McClary's household manual.

MONG the blessings which modern ideas have conceded as the housekeeper’s right, is a proper kitchen, properly equipped. No up-to-date builder will construct a kitchen to-day without including certain built-in conveniences ; he will also take into consideration the possibilities of scientific arrangement—that is to say, he will not place a sink in such a position that it will be impossible to stow the china near it, nor will he allot to the stove a spot which will cut it off from the supply shelves or cupboard on the one hand and the table where food is prepared, on the other.

Br ■¹¹ ■ ~-r v ^ —i well worth while for the most harassed kitchen-owner (LillA to sit down and take careful stock of the assets and lia-

^^J bilities which her kitchen represents to her. There is no kitchen so hopeless that it cannot be improved and w hilst a very awkward room will perhaps never reach an ideal, it may at least approximate one.

Our advice is—study your kitchen in its relation to each of the following factors. Unless you are particularly blessed among women, you will find some suggestions which it will be many times worth your while to follow.

IF the kitchen is so constructed architecturally as to allow two windows, then by all ¹ means see that it has two, even at the expense of knocking in a second one. You will find the additional light and ventilation a tremendous help. Sometimes a window set in the upper part of the kitchen door must do duty as an extra window and whilst it will not answer quite so well, as nothing can be placed below it, it will still help appreciably in the matter of light.

Windows should be screened so that they may be opened top and bottom at the same time to allow heat and odours to go out above and fresh air to come in below.

After the windows, the treatment of walls and ceiling governs your lighting, as, of course, some colours will reflect and so increase the light, whilst others will absorb some of the precious light from your windows.

NJOW a word as to the artificial lighting, so important in the dull months when both * ’ morning and evening meals must be prepared by its aid.

A single centre light, pendant from the ceiling, is apt to place one too frequently in one’s own light. Where such a light is used', let it be hung high enough to diffuse its light evenly and thoroughly.

Several side lights, only one of which need be in use at a time, are much better, however. A side bracket which will throw its light directly over the stove is a genuine boon, and the table, sink and cabinet or pantry, all require good lighting.

If your house is wired for electricity, a generous number of outlets, judiciously placed, will prove many times worth their cost.

Small shelves for lamps, or hooks for lanterns, should be placed in just the same way. A good reflector on each side-bracket will greatly increase the lamp’s lighting power.

TWO considerations enter into the planning of your treatment for walls and ceiling.

⁴ One is that it improves the lighting: the second, that the surfaces may be easily kept clean.

There is a certain amount of sentiment in favour of the all-white kitchen, but unless the room is very dark indeed, the dead-white walls are apt to produce glare; also, they are a bit difficult to keep absolutely immaculate. A favourite colour is a cheery, light yellow or a buff (a cheerful and becoming buff, not one of mustardy tendencies). Combined with the ever-good Dutch blue in linoleum and trim, such a kitchen may be a genuine delight. This is just one suggestion—let your fancy dictate as freely when the decoration of your kitchen is under consideration, as for any other room in the house. The chances are you may spend more time in it and will, therefore, enjoy its harmonious colour scheme proportionately.

As to the actual treatment—we all dream of tiled wainscoting, although most of us relinquish the dream on account of the expense. The effect of tiles, however, can be closely copied by the use of keen cement, which may be scored to resemble tile and painted any desired colour. The cement may be coved, so as to avoid seams and sharp corners—an immense step toward a really sanitary room.

Plastered walls, or those sealed with wood, will of course lend themselves perfectly to the use of paint, so that no matter what the material is, we may have a pleasant and harmonious colour scheme which will meet every requirement.

As to the woodwork—let it be painted too, in a darker tone than that used for the walls.

A poor floor is one of the greatest work-producers that can find place in the house;

there is nothing that will wear out the body more quickly than a rough and uneven floor, nothing that will wear out the spirit like one which absorbs and shows every possible grease spot.

Modern invention, even when given its head in the matter of expenditure, has produced nothing to surpass a really good linoleum for the kitchen floor. It comes in delightful colours now-a-days, is easy to keep clean, is easy on the feet and will wear for years. Before laying linoleum, have a rough floor planed even or use a good padding. A coat of water-proof varnish applied to the linoleum will help to preserve it.

sermon more general in its application has been preached to the house-keeper, than that which has for its text, “Save Steps.” Few of us stop to consider how much we take out of ourselves in daily crossing and re-crossing the kitchen; all of us would be amazed if we wore a pedometer for a few days and watched the miles mount up.

We can save energy and time by so arranging our equipment as to cut out much of this needless walking to and fro.

There are two accepted general plans lor a kitchen: which you choose depends upon the size and shape of your room.

Generally speaking, the kitchen will be almost square in shape or it will be distinctly long and narrow. In either case, we arrange things so that we can route our work.

A little consideration shows us that there are in the kitchen two lines of utilities— that is to say, there are two groups of furniture and equipment, each group used for a certain part of the routine work.

The cooking group includes our stove, the pantry, group of shelves or kitchen cabinet which holds our most-used stores, the refrigerator, our cooking utensils and the table at which we prepare foods for cooking. The sink must sometimes be included for this part of the work—as for the preparation of vegetables, etc.

The clearing-away group includes the sink, the shelves or cupboards where china is stored and shelves or cupboards for pots and pans.

Just while we are on this subject—a word upon the respective merits of open shelves and closed cupboards. The old time “low-down cupboard,” tucked, as a rule, in unsanitary retirement beneath the sink, has had its indecencies dragged into the light and mercilessly exposed. The well-conditioned pot of to-day hangs either in a cupboard of self-respecting proportions or, bright with the conscious virtue of perfect cleanliness, it reposes upon open shelves. Besides the extra persuasion to scrupulous cleanliness, there is much to be said for the open rack on the score of the saving of time and effort in laying hands on the required utensil.

YY/HATEVER the shape and size of our kitchen, we must follow as closely as possible ” the two groupings already mentioned.

If we have two long and fairly unbroken wall spaces, each line of utilities may occupy one side; they should be arranged in such a manner that the work table or baking cabinet for instance, be adjacent to the stove, with the refrigerator or other source of supplies near the table again. On the other side of the room, the sink is ideally placed if it may have a window above it (although the builder must take extra precautions to provide protection from the cold when die pipes are thus placed in an outside wall), shelves or cupboards on either side of it or a china cupboard on one side and accommodation for pots and pans on the other. The china will naturally be given the position nearer the dining-room, the pots, the side nearer the stove.

If the kitchen is rather square in shape, it will probably be advisable to give the table a central position, where it will be conveniently reached from stove, sink, etc. Let the table be small enough not to crowd the floor space too much.

“But," you may say, “I have not sufficient unbroken wall space to follow either of these arrangements, windows and doors interfere—my plan is essentially awkward.”

In such cases, we again say—compromise. Keep in mind the desirability of having certain utilities near one another, and achieve the best result possible under the circumstances, e. g., you may preserve the same order, using two walls instead of one.

You will find too, that the invaluable wheel table will form a splendid link between various parts of the kitchen. It should be a small one, so that it may easily be wiped off and a second or third shelf will greatly increase accommodation whilst occupying no more space. Soiled dishes may be brought from dining table to sink, in a single trip; clean dishes may be stacked on it and brought alongside the cupboard with a single movement. The whole food supplies for a meal may be brought at once from the ice box; in short, the wheel table will prove a most useful auxiliary in any part of the kitchen.

MO woman with a regard for her own comfort and strength will be without a step-¹ ' stool in her kitchen. This the convenient little ladder-like structure, so easy to lift about if one aspires to high places and so comfortable to perch upon for work at sink, table or ironing board. Higher than the ordinary chair, it will just be the right height for most of one's activities; the lower rung or step provides a foot-rest. This step-stool, once it becomes a habit, will save hours of standing each day.

JT is preferable, where possible, to keep the laundry equipment out of the kitchen. ¹ In the city home, it is frequently placed in the basement; in the country, it may very well be combined with the wash room and kept to an outer kitchen where the men may wash up and a certain amount of mussy work be diverted from the kitchen.

In the case of a city apartment, however, or the small house which permits of no other arrangement, the laundry tubs adjacent to the sink and fitted with removable tops which will transform them into a table when not in use, are best.

IN another place, we have referred to the stove as ‘‘the heart of the kitchen." Nothing * could be more true—wherefore, no matter where else you may try to save money or do with something “almost as good,” give yourself a proper stove.

First, study carefully your needs. What fuel is available? Which is cheapest? What type of stove will give you most comfort and convenience—a coal range, a wood stove, an electric range or one which burns oil or gas?

Having decided this point, be fair to yourself and get the best stove of its kind.

Beneath the stove, there should be a good stove-board, one which will be easy to keep clean.

A special chapter has been devoted to the care of the stove, giving details for daily and special cleaning, etc.

TTIE one-piece enamelled iron sink with the high back, is the most satisfactory ⁴ fixture. For the country house, where there is no water system at all, a lightweight enamelled steel sink will prove a worth while purchase. It should be equipped with a pipe to a tiled drain. The sink must be equipped with a drain-board on either side—the right for soiled dishes, the left for the dishes as they are lifted from the pan. The drain boards may be one with the sink or they may be of wood, preferably zinc covered. They must always slant slightly towards the sink.

The height of the sink is extremely important—and almost always wrong. It is useless to set an arbitrary" height—although 34 inches is generally stated as being right for the woman of average height. For some unfathomable reason it is usually about 4 inches lower than this.

It only requires a few inches of pipe and a small plumbing operation to make the sink fit the worker. It will pay a hundredfold in preventing tiredness. Few women realize how much fatigue they owe to the familiar stooping position at sink or table.

After dish-washing, the sink should be washed with hot, soapy water and a generous amount of boiling water poured down the drain. For an occasional special cleaning, pour down a gallon of hot water and while the pipe is warm, pour in half a cup of kerosene. Leave for five minutes, then flush with a second gallon of hot water. Do not use a soda solution—it is apt to combine with the grease in the pipe to form a hard soap and clog the drain. And don't scratch your porcelain with harsh abrasives —whiting is your best choice. For a stubborn stain, apply a little muriatic acid.

Madeleines, small cookies and cocoanut puffs, for the tea party. Recipes on pages 78 and 79

8»0 %> HOUSEWIFE'S OPPORTUNITY- Mi

IF you do not indulge in one of the really fascinating porcelain-topped tables (it may * have considerable accommodation beneath it), cover your table with white oil cloth. If you have an old marble slab off a dresser or table, by all means equip it with sturdy legs—it makes the best of kitchen tables. A separate enamelled table-top may be purchased in any of the large stores, to fit over the usual wooden table.

It pays to be “fitted” for your table, as for your sink. It may require only the addition of castors, to make your table the right height for you to work at it with a straight back and so save your strength and energy.

IJNLESS you are one of the very fortunate few who possess an electric refrigerator, study convenience of ice supply. If possible, have some outside opening by which the icing may be done. There is a definite advantage in keeping the refrigerator in a cool outside kitchen or porch; if there is no need to economize ice, it will be convenient to have the food supply close to the table in the kitchen.

Keep foods which absorb odours in separate compartment or on bottom shelf— everything on plates.

It is entirely out of date to have a removable drip pan beneath the refrigerator, one which must be dragged out and emptied—and the mess wiped up when this is forgotten. Have a drain pipe to carry away the waste, even if it is only a bit of hose to carry the water outside,—far enough away not to bring a plague of ants.

An ice pick, and a small mallet for cracking ice should be conveniently ready for use. By all means run up a little canvas bag with a strong cord to draw up the mouth. Slip your ice into it and crush it quickly, neatly, without waste or muss.

’T’HE whole modern tendency is to keep practically everything in view in the kitchen ⁴ —open shelves, equipped generously with glass, porcelain or metal containers for all supplies, are first in the favour of the “kitchen engineer.” It is often a good plan to alternate wide and narrow shelves. Drawers are better shallow than deep. If cupboards are preferred, they should be of convenient height. Only the best of kitchen cabinets is worth anything. If you are saddled with a poor one, rid yourself of it and have some ordinary' shelving run up in just the right place—it will be a vast improvement.

■"THE importance of the right sort of cooking utensils cannot be over-estimated. The experienced housekeeper chooses enamelled ware of good quality, because it is •clean, durable, light and easily kept in good condition.

Double boiler for cereal, puddings, etc. Small pitcher Small double boiler for sauces, etc.

C¹ VERY kitchen should be a pleasant place, whether or not it is reserved entirely ^L* as the “cook’s workshop.” The importance of this point is emphasized, however, when the kitchen looms larger in the family scheme of things, as the place where meals are served, as well as prepared.

Painted furniture is the only thing, in that case—and it may be made as interesting and delightful as the ingenuity and artistic ability of the family genius will permit. Think, for instance, of a folding gate-leg table, with the plainest of kitchen chairs— painteid a soft grey, perhaps, and stencilled in violet and black, against walls painted a pale lavender! It is always easy to wipe off such furniture, and keep it sweet and fresh as the rest of the surroundings.

If a dining alcove off the kitchen is possible, it is a most convenient arrangement. Many builders are putting such an alcove into their new houses, equipping it with a long, narrow, built-in table, on the refectory order, with quaint benches down each side.

Obviously, it is very easy to serve a meal under these conditions, and a clever house keeper is able to get around most of the difficulties of kitchen service. A coal oil stove in summer will obviate the greatest hot-weather trouble, that of an over-heated kitchen, for it makes comparatively little heat—and that little may be confined to an outside kitchen or any desired spot, for such a stove may be moved about at will. A fireless cooker is another aid to a cool kitchen.

An eating porch, with a view of the garden and the sunset, offers the happiest possible alternative to indoor meals, wherever served. It should be so placed as to make service from the kitchen very easy.

BRIGHT-SHINING UTENSILS

ODERN ideas have granted the necessity of proper equipment for the home work-shop — the kitchen. “A good workman is known by his tools.” An efficient housekeeper gives to the selection and care of her kitchen furnishings the most thoughtful consideration.

To touch first upon the last item—the purchase price of such articles can never be regarded as a true cost price. Their durability and their efficacy must both be taken into consideration.

Nothing has ever superseded granite ware of good quality, in the favour of the astute housekeeper. It bids for favor on several important scores. It is a clean ware, easily kept clean and it is a very satisfactory material in which to cook foods, as it is not affected by food acids and, therefore, no chemical combinations are formed that will injure either the food flavours or the health of the consumers.

Enamelled ware is light to handle, attractive in appearance and heats readily—all important considerations in any cooking utensil.

YJ^ASH any granite pan in hot soapy suds and a wooden tooth pick or skewer should ** be used to clean the seams. A soda solution may be used—Yl cup soda to one quart cold water.

A mild abrasive may be used to remove stains. To remove food that has been burned on, place a little fat of any kind in the vessel and warm it gently; this will soften the burned substance, so that it may be readily scraped off.

A nickeled tea-kettle, the nickeled trimmings on a stove, etc., should be washed with hot soap suds occasionally, then rinsed with very hot water. To add a bright polish to the nickel, make a paste of lard and whiting; rub it on with a soft cloth, then rub off thoroughly and polish. Another good polish for nickel is made by moistening whiting with household ammonia. Apply it to the utensil then rub off and polish with soft cotton waste.

\Y700DEN utensils must be carefully cared for if they are not to become unsanitary. ” Soap is apt to stain wood, so that fine sand is the best scouring material to use. Scrub wooden utensils with a circular motion in order not to roughen the fibres, rinse well and dry with the grain.

BRIGHT {/ SHINING UTENSILS

Do not use very hot water on wood. Before using the wooden plank, so much liked for cooking steaks, fish, etc., rub it thoroughly with some good food oil until the wood has absorbed as much as possible.

Where a plank, spoon or other wooden utensil has become discoloured, clean it with steel wool and, if necessary, a weak solution of hydrochloric acid. To smooth a rough place, rub it with steel wool; the motions should follow the grain of the wood.

To remove a dent from a wooden plank or bowl, fold a piece of cheesecloth or muslin to make a pad, wet it, place it on the dent and cover with a hot iron. The steam will strike into the wood and raise the fibres.

CILVER should always be washed and scrupulously cleaned in hot soapy water, *“* thoroughly rinsed in clean hot water and wiped dry.

To remove tarnish, there are any number of good creams, powders, etc. on the market or one may use whiting moistened with ammonia water. Rub on the paste, allow it to dry and rub off with a soft cloth, tissue paper or best of all, a piece of chamois.

A very simple method of removing stubborn tarnish is as follows: take a vessel large enough to contain silverware, put into it an old piece of aluminum (do not use an aluminum utensil still in use for cooking as this process would quickly corrode it) and one quart of water in which is dissolved one teaspoon of salt and one teaspoon of soda. Put over the fire and boil gently until the tarnish is removed. This gives a satiny appearance and makes the silver quite clean. Burnish then, if desired.

A good silver polish is made by mixing 1 cup methylated spirits, 2 tablespoons household ammonia and ^l/2 cup precipitated whiting. Bottle closely and shake before using.

A NYONE who buys steel knives for table use now-a-days, should be careful to ** select those made of the new stainless steel. They require no cleaning, and are always spotless.

For steel which is not of this new labour-saving type, an abrasive cleaner must be used. It should be in some convenient form, such as a knife board, so that the knives may be quickly rubbed up immediately after use. A cork is the handiest thing with which to apply a powdered cleaner.

ZINC, which enjoys considerable favour as a sanitary covering for table tops, drain boards, etc., may be kept in very good general condition if it is simply washed with hot suds and wiped dry. Damp air and salt are the two things which act upon it, but it will not rust. ....

