice. Put the strained juice into the preserving kettle and set on the fire. When it boils, skim it well; then turn it into a flannel bag and let it drain into an earthen bowl. Do not press the juice through the bag. Measure this strained juice, and put it on the

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Crab Apple Jelly.

Crab Apple Jelly.

Wash the fruit and put it in a preserving kettle with just enough water to cover it. Let it simmer for one hour. Have a piece of cheese-cloth in a strainer that is set over a bowl, and turn the cooked fruit and liquid into it. Let this drain well; then strain the liquid through a clean flannel bag. Measure it, and place on the fire, in the preserving kettle. Boil for ten minutes, counting from the time it begins to boil; then add the sugar, using a pint and a half for every quart of juice. When

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Other Jellies.

Other Jellies.

Jelly can be made from any of the small juicy fruits in the same manner as currant jelly....

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Cucumber Pickles.

Cucumber Pickles.

Have a part of the stems left on the cucumbers. Wash the cucumbers in cold water; then lay them in a tub or jar, sprinkle the salt over them, and cover with ice water. Lay a large piece of ice on top of the cucumbers, and set away in a cold place for thirty-six hours. At the end of that time take the cucumbers from the salt and water, and place in a stone jar, mixing the onions and peppers among them. Tie the whole spice in a thin muslin bag and after putting it, with the vinegar and alum, in a

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Sweet Cucumber Pickles.

Sweet Cucumber Pickles.

Have the cucumbers picked with a part of the stems on. Wash them, and put in a tub or stone jar. Make a brine with the salt and six quarts of water. Pour this on the cucumbers while boiling hot. On the second and third days pour off the brine. Boil and skim it, and then pour it, while boiling hot, on the cucumbers. On the fourth day take the pickles from the brine. Put the alum in six quarts of boiling water and boil until the alum is dissolved. Pour this on the pickles and let them stand until

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Tomato Pickle.

Tomato Pickle.

Peel and slice the tomatoes. Chop the onions and peppers fine. Put all the ingredients in the preserving kettle and cook slowly for an hour and a half; then bottle and seal....

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Canadian Tomato Pickle.

Canadian Tomato Pickle.

Slice the tomatoes and onions and sprinkle the salt over them. Let them stand over night. In the morning drain off the liquid and put the vegetables in the preserving kettle with one quart each of water and vinegar. Let the mixture boil for five minutes, then drain well. To the drained mixture add the spice, sugar, and two quarts of vinegar. Put on the fire and boil for fifteen minutes, counting from the time it begins to bubble. Put into jars and seal....

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Governor’s Sauce.

Governor’s Sauce.

Slice the tomatoes and sprinkle the salt over them. Let them stand over night. In the morning drain off the liquor and put the tomatoes in the preserving kettle. Add the seasonings and the peppers and onions, chopped fine. Pour over these ingredients enough vinegar to cover them well. Simmer the sauce for one hour and a half; then put up in jars and seal....

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Tomato Catsup.

Tomato Catsup.

Cut the tomatoes up and put them on the fire, in the preserving kettle. Add the garlic, and cook until the tomatoes are tender,—about forty-five minutes after they begin to boil. Rub them through a sieve fine enough to keep back the seeds. Put the strained mixture on the fire, in the preserving kettle. Add the sugar, salt, and pepper. Tie the whole spice and red peppers in a piece of muslin, and put them with the other ingredients. Mix the mustard smoothly with cold water, and stir into the mixt

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Canned Tomatoes.

Canned Tomatoes.

Put ripe tomatoes in a large pan and cover them with boiling water. Let them stand for four or five minutes; then pour off the water and pare the tomatoes. Another way to reach the same result is to have a large kettle of boiling water on the fire, and put the tomatoes in a wire basket and plunge them into the boiling water for a minute or two. After paring the tomatoes, cut them in small pieces. Put the sliced vegetable in the preserving kettle and heat slowly, stirring frequently. Let them boi

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Spiced Currants.

Spiced Currants.

Measure the currants after they have been picked. Put all the ingredients into the preserving kettle and place on the stove. Stir the mixture frequently, and when it begins to boil skim carefully. Cook for half an hour, counting from the time it begins to boil. Put it up in small jars or tumblers. This is to be served with meat....

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Spiced Crab Apple.

Spiced Crab Apple.

Cover the crab apples with boiling water and cook them until tender; then rub them through a sieve, pressing all the liquid through also. Put the strained fruit into a preserving kettle, and add the sugar and seasoning. Cook gently for an hour and a half; then put in tumblers. When cold, cover with paper, the same as jelly. This is to be served with cold meat....

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Piccalilli.

Piccalilli.

Slice the tomatoes, peppers, and onions. Add the salt to the sliced vegetables, and mix well. Let this mixture stand over night. In the morning drain off the liquid; then add the other ingredients, and, putting the mixture in a preserving kettle, cook for four hours, stirring often. Put the piccalilli in glass jars while hot, and it will keep for a year or more. LIFE on a farm has its bright and dark sides, as does life elsewhere. If all other things were equal, the pure air, abundance of sunshi

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To Prepare Meat for Corning.

To Prepare Meat for Corning.

All meats should be kept until free from animal heat before being put into brine. This will take at least forty-eight hours. Have the meat cut into suitable pieces and sprinkled lightly with fine salt and saltpetre in the proportion of one tablespoonful of saltpetre to four of salt. Lay the meat on a board that is slightly inclined, so that the surface blood which is drawn from the meat can run off. At the end of forty-eight or more hours put it in the brine. All meats should be completely cover

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Pickle for any Kind of Meat.

Pickle for any Kind of Meat.

Put all the ingredients in a large kettle and set on the fire. Stir frequently, and skim until clear; then pour into a large tub, being careful not to turn in the sediment. Any kind of meat may be put into this pickle when cold. Beef should remain in the pickle from one to four or five weeks, as one may desire it slightly or thoroughly salted....

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Pickle for Tongues.

Pickle for Tongues.

Prepare this pickle the same as directed for meat pickle. It will require ten or twelve days’ time to pickle the tongues. If the flavor of juniper berries be liked, simmer half a pound in one quart of water for one hour; then strain the liquid into the brine....

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Corned Shoulder of Mutton.

Corned Shoulder of Mutton.

Rub two tablespoonfuls of salt into a shoulder of mutton and let it stand for one day; then put it into a pickle for five or six days....

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To Cure Hams.

To Cure Hams.

Mix all the ingredients together and rub thoroughly into the hams. Pack the meat in a cask or tub having the skin side down. After three weeks change the top layer to the bottom. Let the hams lie in pickle for six or seven weeks; then wash them, and wipe them dry, and finally hang them up to smoke. It will take from one to two weeks to smoke them. They are often smoked three months. Hams may be pickled in a brine such as is prepared for tongues. They should remain in it from four to six weeks, i

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To Cure Breakfast Bacon.

To Cure Breakfast Bacon.

Select the flank pieces and the thin end of the ribs of the pork, and treat the same as the hams. It is not necessary to pickle or smoke these thin pieces quite so long a time as the thick hams....

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Sausage Meat.

Sausage Meat.

Have the pork about one third fat and two thirds lean. Chop it fine, and free from all bits of gristle. Mix the seasoning thoroughly with it. Fill cases with this, or pack in stone jars and keep in a cool, dry place....

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English Sausage Meat.

English Sausage Meat.

Prepare the sausage meat as directed in the preceding rule....

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To Cure Jowl and Chines.

To Cure Jowl and Chines.

When a hog is being cut up, take out the backbone and remove the greater part of the fat; then cut the chine in pieces about a foot long. Split open the head and take out the brains. Next cut off the snout. Cut the head in two, and cut off the upper bone to give the cheeks a good shape. Mix three teaspoonfuls of saltpetre and one cupful of salt. Rub this over the jowl and chines. Now pack them closely in a small butter-tub, and place a piece of board and a heavy weight on top of them. Put two qu

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To Cook Jowl.

To Cook Jowl.

Wash the jowl, put it in a stewpan and set on the fire. Cover it with cold water and heat it slowly to the boiling point. Skim, and set back where it will simmer for three hours. The water should not more than bubble. Serve with sliced and boiled turnips and boiled potatoes. Spinach or cabbage boiled in salted water, then drained and chopped, and seasoned with salt and butter, should be served with the jowl when possible. Later in the season substitute beet and other greens for the spinach and c

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Chine Pillau.

Chine Pillau.

This is a cheap and savory dish. Wash and wipe the pieces of chine carefully, and lay them in a small dripping pan. Sprinkle the powdered sage over them and then cook for an hour in a moderate oven, being careful not to let the gravy burn. It is a good plan to set the pan on the grate, to prevent the bottom from becoming very hot. At the end of the hour take the meat from the oven and place it in a large stewpan. Into the pan in which the meat was cooked put the chopped onion. Set the pan on top

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How to Render Lard.

How to Render Lard.

The best lard is that made from the fat which lies around the kidneys, and is termed leaf lard. Remove all the skin, and cut the lard in small pieces. Put it in an iron pot, and heat slowly, stirring it frequently. Cook it in this manner until the pieces of fat look shrivelled and straw-colored. On no account let it get so hot that it will smoke. Draw the pot back where the lard will partially cool; then strain it through a piece of cheese-cloth. Tin pails are satisfactory vessels in which to ke

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Hogs’ Head Cheese.

Hogs’ Head Cheese.

Have the head split, scraped, and thoroughly cleaned. Put it in a stewpan, with enough boiling water to cover it generously, and simmer for five hours, skimming the liquid several times during the first hour. Place the head on a platter and remove the bones. When the meat is cold, chop it fine, and season each solid quart with two tablespoonfuls of salt, a level teaspoonful of pepper, and a teaspoonful of powdered and sifted sage. Add to this mixture half a pint of the water in which the head wa

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Scrapple.

Scrapple.

Clean the pig’s head and put it in a stewpan with the hot water. Let it simmer for three hours; then take it from the fire and cool it. When cold, remove the bones and chop the meat fine. Add this and the seasonings to the liquor in which it was boiled, and return to the fire. When the contents of the stewpan begin to boil, sprinkle in the meal, stirring all the time. Cook for two hours, stirring frequently. Rinse a deep bread pan in cold water, and pour the hot mixture into it. Set away in a co

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Tripe.

Tripe.

Lay the tripe on a table and scrape it with a broad-bladed knife; then wash it thoroughly in several waters. Soak it for five or six days in salt and water, changing the water every other day, and using a quart of salt to three gallons of water. At the end of this time boil it gently for ten hours, turning it frequently, that it may not stick to the bottom of the boiler and burn. When the tripe has been boiling for eight hours, add half a pint of salt. The boiled tripe may be used plain, with a

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Soused Tripe.

Soused Tripe.

Cut the tripe in pieces and place it in a stone pot. Heat the vinegar and spice to the boiling point and pour over the tripe. Set away in a cool place and it will keep for several weeks. It will be ready for use in twelve hours, and it may be broiled or fried....

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Pigs’ Feet.

Pigs’ Feet.

Pigs’ feet should be treated in every particular the same as tripe. After being boiled they may, when cold, be broiled, or be fried in batter or crumbs. They may be soused, and then be broiled or fried....

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To Preserve Rennet.

To Preserve Rennet.

Rennet is the lining membrane of one of the stomachs of the calf. Select the stomach of a healthy calf, and empty it. Remove the outer skin and the fat. Wipe the rennet, and then salt it well, using about half a pint of salt, and putting the greater part of it in the sack. Let the rennet lie on a dish for five or six hours, then stretch it on a forked stick. Cover it with netting, to protect it from flies, and hang it up in a cool, dry place. When the rennet is dry (which will be in about a week

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Rennet Wine.

Rennet Wine.

Wash the rennet, and cut it into small pieces. Put this in a wide-mouthed bottle, with one quart of sherry. This will be ready for use in four or five days. Rennet wine is used with fresh milk to make delicate desserts, such as slip, rennet custard, etc. When the quart of wine has been used, a second quart may be poured on the rennet in the bottle. If salted rennet be used, soak it for several hours in cold water to remove the salt....

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Essence of Rennet.

Essence of Rennet.

Clean a rennet and cut it into small bits. Put these in a glass jar with three ounces of salt. Work the salt into the rennet with a spoon. Now cover the jar, and put in a cool place for six weeks. At the end of this time add a gill of rum and a pint of water. Let this stand for two days; then filter through paper, and bottle for use. This essence may be employed the same as rennet wine, using with it any flavor one wishes....

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THE DAIRY.

THE DAIRY.

The suggestions given for the work in the dairy are for the guidance of the woman who has only the simplest appliances to work with, and only a small amount of milk or cream to handle. In the large dairies, with such modern apparatus as the separator, and other fine machinery, the process of making butter differs from that outlined in this chapter. The essentials are always the same, whether it be in the smallest and most primitive dairy, or in the largest and most modern. There must be perfect

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Care of Milk and Cream.

Care of Milk and Cream.

Milk and all the products of milk require the most careful attention. Thorough cleanliness and good ventilation are absolutely necessary. Milk, butter, and cream quickly absorb any odors that there may be near by. If possible, one room or pantry should be kept exclusively for the dairy products. If this be impossible keep one side of the room—that nearest the window—for this purpose. Never put strong-odored or warm food in this room. Keep the room scrupulously clean and dry . Every utensil that

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Butter Making.

Butter Making.

The quality of the butter will depend largely upon the care of the milk and cream. It will help the butter-maker to use a thermometer. One suitable for dairy work can be purchased for twenty-five cents at any store where they keep such goods, or where they keep dairy supplies. The cream should be slightly sour, and when put into the churn the temperature should be from 58° to 60°. In cold weather place the cream jar in a pan of hot water, and stir frequently until the cream is raised to the desi

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Cottage Cheese.

Cottage Cheese.

Put a pan of thick sour milk over a stewpan of hot water, and heat almost to the boiling point. When the pan has been over the water for about six minutes, turn the thick milk gently with a large spoon, getting the hot part on top. When the whey becomes so hot that it cannot be touched by the finger, turn the mass into a strainer and let the whey drain off. When the curd is free from whey, season it with salt and butter, allowing one teaspoonful of salt and one tablespoonful of butter to every f

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Cleanliness and Ventilation.