If there is a film of grease on your zinc, wipe it off with kerosene, then wash well with hot water. This will not answer, however, where zinc has been used as a lining for a food bin; in such case, scrub with bath brick.

TIN kitchen utensils are little used now-a-days, because although the initial cost is small, they are not durable, they rust readily when scratched and are likely to be acted upon by any hot acid.

Tinware should be washed in hot soap suds made with a neutral soap. To remove food which has been burned on, use a scouring powder. For special treatment, boil tin utensils for two or three minutes in a washing soda solution.

GIVING A GOOD STOVE

I©*®" ITS CHANCE

HE stove is the heart of the kitchen. Wherever else economy, makeshift and second choice may turn the ' buyer of household equipment from the article which she knows would best fill her requirements, let only one consideration sway her in the matter of the stove she selects. A good stove is an able assistant for even a poor cook; a poor stove means failure for even a French chef.

Let us suppose that the stove installed is the best of its kind—whether it be an electric range, or one in which coal, wood, gas, oil or any other fuel is used. The best stove can only be efficient if kept in proper condition and well handled.

The first essential in the care of a stove is to keep the stove itself and its flues absolutely clean. A choked stove will not work properly; a dirty flue will not draw properly.

good stove, no matter of what type, will be equipped with an oven thermometer. One excellent rule can be given: learn your thermometer, in relation to your oven. 11 is the one dependable interpreter.

An intelligent cook will handle her stove as a good driver will handle his horse. She will study it carefully, and find out exactly what treatment will produce the best results. She will learn to fire her stove first, then to control the heat by the proper manipulation of the drafts, rather than by constant interference with the fire. In short—she won’t jerk her horse—she will humour and encourage him, because she understands him.

And if, after you are convinced that you are giving your stove every chance, it does not repay you with the right sort of service—look to your chimney. Many a good stove bears an undeservedly bad reputation when all the time it is the chimney which is really at fault. Unless your chimney is right, your stove hasn t a chance to serve you well.

1. The chimney should be higher than any other part of the house or any nearby surrounding objects, so that the wind will not blow down into it.

5. All openings into a chimney must be closed air-tight, except the one through which your smoke pipe enters.

6. The stovepipe should project through the brick wall into the flue about two inches and must fit tightly into the chimney hole.

7. The stove pipe must fit the collar on the stove or range tightly, and should never be reduced in diameter from that point.

ms GIVING A GOOD STOVE ITS CHANCE g§8»

8. The stove pipe must not be made smaller where it enters the chimney hole. Enlarge the hole if necessary.

10. Two flues, opening into the same soot pan, must be partitioned right to the bottom and a separate soot pan provided for each one.

11. The hardest work for a chimney is when the fire is first started, as the air in the flue is damp and the temperature lower than when the fire is well under way.

12. The draft in the chimney is more dependent upon the amount of hot air thrown into it than upon its size.

13. A chimney may be much too large for ordinary house requirements but there is little danger of its being too high so far as the draft is concerned.

14. A good draft in a 9 x 9 chimney requires about one-quarter of the heat combustion.

15. The effective area of a chimney is the area at the smallest part. Therefore see that it is not diminished by obstructions. To examine chimney, use a mirror to look up it—the light from above will be reflected and defects and openings will be shown plainly. A heavy weight tied to a rope will serve to break through many obstructions.

16. Smoke and hot air will rise in a solid spiral column. Therefore, a round flue is the best, as cold air cannot fall in the comers.

18. Chimneys built on the outside of a house must be at least eight inches thick to prevent chilling the flue space within.

19. Cold air leaking into the chimney through chinks and crevices where mortar has fallen out, will spoil the draft. Such places should be plastered up and made tight.

A new fire should be kindled with crumpled paper, kindling and some charcoal or a

stick or two of hardwood (charcoal is the best kindler known for hard coal). Only a little hard coal should be added at the beginning.

As the air in the stove pipe and chimney is heated, it rises. Admitting cold air below the fire-box creates a draft by driving up the heated air and helps the fire to burn. As soon as it is burning well, the course of the heated air should be diverted to flow around the oven, by closing the direct-draft damper into the smoke pipe and closing off the lower draft. If you want to still further “check” the fire, open the check draft in the smoke pipe. This will bank the heat around the oven.

If there is a hot water reservoir of the flue type, it will be heated by opening a damper which will allow the hot smoke from the fire-box to pass over the oven and under the hot water reservoir. It will then pass under the oven and up behind it into the stovepipe. When baking, be sure the reservoir damper is closed—otherwise, you will cool your oven.

To get the maximum results at the lowest possible cost, the following practice should be followed; shake down ashes gently; if the coal is almost burned out, add only a thin layer of fresh coal until it landles. Unless there is a large bed of ash, a slight rocking of the grate will suffice to shake down the ashes without shaking out coals that are only half burned.

The grates must be kept clean and free of clinkers and the ash-pan must not be permitted to get full enough to choke off the draft.

mm GIVING A GOOD STOVE ITS CHANCE 2

\Y/HERE wood is the fuel used, the same general rules hold good for the regulation ” of the fire. The selection of the wood is very important, as great variation will be found in fuel value. Woods which have high fuel value are hickory, locust, black and yellow birches, hard maple and beech. One cord of such wood, properly dried, is equal in heating value to one ton of coal; about a cord and a half of such woods as ash, black walnut, hemlock or soft maple will be required to equal a ton of coal and of all such light woods as Norway pine, basswood, spruce and white pine, two cords will equal a ton of coal.

The heat value of any wood depends primarily upon the extent to which it has been dried. Green wood contains water which must be evaporated and, of course, this process takes up much of the heat that is given off as the wood bums.

We recommend the use of a Kootenay steel range or a Pandora all-cast-iron range.

DROPER combustion depends upon the regulation of the air which combines with ¹ gas in the burner to ignite and produce heat. The amount of air supplied to each burner is usually adjusted by means of a small controlling damper or slide at the base of the burner and the amount of gas is controlled by a small device, known as an adjustable orifice, placed at the end of the gas cock. If the flame is very long and a much brighter yellow in some parts, there is not sufficient air being admitted; in that case, open the little air mixer a little and close the orifice a trifle. If the flame is short and makes a slight roaring sound, too much air is being admitted, in which case, reverse the plan and admit less air and more gas.

All the openings in a gas burner should be kept scrupulously clean. It is an easy matter to go over each burner occasionally, thrusting a fine wire (a straightened out hair pin is admirable)into each hole. An occasional complete overhauling is advisable.

TURN off the gas at the main supply pipe; if there is not a tap, you will need a * monkey wrench to turn it. Cover the table with old newspapers and lift off all the removable parts of the stove. Fill a large pan with strong hot soap suds and put into it the dripping pan, rack and any removable nickeled pieces.

Take another large container—a tub is best—half fill it with strong, hot soda water. Put into it the drip tray, the top grates, burners, doors and all removable black parts of the stove.

With an old whisk, brush out the ovens and whisk off all parts of the stove frame. Wet a cloth in hot water, soap it and wash off the stove. Dry with an old cloth.

Put a little oil on a wad of cotton waste and oil the black parts very lightly; polish off thoroughly with a dry cloth.

Remove the pieces that are soaking in the soda water, rinse them in fresh warm water and scrub with a wire sink brush. Dry them off, oil lightly, polish them and put back on the stove.

Scrub the nickel pieces, dripping pan and rack in clean soapy water, dry them and put them in place. Scrub, rinse and dry drip tray and replace it.

Go over the stove with your lightly oiled cloth, then polish it off well. Be careful to burn all the old cloths, as oily waste is exceedingly dangerous to keep about and may cause a fire from spontaneous combustion.

mm GIVING A GOOD STOVE ITS CHANCE

An occasional going over with a cloth wrung out of strong soda water and then with one which is lightly oiled, will keep the main part of the stove in good condition. The rack, dripping pan, etc., may be treated just as those for the gas stove.

Salt and syrupy substances are the natural enemies of the electric elements, and need to be used with special care, particularly if your stove has not the protected elements. Non-insulated utensils also constitute a danger, which is avoided, of course, by the use of enamelled ware on an electric range.

The oven, in the best type of electric range, will be seamless, lined with porcelain enamel, and have rounded corners. Such an oven cannot open up and allow odours and juices to penetrate the insulation, decompose and become offensive. The pull-out element adds the last touch to an oven which may always be kept sweet and sanitary.

The electric range has been called upon to meet such varying demands, that manufacturers have found it necessary to make a very full line of ranges. The wise purchaser takes careful stock of her own requirements before she makes any move toward the purchase of a range. We would advise you to consider:

First—The availability of electric power. Ask your local power service company if the power you need is available on your street at the moment. They will probably assure you that it is all right to go ahead. If your house has not been wired—-as complete new houses are being wired to-day—to carry all electric appliances, consult your power supply company as to the extra wiring that may be required. The co in pany will usually furnish and install any new service wires that may be needed fro the poles in the street, to your house. The wires that carry the current from the company’s .wire (usually attached at some point on the house, near the roof) to the meter in the cellar, should constitute a 3-wire system of sufficient capacity to amply provide for range and other appliances which you may install later. A competent electrician will make short work of an adequate wiring job for you.

Second—The available floor space. In the modern apartment or small house, the kitchen is frequently so small that every foot of space must be cleverly used. It is a case of “intensive cultivation of floor space,” if good results are to be obtained.

Third—The size of the range that will best suit your family’s requirements. What oven size is necessary? How many top burners do you need? Two, three, four and six burner stoves are offered.

Fourth—The direction from which your light comes. Did you know that high-oven models are made with the oven either to the right or to the left of the cooking surface? Gone are the days when the swinging open of the oven door promptly cut off the light from the oven’s interior.

A word on the matter of the small hot plate electric stoves, which offer the solution to many an equipment problem. They come with one, two or three elements. A portable oven, made to fit over one or two burners, according to the size of oven you require, will complete a very satisfactory little outfit, at a very moderate cost.

The kitchen that is electrically equipped throughout adds an electric water-heater to its other labour savers. Compact, neat and efficient, it will make readily available the generous supply of hot water that does so much to lighten the tasks of the busy housekeeper.

CAGE ^FLOORS "“AKX3CWM

INFORMATION WORTH WHILE

HE woodwork and floor in any room may have a greater influence on the room’s effect than we at first realize. Well-kept woodwork will impart a certain gracious something to the atmosphere of a home which no amount of attention given to perhaps more obvious points, will replace.

Such a wide variety of woods are used for trim and floorings that it is necessary to be quite definite first about one’s needs, then to find the treatment which will fit them.

Let us begin with the most desirable flooring for the living rooms of a house—smoothly laid hardwood. The woods used are chiefly oak and maple. The former is desired for its handsome markings; the latter is, however, an even closer-grained wood than oak.

With a hardwood floor, the rugs are notfasteneddown. It is, therefore, simple to remove them for cleaning and to keep the hardwood in a state of eternal shine. Hardwood is also used to border a room in which a large rug is used.

Wax is the preferred finish for a polished floor. Remember, however, that it w ill not cover soil and stain. The floor should be wiped over first with warm soft water— rainwater is best. Do not use soap or any oily cleaner. If the floor is too soiled to yield to this treatment, use a little turpentine. Especially stubborn stains will usually disappear after a vigorous rubbing with steel wool, moistened with turpentine.

Dissolve the wax by putting it in a small tin and placing this in a larger one which contains several inches of boiling water. When the wax is melted, remove from the fire, add the turpentine and stir until well mixed. (For use on a light surface, use clarified or white wax instead of beeswax).

CIMPLE as this preparation is, it cannot be improved upon, because it is made with ^ the pure wax—no cheap gums or substitutes of any kind are in it.

The wax should be applied over the entire floor surface and left for from fifteen to twenty minutes before the polisher is used. If a second coat of wax is given, it may be allowed to stand a little longer before polishing, but if it stands too long, the wax w'ill be discouragingly hard.

There are floor waxers on the market to-day which enable the housekeeper to wax her own floors without having to kneel and apply the wax by hand. If you have not got a waxer, however, use a piece of soft, old cloth, preferably woollen, and apply the wax as evenly as possible—and not too much of it. It is rather a good scheme to wax an old flannel, put it over the weighted polishing brush and apply, thus saving the laborious kneeling. A weighted brush is really necessary to get a good polish.

mOS CARE OF FLOORS AND WOODWORK

THERE is one very important fact which few housekeepers seem to know. Wax and * oil cannot be used on the same surface. The oil liquifies the wax and destroys the polish. For this reason, we can never use on a waxed floor a mop which has been treated with an oily preparation.

Not that we must do without a very convenient dustless yarn mop for our waxed floors, however. Our mop should be kept quite clean and to make it gather up all the dust more easily, it may be treated with a little of the floor wax, diluted with turpentine.

The oil-treated mop is tremendously useful for floors which are not treated with wax. We can make our own dustless mop and dustless dusters by dipping the yarn mop or duster into a solution made of one pint of gasoline and one tablespoon of linseed or cotton seed oil. Dip the mop out of doors or in a room where there is no fire and hang it outside to dry until the gasoline has thoroughly evaporated. This method distributes the oil evenly throughout the mop. A duster or mop so treated may be washed once or twice before it will need to be re-dipped in the oil solution. Dustless sweeping and dusting, which is done with mops and dusters treated in this way, not only saves labour but is much more sanitary. There is little to be said in favour of raising a riot of dust in every corner of a room when so much of it will simply re-settle. Where a broom is used, it should be dampened; bits of moist paper or some commercial sweeping substance should be sprinkled over the floor and short strokes, taken away from the sweeper, will be most efficacious.

For the daily brushing up of the downy fluff which gathers on every floor, one of these yarn mops is essential. If the floor expanse is fairly large, a good sized mop will gather it more quickly. Another most useful brush for this purpose is a sixteen inch hair brush. If the floor is waxed once a month, the most cursory daily rub over will keep it always glowing and fresh looking.

Now a word as to the painted floor. The chief difficulty which the housewife finds with a floor which is stained or painted in a dark colour, is a tendency to look dusty.

It has been found a very good plan to give a floor or border of this nature a rub off with a waxed cloth. This gives it a soft, dull finish and successfully combats the dusty look. •

To wash a painted or oiled floor, add Y\ cup melted soap to a pail of warm water.

To wash a varnished floor, dissolve 2 tablespoons borax in 1 quart boiling water and fill up pail with cold water.

IF you have paneling, wainscoting or other trim in oak, chestnut or any of the other ⁴ finishes which are commonly used, it will be easy to keep them in good order if you follow the rules given for the care of furniture. Briefly, such woodwork should be washed with warm water containing a little washing soda. After washing and drying the woodwork thoroughly, wipe it off with raw linseed oil and turpentine (two parts of the oil to one of turpentine); dry thoroughly with one or two soft old cloths.

Another treatment, equally successful, will be to wash the woodwork in the same way (for it is essential that all greasy dirt be removed before applying any sort of polish) and rub it over with the furniture reviver, the recipe for which is given in our chapter on the care of furniture.

To apply either of these preparations, use three rubbers (the wad of cotton batting rolled in a piece of soft cloth, as described also in the furniture chapter). The first rubber is used to wipe off and clean the surfaces; the second to apply the oil and turpentine or the reviver; the third to dry thoroughly. Rub up finally with a soft piece of cheese cloth or old silk.

mB CARE OF FLOORS AND WOODWORK WM

jV^ANY of the finest of the new houses are now being finished with what is termed 1V1 “_rubbed-down woodwork”—that is to say, the trim is given a soft, natural finish and waxed. The natural grains of the wood show clearly and the effect is most harmonious and pleasing. To finish new woodwork in this style, oil first with raw linseed oil; this will bring out the grain and beautify your wood. Do not pore-fill floors or woodwork—just wax well after the oil has been absorbed and the wood allowed to dry-. This treatment will eventually give the same lovely effect as we see in fine oak paneling in good old English houses.

If you have grained woodwork finished with a harsh, high shine which does not gain favour in your eyes, it will not be difficult to change it. The requirements are simple—a piece of block pumice stone with a level face, water and soft old cloths. Go over the entire surface with the pumice stone, using its level surface; use plenty of water. It is a good plan to have a brick handy to rub the pumice on, for the cleaner and more level your pumice block, the more effective it will be.

Use your brick, too, to shape a piece of pumice stone to go into mouldings and crevices or use a piece of pliant leather, dipped in water and bath brick, to get into the quirks and hollows.

When the paint or varnish is cut down, you may find that some spots have been entirely bared of their coating. It will be necessary to touch in these places with paint of the same colour or, if the wood is stained and varnished, with a little varnish mixed with colouring to match the original finish. If you have to do any of this touching in, apply at least two coats and when dry rub down with the wet pumice stone and the entire surface will be ready for the re-finishing. (By the way, for tinting varnish mahogany colour, you will want a little Bismarck brown from the hardware store, and for the walnut, Vandyke brown or burnt umber will be required. You will have to experiment a little on a piece of wood until you get the right shade).

On the care with which the surface is prepared depends the final result; when you have made your surface perfectly even, free from roughness or blemish, wipe it, wash it down, dry thoroughly, finishing with a chamois or soft cloth, apply the wax and polish with one or two pieces of flannel. Where the surfaces are perfectly flat and ungrooved, you can wrap your flannel around a small square block of wood to facilitate polishing.

If the preparatory work is carefully done, the woodwork will only need to be rubbed over with wax a couple of times a year to keep it in beautiful condition.

exactly the same way, washed off, dried well and waxed and polished. This will give a most delightful effect and will completely transform dark painted woodwork which has always seemed dull and uninteresting.