Cleanliness and Ventilation.

The bedding, the clothes of the patient, and the rooms must be kept absolutely sweet and clean. If it be impossible to sweep the room, all dust may be wiped from the floor with a dry cloth. If the room be carpeted,—which is a pity when one is sick,—brush it with a soft hair brush, and then wipe the carpet with a cloth wrung out of warm water. If possible, ventilate the room two or three times a day by having the wind sweep through it. Protect the patient by extra blankets, and then spread a shee

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Bathing.

Bathing.

Few things are more refreshing to a sick person than a sponge bath. It should be given morning and night. A little alcohol in the water is invigorating, and prevents the patient from taking cold. Have but little water in the sponge, and begin with the face and neck. Keep the body covered, and wash only a small part at one time. Wipe with a soft towel. At night the patient may be rubbed with alcohol, using the hand. This rubbing often insures a good night’s rest. Rubbing is beneficial at almost a

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Turpentine Applications.

Turpentine Applications.

Refined turpentine is often very valuable in the sick-room. In cases of inflammation of the bowels, kidneys, or bladder, and of congestion of the lungs, a turpentine application often will relieve the most intense pain. Indeed, this remedy is good and safe for almost any pain that can be reached by external applications. There are two ways of using the applications. When the turpentine is to remain on the patient for a long time, mix it with lard, and spread the mixture on flannel. Lay this on t

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To Relieve Neuralgia.

To Relieve Neuralgia.

When one is suffering from neuralgia in the head, put him in a warm bed. Make a brick very hot and cover it with several thicknesses of flannel. Fold a coarse, thick cloth and place it on the pillow. Lay the brick on this and wet thoroughly with rum. Rest the most painful part of the head or face on the brick, and throw a blanket over the patient, covering the head. Keep covered in this way until the pain ceases. When the blanket is removed, wipe the moisture from the head, face, and neck; then

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To Keep Cracked Ice.

To Keep Cracked Ice.

It often happens that a patient is obliged to take a great deal of cracked ice. In such a case make a bag of rather thin flannel, and cut a small hole in the bottom. Have a long tape run in the hem at the top. Hang this bag in a large pitcher, fastening it at the top with the tape. Fill the bag with cracked ice, and cover the pitcher with several thicknesses of flannel....

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To Break Ice in a Sick Room.

To Break Ice in a Sick Room.

Place the piece of ice on a napkin and press a large pin or needle firmly into it. It will break off smoothly at this point. If ice be scarce, it is best to put it in the flannel bag in one large piece and chip it off as required....

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Mutton Broth.

Mutton Broth.

See that the meat is perfectly sweet. Cut off all the fat; then cut the lean meat in pieces and put it in a stewpan with the bones and cold water. Place the stewpan on the stove; and when the broth begins to boil, skim it and set back where it will just bubble. Put the barley in another stewpan with a pint of cold water, and place on the fire. Cook for one hour; then pour off the water, and, after putting the barley with the broth, cook for three hours longer. Add the salt, and strain the broth;

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Chicken Broth.

Chicken Broth.

Free the fowl from fat and skin, and cut in small pieces, breaking the bones. Wash the meat, and, putting it in a stewpan with the cold water, place it on the fire. When the broth begins to boil, skim it carefully. Draw the stewpan back to a cooler part of the range, where the broth will only bubble for three hours. Add the salt, and strain. A tablespoonful of rice, tapioca, or sago may be cooked in this broth, if it be thought best for the patient....

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Clam Broth.

Clam Broth.

Get a dozen clams in the shell, and wash them in several waters; then soak them for an hour in a pan of cold water. On taking them from the water, put them in a stewpan and set on the fire. Add a gill of water, and, covering the stewpan, cook for fifteen minutes. Pour the liquor through a fine strainer. Taste to see if salt enough. It may be too salt; in which case add a little boiling water to the broth....

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Mutton Custard.

Mutton Custard.

The suet must be from the kidneys; sweet, and free from all tough membrane. Shred it very fine, and put it in the double-boiler with the cinnamon and milk; reserving, however, one gill of the milk. Cook for one hour, then strain. Return the strained liquid to the double-boiler, and place on the fire. Mix the flour and cold milk to a smooth paste, and stir into the hot mixture. Add the salt, and cook for ten minutes. Give the patient as much of this as he will willingly take; say, half a pint eve

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Oysters Roasted in the Shell.

Oysters Roasted in the Shell.

Get ten or a dozen good oysters in the shell. Wash the shells, and place them in an old baking-pan. Put the pan into a hot oven, keeping it there until the shells begin to open. Remove the upper shells and place the under ones, containing the oysters, on a large plate. Serve at once. The oysters should be seasoned with butter, salt, and pepper....

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Steamed Oysters.

Steamed Oysters.

Put eight or ten large oysters in a little fancy dish or saucer, and place in the steamer. Cook for about five minutes. Season with salt, pepper, and butter, and serve at once with hot toast....

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Oyster Roast.

Oyster Roast.

Have a slice of crisp toast in a little dish. Put half a pint of oysters in a saucepan, and set on the fire. When they boil, skim them, and season with salt, pepper, and butter. Pour the oysters and liquor on the toast and serve at once....

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Beef Tea.

Beef Tea.

Put in a large-mouthed bottle one pound of beef, free of fat, and chopped fine. Add to it half a pint of cold water, and let the mixture stand for an hour. At the end of that time place the bottle in a saucepan of cold water. Place the pan on the fire, and heat the water slowly almost to the boiling point, without letting it boil. Cook the beef for two hours; then strain, and season with salt. The thick sediment which falls to the bottom when the tea has stood awhile is the most nutritious part,

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Beef Tea, No. 2.

Beef Tea, No. 2.

Put into a bowl a pound of beef, free of fat, and chopped fine. Add half a pint of cold water, and stir well. Place the bowl in the refrigerator for four hours. When the tea is to be given to the patient, strain into a saucepan the quantity required. Season it with salt, and place the saucepan on the fire. Stir constantly until the tea becomes hot, but do not let it boil. This tea has a peculiarly bright flavor, and affords a pleasant change from that made by long steeping in hot water....

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Beef Juice.

Beef Juice.

Use a piece of round or flank steak about an inch thick. Broil it for eight minutes; then put it on a warm plate and, after cutting it in small pieces, press in the lemon squeezer. Season with a little salt. This may be fed to the patient; or a little bread may be soaked in it; or add a little hot water, and you have beef tea....

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Round Steak.

Round Steak.

When you cannot get a tender, juicy steak, or when the patient’s power of mastication is not good, a nutritious and digestible steak can be prepared from the round of beef. Lay a thin slice of round steak on a board. Scrape one surface with a sharp knife until there is nothing left on that side but the tough fibres; then turn the meat over, and scrape the other side in like manner. When the tender meat is scraped off, put it in a small dish. Press this into a square, having it about half an inch

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Raw Beef Sandwiches.

Raw Beef Sandwiches.

Scrape some beef in the manner described for preparing round steak. Season it generously with salt. After cutting four slices of stale bread as thin as a wafer, spread the beef on two of the slices, and lay the other slices on top, pressing them down carefully. Cut them into pieces about an inch square. Arrange these tastefully on a fringed napkin or in a pretty little dish....

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Flour Gruel.

Flour Gruel.

After reserving half a gill of the milk, put the remainder in the double-boiler and set on the fire. Mix the flour with the cold milk, and stir into the boiling milk. Cook for half an hour. Add the salt; then strain and serve....

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Oatmeal Gruel.

Oatmeal Gruel.

Have the water boiling in a stewpan. Stir rapidly, and sprinkle the oatmeal into it, stirring all the while. Cover, and set back where it will cook gently for two hours. At the end of that time add the salt, and serve. This gruel may be strained or not, as may be best for the patient. A part of the gruel may be poured into a cup and a few spoonfuls of milk or cream be added to it. If the gruel be liked thick, use four tablespoonfuls of oatmeal....

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Indian Meal Gruel.

Indian Meal Gruel.

Put the boiling water in a saucepan and set on the fire. Mix the flour and meal with the cold water, and stir into the boiling water. Boil gently for two hours. Add the salt, and strain; then serve. A little cream may be added to the gruel when it is served....

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Arrowroot Gruel.

Arrowroot Gruel.

Reserve four tablespoonfuls of milk and put the remainder on to boil. Mix the arrowroot with the cold milk, and stir into the boiling milk. Add the salt, and cook for ten minutes....

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Cracker Gruel.

Cracker Gruel.

Put the cracker crumbs in a saucepan and pour the boiling water upon them, stirring all the time. Place the saucepan on the fire and stir the mixture until it boils. Add the milk and salt, and continue stirring until the gruel boils again. Serve at once. For some tastes half a teaspoonful of butter is an agreeable addition....

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Milk Punch.

Milk Punch.

Mix these ingredients and serve at once; or give the punch a froth by pouring the mixture from one bowl to another, holding the bowl high as the liquid is poured from it....

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Egg Tea.

Egg Tea.

Beat the white of the egg to a stiff dry froth, and beat the sugar into it. Next add the yolk of the egg, and beat well. Pour the hot milk or water on this, and serve. If you choose, a little nutmeg or wine may be added to the mixture....

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Eggnog.

Eggnog.

Eggnog is made the same as egg tea, using cold milk and a tablespoonful of brandy, wine, or rum....

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Rice Water.

Rice Water.

Wash the rice and put with the water in a saucepan. Place on the fire and cook for thirty-five minutes. Strain the liquid, and season with the salt. Half water and half milk may be used in this drink, if you prefer....

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Apple Water.

Apple Water.

Bake three tart apples in rather a quick oven until they are tender. Sprinkle one tablespoonful of sugar over them, and return to the oven until the sugar becomes browned. Crush the apples, and pour a pint of boiling water upon them. Let them stand for fifty minutes; then strain and cool the water....

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Barley Water.

Barley Water.

Wash the barley, and put it on the fire in a stewpan, with one pint of cold water. Cook for one hour. Pour off the water and rinse the barley. Add the pint and a half of cold water, and cook for two hours longer. Season with the salt, and strain. If lemon be good for the patient, add a tablespoonful of juice to the strained liquid, and sweeten with two lumps of sugar....

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Crust Coffee.

Crust Coffee.

Dry some crusts of bread in the oven; then toast them until dark brown. Break up these crusts, and measure out half a pint. Put these in a bowl, and pour a pint and a half of boiling water upon them. Cover the bowl for ten minutes, then strain the coffee. This may be served hot or cold....

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Wine Whey.

Wine Whey.

Put half a pint of sweet milk into a double-boiler, and when it boils add a gill of sherry. Stir well, and let it cook until the curd and whey separate. If the wine be quite sour, the milk will separate at once; sometimes it is so sweet that an extra quantity is required to curdle the milk. If there be any objection to the use of more wine in a case like this, add a teaspoonful of vinegar. Pour the liquid through a fine strainer....

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Moss Lemonade.

Moss Lemonade.

Put the farina in a bowl or pitcher, and pour the boiling water on it. Stir well, and steep for an hour. Add the salt, sugar, and lemon, and strain. This is an excellent drink when a cold has settled on the lungs. Serve hot or cold. Should there be any reason why the patient cannot take lemon, use some other flavor....

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Restorative Jelly.

Restorative Jelly.

Put all the ingredients in a bowl for two hours. At the end of that time place the bowl in a saucepan of boiling water, and cook, stirring frequently, until all the ingredients are dissolved. Strain, and set away to harden. The bowl must be kept covered all the time the jelly is soaking and cooking. This jelly is to be used when the patient finds it difficult to swallow either liquid or solid food. A small piece of it, placed in the mouth, melts slowly, and is swallowed unconsciously. The sugar

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Senna Prunes.

Senna Prunes.

Steep the senna in the water, where it will keep hot for two hours; then strain the water. Wash the stewpan, and put into it the senna water and the prunes, well washed. Cover, and place the stewpan on a part of the range where the contents will just simmer. Cook until the prunes have absorbed all the water; then put them in a jar, and use as required. This is a mild and pleasant remedy for constipation. The prunes are delicious, and will keep for months. They are convenient to take when travell

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A Gargle for a Sore Throat.

A Gargle for a Sore Throat.

Put into a goblet of cold water one teaspoonful of tincture of muriate of iron, and one heaped teaspoonful of chlorate of potash. Gargle the throat with this. It will do no harm if a small quantity of the liquid be unintentionally swallowed....

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Camphorated Oil.

Camphorated Oil.

Put into a large bottle four ounces of olive oil and four of spirits of camphor, and shake well. When there is pain in the chest or lungs rub with the camphorated oil. This is excellent to use in case of sprains or bruises....

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For a Cold in the Head.

For a Cold in the Head.

Mix together in a large bottle four ounces of ammonia and four of camphor. A cologne bottle with a glass stopper is the best for this preparation. When there are symptoms of a cold in the head inhale this mixture frequently....

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Lime Water.

Lime Water.

Put about four ounces of quicklime in a bowl, and pour upon it two quarts of cold water. Stir the mixture well, and cover. Let this stand for four or live hours. At the end of that time pour off the clear liquid and bottle it. Throw away the sediment. THE season of house-cleaning is greeted with different degrees of welcome, or horror, by the several members of the family. Some people appear to think there is no good reason for this annual thorough cleaning of the house; others, however, are rea

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System Absolutely Necessary.

System Absolutely Necessary.

Every house certainly should have a thorough cleaning every year, that there may be a check put upon the accumulation of dust or dirt which might breed disease, even if no other reason influenced the housekeeper. This yearly cleaning need not be a season of discomfort to the family. If possible, a little extra help should be engaged; but even if this be out of the question, the work can be done in such a way that every one shall not be worn out by the time the cleaning is finished. Too much shou

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Cleaning the Cellar.

Cleaning the Cellar.

In no part of the house is it so important that the cleaning be thoroughly done as in the cellar. Not a corner should be slighted. Begin with the furnace. Have the registers closed in every room. Remove all the cinders and ashes, and clean out all the flues and pipes. Many housekeepers have the pipes removed, but the smoke-pipe is really the only one that it is necessary to take down. This pipe is liable to rust, because of the moisture it gathers from the chimney; nevertheless, if there be no w

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Do not Omit Whitewashing.