Let us turn to the treatment of light woodwork—the white, cream, gray or other pale-tinted trim used in bedrooms, drawing rooms, etc. So many people deny themselves the charm of freshly-painted light woodwork, because they fancy that it is hard to keep clean. As a matter of fact, this is not so. A little whiting applied with a soft cloth, will work wonders in renewing white or light coloured paint. There are also several cleaning preparations on the market which are perfectly simple and easy to use and will remove every vestige of soil, even after it has entirely refused to yield to mere washing.

Painted furniture, by the way, will be kept in condition in just the same way. An occasional w^rash w'ith clean warm water, using a paste made with whiting and water, will preserve its fresh and dainty appearance.

There is nothing so good as a moist chamois, to polish any light painted surface.

li SOFT GLOW

OOD furniture deserves good care—and generously repays it. There are two ills that befall the furniture of the average home: first the wood surfaces become misty, streaky and dull looking; second, white blotches, caused by heat or dampness, appear, as do the inevitable scratches and damages to which all household furniture is heir.

Both of these conditions are open to home treatment, although the second may only be alleviated—unless the furniture is re-done in a manner to prevent the recurrence of such damages. Such finishes are possible, but are never found in factory-made furniture.

To deal first with clouded, smudged wood surfaces— whether they be found in the piano (which is in most households rather a protected piece)or the most used chair.

The average housekeeper will buy a bottle of furniture polish, pour some of it on a cloth and expend a lot of energy in producing a “shine” on her furniture with it. As a rule, she does not know whether the particular preparation she chooses is something which will leave an oily surface and just collect more dust or not. Seldom does she dare to properly cleanse the wood before applying any sort of renovator.

HTHE finest wood surface will stand “washing”—will not only stand it but will be ^A much better for it—if it is properly done. Take a bowl of clean warm water ; drop into it a little bit of washing soda—about the size of a pea to, say, three pints of water; arm yourself with a soft sponge and a very soft old tooth brush for the carving. Wring the sponge out of the mild soda water and go carefully over every inch of the wood surface. The reason for doing this is that these surfaces are undoubtedly greasy. The soda cuts the grease and effectually removes all soil. Dry thoroughly and polish with a very soft cloth.

It is only when the furniture has been thus properly cleaned that the application of any sort of polish should be considered. The more you have used other preparations on your furniture, the more gratified you will be if you have one of these recipes made up by your druggist and use it in future to keep your wood surfaces in condition. They are recipes used by an old English cabinet-maker who really knows woods— and loves them.

The first reviver is a very simple one: to pint raw linseed oil, add 3 tablespoons turpentine.

Nothing more. Yet this very simple polish will give a soft glow to fine mahogany, walnut or oak. Where the polish of your furniture was originally good, but has been very much dulled, here is a “reviver” which you can have your druggist make up for you, which will bring up the old finish and restore much of the beauty of your wood:

Yi pint raw linseed oil 2 ounces vinegar 1 ounce spirits of camphor Yi ounce butter of antimony li ounce spirits of hartshorn

Shake the bottle well before using it; put a little on a soft cloth; go over the furniture with long easy strokes and polish with a soft dry cloth. Polish with one or two fresh, soft pieces of cheesecloth or pongee silk.

V^HERE furniture has a bright finish, here is another excellent preparation which ^YT comes to us from the same source. Put 2 ounces gum benzoin, pounded in a mortar, in a bottle containing Vi pint wood alcohol or methylated spirits. Let it stand for three days until the gum benzoin is dissolved, shaking the bottle now and then. Strain off through cheese cloth or a piece of flannel into another bottle and the preparation is ready for use. It makes an excellent glaze for highly polished furniture. To apply it to your rubber, take a cork the right size for the bottle and bore a small hole through it with a red hot nail and shake a few drops of the glaze through this cork on to your pad.

The polishing pad, which is the best thing to use for the application of any of these preparations, is made as follows: take a small piece of cotton batting, make it into a bail, place it in a square of soft old material which has been washed, catch up the edges and screw them tight to make a sort of handle. The cotton batting should be enclosed tightly. A good sized pad may be made for large surfaces and suitable smaller pads for such things as mouldings.

T ET us turn now to that bane of every housekeeper’s existence, the table top which

has been marred by hot dishes and shows a white surface here and there. The furniture is usually finished bright and these spots are most unsightly.

To remove the white blemish, shake a little dry powdered pumice stone on a saucer, take a large new cork, dip it in raw linseed oil and rub the disfigured surface with it. Now dip the cork into the oil again to wet its surface, then into the pumice stone and very gently rub the markings (keeping the cork oiled and supplied with pumice stone) until they disappear.

The surface will be a little bit thinned by this process, of course, and will be just a trifle lower than the surrounding surface. We get over this difficulty by using the glaze for which the recipe has just been given (the gum benzoin preparation) applying it with a small camel hair brush. When the glaze, thus applied, brings the surface under treatment up to the rest of the table surface, take your cork once more and dip it, not into the pumice stone, but into a little powdered rotten stone and oil and gently smooth the treated surfaces.

Take a small flat block of wood, fold it into a piece of soft cloth of fine flannel and go painstakingly over the place with this until you can see little or no difference between the ordinary surface and the part which you have repaired. Let it stand for three or four hours then wash the surface all over with clean, warm water, dry well and polish it with a clean cloth. Examine the surface and if it needs brightening apply reviver No. 2 or go over it with a little of the glaze.

’T'O apply the reviver take a piece of cotton batting and make a rubber, as already ¹ described; saturate the pad with the reviver, cover it with fresh cloth and, gripping it firmly, wipe the top of the table gently and evenly the way of the grain. Be sure that you just overlap each stroke you take so as to leave no untouched streaks. On no account let your pad get too dry during the operation; keep it thoroughly wet, though of course it must not drip. Do not try to apply your revivers with a brush or by any other method; this rubber we have described lays the glaze on with perfect evenness and will give a result which you can attain in no other way.

Unsightly scratches may be touched in with the glaze. Use a very small camel-hair brush and use the oil and rotten stone before the final coating.

IKTEHES'TING^EXPERT ADVICE-

HERE are a few fundamental rules for table setting which should always be observed, be the table ever so simple and the fare ever so plain. With these elementary ideas properly carried out, we may superimpose any elaboration which seems to be desirable. No amount of “prettifying,” however, will make a table look well if the basic rules for its proper setting have been neglected.

A word first of all as to the table cover. The large cloth of linen damask will probably always retain its place in our favour. In spite of the fact that its snowy surface and satiny pattern make the most desirable background for a good-looking table, there are, however, two things which militate against its constant use. One of these is the great increase in the cost of fine linen, which has come during the past few years; the other is that every tendency to-day is to modify and simplify housekeeping, and these large linen cloths are cumbersome to use and troublesome to launder. A stained or mussy cloth is never permissible, wherefore we must use a number of them each week, unless we fall back upon some of the modern substitutes. This presents no difficulty, as very charming and very useful things have been evolved to meet our need.

’"THE runner or centre-piece accompanied by place doilies, we have come to regard as, ⁴ perhaps, the most valued stand-by. Such a set is in perfectly good taste for any meal except the formal dinner. Coloured linen is a favourite fabric, as is also crash or any material of similar weave, and charming sets have been evolved from chintzes and figured materials of various kinds. These sets have the triple advantage of being quickly and easily handled when the table is set, not readily soilable and very easily handled on laundry day.

When our large cloth is used, a silence cloth, the full size of the table, should be spread beneath it; one straight fold should run lengthwise down the middle of the table.

Where doilies are used, it is a good plan to get asbestos mats to exactly fit underneath them.

THE treatment of the centre of the table, we will regard as the chief beautifying * touch. Cut flowers or a low pan of growing ferns or blossoming plants, come first in our regard. A bowl of coloured fruits or a small candelabrum, offer excellent substitutes.

The first rule to be observed is that any floral centre-piece must be kept low; the flowers should remain below the eye level.

There is just one point also to be noted where candles are used: tall candles which will rise above the level of the eye are most artistic if left unshaded, but where short candlesticks and short candles are used, and the flame will be below the eye, small shades should always be used.

The first consideration with regard to the setting of the individual places is that all similar objects should be kept parallel to one another, that is to say, in looking down either side of a square table, the glasses must stand in a perfectly straight line, the small

TABLE it's SETTING ff

plates in a straight line, the knives and forks placed each in line—each knife in line with the same knife at the next place, etc. The places at a round table, too, must be set with mathematical precision. This appears at first glance to be a simple matter but a single test will reveal how really important a point this is.

Now as to the setting of each individual place. The forks are placed to the left, knives to the right and spoons to the right of the knives. It is not incorrect to place the spoons in front of the service plates, instead of to the right of the knives but most people prefer the first arrangement.

As to the order in which they are placed, the general rule is to “work in;” that is to say, the diner will find his soup spoon at his extreme right, his fish knife and fork would occupy the next place on each side and inside of these again would be the meat knife and fork and forks for salad or dessert.

It is quite usual in the case of a formal dinner where many knives and forks are required, to place not more than three forks on the table in the beginning. Where more are required they will be brought in with the particular course to which they belong. The spoon for a fruit cocktail which begins the meal will be placed on the plate, likewise the coffee spoon will usually be found on the saucer, thus reducing the number of pieces at each place. ,

The glass is placed just off the tip of the knife. Bread and butter plates for the meals in which they are used are placed at the left, as is also the folded table napkin. Whether or not bread and butter plates are used depends entirely upon the use of butter at the meal. Any house that follows old country customs will never see the use of butter at dinner. Many people in this country, however, include butter amongst the necessities at every meal. If it is not served, the dinner roll or bread will be placed upon the tablecloth at the left of the place; one roll may be tucked into a folded napkin—which, by the way, is placed with its free point next the service plate and the edge of the table.

All forks are placed with the prongs up; knives with the blades towards the service plate.

A word as to the sendee plate; absolutely correct table sendee requires that the diner is never without a plate in front of him. Informal family service makes no attempt, however, to follow this rule and on simple occasions we only use a plate under a sherbert glass or something of that kind.

CO much for the individual places. As to the general effectiveness of the table, granted that our centre-piece has been nicely handled and our places carefully and precisely set, there are a few other details that affect its general appearance. We have vet to place such small things as salts and peppers, dishes of relish and, on special occasions, nuts and sweets. Beyond these things, it is well not to fill up the table space too much. It is a mistake to think that large stretches of unrelieved white cloth or polished table are at all unbeautiful. On the contrary, it is the cluttered table that offends the eye. A large table will permit the use of small bud vases, candle sticks, etc., and each arrangement should be carefully considered and pains taken to see that the whole effect is harmonious and pleasant.

YY7E have two kinds of table service to consider: where the serving is done by a maid ** (it is estimated that this is the rule in not more than eight per cent, of the homes in our country) and where it is carried out by the family themselves.

TABLE *‘sSETTING & SERVING®®

One general rule applies in both cases: confusion, noise and slovenliness are always inexcusable.

Service should be as unobtrusive as possible, under any circumstances. To gain this end, it must always be simple enough to fall easily within the capabilities of the person who is doing it. One maid who both cooks and serves the meal should not be asked to give more service at the table than she can manage and still bring everything to the diningj room exactly as it should be. If the dishes themselves are planned with this end in view, she should be able, however, to give ample service to a not over-large number of people. If there is no maid it is best for one person to clear away the soiled dishes and bring the other courses to the table. This should be facilitated as much as possible by having things ready beforehand and by the use of a side table or a wheel table to which all the soiled dishes may be quickly removed and taken to the kitchen at a single trip.

Where cocktails of fruit or oysters, etc., are to open a meal, they may be already at the places. Cocktail glasses, like custard cups or ice glasses, should always be placed on a small plate. For a formal meal this, again, will rest on a service plate, as shown in our picture opposite. The spoon for a special course like this may be on the plate or it will be placed at the extreme right of the place.

Soup may be served at the table from a large tureen or brought to the table in bouillon cups or soup plates.

Unless there is a butler, the carving is usually done at the table. Where there are more people, however, than the carver can serve without too much delay, the carving may be done beforehand in the kitchen.

It is correct to pass vegetables to each person in turn, beginning with the hostess or the mother of the household, then the person on her right and so on round the table. A spoon and fork should be in each vegetable dish and the maid may carry a dish in each hand to facilitate service. A small tray may be used or it is also correct to hold each vegetable dish with a folded napkin. Any dish which is passed to the diner for him to help himself, should be proffered at the left side, so that he may use the spoon in his right hand and transfer the food to his own plate without having to twist his hand in an unnatural way. The dishes are usually removed from the right side. Each plate should be taken away on a service tray or one may be carried in each hand; under no conditions must any “stacking” of dishes be done in the dining-room.

Coffee, water, etc. will be served from the right side, as it would be very awkward for the maid to lean across the diner to place a cup or fill a glass.

Desserts may be served at the table or from the kitchen. Tea or coffee are usually poured at the table unless coffee is served later in the drawing room. After-dinner coffee may be poured in the kitchen, if it is preferred. The coffee spoon will be on the saucer.

Sweets, almonds, olives, relishes, peppers and salts, may be on the table from the beginning. After the meat course, pickles, relishes and anything else pertaining particularly to that course should be removed. Also the salts and peppers, unless they are further required for a salad. Small dishes of this type should be placed on a service tray and crumbs should be removed before dessert is served.

If finger bowls are used, each one will be brought to the table on a small plate covered with a doily.

SOME LAUNDRY SECRETS

YOU SHOULD KNOW

LUE Monday? Perhaps so—much depends upon the mode of the attack which is made upon the weekly laundry. Tuesday, however, provides one of the moments in her weekly routine which holds genuine pleasure for your true housewife—the one in which she surveys the snowy piles of fresh, sweet, newly laundered clothes which wait only to be sorted and put away.

But, too often, the pride and pleasure that rightfully belong to that moment are marred by either of two tilings —clothes that are a poor colour, muddy looking, stained, or yellowed; or the results may be satisfactory, but at such cost of strength and time that the tired woman who has brought about the daintiness and immaculate freshness of the family linens and wearables, has little energy to expend in admiration—her efforts are too recent, her weariness too insistent.

For either of these evils, there are remedies. The first is cured by the knowledge of the kind of treatment required by different fabrics, just how to deal with spots and stains, how to really loosen and remove soil from different fabrics and how to set colours.

The second difficulty must be met with improved methods—-the use of every short cut and easier way devised by science and the experiments and experience of experts, and whatever labour-savers it is possible to add to the laundry equipment.

The average family laundry includes, as a rule, the four classes of fabrics: cotton, linen, wool and silk. These may be coupled, for most laundry purposes, according to their origin—that is to say, cotton and linen are of vegetable origin, wool and silk come from animals (the sheep and silk-worm). It is necessary to know what agents may be used in dealing with each class of fabric, as all will not answer to the same treatment.

'T'O begin at the very outset—let us consider the water available for laundry purposes.

te your water supply hard or soft? This is very important because the action of the water itself is very important. It must either loosen or dissolve all the foreign matter that adheres to the clothes—the soil—and carry it off, leaving the pores of the cloth open once more.

This purpose is largely defeated if the water is not of a nature to dissolve at least some of the substances in the soil.

LIARD water is water in which there is present a quantity of lime salts. Now the * unfortunate thing about lime salts is the fact that they decompose the soap, instead of allowing it to act on the soil—decompose it and combine with it to form “lime soap,” which water will not dissolve. If, therefore, you find that, instead of a soapy lather that coaxes the dirt from your fabric, your soap seems to break up and form a sort of curd as soon as it feels the action of the water, you may conclude that you must first of all meet and defeat the lime salts in your water. Otherwise, you will ■use soap and more soap, until there is enough in the water to take up all the lime salts.

So far, the soap is too busy doing this to pay any attention to the cleansing of clothes. After all the lime salts have been taken up by soap in this way, additional soap will take a hand in the cleaning of the clothes.

At which point we realize all the soap which has had to be wasted before washing commences!

COME water—that which is called “temporarily hard”—mav be softened by boiling it, when the lime salt will sink to the bottom and the water may be poured off. This is too troublesome, however, for the average busy woman, and she adopts the quicker and easier method of softening the water with one of the agents recommended by experts and chemists who have experimented for her and hand on their recom-endations for her speedy help. “It is an alkali you must use, to offset the lime salts,” says the chemist learnedly; and kindly adds, “washing soda, ammonia, borax, or, in rather rare cases, lye.”

The use of one of these agents will prevent the action of the lime on the soap and leave the latter free to go about its duty of removing soil unhindered. The only trouble remaining is that the curd, formed in this case by the lime and alkali, remains in the water and is likely to get into the pores of the cloth.

If iron is the troublesome element in your water, you have only one satisfactory-recourse—add washing soda to the water, then allow it to settle nearly a week before drawing off the top water for use.

Washing soda, w'hen used to soften water, should be made into a solution by- dissolving 1 pound of w'ashing soda in 1 quart of boiling w’ater. Bottle the solution and for laundry purposes allow 2 tablespoonfuls to each gallon of water. Soda is a very good alkali for the purpose, being easy to handle, inexpensive and comparatively harmless so long as it is not used dry. Remember, however, that at its full strength it w ill quite readily eat holes in any cloth it meets.

Ammonia is another mild and useful alkali for home use. Household ammonias come in various strengths and are usually accompanied by instructions for their use. Full-strength ammonia should be diluted and closely bottled, because it is such a volatile substance that it loses strength.

Borax is a less vigorous alkali but very much liked when w^rater is to be softened for woollens or for coloured goods. Added to the starch, it gives clearness and tends to make the clothes a good colour. It is used in the proportion of one tablespoon borax dissolved in one cup of boiling water, to each gallon of the laundry water.