Do not Omit Whitewashing.

Now have the walls whitewashed. Before the various articles stored in the cellar are put back in place, brush them again. Sweep the floor once more. Paint with black enamel varnish the iron parts of the furnace, and also any iron pipes that may be exposed to moisture. An excellent whitewash may be made by putting eight quarts of unslaked lime into a large tub, and pouring over it enough boiling water to make a paste. Stir well, and cover until cold, stirring occasionally, that the wash may be sm

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From Cellar to Attic.

From Cellar to Attic.

After the cellar is cleaned, the next move is to begin at the top of the house and work down. It is not safe in these days, when houses are kept almost as warm in winter as they become in summer, to take it for granted that anything is perfectly free from carpet-bugs, moths, and other insects. Every article in the storeroom should be examined, brushed, and shaken. All the boxes, drawers, and closets should be brushed, wiped, and lined with new paper. As a measure of safety all receptacles should

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Taking up and Cleaning Carpets.

Taking up and Cleaning Carpets.

Have two strong sheets made of unbleached cotton. Remove the carpet tacks with a tack-lifter, being careful to put every one of them in a box or bowl. It is not only extremely painful, but also dangerous, to step on a rusty tack, and the housekeeper should make it a matter of conscience to see to it that none are left lying about. When all the tacks have been removed fold the carpet carefully, lengthwise; then roll it up and put it in one of the sheets, tying this. Put the linings in the other s

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Sweeping and Dusting.

Sweeping and Dusting.

When the carpet and linings have been removed from the room, sprinkle the floor with either moistened sawdust, fine sand, or bits of damp paper; then sweep up the dust. Go over the floor a second time. Brush the ceiling and walls of the room and closets, being careful to get every crack free from dust. Clean, with a small brush, the tops of the doors and windows, the window sashes, the ledges and blinds, and all the grooves in the woodwork. For the walls and ceiling use a broom covered with Cant

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Washing Painted Surfaces.

Washing Painted Surfaces.

Next wash the paint. If it be white do not use ordinary soap. Wring a flannel cloth out of hot water and dip it lightly in whiting. Rub with this, and then wash off all the whiting; next wipe with the cloth wrung out of hot water, and finally rub with a dry flannel until the surface is perfectly dry. Have a pointed stick for all the grooves and corners. If the woodwork be grooved a great deal, as is now the fashion, a small scrubbing brush, such as is sold for cleaning kitchen boards, will be fo

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Laying the Carpet.

Laying the Carpet.

Lay the carpet linings on the floor, putting a small tack here and there to keep them in place. Put the carpet on the floor, unrolling it in the direction in which it is to be laid. Begin to tack it at the end of the room which is the most irregular. If there be a fireplace or bay-window in the room, fit the carpet around these places first. Use large tacks to hold the carpet temporarily in place; they can be withdrawn when the work is finished. When the carpet is fitted to a place, use small ta

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Rooms on the First Floor.

Rooms on the First Floor.

The rooms on this floor nowadays are generally shut off by portières, over and under which the dust sifts into the adjoining rooms when one of the series is being cleaned, unless the housekeeper provide the proper screens. Have for this purpose sheets of strong, unbleached cotton, a yard longer and wider than the height and width of the openings. If you take down your portières and tack these sheets on the top and at the bottom of the casings, the other rooms will be well protected. Now dust and

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Kitchen, Pantry, and Closets.

Kitchen, Pantry, and Closets.

Last, but not least, on the programme comes the back part of the house. Beginning with the china closet, remove and wipe all the dishes. Brush the walls, ceiling, and shelves. Take the drawers to the kitchen and wash and wipe them, afterward drying them in the sun or before the fire. Wash all the woodwork and the floors before replacing the dishes. Clean the kitchen closets and pantry in the same manner. Wash and scour all the wooden, tin, and iron utensils, getting them perfectly dry and sweet

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Points of Difference in Various Brands of Flour.

Points of Difference in Various Brands of Flour.

MUCH trouble in cooking arises from the difference in various brands of flour. There are often, indeed, variations in the same brand. All are caused by the different modes of making the flour, and changes in the kind of wheat used. When flour is made by the roller process, two cupfuls will make a much stiffer batter than flour made by the old process of grinding between stones, or produced by first crushing by rollers and then grinding between stones. Millers all over the country are always look

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When and Why Soda, Cream of Tartar, and Baking

When and Why Soda, Cream of Tartar, and Baking

Powders are Used. Soda may be used in all kinds of bread, cake, pudding, and griddle cakes where an acid also is used. The acid may be cream of tartar, vinegar, lemon juice, sour milk or cream, molasses, or something else. If two teaspoonfuls of cream of tartar be used, there must be one teaspoonful of soda, save in cases where the cream of tartar is used only to give tone and firmness of texture to a pudding or cake in which only the whites of the eggs are employed,—such as many of the meringue

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About Whipping Cream.

About Whipping Cream.

WHIP-CHURN. Have the cream very cold. Put it in a bowl or pail, and set this dish in a pan of cold water,—ice water if possible. Have a large bowl or pan set in another pan of ice water. Place the whip-churn in the cream, tipping a little to one side, that the air and cream may be forced through the holes in the bottom of the churn. Draw the dasher up about one third the length of the cylinder; then press down. Let the upward stroke be light, and the downward stroke hard. If you will count time

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How to Prepare Bread Crumbs.

How to Prepare Bread Crumbs.

There are two methods of preparing bread crumbs. Such as are to be used for escaloped dishes or dishes prepared au gratin , etc., should always be grated. That means, of course, that stale bread—not dried bread—should be used. This gives light, fluffy crumbs. For breading, pieces of bread should be dried in a slow oven until not a particle of moisture is left. The dried bread should then be put in a bag and pounded fine with a wooden mallet. Now rub the crumbs through a common flour sieve, and p

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Breading Articles for Frying.

Breading Articles for Frying.

The albumen of the egg hardens so quickly when exposed to a high temperature that it is used as a protection for articles of food that lack albuminous matter enough on the surface instantly to form a hard coating. The egg does not take a fine, brown color; therefore, bread or cracker crumbs are used with it to give the food crispness and a rich color. Covering an article of food with egg and bread crumbs is called breading. Put the egg in a deep plate, and beat it thoroughly with a spoon, but no

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Ways to Get Onion Juice.

Ways to Get Onion Juice.

Pare a fresh onion and bruise the side by striking with the dull edge of a knife; then press the flat side of the blade of the knife against the bruised place. The juice will fall in drops. If a large quantity be required, cut the onion fine, put it in a piece of cheese-cloth, and press in a lemon squeezer kept solely for this purpose....

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Getting Rid of the Odor of Onions.

Getting Rid of the Odor of Onions.

If the hands and the utensils which were used in preparing raw onions be thoroughly washed in cold water before soap or hot water touches them, the odor of the vegetable will disappear....

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Stoning Raisins in an Easy Manner.

Stoning Raisins in an Easy Manner.

Stem the raisins, and, putting them in a bowl, cover with boiling water. Immediately pour off the water. This softens the skins and makes the raisins puff up so that the stones are removed with ease....

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To Freshen Bread and Cake.

To Freshen Bread and Cake.

If you wish to freshen a stale loaf of bread or cake, put it in a deep pan, cover it closely and set it in rather a cool oven for about twenty minutes. The loaf will be almost as fresh as when first baked, but it must be used the same day, as it dries quickly when reheated in this manner....

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Making a Bouquet of Sweet Herbs.

Making a Bouquet of Sweet Herbs.

Tie together one spray of parsley, one sprig each of thyme and summer savory, one small leaf of sage, and one large bay leaf. This bouquet will flavor a gallon of soup. It must not cook in it for more than an hour. When only a small amount of soup or sauce is to be flavored, the bouquet should be cooked in the liquid but a short time,—perhaps from ten to twenty minutes....

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Preventing a Meringue from Falling.

Preventing a Meringue from Falling.

The means of preventing a meringue from falling when it is taken from the oven are simple. Usually the trouble arises from baking the meringue in too high a temperature. If you beat the whites of the eggs to a stiff, dry froth, then gradually beat in the powdered sugar (a generous tablespoonful for each white of an egg), put the meringue on the pie or pudding when partially cooled, and bake in a moderate oven, with the door open, for eighteen to twenty minutes, the annoyance may be avoided....

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To Temper Iron and Earthen Ware.

To Temper Iron and Earthen Ware.

Heat the iron slowly and then cool slowly. It is best, when it can be done, to grease the inside of the iron utensil and fill it with cold water; then heat the water gradually to the boiling point, and cool slowly. Earthenware is to be put in a kettle of cold water, which is then to be heated slowly to the boiling point, and cooled slowly. If convenient, put a little bran in the water....

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Flour Paste.

Flour Paste.

Mix one heaped tablespoonful of flour with five of cold water. Pour on this a scant gill of boiling water, stirring all the time. Stir the mixture on the fire until it boils up, then strain....

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What to do When Burning Accidents Occur.

What to do When Burning Accidents Occur.

There are many simple remedies which, in case of burning accidents, can be applied before the physician comes. So much immediate and future suffering can be averted by the prompt use of some remedy, that everybody should have fixed in mind some of the proper things to do. Slight burns, such as one often gets in the kitchen or laundry, can be relieved, and blistering be prevented, by coating the burned part with oil, lard, or butter, then covering with baking soda, and finally with a piece of lin

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Use of Naphtha in the Household.

Use of Naphtha in the Household.

Naphtha has come to be a power in cleaning establishments, and to some extent in the household. Before giving any directions for its use, I want to state that this fluid is extremely dangerous unless ample precautions be taken; but with proper care there is not the slightest danger. Naphtha is very volatile, giving off a highly inflammable gas. It is dangerous even to have an uncorked bottle of it in a room where there is a light or fire. If, however, when naphtha is being used, the windows in t

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A Word Regarding Stains.

A Word Regarding Stains.

Stains of all kinds are constantly getting on all sorts of articles and fabrics. Great care must be used in removing them, as the treatment that is good for one kind will produce the most disastrous results with another. A few simple remedies are given for the most common stains that trouble the housekeeper....

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To Remove Grease Spots.

To Remove Grease Spots.

Where soap and hot water can be used, wash the spots in very hot water, using plenty of soap; then rinse well. French chalk or fuller’s earth may be powdered and mixed with cold water, to make a thick paste. Spread this on the grease spot and let it remain for several days; then brush off. If the stain has not fully disappeared, apply the mixture a second time. Oxgall may be used on dark colors; if purified, it may be used on any color. It can sometimes be bought at a druggist’s in a purified st

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To Take Grease from Wood and Stone.

To Take Grease from Wood and Stone.

Put one gill of washing soda and one quart of boiling water in a stewpan and place on the fire. When the soda is dissolved, pour the boiling liquid on the grease spot. Rub with an old broom. An hour or two later rub with a mop. Rinse out the mop; then wash with clean hot water. Be careful not to get the soda water on your hands, clothing, or boots....

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Removing Stains from Marble.

Removing Stains from Marble.

If the stains were made by grease, spread wet whiting or chloride of lime on them and let it remain for several hours; then wash off. Washing soda, dissolved in hot water, mixed with enough whiting to form a thick paste, and kept on the stains for several hours, will remove grease spots. Sometimes the marble has a discolored appearance from scratches. If it be rubbed hard with wet whiting and then washed and wiped dry, the mark will disappear. Ink and iron rust are usually removed with an acid,

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Treatment of Fruit Stains.

Treatment of Fruit Stains.

One of the simplest methods is to place the stained part of the cloth over a bowl and continue pouring boiling water through until the stain disappears. If this be done soon after the article is stained, there will be no trouble in most cases. Oxalic acid will remove fruit stains. As it is useful for many purposes, it is well to keep a bottle of it in some safe place. Put three ounces of the crystals in a bottle with half a pint of water. Mark the bottle plainly. When stains are to be removed ha

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Coffee, Tea, and Wine Stains on Table Linen.

Coffee, Tea, and Wine Stains on Table Linen.

If treated at once such stains seldom give much trouble. Place the stained part over a large bowl and pour boiling water upon it until the stain disappears. If, however, the stains be of long standing, and have been washed with soap, it will be difficult to get rid of them. Javelle water (which can be made at home or bought of a druggist) will do it. Put about half a pint of Javelle water and a quart of clear water into an earthen bowl; let the stained article soak in this for several hours; the

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When Cloths become Mildewed.

When Cloths become Mildewed.

Put about a tablespoonful of chloride of lime in a wooden pail, or earthen bowl, and add four quarts of cold water. Stir until all the lime is dissolved, using a wooden spoon or paddle. Now put the mildewed article into the water and work it about, using the spoon or paddle. Let the article stay in the water until all the mildew has disappeared; then throw it into a tub of cold water. Wash well in this, and then rinse in a second tub of cold water; finally, wring out and dry. If the rinsing be t

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The Best Way to remove Iron Rust.

The Best Way to remove Iron Rust.

Buy four ounces of muriatic acid at a druggist’s. It is useful for various purposes. Have it marked plainly. It should, moreover, be labelled as poisonous. Fill a large bowl with boiling water. Have another bowl or pan full of hot water. A bottle of household ammonia also is necessary. Place the spotted part of the garment over the bowl of hot water. Wet a cork in the muriatic acid and touch the iron rust with it. Immediately the spot will turn a bright yellow. Dip at once in the hot water, and

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Removing Blood Stains.

Removing Blood Stains.

Wash the stain in blood-warm water until the greater part has been removed; then rub on some soap, and wash until the stain disappears. When the stain is on white cotton or linen goods, scald the article after it has been washed. Never use hot water until the stain is nearly removed....

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Removing Sewing-machine Oil Stains.

Removing Sewing-machine Oil Stains.

Rub the stain with sweet oil or lard, and let it stand for several hours; then wash in soap and cold water....

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To Remove Pitch and Tar.

To Remove Pitch and Tar.