Lye is not advised for use in the home laundry. It is difficult to use safely, holding a threat for either the hands of the laundress or the clothing she is washing, if it is not used with greatest care.

It must only be used in solution—-a quarter tablespoonful thoroughly dissolved in one cup of water is allowed for each gallon of water.

“Dirty Water” is not an unknown problem to the housekeeper in some places—• water in which there is much free organic matter. To remove it, make a mixture of two parts borax to one part alum ahd allow one tablespoon of the mixture to each gallon of water, or more if necessary. The sediment will settle and the water may then be drawn off the top.

LJAVING disposed of water difficulties, we turn to the cleansing agents, first among ** which is, of course, soap.

If you are not perfectly satisfied with the soap you are using, experiment a little until you find one which does satisfy you. In making your tests, it is not too much to ask: *

That the soil is loosened from clothing without too much rubbing and friction—-bad for the clothes and hard on the laundress.

That clothes should be sweet, fresh and a good colour after a bath in good suds and a thorough rinsing (for even the very best soap must be thoroughly rinsed out).

That there should be no undue weakening of the fabrics and general wear and tear, due to the laundering process.

That the hands of the laundress should not smart and chafe after the use of the soap. A really good laundry soap will not trouble a skin that is not abnormally delicate—if it does, there is every reason to regard it with some suspicion.

We have some variations of the straight household soap, that commend themselves for special uses. For instance, one may buy a soap containing naphtha or fuller’s earth or borax, to use where these materials will be useful—a handier method, sometimes, than the use of a straight soap and the other material uncombined.

Again, there are soap flakes—-soap usually of extra fine quality, shaved thinly and sold in bulk or in package form. These soap flakes are very convenient to use; they are just added to boiling water and beaten quickly to a light, frothy lather, which loosens soil with a minimum of rubbing—a real consideration where fine fabrics are concerned.

l—IERE is a plan of using soap in the laundry which has been evolved after years of * * experiment with various soaps and as many methods. Before the washing is started, the soap is shaved fairly thin with a knife, put into a saucepan, two quarts of cold water added for each bar of soap, and the soap slowly melted. A small granite cup is filled from the pan of hot soap, a little cold water added if necessary to cool reasonably, and this liquid soap is poured, a very little at a time, on the garment to be washed. Of course, there is soon a good lather in the tub and the melted soap need only be poured directly on spots or especially soiled parts. The dirt seems to fairly fall out by this method, and very little rubbing is required. The white clothes may be boiled afterwards, with some of the soap solution. It is possible that a little more soap is used this way than in the ordinary process of rubbing the bar on the clothing, but undoubtedly clothes last much longer when washed this way and the labour is greatly lessened. It is particularly well worth while to wash woollens and fine things this way.

"THERE are cases where just soap and water and “elbow grease” do not seem to be ^ a sufficiently strong combination for the task in hand. Some other substance is needed to assist with the cleansing process. Commonest of these, besides the alkalis already mentioned—ammonia, washing soda, borax and lye—are such agents as turpentine, benzine, kerosene, fuller’s earth, paraffin.

These substances are chiefly useful where articles are soiled to an unusual degree or by unusual things. Grease is the most frequent enemy which they are called in to overcome; also some stains need their especial action, either before or during the washing process. It is necessary to remember that tremendously careful rinsing^is imperative after the use of an odorous substance and also that some of these materials are highly inflammable, and must be kept in a safe place and used with the utmost discretion, far away from any flame or extreme heat. We cannot even use very hot water in conjunction with them, because it will cause evaporation.

/"'LOTHES should, of course, be sorted the day before wash-day and divided as ^ follows:

It is advisable to make as many divisions as this, because the cleaner pieces should not be put with those that are much soiled, nor do they require, perhaps, the same treatment. The dirtier clothes should certainly be put to soak over night and such things as table linens, towels which are little more than crumpled, and so forth, may be soaked separately or merely left to be washed, without preparation, if there is not an extra tub for them.

Everything should be looked over for stains, before being wet. Frequently, water will settle the stain, and most stains are almost impossibly stubborn if they have gone right through the laundering process.

Drop handkerchiefs into a solution of salt and water, as salt has an almost magic way of freeing them from mucous. It is also a good plan to soak them in a boric acid solution, if colds have been prevalent.

A weak soap solution should be used for the soaking. Shave one bar of good soap into three gallons of water. Heat gradually until soap is melted. Add one to three tablespoons turpentine if desired.

Wet the clothes, rub soiled parts with the soap solution, roll up separately and pack into the tub. Cover with warm soapy water, softened if necessary with borax or ammonia.

Do not use any alkali, if coloured clothes are to be soaked. It is better to avoid soaking them, however. They should be handled quickly and dried in the shade.

The clothes should be rinsed from the water in which they have been soaked, and washed in order of cleanliness, beginning with table linens and towels and progressing through bed linen, white clothes, more soiled clothes, hosiery. Silk or woollen garments should be washed in fresh water.

If it is convenient to wash a second time through clean suds, it will pay to do so.

Boil cottons and linens in clean water, to which some of the soap solution has been added. Rinse in clean water and wring. Rinse through bluing water and wring. Starch and hang to dry. Bring in, dampen and fold, or roll separately.

Of course, a washing machine will greatly cut down the actual labour of all this. If electric current is available, the electric machine is much the best—it will reduce the whole work of washing to sorting and handling, as it were; even the wringing is done for one, the clothes being merely fed to the electrically operated wringer. If electricity is not available, the water power, the hand-run machine or even a suction-cup on a long handle, will greatly cut down the labour involved. An electric ironer will likewise make ironing day an entirely different matter, as one has only to sit in a chair and feed to it the flat wear and such simpler clothing as is without frills and furbelows. Next in order of usefulness comes a good mangle.

TO return to the washing: The starching is an important factor in the production of * good results.

Mix the starch first with a little cold water and stir into boiling water. It will require fifteen or twenty minutes cooking to make it penetrate well into the materials. If other ingredients are added, cook them with the starch. Sometimes an oily substance such as wax, paraffin, turpentine or lard, is added to give a smoothness and gloss to the finish and to keep the starch from sticking to the iron. Again, gum arabic is often used with starch when a greater stiffening power is required.

Thin Starch—Mix Yl cup starch with Y cup of cold water. Add to three quarts of boiling water with

Y level tablespoon lard, kerosene or other fatty substance Cook fifteen to twenty minutes.

Thick Starch—M ix Yl cup starch with Y cup cold water. Add to one quart boiling water with

Raw Starch—Stir together the same ingredients as for thick starching, except that the fatty substance is to be omitted.

If greater stiffness is required than is achieved by one of these starches, add one tablespoon gum arabic, dissolved in Yl cup boiling water, to the stiff starch mixture.

^A The answer is that the tendency of white clothes, due to inadequate washing or rinsing, or lack of proper bleaching, is to turn yellow. We therefore add blue to our last rinsing water, to neutralize the yellow—the two offset each other, leaving a pleasant clear white. The bluing water should be about sky blue colour when a little is scooped up in the palm of the hand. Too much bluing will give an unpleasant tinge of colour to the material.

Plenty of clean water is the greatest aid, and it is well to have in mind one or two particular points—first, that we soak the clothes and use the soap solution, to soften and separate the fibres and loosen the dirt; second, that as steady a temperature as possible should be maintained during the washing and rinsing processes, because heat expands the threads of the cloth, throwing out the dirt, as it were, and cooling the cloth too soon shrinks the fibres again and holds the soil. Small additions of boiling water from time to time are, therefore, advisable.

/COLOURED clothing needs extra care. Each colour is washed separately, in case the dye should run. The work should be done quickly, the garment hung up in the shade, wrong side out, to dry at once, otherwise it will probably run and streak. Long-drawn-out wetness, strong alkalis or acids or a bleaching agent, whether sunshine or chemical, will all be harmful. Don’t soak, therefore, unless necessary. Use a pure, mild soap. If a softening agent must be used, let it be borax. Rub starch in well and wipe off any excess, to avoid white spots and streaks.

Colours that are apt to fade may often be “set” by soaking overnight in one of what we call the “mordant” solutions. Test a small piece of cloth first and see which solution acts on it best. After the soaking, dry thoroughly before washing. Another good plan to prevent fading, even when the colour seems reasonably fast, is to rinse the garment in a diluted salt solution just before hanging to dry.

MT^OOLLEN materials also require sensible and considerate treatment. Again, they should be handled quickly. These rules should be kept firmly in mind:

If water is hard, use a tablespoonful of borax or ammonia to each gallon of water. Rub as little as possible. Squeeze the garment, plunge it up and down in the water and work it gently with the hands, else the fibres will mat and harden. A second clean suds of same temperature is often advisable and several rinsing waters should be used.

Be sure no particle of soap remains. Put through a loosely-set wringer and hang, wrong side out, in a warm place—never near a fire, however, because sudden direct heat will cause shrinkage.

Blankets should be given the same treatment. Squeeze the water from the lower hanging edge occasionally, during drying period.

Silk should be given similar washing, wrung between towels and ironed on the wrong side w hile damp. To avoid stiffening it, iron silk under a cloth.

vT^HERE fabrics are stained so that ordinary washing or sponging will not remedy the matter, special treatment is necessary.

Javelle water (for white goods only), potassium permanganate in solution (for white and some coloured goods), oxalic acid (poison), ammonia water, hydrogen peroxide,

French chalk, should be kept on hand but safely out of reach in case of poisons, to prevent accident. They must be used quickly to prevent damage to fibres. Stretch the stained portion tightly over a bowl and apply chemicals from a medicine dropper or the point of a skewer or small stick.

Dissolve chloride of lime in cold water, allow to settle, then pour off clear liquid into the soda solution, let settle, pour off clear liquid, bottle and keep in a dry place.

Mix a quantity for use with an equal quantity or more of water, and don’t soak garments in it more than half an hour. Rinse in several waters and, lastly, in diluted ammonia water.

Potassium permanganate is prepared for use by dissolving 1 teaspoonful of the crystals in a pint of water. Apply with medicine dropper or small rod, allow to remain five minutes. If a brown or pink stain is left, it may be removed by applying hydrogen peroxide, made acid by addition of 1 drop oxalic acid to 5 teaspoons peroxide.

Prepare by dissolving in a pint of lukewarm water all the crystals it will melt, Bottle, cork tightly, and put in a safe place for use as needed. Apply with dropper, allow to remain a few minutes then rinse thoroughly in clean water.

If the stain will not yield to boiling water, moisten with lemon juice and expose to sun. A stain which turns blue or gray should be moistened with oxalic acid or lemon juice.

Fruit and Berries {Cooked)—Easier to remove than are the stains made by fresh fruits. Boiling water and soap will suffice, except for red or purple stains, which are treated like fresh fruit stains.

Grass or Flower Stains—Hot water and soap, plenty of rubbing. Grain or wood alcohol where rubbing may injure.

Grease—Scrape off. If stain remains, try warm water and soap. Naphtha or kerosene are efficient solvents.

Absorbent substances such as fuller's earth, French chalk, powdered magnesia, for fine materials. Cornmeal or salt for coarse things such as carpets. Heap on the stain, brush off occasionally and renew. Blotting or absorbent paper on one side, a warm iron on the other; heat will melt the grease which will run into the paper.

Chloroform, ether, gasolene or naphtha are solvents for grease; the first is best and not inflammable. Place a clean absorbent pad underneath and sponge from outside in to the centre, to prevent a ring. A good plan is to first surround stain with a ring of French chalk.

Cocoa, Chocolate.—Soap and hot water; a sprinkling of borax, wet with cold water and rinse in boiling water. Lukewarm water for delicate fabrics.

Coffee—The cream calls for grease solvent. Soap and water or potassium permanganate may be used.

Dye or Run Colours—Cold or warm water, sunlight. Javelle water, potassium permanganate or hydrogen peroxide, with a little ammonia in it, may be tried, the last for silk and wool goods.

Blood—Cold water. Soak and rub and when light brown wash with hot water and soap as usual. Ammonia—one ounce to one gallon water—will loosen old stains. Hydrogen peroxide, sponged on, will often remove stubborn blood stains.

Raw starch and water in thick paste applied to flannel, blankets, etc., and brushed off when dry. Repeat if necessary.

Ink—There are preparations on the market for removing ink stains. Much depends on the kind of ink. Printing ink will yield to plenty of rubbing with soap and water, when fresh. Lard, rubbed well into stain and washed out with soap and water, is good.

Writing Ink—Very absorbent substances such as fuller’s earth, etc., first working over stain with something blunt.

Milk will frequently take out ink stains. Soak the stain for a day or two, changing milk when it shows colour. Oxalic acid will usually remove ink. Soak for a few minutes, rinse in clear water, then in ammonia water. Potassium permanganate, Javelle water or lemon juice may work.

Mildew—-Soap and water and bleaching. Sour milk, lemon juice, Javelle water, potassium permanganate.

Paint—Turpentine; If old and set, turpentine and ammonia. Grease solvents will often help.

Perspiration—Yellow stains on white material may generally be removed by soap and water, followed by bleaching in the sun.

Javelle water or potassium permanganate may be used if the simpler measures are not effective.

Scorch—Yellow scorch stains can sometimes be removed, if the fibres are not actually burned—more especially where the material is cotton or linen, which will stand a higher temperature.

Water and sunlight may work; wet spot with water, or soap and water, and expose to sun for a day or two.

CUTS OF MEAT-*

HOW TO CHOOSE THEM

CANE of the most elastic words in culinary language is the word “lamb.” It is too often made to apply to the sheep in practically any stage in its development, for on this continent the term “mutton” seems frequently to rest beneath an undeserved shadow. It is difficult to find a more tender, well flavoured and nutritious meat than good mutton of the right age, but it is essential that it be recognized as mutton and not treated as one would treat spring lamb.

"THE first of these, the early spring lamb, is very descriptively called “hot-house lamb.” A winter * product, it is developed under unnatural conditions, house-fed and forced in growth for from six to twelve weeks, and sold, as are all out-of-season delicacies, at a very high price. It is cut only in quarters and rightly termed a luxury, as apart from its high cost, its food value is low, and waste position is proportionately high. From January to March, therefore, it is well for the economically-inclined woman to pass by the appeal of “early spring Iamb,” contenting herself with the year-old variety until the natural season comes.

The advent of spring lamb proper is usually about March, and for three months this succulent meat is fairly plentiful. From four to seven or eight months old, the carcass is large enough to subdivide, and one may buy a leg or a loin instead of a whole quarter. It is neither cheap nor economical, however—until it reaches the next stage.

Lamb—plain, unadorned lamb—or year-old lamb or mutton, is a more economical buy. At ten months or a year old, the flavour is excellent, the nutriment is high and the value reasonable. Yearling lamb is procutable pretty well all the year round—is, in fact, a regular stand-by with us, thanks to cold storage. Mutton older than this is very strong flavoured; when it is used, the skin and part of the outer fat should lie removed.

In selecting lamb or mutton, the flesh should be firm and fine-grained, the lamb a little closer in grain than the mutton, and a little lighter red in color.

The fat, of which there should be a firm, white layer all over the outside, is one of the indications of quality. If the veins in the neck are greenish or the kidney soft, the meat is stale.

To see if the lamb is really young, examine the bones where cut across—they should be porous and bloody. The shoulder bone in the young animal will not be really hardened; it will be scarcely more than gristle. W hat is called the “breaker-bone” at the knee-joint of the fore-leg, is very smooth on the surface and has a jagged edge, in the young lamb; in the year old, the joint is considerably drier and bonier, and in an older sheep, this joint doesn’t break at all—the 1 jones have grown together.

I-ike the meat of all immature animals, lamb will spoil rapidly. To keep it for any length of time cook it partially.

""THE general division into hind and fore-quarters is better known in the case of lamb and mutton than ¹ in that of the other meat animals. Perhaps that is because we so often buy the young animal in quarters.

These divisions include, in a general way: Hind-quarter—the legs and loin; fore-quarter—the neck, shoulder and breast.

The Leg is regarded as a prime cut. Only the hind legs are sold as the familiar “leg of lamb;” the fore-legs are included with the breast or shoulder. The leg is the highest priced cut of lamb or mutton, but this is offset very considerably by the fact that the waste is slight—-it is almost solid lean meat, with only a slender bone. If approximately the same price were asked for the leg, loin and shoulder, the leg would be the most economical cut. The shrinkage in cooking lamb and mutton is considerable, and since the larger joints are found to lose comparatively less, the leg lays another claim to economy on this point. The leg of lamb is usually roasted; a leg of mutton may be either roasted or boiled.

The Loin is also a very choice cut, and is used for roasts and chops. What is known as a saddle of lamb or mutton is two loins joined together; a haunch is the leg and upper part of the loin, together.

The Rib Chops, which lie just in front of the loin, are frequently used for a roast—the familiar and attractive crown roast of lamb. The butcher will prepare it or it may be done at home by splitting the meat down between the ribs about half way and fastening the two ends together so that the ribs will spread outwards. The centre is filled with browned or mashed potatoes and the tips of the ribs suitably garnished with parsley or celery tips or with tiny onions which are thrust on the end of each bone.

The Chuck, from which the shoulder chops are cut, is very juicy and flavourful. It is lower in price, but has the large plate bone in it and has more fat than the leg and less than the loin.

The Breast of lamb is usually economical if it is not too fat for the family taste. It is good toiled or makes excellent stew.

The Neck. The part of the neck which is next the shoulder may be roasted or toiled. This part of a yearling animal is suitable for cutlets. It is inexpensive, but contains a good deal of bone.

The Scrag end of the neck is tony and cheap. It is best used for broth, toiling or stews.

The Heart is sometimes included in the pluck, or it may be sold separately. It is more delicate and tender than the beef heart and may to stuffed and baked or sliced, simmered and served with onions or a piquant sauce. It makes a cheap and tasty dish.

The Liter may to fried or made up in a loaf with rice or bread crumbs, seasonings and shortening.

The Kidneys are stewed or toiled, as a rule. They are often left and roasted with the loin.

The Feet—“lamb's trotters” as they are very commonly called in the old country—are edible when cleaned and boiled. They are very cheap.

Sweetbreads. There is not the demand for lamb sweetbreads that there is for those of the calf or cow^r, but they are quite good. They should, of course, be soaked in salted water, parboiled, the tubes and membrane removed and cooked in any favoured way—braised, creamed or baked in a cream sauce.

Lamb's Tongues are, of course, very small and are most delicate boiled or jellied.

ITVERY household tradition holds sacred the serving of mint sauce or jelly with roast lamb and cai>er ^1-1 sauce, if the meat is toiled.

If fresh mint is not procurable, very good dried mint may to bought in packages. To make mint sauce, chop the leaves very fine and cover w'ith good vinegar; add a pinch of salt and sugar to taste.

For caper sauce, use a little of the stock from the pot in which the mutton was boiled; thicken with white roux (if you keep some on hand, made as advised in the chapter on sauces) or with flour moistened with milk; season and add capers. By the way, an excellent home-growm substitute for French capets is made by pickling nasturtium seeds from the garden.

Red currant jelly is one of the true affinities of lamb or mutton. Any other tart jelly may be substituted. The correct gravy to serve with roast lamb is a brown gravy thickened a little and well seasoned.

■THE domestic pig’s proudest boast, were pigs given to boasting, would probably be the fact that of all ¹ the meat animals, there is least waste about the |>orker. Modern methods of raising, killing, cutting and curing the pig have made possible the use of every portion of the animal.

< The hind legs are cured as hams; the choicest bacon is made from the sides and back. Practically the whole animal may be cured, the only exceptions being the back-bone (called the chine bone), which is cut in lengths and roasted fresh, and the ribs, which are used only as fresh pork.

The head, with the cheecks and ears removed, and the feet, are used for head-cheese. The cheek, or jowl, is a great delicacy when cured like bacon, and is preferred boiled, served with turkey or chicken, when it is almost like a pink jelly and of an indescribably delicious flavour.

The demand for fresh pork prevents the curing of vast numbers of pigs. When the butcher handles the fresh meat, it is divided as shown in the chart, and the various cuts are known as follows:

Spare Ribs—Low in price, but much bone waste, bringing actual food cost higher than would at first appear; are very tasty when roasted.

Hock—Usually slightly salted and boiled, good hot or cold. It becomes part of what is called “cottage ham,” when cut higher to include the

Shoulder—Lean like ham but without the ham flavour and fine texture; the upper section of shoulder gives us the Boston Butt.

Loin—The best roasting joint, but rather fat. Large chops are cut from the loin. Highest percentage of waste of all good cuts because of fat and amount of bone (the ribs).

Leg—The Ham; the most economical roasting joint because less fat and small amount of bone. r~-r Belly—Cut along centre line, dividing so-called "side bacon” from “back bacon.” The well-streaked fat and lean sides, known as English Breakfast Bacon, are preferred in the old country and in some parts of Canada.

Back—The back bacon is esteemed more in some places, and where this is so it costs a few cents per pound more than side bacon.

Feet—Boiled and served hot or cold; may be boned and stuffed, or used in head-cheese.

Lard—The fat up each side of the back-bone, surrounding the kidney, is the genuine lard. The fat which surrounds the intestines will make good soap.

TV /HEN choosing pork, look for that with clear, white fat and brownish lean, ingrained with fat. The ” rind will Ire thin and the bone fine but solid, in meat of good quality.

In the selection of a ham, look for one fine in the bone. To test for freshness, thrust a skewer or a sharp knife-blade close to the bone in the middle of the ham (it is near the bone that decay sets in). If it comes out clear and smells sweet, the ham is fresh and good; if fat sticks to the skewer and the smell is strong and rancid, pass it by. If the ham is cut, one can see the fat, which should be clear and white.

The food value of fresh pork and of the cured hams and bacon is very high. It should always be thoroughly cooked through—never served rare or underdone as we serve beef.

The gravy that is served with pork should be made of beef stock—not the pork gravy itself.

Apples stewed, fried or roasted with the meat should invariably accompany fresh pork, as they counteract much of the tendency toward indigestibility. Mustard sauces or pickles are good with pork.

"THERE is probably no meat in general use which has such a poor name on the score of digestibility ¹ and such a good one in the matter of delicacy, as veal. Although the former part of its reputation may be somewhat out of proportion to actual facts, there are certain justifications for it, just as there is good cause to consider veal, properly cooked and served, a very delicious dish.

We can get veal from our butcher practically all the year round, but in the late fall and winter it is likely to be cold storage meat. It becomes plentiful about February and continues so well through the spring, with the Easter season as its climax.

The economy of veal varies with the season and the prices prevailing in different localities, also with the part purchased. Special “choice" cuts are proportionately high if bought alone, as will l>e shown later. Weight for weight, uncooked, veal contains less nourishment than beef, although its percentage of protein is as large or larger. A lower nourishing value makes the actual food paid for higher in price. Then, too, the age of the calf makes a great deal of difference in the value per pound, because in the very young animal the weight of the bone is disproportionately high; it is only in the last of the three classes of market veal which we are about to discuss that the flesh catches up with the bones, as it were, and gives a larger proportion of meat to the pound.

First, there is the real baby veal, variously called “stagger" or “bob.” This is the very young animal indeed—perhaps but a few days old. Too-young veal will have a greenish or bluish cast, and the whole carcass won’t weigh more than forty or fifty pounds. The meat will Ire very soft, watery and flavourless, the bones too large in proportion, making altogether a very jroor buy from either the gastronomic or economic viewpoint.

The second class of veal comes from the calf killed at from four to eight weeks old. These will Ire still for the most part “milk-fed" animals, and will attain an average weight of from eighty to one hundred and forty pounds, with weights of various joints approximating those given later. The flesh is a delicate pinky fawn in colour and turns nearly as white and tender as chicken when cooked.

When the calf passes the entirely milk-fed stage, and eats meal, oil-cake, and later, turnips, grasses and so on, it gets into the “heavy calf” stage. The meat is not so delicately grained, but the flavour is, if anything, improved. The flesh is darker, firmer, but not necessarily coarse-fibred. This last is a point of quality, and one that repays attention in buying. The individual cuts will all weigh decidedly more, the total weight running from about one hundred and forty to nearly three hundred pounds, as the animal reaches four or five months old. The proportion of bone will be less, as will be also the percentage of water, increasing the economy, if the price per pound is the same.

The matter of bone and water bears direct relationship to the economy of the meat we buy. The water, of course, passes off in the cooking and whilst the nutritive value is in no way lessened, one must reckon the waste involved in paying for so much “water by the pound.” On the other hand, there is no other waste than bone and water in veal, because there is almost no fat and very little scraggy or inedible portion in any of the cuts.

In the matter of digestive qualities, the old adage “no smoke without fire" is not without bearing. Many people do find veal indigestible. Except, however, in the case of the minor number who really cannot eat it, the difficulty may be largely overcome.

The fault lies in two characteristics of the veal—its long fibres, amounting to “stringiness" in poor meat, and its soft, slippery nature. There is not the “body” to veal that there is to beef, for instance, and every cook knows how readily veal will jelly. This is due to the presence of a great deal of gelatinous substance, which, in conjunction with the softness of the meat and its tendency to split into its own fibres, makes it “slip down” very readily, and without; first being properly masticated. This means that the digestive juices do not get their proper opportunity to work and that long, thin fibres, difficult to break up and assimilate, gain access to the stomach.

There are two simple preventives that may be brought into play to correct this state of affairs. One calls for careful carving and cutting. A roast is easily carved in thin slices across the grain, thus severing all the thin fibres into very short lengths. A stew or veal cooked in other ways presents greater difficulty, as it then falls to each individual to cut his own veal carefully across the grain.

Thorough mastication, in spite of the tendency of the veal to speed unobtrusively on its way, is the second preventive of disagreeable consequences after eating this most agreeable meat.

This same large content of jelly-like substance, has a tendency to prove too laxative. This may be offset by a proper balancing of the menu, introducing foods opposite in their effect, such as macaroni, rice, eggs, starchy puddings, and so forth.

Some fat should lie provided in the other dishes to make up for the lack of it in the meat. A little bacon forms a most happy combination with veal. A butter sauce for the vegetables is good, a salad with an oil dressing, fat in the stuffing, if the veal is roasted, or in the dessert such as suet pudding, short cake, custard pie or pudding. Fruit and green vegetables will round out a well-balanced meal.

Mild condiments will be in order, as the flavour of veal is not in itself strong. The finishing touches should not be so decided as to spoil the delicacy, however. A thick brown gravy, with chopped pickle or a dash of piquant sauce for flavouring, a smooth tomato sauce, nicely thickened, or a pepper or cream sauce and diced bacon, will all be admirable to serve with veal.

The usual manner of cutting up veal for the Canadian market is to divide the carcass into four quarters, which are again divided, as shown in the accompanying chart. The weights given are approximately the average for each cut from a moderate sized well-fed calf al>out eight weeks old.

Loin—Average weight eight to twelve pounds; weight of refuse (bone, etc.) one fifth of total. A prime roasting joint and also used for chops.

The Rump is usually from seven to ten pounds, with about one-quarter waste. It is roasted.

Cutlets or Fillet—The upper part of leg. A very choice joint, average weight nine to twelve pounds. Practically no bone waste, as there is only the small leg bone in it. The fillet may be roasted, braised or cut into cutlets. Quite economical if you buy the whole leg, as the cutlets or fillet, if bought as such, cost more as “special cuts.”

Shank, often spoken of as the knuckle—weight four to five and a half pounds, one third bone. Very cheap. Excellent for stock or jelly. Used also for stewing or boiling. Very moderately priced.

Neck—Five to seven pounds, one-fifth l)one, used for stews, fricassee, meat pie, etc.

Shoulder—Eight to eleven pounds, one-fifth bone. The blade is removed and the shoulder stuffed and roasted or used for cutlets or chops.

Breast—-Five to seven pounds, one-quarter waste. A good piece may be braised, stuffed and roasted or stewed.

Head—Six to nine pounds, with one-third inedible. Served hot (calves’ brains are a much-used entree), or cold, jellied.

Sweet-breads—The calf’s sweet-breads, two in number, the throat sweet-bread and the heart sweetbread, are highest in favour as they are more delicious and tender than those of the grown animal. Much esteemed for invalids, and as a delicacy to be served in various ways—creamed, braised, with bacon.

Liver—Also comes best from the calf. Very lean, therefore usually served with bacon.

Heart—Sold separately or as part of the pluck. Economical and tasty when stuffed and roasted. More tender than beef heart.

THE best beef comes from a young well-fattened animal from two to three years old. Since a sickly ¹ animal will never fatten, it is best to buy fat meat, even though the fat itself is not liked. Another point it is well to note is that it is preferable to buy the less expensive cuts from a good beef animal than the prime cuts from a poor one. What we call the cheaper cuts of meat require greater artistry in cooking but, if they are well prepared, they will be most palatable and nutritious.

Good beef, when freshly cut, will be a dark red in colour and the fat will be white and firm. The beef will be moist and juicy when it has been properly hung—which should be from two to three weeks. Beef that is too newly killed wall not be tender.

A piece of good beef will be firm and elastic to the touch and will scarcely moisten the finger. Poor meat will be wet, sodden and flabby, the fat looking like wet jelly or parchment. Bad meat will also have a sickly odor, whilst that of good beef is not at all disagreeable.

Never buy meat which is either a pale pinkish colour or a deep purple tint, for the former is a sign of disease and the latter indicates that the animal was not slaughtered but died with the blood in it.

Note that meat which has been frozen is exceptional in that it will always be damp on the surface even though the quality may be excellent.

A FEW minutes' study of the animal chart will demonstrate the fact that there is, after all, nothing ** very intricate about the way in which the beef animal is divided into the more or less familiar cuts of meat which we get from our butchers. It will pay any housekeeper well to have a practical working knowledge of the cuts of meat, so that she may buy intelligently. It will also be an advantage to know something of the food values of the different cuts as there is a great difference in the nutriment of the various parts of the animal. Obviously, too, this knowledge will make for economy, for the housekeeper will find that many of the most nutritious cuts are amongst the cheap ones. Her problem then reduces itself into preparing from these cheaper meats, palatable and digestible dishes.

We show, besides the chart of the beef animal most of the cuts which are offered by the butcher. It is excellent practice to identify the various cuts that are in view whenever one goes to market.

P'OELOWING is a brief summary of the various household cuts and the best ways of using them: The Leg. A shank of beef is cheap. It makes excellent soup or stew or it may be minced. ‘ meat is nutritious but hard.

The Round. The top part of the leg is well known to everyone as the round. If you look at the chart again, it is easy to see why a knowing buyer, when she aslis for a slice of round steak,says to the butcher, "Please cut it well up the leg.” The farther up the steak or roast is cut, the nearer it is to the more tender portions.

The round is a juicy cut, free from fat. The top of the round gives steaks or a roasting cut which, although not very tender, will be well flavoured. It is a good plan to use a meat-tenderer on [round steak or beat it with a plate edge or a knife to break the fibres (be careful, however, not to beat out the juices). The lower part of the round is much better to be chopped or stewed; it is also excellent for soup.

The Rump is a very good general-purpose joint. Very fair broiling steaks may be got from it, although like the round, a rump steak or roast will not be very tender. It is very nutritious, however, and lends itself to the making of well-flavoured dishes such as braised, corned or potted beef, or it may be cooked as a pot roast. Unlike the round, there is a good deal of fat on the rump.

_ The Sirloin lies in front of the rump and the round. This is an excellent part of the animal and gives us our choicest steaks and roasts. Note how the bone runs through it on the chart and just how this looks in the sirloin roast or steak on page 48.

The Porterhouse and what is sometimes called the Delmonico section are properly speaking both parts of the loin. A porterhouse roast or steak will contain a nice section of the tenderloin, which is colled the under-cut, and it is, of course, very choice. The whole under-cut may sometimes be removed for exceptionally fine dishes such as a fillet of beef, tenderloin steaks, etc. The entire loin is of high nutritive value as well as being very choice. It is the highest priced part of the animal.

Prime Ribs. In front of the loin come the prime ribs. Here we get our rib roasts—the first, second, third and fourth cuts. These four cuts grade as they are numbered, the best being toward the loin. A rib roast may include as many ribs as desired. The first cut is frequently called the “wing roast.” It has a strip of yellow gristle running about one inch from the outer skin, which it is best to cut out before the roast is brought to the table.

Some people prefer to have the ribs skinned out cleanly and the roast rolled. In that case, insist upon the butcher sending the ribs along, if they are weighed with your meat, as you pay for them anyway and they make the best of beef stock.

The Neck is used for soup or stewing or it may be put through a food chopper and used for meat balls, hash, shepherd’s pie, etc.

A little salt pork cooked with it, will add flavour and richness. The part just between the neck and the shoulder is the ideal piece for beef tea, as it is particularly juicy.

The Chuck comes immediately behind the neck. It is not as tender as the meat from that point, back, and whilst “chuck roast” is familiar enough, it is really better to use this portion for pot roasts' stews or casserole dishes. It also makes very good spiced beef.

The Flank is practically a boneless cut about which there is very little waste. It is coarse in fibre and is well-flavoured and usually tender. These facts, taken in conjunction with its low price, make the flank one of the more economical parts to buy, for “flank steak,” meat pies or puddings, or it is a good plan to spread it w^Tith stuffing, roll, tie and roast it.

The Navel has considerable fat and is best pickled and eaten cold. It is very economical.

The Brisket is sold at a comparatively low price. There are a first and second cut and what is called the brisket point.

The brisket may be stewed, boiled, salted or made into corned beef. It makes a good cut to serve cold. As the photograph shows, the brisket is fat.

_ Ox Tail. The most excellent soup, stew or casserole dish is made from ox tails. The flavour is singularly rich.

Beef Heart is economical and good, if well prepared. Careful cooking is necessary to make it digestible—it must be cooked very slowly for several hours. A fireless cooker is excellent for it, otherwise a very slow oven. Stuffed and roasted heart served with brown gravy is a most tasty and economical dish.

The Tongue is very delicate and delicious. The price varies according to the local demand. The tongue is equally good hot cr cold and lends itself to the making of many dainty dishes.

The Liver. Beef liver is wholesome, nourishing and requires little cooking. It is coarser in fibre than calves’ liver, but is nutritious and comparatively cheap.

The Kidneys. Note what an immense casing of fat there is about the beef kidney. The butcher splits this open, removes the kidney itself and sells the fat as kidney suet (it is, of course, the choicest suet).

The kidneys are good for puddings or pies or stewed with a rich brown gravy. They are most liked when combined with beef steak. Beef kidneys are cheaper than lamb’s kidneys, but are less delicate in flavour.

The Sueet-breads. Whilst less delicate in flavour and coarser in texture than those from the calf, the sweet-breads from the full-grown animal are very good. They should be soaked in salt and water for an hour, then put on in fresh water and parboiled and freed from tubes and membranes. They are then ready to be stewed, creamed, braised, etc.

Tripe is the paunch or ruminant of the stomach of the cow. It is cheap, easily digested and requires little cooking.

Beej Brains should be soaked for an hour in salted water; they may then be creamed, baked, etc.