Rub lard on the stain and let it stand for a few hours; then sponge with spirits of turpentine until the stain is removed. If the color of the fabric be affected, sponge it with chloroform and the color will be restored....

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Alcohol for Grass Stains.

Alcohol for Grass Stains.

Rub the stain with alcohol; then wash in clean water....

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Muriatic Acid for Stains on Porcelain.

Muriatic Acid for Stains on Porcelain.

When there is a great deal of iron in the water, the porcelain or china bowls in the bath-room become badly stained. Rub a little muriatic acid on the stained parts, and rinse thoroughly with cold water, adding a little ammonia to the rinsing water toward the end....

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To Remove Paint.

To Remove Paint.

Wet the paint with turpentine and rub with a woollen cloth. If the paint spot can be kept wet with the turpentine for a little while, it will not require so much rubbing....

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Removing Ink Stains.

Removing Ink Stains.

Tear blotting paper in pieces and hold the rough edges on the ink when it is freshly spilled. If you have no blotting paper at hand, cover the spot with Indian meal; or, the liquid ink may be absorbed by cotton batting. The first care should be to prevent the ink from spreading. If ink be spilled upon a carpet, cut a lemon in two, remove a part of the rind, and rub the lemon on the stain. As the lemon becomes stained with the ink, slice it off, and rub with the clean part. Continue this until th

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When Acids are Spilled.

When Acids are Spilled.

A bottle of household ammonia should be kept where it can be reached conveniently at any time; then, when an acid is accidentally spilled, pour ammonia over the spot at once....

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Restoring Colors.

Restoring Colors.

When an acid has been spilled on a fabric its effect may be neutralized by sponging with ammonia. If an alkali, such as ammonia, soda, potash, etc., be spilled on a garment, its effect may be neutralized by sponging with weak vinegar. If the color be not fully restored, sponge with chloroform....

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To make Javelle Water.

To make Javelle Water.

Into a large saucepan, porcelain-lined if possible, put four pounds of bicarbonate of soda and four quarts of hot water. Stir frequently with a wooden stick until the soda is dissolved; then add one pound of chloride of lime, and stir occasionally until nearly all the solids are dissolved. Let the liquid cool in the kettle; then strain the clear part through a piece of cheese-cloth into wide-mouthed bottles. Put in the stoppers and set away for use. The part that is not clear can be put into sep

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A Good Cleaning Fluid.

A Good Cleaning Fluid.

Put into a large saucepan two quarts of water, half an ounce of borax, and four ounces of white castile soap shaved fine, and stir frequently until the soap and borax are dissolved; then take from the fire and add two quarts of cold water. When the mixture is cold, add one ounce of glycerine, one of ether, and four of ammonia crystals. Bottle and put away for use; it will keep for years. To clean an article, first brush thoroughly, and then spread on a table. Sponge with the cleaning fluid and r

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Treatment of Grease Spots on Wall Paper.

Treatment of Grease Spots on Wall Paper.

If you find grease spots on wall paper, put powdered French chalk, wet with cold water, over the places, and let it remain for twelve hours or more. When you brush off the chalk, if the grease spots have not disappeared, put on more chalk, place a piece of coarse brown paper or blotting paper on this, and press for a few minutes with a warm flat-iron....

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Stale Bread for Cleaning Soiled Paper.

Stale Bread for Cleaning Soiled Paper.

Wipe the paper with a clean cloth. Cut a loaf of stale bread in two, lengthwise, and rub the bread over the paper, making long strokes straight up and down. When the bread becomes soiled, cut off a thin slice, and continue the work with the clean surface. A large room may require the use of two or three loaves. Edges of books, margins of pictures, and other things may be cleaned in the same way....

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Two Ways to Repair Wall Paper.

Two Ways to Repair Wall Paper.

Have a set of children’s paints, selecting those that have creams, browns, yellows, and perhaps green, blue, and red. Mix the colors until you get the shade of the foundation color of the paper, then lightly touch up the broken places. If the breaks be small this will be all that is necessary; but if large, it will be well when the first color is dry to touch up the place with the other colors. This is a much easier and more satisfactory method than patching the paper. If, however, the broken pl

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Brightening Leather Furniture.

Brightening Leather Furniture.

Housekeepers often wonder if it is possible to restore the color to leather furniture which has become rusty in appearance. Furniture dealers say that real leather should not fade as long as it holds together. However, it does fade; so try this method of brightening it. Wash the leather with a sponge that has been wrung out of hot soap suds; then rub as dry as possible. Now place the furniture in the sun and wind, that it may get thoroughly dry as quickly as possible. Next, rub hard with a cloth

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Preventing Silks and Woollens from Turning

Preventing Silks and Woollens from Turning

Yellow. Whenever you have occasion to pack away silk or woollen goods which you are afraid may turn yellow, break up a few cakes of white beeswax and fold the pieces loosely in old handkerchiefs that are worn thin. Place these among the goods. If possible, pin the silks or woollens in some old white linen sheets or garments. If it be inconvenient to use linen, take cotton sheets. Of course, it is important that the clothing shall be perfectly clean when put away....

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Cleaning Dress Silks and Ribbons.

Cleaning Dress Silks and Ribbons.

There are several methods of cleaning silks. They may be spread on a clean table and sponged with naphtha, alcohol, soap and water, etc.; or the silk may be washed in soap suds, gasoline or naphtha. As the gasoline or naphtha does not affect the colors, it is more desirable for colored silks. If the silks be washed in suds, use the best white castile soap. Wash the silk in the suds; then rinse in clear water and hang on a clothes-horse in the shade. Do not wring it. When the silk is nearly dry l

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Cleaning Chamois Skins.

Cleaning Chamois Skins.

Chamois skins that have been used for cleaning silver, brass, etc., can be made as soft and clean as new by following these directions. Put six tablespoonfuls of household ammonia into a bowl with a quart of tepid water. Let the chamois skin soak in this water for an hour. Work it about with a spoon, pressing out as much of the dirt as possible; then lift it into a large basin of tepid water, and rub well with the hands. Rinse in fresh waters until clean, then dry in the shade. When dry, rub bet

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To Clean Brushes.

To Clean Brushes.

Put enough warm water in a flat bowl or pan to cover the bristles, but not to come over the back of the brush. To each quart of water put three tablespoonfuls of household ammonia. Lay the brushes in this for about five minutes, then work them gently in the water. Rinse thoroughly in cold water, and rest them on the edge where a current of air will strike them....

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Care of Straw Matting.

Care of Straw Matting.

This floor covering should not be washed often. Boil together for one hour two quarts of bran and four of water. Strain this, pressing all moisture out of the bran. Add two quarts of cold water and two tablespoonfuls of salt to the strained mixture. Wash the matting with this and rub dry with a clean cloth....

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To Clean Woods in Natural Finish.

To Clean Woods in Natural Finish.

To clean woodwork in your halls and rooms do not wash it. Soap destroys the looks of woodwork that is finished in natural colors. Wring a flannel cloth out of hot water and wipe off the dust. When all the woodwork has been dusted in this manner go over it with a woollen cloth made damp with cotton-seed or sweet oil and alcohol or turpentine; two parts oil and one alcohol or turpentine. Rub hard, and with the grain of the wood; then rub with clean flannel. It will revive the color and gloss. Ligh

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To Remove White Stains from Furniture.