M^cClaryis

THIS collection of recipes has been prepared with tw'o distinct objects in view: first, to be a dependable guide to the beginner; second, to provide new recipes and suggestions which will help the best of cooks to attain variety.

There are recipes for every day, in which economy and easy preparation are given joint consideration with the appetizing and nourishing values of the dish.

There are also recipes for the special occasion, some equally simple to follow, others requiring—and requiting — extra care and time demanded for their preparation.

SOUP

'X'HERE are several reasons for including soup very frequently in the family menus. * It stimulates the flow of the digestive juices (thus preparing for the care of the heavier part of the meal which is to follow); it acts as an appetizer; it contains valuable salts from fruit and vegetables or has stimulating and nourishing qualities if made from meat. A cup of soup will act promptly as a pick-me-up, relieving fatigue and helping one to greater enjoyment and benefit from the dinner that follows.

Or soup may be so nourishing that it is almost a meal in itself. This makes it particularly valuable for luncheon, or for a supper dish when dinner is served at mid-day.

The most nourishing soups are those that are made from fresh meat, although there is very considerable nutriment in the soup that is made from meat left-overs, bones, etc. A milk soup is, of course, very satisfying, and various additions may bring up the food value of the soup.

There is real magic in the soup pot. It is economical in using so many little odds and ends that would otherwise be thrown out. A spoonful of peas, a little dish of stewed tomatoes, a single stick and some leaves from a bunch of celery, an odd onion, a spoonful of gravy—these will all prove acceptable additions to the "soup of the day.”

To come down to the basis—we want some stock each day as the foundation for the luncheon or dinner soup. Sometimes there will be beef or mutton stock available if the meat has been boiled, or if the bones, thin ends and trimmings and the left-overs have been put into the pot with a little cold water and simmered gently for two hours or more. The bones of a roast fowl, treated in the same way, will give a very delicate and delicious stock; then there will be vegetable stock, either the water in which vegetables have been boiled, or a little vegetable stock made for soup purposes.

Now the importance of treating these often-wasted portions of the roast, steak, etc., so as to retain every possible bit of nourishment they contain, cannot be over-estimated. The rule for meat stock is always the same. Put meat on in cold water, cover it well, and keep it simmering at a very low temperature, for at least the first hour. If it boils, the tissues will harden and will shut up in the meat the juices we want to draw out. Cut up the meat in small pieces; if you are using a knuckle joint or shin bone, crack the bones, and once again—allow plenty of time to cook very slowly. Do not add seasoning until the end. If you are just preparing a bowl of soup for next day from some bits and bobs that are on hand, strain off your liquid into a bow l, and, when it is cold, skim off the fat, which will have hardened on the surface; it can be saved for use as dripping, and your liquid is then ready to be heated, seasoned, added to as desired and served.

prOR vegetable stock, save the water in which practically any vegetables have been * boiled. If too much water has not been used (and it is really very foolish to drown any vegetable unnecessarily) a lot of very valuable minerals will go into the soup. This vegetable stock may be combined either with milk or any meat stock, or the liquid from two or three vegetables, delicately seasoned, may give a very happy blend of flavours. Add left-over bits of the vegetables themselves.

Most people are very fond of some of the starch or cereal additions that also mean additional nourishment—rice, pearl barley, tapioca, vermicelli or any of the Italian pastes, diced potatoes or tiny cubes of toast (w hich suggests an excellent use to which we may turn that almost hopeless left-over, the slice or two of toast).

Any vegetable makes good stock for soup, including the outer leaves of cabbage or lettuce, the tops of celery or beets, and, of course, spinach and all the other greens, carrots, tomatoes, squash, onions, etc.

For a meatless or nearly' meatless meal, the best possible soup may be made from peas or beans, both of which are, like meat, rich in protein. The dried peas and beans are very cheap, and make the best of soup. They should first be soaked overnight.

Such soups as those last mentioned, will thicken themselves, so to speak. For the others, a little cornstarch or flour, wet with milk or cold stock, and stirred in very slowly, will give the desired consistency. A little richer thickening is made by blending flour and butter, or some roux, (see page 48), either white or brown, will, of course, be excellent. The most nourishing thickening, and one which makes an extremely delicious soup, is made by beating up egg yolk and cream together and pouring the hot soup over it, stirring constantly. The soup should be served immediately.

Cream soups should invariably be made in a double boiler. Bring milk to the boil and add thickening—roux or blended flour and butter or flour and milk. Cook until starchy taste is quite gone. Vegetables should be cooked until tender, rubbed through a sieve, and added. Flavourings come last. An egg yolk, beaten well and put into the tureen and the hot soup poured into it (you must stir briskly all the while) adds richness and flavour.

An acid vegetable, such as tomatoes, should have a pinch of soda added to it. Remove from heat, combine with the thickened milk mixture and serve at once.

To make a vegetable soup that is better than any vegetable soup you may have made before, try this method. Cut up any vegetables, such as celery, carrots, turnips, onions, etc., and fry them slightly in a little butter. Keep the heat low because the vegetables should not be browned, but just cooked long enough to allow most of the water in them to evaporate. Scrape them very carefully into the stock, being certain to get all the butter, which will have absorbed much of the flavour of the vegetables.

When a white meat stock is required for soup, veal or chicken will be best. A knuckle of veal, or the bones and remains of a fowl, are excellent.

Brow n stock requires beef, but the best clear soup is obtained by using beef and veal together. All scum and fat should be carefully skimmed from any sobp.

MOW we come to consider a very important point in soup-making—namely, the * ' seasoning. Where you have a strong-flavoured stock you will use seasoning very sparingly, being more liberal where your stock is inclined to be tasteless. No pantry is complete without its “seasoning corner,” where there should be a full selection, including paprika, celery salt, onion salt, bay leaves, parsley, chives, and a bottle or tw^ro of piquant sauce. Some meat extract, too, is very handy to have in case your stock is just a little weak.

For delicate cream soups only the mildest of these flavourings would be used, such, for instance, as parsley, chives, and perhaps a dash of paprika or a little celery salt. The sturdier soups will stand stronger seasonings, and anything as mild-flavoured as mutton stock will be improved by the addition of a bay leaf, a little onion salt and plenty of pepper and salt. Do not forget that what is left of to-day’s soup may form a fine basis for the soup of to-morrow.

There are certain things which are rather nicer to serve with soup than just ordinary bread and crackers—little touches which may be happily employed to give a finish to the soup course.

Croutons (bread cut in Yi inch cubes, dipped in melted butter and browned in the oven, or dropped into deep fat and delicately browned), cheese, water crackers, toasted crackers, or crisp little cheese wafers.

There are tricky little garnishings, too, for the soup course—the cereal additions which we have already referred to (tapioca, the Italian pastes, etc.) and cheese or egg balls, “snow balls” made of tiny “pills” of bread dough, which wall swell up like dumplings, or shredded vegetables to add a touch of colour.

SAUCES

THERE is just one general warning to be issued with regard to sauce-making* When corn starch or flour is used to thicken the sauce, do allow plenty of time for it to cook thoroughly, otherwise no flavouring extract will disguise the starchy flavour. A double boiler is the one safe utensil to use for cooking such mixtures.

Where either a brown or a white roux is used to thicken a sauce, it may be added to the liquid instead of the flour or cornstarch and the butter or other fat, named in any recipe. This prevents any chance of that uncooked, starchy taste, and ensures a smoothness not always attained when the raw flour is used.

A Brown Roux

I70R thickening soups, gravies, etc., and for colouring them at the same time, a Brown ¹ Roux is a most valuable thing. If you make it in this way, a big jar full at a time, it will keep for months.

Take 1 lb. of the best beef dripping, and melt it in an enamel stew-pan. When it is quite melted, strain it, to get out any sediment that may be at the bottom. Now stir in 1 lb. 2 ozs. of the best flour, which first should have been dried and sifted. Put the pan on the fire, and keep stirring all the while with a wooden spoon till the mixture turns a good brown. Now draw the pan away, and keep on stirring till the mixture ceases to fizzle, which it will do for several minutes after the pan has left the fire. Have ready an onion, peeled and cut in halves. Put this in the pan as soon as it leaves the fire to give a little flavour. When no more sound is to be heard, fish out the onion, pour the roux into a stone or earthenware jar, and leave it to get cold. When set, it is just soft enough to be taken out with a spoon.

When you have a soup or gravy or anything else of the same kind that wants thickening, all you have to do is to bring your liquid to the boil and then stir in one, two or more spoonfuls of brown roux. The liquid thickens immediately, is perfectly smooth and free from lumps, and needs no more cooking.

The brown roux may be used also for fish and vegetable sauces. A little good potato water, with brown roux stirred into it, and pepper and salt added to taste, makes a very simple but quite presentable sauce for every-day vegetables.

A White Roux

J70R cream sauces, sweet sauces, etc., a white roux is necessary. It should, if possible, ¹ be made with the best fresh butter. It does not keep quite as long as the brown, roux, because it is less thoroughly cooked, wherefore it is advisable to make a smaller quantity at a time.

Melt J^-lb. butter in a pan and stir in 9 ozs. of flour, exactly as for the brown roux, except that it must not be allowed to change colour. At the first hint of darkening the pan must come off the fire at once. No onion, naturally!

Sharp Sauce, for Cold Chicken or Game

/'''HOP pimentoes, white onions, half a green pepper, white celery and a dill pickle ^ very fine. Pour over this French dressing and let it stand for a day. Serve in a pretty dish with a garnish of olives, stuffed with bits of pimento, or slice the meat, arrange on a large platter and use the sauce as a garnish.

Excellent Fish Sauce

Chop the onion fine and brown it in the oil or vegetable shortening. When tender, add the tomatoes, clove, bay leaf and fruit juices, and simmer gently for ten minutes. Rub the flour smooth with a little water and add slowly to the mixture, stirring to prevent lumping. Strain and season with pepper and add salt and a very little nutmeg.

Tartar Sauce

together the mustard, salt, sugar and a few grains of cayenne. Stir in the egg yolks, mixing very thoroughly and set the bowl into a pan of iced water. Add the oil, drop by drop, stirring it with a wire wisk. As the mixture thickens, begin to alternate a little vinegar with the oil; the latter may now be added somewhat more rapidly. Put in the ice box until it is time to serve, then add the rest of the ingredients, all of which should be chopped very fine.

Almond Sauce for the Plum Pudding

DOIL sugar and water until sugar is dissolved. Flavour with the almond extract and thicken with the corn starch. Mix with a little cold water, cook for a few minutes and serve hot.

Hard Sauce

/'•REAM the butter, add the sugar gradually, flavour with the vanilla, lemon rind ^ or nutmeg.

How to make Caramel

DUT sugar in a frying-pan. Heat until melted and brown. Add boiling water, boil * until thick. If this is used in place of the almond extract in the almond sauce, the resulting caramel sauce is rich and very flavourful.

Whipped Cream Sauce

Sauce

BOIL all ingredients in an enamelled saucepan until the raisins are cooked. This is a rich and delicious sauce to serve with one of the plainer puddings.

Good Cream Sauce

CTOR thin sauce, if you do not use ivhit-e roux, allow for each cup of liquid one tablespoon each of flour and butter; for medium sauce, two tablespoons of each, for thick sauce, three tablespoons.

Blend butter and flour together thoroughly, using a double boiler. Add liquid very slowly, stirring constantly, with a wooden spoon, to avoid lumps. Season or sweeten and flavour as required. Cook for fifteen minutes.

Rich Tutti-Fruitti Sauce

Vi cup blanched almonds 1 tablespoon butter 1 cup boiling water little lemon juice

'THIS is a wonderful sauce to serve with a steamed or baked pudding, fritters, etc. ¹ Wash the raisins and mix with the chopped citron and blanched and chopped nuts. Put into a pan with the boiling water and simmer until the raisins are tender. Ten minutes before serving, sift in the sugar and cornstarch, mixed, and just before removing from the fire, add the butter and the lemon juice.

Hot Chocolate Sauce

l^ELT 2 squares of chocolate and butter the size of an egg, in the top of a double ^1V1 boiler. Add sifted icing sugar and cream alternately, stirring well. When of the proper consistency to pour, flavour with vanilla. Keep over steam until serving time.

VEGETABLES

Potato Ribbons

DEEL the potatoes, then go on cutting round and round as thinly as you can, to make long ribbons (just as you would peel an apple). The longer the ribbon the smarter the effect. Drain them dry on a clean cloth, and fry them in deep, hot fat.

Baked Pumpkin

IF the Thanksgiving Pumpkin is to appear in the vegetable rather than the sweet course, serve it in this way: cut a good sized pumpkin into quarters or eights or any convenient size. Remove the seeds and put into a baking pan, rind down. Bake until tender and serve with butter or good gravy.

Stuffed Baked Onions

ROIL or steam mild-flavoured Bermuda or Spanish onions about one hour or until somewhat tender. With a thin teaspoon, remove the centre and fill with fine fresh crumbs, seasoned with salt, cayenne and chopped pickle, moistened with rich gravy or with a little cream. Grated cheese may be used if liked. Dot with butter and bake to a rich golden brown.

Creamed Celery in Tomato Cups

QUT out pieces from the stem end of large, firm tomatoes and remove some of the pulp. Have some stewed celery ready. Drain it, add enough cream to moisten, allow about half a teaspoon melted butter to each tomato, and season to taste. Fill into the tomato cups, sprinkle the top with dry, fine crumbs, dot lightly with butter (a sprinkling of grated cheese will add decided piquancy if the cheese flavour is liked) and bake in slow oven for thirty minutes.

Fried Cauliflower

ROIL the cauliflower about twelve minutes. Let it get cold, cut it down in slices, dip it in batter and fry it in a deep pot of boiling fat.

Fried Cucumbers

JMANY people overlook cooked cucumbers in favour of the more familiar vinegar-¹ soaked slices so commonly used in salads and as a garnish. Cooked cucumber closely resembles vegetable marrow but is more delicate.

Pare the cucumbers and cut in rather substantial slices. Soak for a short time in salted water, brown a little butter or butter-substitute in a frying pan, sprinkle the cucumber slices with salt and pepper and cook until tender in the hot fat. When they are almost cooked, add a little shredded onion, a very little gravy, and, if necessary , a little more butter. Dredge lightly with flour and when this is brown, serve the cucumbers with the gravy (which should not be too thin), poured over them.

Green Cabbage and Chestnuts

A dish that will make the person who tries it for the first time want to give a new name ** to cabbage, is made by the Swiss people in this way: about a two pound cabbage is boiled rapidly for about 15 minutes, drained, chopped in a collander and put back into a saucepan with a piece of butter about the size of an egg, a pinch of salt, some pepper and a cupful of good gravy stock. Hav e ready a cupful of boiled and peeled chestnuts, chop roughly, put in with the cabbage shake lightly together, using a fork to toss the chestnuts through the cabbage, and serve very hot.

Squash Stuffed with Corn

DARBOIL a summer squash, cut a wedge-shaped piece from the top of it, and scoop * out the centre; cut down the kernels from half a dozen ears of new, young corn, add to it two tablespoons melted butter, one tablespoon cream or milk and one egg beaten until light. Sprinkle the inside of the squash with salt and pepper and pour in the corn mixture. Replace the wedge of squash and bake in a quick oven.

Stuffed Egg-Plant

DOIL an egg-plant for about ten minutes. Cut in half, lengthwise, scoop out the ^ centre and refill with a mixture of chopped egg-plant, a little finely chopped onion and chopped cold meat such as tongue, ham or veal and two tablespoons melted butter. Sprinkle the top with fine breadcrumbs, dot with small bits of butter, put into roasting pan with plenty of bacon dripping and bake for an hour, basting frequently.

Carrots—Absolutely Different

A dish that will scarcely be recognized as a relative of the common carrot is pre-** pared in Europe in this way:

Cut young carrots into lengthwise strips, as fine as matchwood. Put one tablespoon butter and three tablespoons granulated sugar into a double boiler and cook slowly until it makes a sort of caramel. Add carrots and % cup cream, simmer gently until mixture is a delicate pink. Just before serving, add small bits of butter, salt and pepper.

Carrots cooked in this way, or even ordinary diced and boiled carrots, combine in the happiest manner with green peas.

Stuffed Cabbages

COAK a good-sized cabbage for 20 minutes in hot water and salt, then dip in cold ^ water, spread the top a little and take out a portion of the centre. Make some balls of chopped veal and fat bacon, seasoned with salt, pepper, a little piquant sauce, two egg yolks beaten until light and two crumbed crackers. Put into the cabbage and tie it up carefully. Put into the bottom of an enamelled saucepan large enough to receive the cabbage, two or three slices of fat bacon, some diced carrots and onion, and a very little sweet herbs. Moisten with a cupful of stock, put in the cabbage and simmer slowly for about an hour and a half, adding more stock if necessary. Drain the cabbage and serve with a brown sauce.

Fried Tomatoes

TOMATOES are good if just sprinkled with salt and pepper and fried in hot bacon ^A dripping or other fat. Or they may be dredged with flour, which has been nicely seasoned. Best of all, however, are the slices dusted lightly w ith paprika, salt, a little sugar and a drop or two of onion juice, then dipped in batter made w ith flour, milk one egg, salt and pepper. Fry a delicate brown in deep, hot fat.

Baked Tomatoes

“THERE are various ways of stuffing tomatoes for baking that make them very *■ savoury and where meat or cheese is used, the result is a sufficiently nourishing dish for luncheon or supper. Cut a piece from the top of each tomato and remove a portion of the pulp. Season the inside of the tomato “cup” with salt, pepper and a drop or two of onion juice.