To Remove White Stains from Furniture.

Wet a woollen cloth with kerosene and rub the spot until the stain disappears. It may take a good deal of hard rubbing if the stain be deep or of long standing, but perseverance will accomplish the object....

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Cleaning Brass.

Cleaning Brass.

There are many good preparations which come for cleaning brass. The most of them do the work quickly, leaving a brilliant polish, but the metal does not keep clean so long as when cleaned by the old method. Pound fine and then sift half a pint of rotten-stone. Add to this half a gill of turpentine and enough sweet oil to make a thick paste. Wash the brasses in soap and water, wipe dry, and then rub with the paste. Rub with a soft clean rag, and polish with a piece of chamois skin....

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Conveniences when Sweeping.

Conveniences when Sweeping.

If one have proper covers for the pictures and heavy pieces of furniture in the room, a great amount of trouble can be saved on the sweeping day. Buy cheap print cloth for the furniture. Have three breadths in the cover, and have it three yards and a half long. It should be hemmed, and the work can be done quickly on a sewing-machine. I find six cloths a convenient number, although we do not always need so many. Get cheap unbleached cotton, and cut it into lengths suitable for covering pictures,

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Mending Breaks in Plaster.

Mending Breaks in Plaster.

Mix together half a pint of powdered lime, one gill of plaster of Paris, and cold water enough to make a thick paste. Fill the holes with this and smooth the surface with a knife. Work quickly. If there be many breaks mix only as much plaster as can be used in ten minutes, as it hardens quickly. Another method is to fill the breaks with putty. When the plaster or putty is dry, the places can be touched with water colors to correspond with the rest of the wall....

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Cement for Stoves and Iron Ware.

Cement for Stoves and Iron Ware.

Mix together enough water glass and iron filings to make a thick paste. Apply this to the cracks or holes, and heat gradually almost to a red heat. This substance will bear a white heat, although of course one would rarely have occasion to test it to this degree. The water glass and iron filings can be bought at a druggist’s....

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Cement for China.

Cement for China.

Dissolve one ounce of powdered gum-arabic in a gill of boiling water. Stir enough plaster of Paris into the liquid to make it the consistency of thick cream. Use immediately. Another Rule. —Powder quicklime and stir it into the white of an egg, making rather a thick paste. Coat the broken edges lightly with this, and tie the pieces together....

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How to Fasten Handles of Knives and Forks.

How to Fasten Handles of Knives and Forks.

Mix together two ounces of powdered rosin, one ounce of powdered sulphur, and one ounce of iron filings. Keep these in a box, and, when a knife or fork becomes loosened from the handle, fill the opening in the handle with the powdered mixture. Heat the tang of the instrument and press it into the handle. Should it not go in to the hilt, heat again, and the second attempt will be successful. Do not pack the powder into the opening. Should the powder blaze up when the heated metal is inserted, blo

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Value of a Drop of Oil.

Value of a Drop of Oil.

Every housekeeper knows how annoying it is to have the hinges of the doors squeak, and the locks and bolts refuse to move unless great force be used. Many do not realize that a few drops of oil will, as a rule, remedy these annoyances. First spread a newspaper on that part of the floor over which the hinges swing. Now, with the sewing-machine oil can, oil the hinges thoroughly, and then swing the door back and forth until it moves without noise. Wipe the hinges, but let the paper remain for a fe

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What to do when the Chimney is Cold.

What to do when the Chimney is Cold.

When lighting a fire where the chimney has not been used for some time, start the current of air upward by burning a paper in the stove pipe, or by holding it in the chimney, if it be a grate fire. If the heat has been turned off from a room for some time it occasionally happens that the heated air will not come through the pipe when it is turned on again. In that case close for a few minutes nearly all the registers which serve as outlets for the other pipes, and the heat will be forced into th

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To Prevent Kid from Cracking.

To Prevent Kid from Cracking.

When kid boots require a dressing, rub a little castor oil into the kid before the dressing is put on. This will keep the leather soft....

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Testing the Oven Heat with Paper.

Testing the Oven Heat with Paper.

Have white paper for testing the heat of the oven. Put a piece on the bottom of the oven and close the door. For pastry, the oven should be hot enough to turn the paper dark brown in five minutes; for bread, the heat should turn it in six minutes. All kinds of muffins can be baked at this heat. Cup cakes should be put into an oven that will turn a piece of white paper dark yellow in five minutes. Sponge and pound cakes require heat that will turn white paper light yellow in five minutes. Bread r

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Oven Thermometers.

Oven Thermometers.

Many efforts have been made to produce a thermometer which will indicate the temperature of the oven, but, so far as I know, none made with mercury have been satisfactory. There is made in this country, however, an “oven clock,” which can be set into the door of the oven. This is based on the principle of the contraction and expansion of the metals. To get the greatest benefit from these clocks the housekeeper must make her tests herself; that is, she must learn that when the hand points to a ce

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Ridding the House of Water Bugs.

Ridding the House of Water Bugs.

Strew powdered borax about the pipes and in any cracks in the walls or woodwork where water bugs appear. If this be persisted in, and everything be kept perfectly clean, you can rid the house of the insects....

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Keeping Flies from Chandeliers.

Keeping Flies from Chandeliers.

Wipe the chandeliers with a soft cloth that has been wet in kerosene oil. This should be done several times during the summer. Fly specks can be wiped off in the same manner, even when on gilt picture frames; but the cloth must be only slightly moistened in the latter case, and used lightly, else the gilt itself may come off....

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Driving away Ants.

Driving away Ants.

Put green walnuts around the places where the ants come and they will disappear; or, strew fresh pennyroyal around. If it is impossible to get the fresh herb, use the oil. Tar mixed with hot water, and placed in bowls or jars in the room or closet, will often drive away these pests....

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Care of the Hands.

Care of the Hands.

Doing housework is apt to make the hands become rough. Have thick gloves to wear when making fires and cleaning stoves and grates. Wear, when sweeping and dusting, old gloves that fit loosely. As much as possible use one kind of soap; changes of soap and water irritate the hands. Have soft hand-towels in the kitchen, and always wipe the hands perfectly dry. When the work is done rub the hands with bran and vinegar diluted with water. Rinse them in tepid water and wipe perfectly dry. Rub a little

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Cold Cream.

Cold Cream.

Break up the wax, spermaceti, and cocoa butter. Put all the ingredients into a bowl, and place this in a pan of boiling water. Stir the mixture until it becomes a soft, smooth mass; then put it in little jars, and keep in a cool dry place. This is excellent for the hands and face. In winter use only one ounce of spermaceti....

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Cupfuls, Half-pints, and Grills.

Cupfuls, Half-pints, and Grills.

QUART MEASURE. The ordinary kitchen cup is supposed to hold half a pint, and nearly all writers of cook-books base their measurements on this understanding. Nearly all first-class kitchen furnishing stores keep what are known as measuring cups. They are made of tin, and hold half a pint, old measure. One cup is divided into four parts, and one into three. A set of these cups will be found of the greatest value in the kitchen, as they insure accurate measurements. Here is a table which will be he

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