The cavity may be filled with the remaining tomato pulp, roughly chopped and nicely seasoned with salt, pepper, a little onion and, if liked, some salad oil. Or any chopped cold beef or fowl may be combined with cracker crumbs and moulded with beaten egg yolk or moistened slightly with cream and a little melted butter. Another filling that will prove satisfying is one made of crumbs and plenty of grated cheese, moistened with beaten egg.

When the tomatoes have been filled, replace the tops, sprinkle with paprika and salt and cook in a covered baking dish about twenty minutes; remove the cover and bake for five minutes. Serve on buttered squares of crisp toast.

A delicious touch is given by fastening a strip of fat bacon around each tomato before baking.

Potato Puff

THIS is a very delicate dish—surely the way the fairies serve them, if they like * potatoes. To 2 pounds mashed potatoes allow 2 small eggs or one large one, 1 tablespoon butter, pepper and salt to taste.

Stir into mashed potatoes which are still warm, the butter, seasoning, and the yolk of the egg. Beat up the whites till they are quite stiff. Fold them very gently into the potato mixture, taking the greatest possible care not to stir or beat more than is absolutely necessary. Put all into a greased pie dish, and bake in a very brisk oven till nicely browned. It will rise up in a puff, so you must not fill the dish too full at first, or it may go over.

Cream Corn Pie

THIS is a satisfying dish for luncheon or supper and will vie wflth the best of Yorkshire pudding as an accompaniment for roast beef. Make a scant cupful of thick •cream sauce, by blending 3 tablespoons each of butter and flour and adding gradually, 1 cup of milk. Stir while it cooks slowly and thickens, then add H can of corn. The liquid will thin your sauce—hence the necessity for making it really thick.

Butter a baking dish and sprinkle it thickly with browned bread crumbs. Turn in the corn mixture and sprinkle another generous layer of the browned crumbs over the top. Dot with tiny pieces of butter and bake in a hot oven for about fifteen minutes or until it bubbles. Serve in the dish in which it is cooked.

FISH

IT will not be amiss to say a word just here about the selection of fish. Absolute

* freshness is imperative. Nothing is worse—and nothing more dangerous—than fish which is not what it should be in this respect. Look, then, for gills that are a

healthy red, eyes full and bright and flesh that is firm to the pressure of the finger.

We are fastidious, too, about the cleaning of our fish. Even though this and the scaling are done by the fish-man, it is well to examine the inside closely, wipe it out with a cloth wrung out of cold water or flush it well under the cold water tap until there is not even a particle of blood clinging to the back bone; wash the outside and wipe all dry with a fresh cloth; the fish is then ready for cooking in whatever way has been chosen.

Boiled or Steamed Fish

IF fish is to be boiled, it should be tied in a muslin cloth and lowered into boiling water,

* the salt being added before the cooking is completed; the virtue of the muslin cloth is apparent when the fish is gently lifted from the pot, the muslin untied and the unbroken fish revealed, ready to place upon the platter.

Steamed fish is preferred by many critical cooks, as more of the flavour is retained than when the fish is lowered into the water. The fish should be prepared as usual, sprinkled with salt, placed on a plate in the steamer, cooked over boiling water until the flesh separates from the bones quite freely. (This is the usual test and is important, as fish, to be good, must be sufficiently cooked).

The size and thickness of the fish will determine the time required for cooking it, which will vary from say, ten minutes for a small fish to three-quarters of an hour for one which weighs in the neighborhood of five pounds.

Boiled or steamed fish requires drawn butter, piquant or egg sauce, and it should be garnished with hard-boiled egg. If the cream sauce is chosen, garnish with nicely cut lemon and fresh parsley.

Baked Fish

A fish weighing two pounds or over is very good if baked and still better if it is stuffed. ** After the usual preparation, pepper and salt should be rubbed into the fish inside and outside; sprinkle with lemon juice and if the flavour of onion with fish is liked, a little onion juice may be added to that of the lemon. It is a good plan to place a sheet of well greased brown paper in the bottom of the pan, as this aids in the ultimate removal' of the fish and also makes the pan easier to clean. Lay the fish on the paper, and either lay a few slices of salt pork or bacon over it or pour a little melted butter or dripping over the fish. Bake in a moderate oven. Garnish with any combination of lemon, sliced beet root, hard boiled egg and parsley.

Stuffing for Baked Fish

Broiled Fresh Fisli

■THERE is no simpler, and certainly no more delicious, way of preparing fish than by * broiling it directly over the flame. Small fish may be broiled whole if the heads and tails are cut off and the fish split. Larger fish should be cut in neat pieces, or when suitable, in steaks not more than one inch thick. The broiling iron should be well heated and then greased and the fish, well seasoned with salt and pepper, laid on and broiled from five to twenty minutes, according to the thickness of the pieces. A little melted butter and lemon juice or, to add the last touch of perfection, some tartar sauce, is all that good broiled fish requires.

Fried Fish

THERE is no more flavourful way of cooking fish than frying it and there is nothing * against this method of cooking, if it is well done. The crispness and delicacy of a piece of fried fish that is entirely free from grease, is the result of the method used in cooking it. The fat must be very hot, whether the frying is done with a little grease in the pan or the fish is immersed in deep fat. The scaled and cleaned fish, cut in neat pieces (unless it is a small fish you are cooking, in which case you will just cut off the head and tail), should be well seasoned with salt and pepper and dredged in flour.

Or it may be dipped in beaten egg which has been diluted with half a tablespoon of water, then rolled in seasoned cornmeal or very fine cracker crumbs.

Or again, each piece of fish may be immersed in batter and dropped into boiling fat.

Tartar sauce is the last touch to a perfect piece of fried fish, or sections of freshly cut lemon and any sharp sauce may accompany it.

Fillets of Bass—Superfine

THIS dish will do tremendous honour to the bass “Himself”’ has caught. Cut the * fillets from the thickest part of the bass, sprinkle them lightly with pepper, salt and lemon juice, and put them under a press for half an hour. The trimmings of the fish should be cut fine, pounded in a mortar and pressed through a puree sieve and to half a cupful of the pulp add a sauce made as follows: Blend the butter and flour in a saucepan and cook for a few minutes, without allowing it to brown, add the milk or cream and season with salt and pepper. Remove from the fire and stir in the fish pulp and one egg, beaten light. If you want to make this dish very attractive, colour this mixture a delicate pink with a few drops of cochineal. Beat until light.

Remove the weight from the fillets and spread each with a quarter of an inch layer of the mixture, smoothing it carefully with a wet knife. Place the fillets in a pan and steam for 15 minutes. Or a covered pan may be placed in a larger pan containing a little boiling water and the fillets cooked in the oven. Arrange a mound of very light mashed potatoes on a hot dish, sprinkle lightly with chopped parelsy and place the fillets on it. Serve with Hollandaise Sauce.

If you use cochineal to colour the fish mixture, put a few drops into the sauce and place a single pink rosebud on the peak of your potato mound.

Delicious Fish Cakes

TO make fish cakes really at their best, the potato should be freshly cooked and for just that little extra flavour which makes some dishes stand out above all others— let the potatoes be baked rather than boiled. In either case, force the hot potato through a ricer. To three cups of potato add \]4, cups of cooked fish (which has been freed from skin and bone and flaked lightly), 1 egg, beaten until light, cup cream (and once again for a very special result, let the cream be whipped), 1 teaspoon salt and a pinch of pepper. Mix riced potato, fish, beaten egg, cream and seasoning together, beat well and drop by spoonfuls into deep fat which is smoking hot. They will require but a minute or two to heat through and should be lifted out and drained on crumpled brown paper. It is much easier to fry them if you have a frying basket on which to place them, so that it may just be lowered into the deep fat and withdrawn at the proper moment. These will just be bubbles of the most delicious fish cake.

Of course, left over riced potato or mashed potato that is beaten very light, may be substituted, still with excellent results.

Fresh Fish Chowder

EITHER salt or fresh water fish may be used for chowder, cod, haddock and pickerel being those most frequently selected. The skin and bones should be removed (by the way, to skin a fish, cut the skin across just below the head and peel it off), and the fish left whole or cut in solid pieces. Cover the well-washed head and the bones with cold water and bring very slowly to the boiling point. Then allow it to simmer for one hour or more. _

Dice three potatoes of medium size and put one layer in the bottom of an earthenware baking dish; put on this a layer of the fish, then one of canned tomatoes to which has been added a tablespoon of chopped onion, a good pinch of powdered thyme, teaspoon salt and a little pepper; a little celery salt or celery seed is also an improvement; add another layer of potatoes and repeat with fish and tomatoes, making the top layer potato. ....

Pour off the stock which has been simmering from the bones and add enough boiling water to make one pint; pour this over the fish, etc.; cover and cook slowly for twenty minutes. Add one pint of hot milk before serving.

Hot Lobster Creole

FOR eight to ten people, cut one medium Spanish onion into small pieces. Put it in the inner pan of a double boiler with sufficient melted butter to cover. Put your pan directly over the flame and cook until the onion is a delicate brown; remove from the fire, add sufficient flour to form a ball; to this, stirring all the time, put the contents of one can of tomato soup. Now put your inner pan in the outer pan which has been filled with boiling water; let the water continue to boil while you add to j our tomato liquor a half pound can of lobster, broken into small pieces, 2 tablespoons pimento cut into small pieces and IJ^ cups cooked rice; season with salt and paprika and serve very hot. .....

This can be made ahead of time and reheated in the double boiler without the slightest trouble. The rice, of course, should be cooked by throwing it into swiftly boiling, salted water and allowing it to boil quickly until tender (ten or fifteen minutes). When quite tender, remove from the fire, put into a large strainer and run cold water • over it; stand away to drain until needed.

Planked Fish

DLANKED fish, like planked steaks or chops, is particularly delicious. Warm the ¹ plank and grease it well. Prepare the fish and stuff it, as for an ordinary Baked Fish; place it on the plank and bake.

Meantime, boil and mash some potatoes, adding a little butter and enough cream or milk to make the potato pass readily through the pastry tube. Pipe a high rim of potato all around the fish and add potato rosettes as a garnish. If you have no tube, use a cornucopia of stiff paper, or use a large spoon to put the potato around the fish Fill the space with green peas, and return the plank to the oven to make everything, hot again and brown the potato delicately.

Garnish with your choice of slices of lemon, lemon baskets, beet roses, fans of gherkins, lemon baskets filled with a piquant sauce, fresh parsley.

Scalloped Salmon with Corn

17LAKE two cups of canned or cooked fish with a silver fork; remove bones and skin, ¹ put a layer into a baking dish, season with pepper and salt, pour over it a very little cream sauce, then add a seasoned layer of canned corn; repeat fish and corn alternately until dish is almost full; pour in a little more sauce, using about two cups in all; sprinkle the top with crumbs, dot with a little butter and bake for about 20 minutes. This is a very easily prepared and most delicious dish.

Broiled Salt Mackerel

Wash the fish, put it in water, skin side up, and let it stand over night. In the morning dry it and broil it, flesh side toward the flame, on a well greased, hot griddle. When fish may be judged to be almost cooked through, turn it and brown the skin side lightly. Put it on a platter and spread with a little butter with which some lemon juice has been blended. Serve very hot.

Excellent Codfish Cakes

* creaming, and so forth. If it is to be prepared for breakfast, soak it for two or three hours the day before, and boil it for 15 minutes in water that contains 1 tablespoonful of vinegar. Drain and cool.

Cook more potatoes than are required for dinner and mash some, while they are still hot, for the fish cakes, allowing nearly as much potatoes as you have fish. Beat until creamy, adding a little cream or milk and butter.

If desired, the cakes may be put together and moulded the day before, leaving them all ready to be fried in the morning. Put the fish into a pan with half as much of the potato, which has been beaten very light. Mix them together well, make very hot over the fire and beat in a frothily whipped egg for each cupful of the mixture. Season with pepper (the fish will be sufficiently salty), form into flat cakes, roll in flour and set in a cool place to stiffen.

In the morning the cakes will be nice and firm. Dip in flour again and fry to a golden brown in deep, hot fat (hot enough to brown a crumb of bread in 60 seconds).

The rest of the potato may be warmed again in a double boiler, adding a tiny bit more cream or milk, beaten very light and used to top each fish cake. Put it on with a pastry tube, or drop it on lightly from a tablespoon, and set in a hot oven for a few minutes.

THE COOKING OF MEATS

GIMMERING or stewing: many cuts of meat which would be neither palatable nor digestible cooked in most ways, if simmered long and gently, will equal much more expensive portions in flavour and digestibility.

The flavour and colour of a stew are sometimes improved if the meat is first fried enough to sear the surface somewhat, to brown it and keep in some of the juices. On the other hand, it is often advisable to boil vegetables—especially if they are old and hard—for a time before adding them to the slow-cooking pot.

The idea of simmering or stewing meat is to cook it through very slowly, without entirely sealing the outer surfaces. When we cook a roast, steak, etc., it is our desire to keep all the juices in; we therefore sear the outside quickly, making a case around the juices. When we make a stew, on the other hand, the liquor is an important part of the stew and every bit of nourishment that is extracted is preserved. We desire to attain quite a different result with the meat in each case and therefore proceed in quite different ways.

The long-continued moderate heat of the simmering process, brings the tougher fibre of the cheaper cuts and the gelatinous material so plentiful in such parts as the knuckles, feet, etc., into very palatable condition; quick cooking would destroy much of the nutritive value and make the meat tough, hard and tasteless.

There is great economy in proper simmering and stewing. Little heat (and, therefore, little actual fuel) is required to keep the pot simmering. There is no waste; all the constituents of the materials used are saved, even though they are dissolved or held in suspension in the liquid.

Any large, covered granite pot, or one pot set within another which contains boiling water, will do for stewing; or a stone jar (a bean pot is excellent), will produce a very fine oven-cooked stew.

D ROILING—A tender steak, chop or cutlet is served at its very best if it is broiled directly over or under the flame. The quick action of the direct flame sears the outer surfaces almost immediately. Practically none of the juice from the lean meat escapes, although some of the fat will be melted and drop into the fire or dripping pan. The entire nutriment is sealed up in the meat and the flavour, if it is good meat to begin with, is something that cannot be improved upon.

The method of broiling is the same for steaks, chops, bacon, fowl, etc. The coals or gas flame, etc., should be very hot at first. The broiling iron is made hot and its bars well greased. The meat is placed on it and exposed quite close to the direct flame but not near enough to burn. Just as soon as one side is seared, turn the meat and keep turning it very frequently, until cooked through. This turning is important because the albumen must be coagulated on all surfaces as quickly as possible in order to seal in all the juices. A knife or spoon should be used to turn the meat, or a fork thrust into the fat—never pierce the lean meat with the prongs of the fork or much good juice will escape.

CRYING—There is much to be said for frying that is properly done. It makes some very savoury dishes, and, if not abused, is a most valuable part of culinary procedure. Foods that are fried in fat of the right temperature and dealt with throughout the process in just the right manner will not absorb the fat and so become indigestible. The chief trouble lies in the fact that the fat is too often allowed to penetrate food, in which cases the results to digestion are very serious.

The primary rule in frying is “heat your fat first.” The temperature to which the fat should be heated varies with the class of food that is being cooked.

(a) Sauteing is the most common division of frying. The pan is made hot and a very small amount of fat is melted in it—just enough to prevent whatever is to be cooked from sticking to the pan. This method of frying has been called “an unsuccessful imitation of broiling” and is an alternative little favoured by domestic science experts.

(b) Deep Frying—The much more scientific and satisfactory method of frying foods which lend themselves to this treatment, is to drop them into deep fat which has been heated to the right degree of temperature. The best vessel to use is a deep pan that is not too broad and it will be found a great convenience to have a frying basket wire mesh basket with a handle over the top that will fit down into the bottom of the pan). The basket is filled with the rissoles, fish-cakes, or whatever is to be fried and the whole is lowered into the hot fat. When cooked, it is only necessary to lift out the basket and drain. Much time, trouble and burning of food and fingers is thus saved.

The temperature to which various cooking fats and oils may be heated varies considerably, some burning much more readily than others. The average temperature is about 365°.

On the point of economy, deep frying is the one method of frying that commends itself. Careful tests have shown that the same quantity of food uses up much more fat if it is sauted than if it is immersed in deep fat. It is best to use plenty of fat— quite enough to cover whatever is in the frying basket or dropped into the pot—because in that case the food will not need to be turned. When cooking is completed, the fat can be cleared by dropping into it a few slices of raw potato (which will collect the particles in the fat) and then straining it off very carefully for use again. There are very few things that will leave their flavour in the fat.

D OASTING—The fine old method of roasting meats on the spit before the open fires ¹ ^ gave wonderful results but was too prodigal of fuel to be approved in these days of coal scarcity. In roasting meat, the object is the same as in broiling it—to harden the surface albumen and so imprison the juices. This means exposure to great heat just at first but, as soon as the surfaces are seared, the oven should be cooled quite considerably. Any large joints, in fact, or a large bird, will be the better for a covering of greased paper, unless a covered roasting pan is being used, to prevent undue drying of the outside. “The larger the joint, the more moderate the oven” is a good general rule to follow.

Long, slow cooking will give the desired result—a nice casing of hardened albumen around the outside, with tender inner fibres and the albumen in the inside meat just coagulated and no more.

It is a sign of good meat and good roasting to lose comparatively little by shrinkage. It is more difficult to cook a small joint well than a large one, as there is greater danger of the fibre becoming hard and separating into bundles that offer difficulties to mastication, are hard to digest and lack flavour and juiciness.

Q RAISING is a combination of roasting and stewing. It is a very’ good method to employ where the flavour of roasted meat is desired, but the cut is not very tender.

A quantity of vegetables should be put in a pan large enough to take the meat. A little stock—just enough to keep them from sticking to the pan, but not enough to cover them—is added, and the meat placed on the vegetables, when it will absorb their flavour, during a long period of slow cooking in the steam, which is confined by a close-fitting cover. When quite tender, the meat is removed and put into a quick oven to brown. The vegetables are served with it.

MEATS

Meat and Tomato Pie

THIS dish presents an excellent way of using up small quantities of either cold beef or cold mutton. If fresh tomatoes are used, peel and slice them; if canned, drain off the liquid. Place a layer of tomato in a baking dish, then a layer of sliced meat and over the two dredge flour, pepper and salt; repeat until the dish is nearly full, then put in an extra layer of tomato and cover the whole with a layer of pastry or bread or cracker crumbs. When the quantity of meat is small, it may be helped out by boiled potatoes or other suitable vegetables. A few oysters or mushrooms improve the flavour, especially when beef is used. The pie will need to be baked from half an hour to an hour, according to its size and the heat of the oven.

Stuffed Calves’ Hearts

^/ERY delicate are the little calves’ hearts that are to be bought fairly cheaply in the season. Stuffed and baked, they offer a very appetizing dish.

Remove the arteries carefully, wipe clean and fill the cavities with a stuffing made as directed for the shoulder of lamb; cook in a moderate oven, basting frequently so that they will not dry out.

Delicious Kidney Stew

V^IPE the kidneys, separate in small pieces, dip in flour well seasoned with pepper ” and salt and brown in a little butter or bacon fat. Remove the kidneys, sprinkle a little flour into the fat and brown it nicely. Then add boiling water slowly. Season this gravy with pepper, salt and a little onion salt, put the kidneys back into it and simmer very gently until tender.

Beef a la Mode

THIS is an excellent way of cooking a rather second-quality piece of beef—one which is too tough for roasting.

Melt 2 good tablespoons dripping in a stew pan. Put in the beef, and fry it on all sides to a nice brown. Now take it out again for a few minutes. Thicken the fat with 2 tablespoons flour and smooth it into a sauce with about 1 pint of boiling water. Add pepper and salt to taste. When the sauce has thickened well, return the beef and bring the whole up to the boil. When it is boiling fast, add sliced carrots—more or less according to taste, and a bouquet garni—that is to say, 3 or 4 laurel leaves; tied into a bunch with the same number of sprigs of parsley or any preferred herbs; leave a string, by means of which it is easy to take the little bunch out again. Reduce heat at once.

Cover the pot and leave it to simmer very slowly for two good hours. Then add small onions, neatly peeled—more or less, according to taste—and turn the meat. Cover, and simmer again for two hours.

Take out the meat and carve it into thin slices. Arrange them in the centre of a large dish. Make a border of carrots and onions round the edge and pour thick brown sauce over all.

Kidney and Beefsteak Pie

/"''UT steak and kidneys into neat pieces and roll in flour that is seasoned with salt ^ and pepper. Put into a stew pan, cover with stock or water, and simmer until tender.

When cold, put into a pie dish, and add a layer of hard boiled eggs (cut in rings) on the top. Cover with a lid of short pastry. Brush with beaten egg and bake in a moderate oven 30 to 50 minutes.

Sausage and Apple

A PPLES, served with sausage, act as a corrective, and aid greatly in digestion— a matter of importance to anyone who considers sausage “rich.”

Peel, core and cut apples in Yi inch slices. When sausages have been fried, drain them and put in the oven and fry the apple slices quickly in the hot fat. Arrange the sausages in the centre of a small platter, with the apple rings around as a garnish.

If an hour may be counted upon for cooking, a very delicious way to cook sausage and apple together is to do them in the casserole. Peel and core the apples, and insert a sausage into each cavity. Put in a baking dish, pour in just enough water to keep from burning, put on the cover and bake.

Curried Lamb

butter in pan, add the flour slowly and brown. Add the onion, sliced fine, the curry and the meat, cut in cubes. Cook until brown, add water and seasoning, cover and simmer until tender.

Stuffed Shoulder of Lamb

D EMOVE the shoulder blade with a sharp knife, or have it delivered with the meat if the butcher takes it out for you. Put the bones—the shoulder and the small rib bones—in a saucepan, cover with cold water and simmer slowly to make a good stock for the gravy.

Put the bread crumbs in a bowl, add onion and parsley, chopped fine, the salt and pepper; mix in the bacon dripping and add an egg to bind, if desired. Fill in the cavity left by the bone, shape and tie. Put a little dripping in the pan and roast in a moderate oven for about an hour and a half, keeping it well basted.

Deep Chicken Pie

A royal supper dish is this deep chicken pie, with its creamy sauce and thick baking** powder crust.

Boil a fowl until it will almost fall from the bones, then separate into joints and neat pieces. Season and arrange these in a deep baking dish.

Make a sauce as follows; rub ^ cup butter or oleomargarine into Yl cup flour. When well blended, add 1 cup cream or milk, and 3 cups of the hot chicken stock. Cook until smooth and thick and pour over the chicken in the deep dish.

Mix well and spread, with spoon, over the contents of the dish. Bake in a quick oven.

Baked Ham

COAK a ham in water 12 hours. Wipe it dry, trim away any rusty pieces underneath ^ and cover it with a common crust of flour and water, to keep in the juices. Place ham in a moderately heated oven and bake for nearly four hours. Take off the crusts and skin, cover with bread crumbs and brown sugar, stick a score or so of cloves into it and return to the oven to brown the outside. Garnish the knuckle with a paper frill.

Delicate Beef Loaf

£"UT the cold meat in small pieces, rather than put it through the mincer. Add to ^ the meat half its bulk of cold boiled rice, one egg, well beaten, seasoning of salt, pepper, the grated rind of two lemons. Mould in a loaf, cover well with fine cracker crumbs, and bake in a pan with a little sweet milk, with which it should be frequently basted.

Jellied Tongue

DOIL a good beef tongue until tender; remove it from the liquid, skin it carefully and cut in thin slices.

COAK the gelatine for a few minutes in a very little cold water. Dissolve in the hot ^ liquid and season to taste with pepper and salt and celery and onion salts.

Slice the hard boiled eggs and arrange them in the bottom and around the edges of your mold. Arrange the slices of tongue nicely and pour in the liquid. Put in a cool place to set.

To serve, turn out on a flat dish and garnish with heart leaves of lettuce, gherkins, olives or fresh parsley.

Veal Fillet

THE fillet of veal is taken from the upper part of the hind leg, corresponding to the "round” of beef. It is quite a favourite dish when stuffed and roasted.

MIX the seasonings with the crumbs, add the butter (melted), and moisten with beaten egg or veal stock. Fill in the cavity left by the bone and tie it. Roast in a moderate oven, keeping it well basted with bacon dripping, if you have it (it gives a delicious touch of flavour with veal).

Veal Loaf

MIX ingredients in the order given and pack into a mould or baking dish and bake ¹ * slowly, testing frequently.

The veal loaf may be served hot in brown or tomato sauce or it may be served cold as follows: Let the loaf get quite cold, then unmould it on a bed of lettuce leaves or fresh water-cress; have ready cold asparagus—either fresh asparagus very carefully cooked so that the stalks will not be broken, or one tin of asparagus. Place a row of asparagus tips around the loaf, the stalks about two inches apart and arrange six or eight of them in a star shaped design on the top; add several slices of lemon.

Wet Hash

J-JEAT together in a pan, 1 cup minced cooked meat, seasonings, M cup stock, and ]/2 cup tomatoes. Serve on toast or with toast points.

Dry Hash

LJAVE equal quantities of mashed potatoes and minced cooked meat. Mix well salt, pepper and a dash each of paprika, onion salt and celery salt, if on hand. Add one beaten egg to 2 cups of mixture and beat until light. Spread on a well greased heated frying pan and, when well done, fold as you would an omelet. Serve plain or with a tomato sauce.

Pork Chops with Scalloped Potatoes

p REPARE three-parts of a casserole full of scalloped potatoes in the usual way.

When the potatoes are half-cooked, take as many pork chops as are required and sear them in the frying pan. Place the chops on top of the potatoes and finish cooking in the oven. Serve with hot apple sauce.

Turkey with Chestnut Dressing

/'“'HOOSE a young, plump turkey, singe and draw it, and cut off the neck close to the body. Rinse the inside, and wipe dry with a fresh cloth. If the inside of the fowl seems at all sour put a teaspoon of baking soda in the last water.

Simmer the neck, pinions, heart and well-cleaned gizzard, to make stock for the gravy and dressing. Rub the well-dried inside with a little salt, then stuff with plain dressing or one with oysters or chestnuts in it. Sew up the vent, truss correctly, fastening the legs and wings to the body. Rub over with a little butter, oleomargarine or fresh bacon dripping, sprinkle with salt and pepper and dredge lightly with flour. Put in a large pan with plenty of bacon dripping or a good shortening, and keep well-basted throughout the cooking. If you are using an uncovered roasting pan and find that the turkey browns too fast, cover with greased paper. A few strips of bacon skewered into place over the breast, will improve the flavour and help prevent the drying of the white meat. Remove the bacon and brown the breast at the last.

When the turkey is cooked, the juice will run out clear when the skin is pricked with a fork.

For the chestnut dressing, boil 2 pounds of chestnuts after splitting the skins, for about 15 minutes. Then remove both skins. Replace in a saucepan with a cup of stock, and simmer for about an hour, or until chestnuts are tender. Rub through a sieve, add 3 tablespoons butter or oleomargarine, 1 egg, pepper and salt, about a cup of fresh bread crumbs and cream or milk to moisten sufficiently.

Put this dressing into the body cavity and fill the crop with sausage meat, shaping it nicely.

Club Style Chicken

A delicious chicken dish served at a famous club, should appeal to the men folks. ** Take a large fowl which has been disjointed and cut in ten pieces, each piece carefully wiped, seasoned with salt and pepper and rolled in flour. Next place in a large pot four tablespoons butter and when the butter is hot, lay in the pieces of chicken and carefully brown lightly on both sides; remove and lay on a hot platter. Add to the butter in the pot, two chopped onions and cook for a minute, then add four cups of cooked tomatoes, one cup of chopped olives and one chopped green pepper. Simmer for ten minutes and lay in the browned chicken and pour over enough cold water to cover. Put on a tight-fitting lid and set the pot where the stew will simmer but not boil. Cook until the chicken is tender, then add one can of drained peas, and, if liked, one can of mushrooms. Cook for fifteen minutes, thicken with browned flour and pour into deep dish lined with points of toast.

Fowl with Onions

YY7HEN your chicken is really a hen, clean, truss and boil in the usual way, cooking ” with it 2 large onions and a good bunch of mixed herbs. Let it cook slowly and steadily until quite tender. Now take 15 nice little onions. Peel them till they come quite white. Put them into a saucepan with a piece of butter the size of a large egg, and let them stand on a very gentle heat till they are nicely buttered and quite shiny all over. Then add two lumps of white sugar, and enough of the liquor from the chicken to cover the onions. Simmer them till they are quite tender. Smooth 1 or 2 tablespoons of flour in a little milk—just enough to turn the sauce white and stir the mixture into the onion liquid. Let it cook for 5 minutes, stirring all the time. Drain your bird, put on a platter, make a border of onions round it and pour the sauce over it. The sauce should be thick enough to coat the breast nicely.

EGGS

Eggs Bonne Femme

DEEL two onions, slice and fry them brown in butter; add 1 dessertspoon vinegar. * Butter a shallow baking dish and spread the onions over it. Break over them the required number of eggs and place in a brisk oven. When the eggs are cooked, sprinkle them with fine breadcrumbs which have been fried crisp in butter and serve.

Cheese Souffle

lV^AKE a white sauce with milk, cornstarch, butter, etc. Add cheese, stirring until it melts, and lastly put in yolks of eggs.

Have the whites of eggs beaten very stiff and pour mixture into them, mixing well together. Bake in a moderate oven for twenty minutes.

Eggs in Tomato Cups

DOUR boiling water over firm, ripe tomatoes; remove the skins and scoop out the ¹ insides. Drain, salt and pepper inside, and break a raw egg into each tomato cup; place them in a baking dish, and bake slowly until the eggs are set. Serve with crisp strips of bacon.

Devilled Eggs

D RE PARE the eggs as for hard boiled eggs; when ready, cool, remove the shells, cut ¹ the eggs in halves lengthwise, remove the yolks and rub through a sieve, then to a smooth paste with olive oil; add lemon juice, mustard, minced chicken or ham, salt and cayenne; mix well. Roll this mixture into balls the original size of the yolks, and replace in halves of the whites. Arrange three halves in individual nests of head lettuce leaves and serve with mayonnaise or cooked salad dressing.

Excellent French Omelet

DECAUSE of the generously used good materials in it, this omelet is an excellent ^ meat substitute or nourishing main dish for any meal. It calls for the following:

Melt the butter and blend in the flour gradually. Cook a few minutes without allowing it to brown, then add the milk, stirring it in slowly to avoid lumping. When smooth, set aside to cool. Separate the eggs, and beat the whites quite stiff and the yolks lightly. Add the seasoning to the milk and fold in first the yolks, then the whites. Turn into a buttered baking dish and bake in a moderate oven for 15 or 20 minutes.

Eggs C^uTried in Chicken Stock

CLICE 2 onions and simmer, but do not brown; add 2 cupfuls chicken'stock and 1^2 teaspoons curry powder; moisten 2 tablespoons flour gradually with 1 cup milk; add to mixture and cook until smooth. Remove the shells from 6 hard boiled eggs, cut them in half lengthwise. Put them into the sauce and simmer until the eggs are heated through.

Scrambled Eggs with Tomato Sauce

ID EEL and stew half a dozen small ripe tomatoes. Strain and season with salt, pepper, * one tablespoon butter and add a pinch of soda. Return to the fire and add 2 tablespoons flour blended with a little cold water and boil the mixture until it thickens. Scramble the eggs, pour the tomato sauce around them and serve at once.

Pressed Eggs

T'HIS is a good cold meat substitute and excellent for sandwiches. Use any number ^A of eggs desired. Boil until hard, shell and chop fine; add salt, pepper and prepared mustard and one teaspoon melted butter to each egg. Mix well and press into bread pan. Let stand an hour or more and slice.

Japanese Eggs

DREPARE the eggs by boiling hard; remove the shells while hot and cut the eggs ¹ into halves, crosswise. Drain and place the rice on a meat platter and press the

Savoury Eggs

QUTTER individual earthenware dishes and put in each a little chopped ham, tongue ^ or chicken, nicely seasoned with pepoer, salt, a little celery salt and perhaps just a dash of onion juice Break one egg into each dish, sprinkle with pepper and salt, put a small piece of butter on top and place in a steamer over boiling water. When the eggs are set, you may turn out each mould or serve the eggs in them.

Eggs a la Goldenrod

Chop the whites of the hard boiled eggs and add to sauce. Heat and pour over fingers of hot toast. Force the yolks of eggs through a sieve over the sauce and garnish with parsley.

SALADS

Salad Dressings

C ALADS are such an important part of our daily menus during the spring and summer months and so desirable at all seasons that we may well give special attention to the greatest factor in their success or failure—the salad dressing. It is a mistake to have one dressing for all salads—one loses such an excellent opportunity for providing variety in a simple manner. The several main types of salad dressing should be thoroughly mastered and then one can adapt and change them or introduce an occasional more elaborate dressing when a special effect is desired.

All materials for salads and dressings should be very cold. All salad greens should be cool and crisp—there is nothing delicious about limp lettuce or wilted endive. Washing, even in cold water, softened the greens, therefore they should be cleaned at least an hour before they are required, and rolled in a fresh tea towel, or better still, in a piece of waxed paper. Place near, but not on the ice or in a cool spot. In a short time, they will be deliciously crisp and succulent.

French Dressing

[ABSOLVE half teaspoon salt in 1 teaspoon icewater; add half teaspoon paprika or a little ordinary pepper and 6 tablespoons olive oil. Beat together and add very gradually 2 tablespoons vinegar. French dressing should not be made until it is required, many people preferring to make it right at the table. It is liked generally for green salads, tart fruit salads, vegetable salads, etc.

Plain Mayonnaise Dressing

^ Beat the egg yolks gently, using preferably a wooden fork or spoon. Add teaspoon salt, beat and begin to add the oil, drop by drop, beating constantly. When half the oil has been used, add the vinegar slowly and then the rest of the oil, once more drop by drop; as you beat the mixture it should thicken and when all the oil has been added it will be quite stiff. Add the rest of the salt and a little cayenne pepper.

It is patience, even more than art, that is necessary to the making of successful mayonnaise dressing. The oil must be beaten in slowly or the mixture will break or curdle.

Boiled Cream Dressing 'without Oil

A particularly delicious dressing, much like a mayonnaise in texture, but without ** the oil to which so many people take objection, is made as follows:

Put 1 tablespoon flour, 1]/% tablespoons sugar, H tablespoon salt and Yl tablespoon dry mustard into a double boiler. Add the beaten yolks of two eggs, 3 tablespoons melted butter, cup milk, % cup mild vinegar; stir all together; set the pan into the outer pan of the double boiler and cook, stirring constantly until it coats the spoon like custard. The same additions may be made to this dressing as to mayonnaise.

To Vary Mayonnaise or Boiled Dressing

Yf/HIPPED cream added to the mayonnaise, cup for cup, will make a really wonder** ful dressing for the fruit salad that is to end a dinner or lend distinction to a luncheon. A crisp, green salad, too, is quite a different thing with a whipped cream mayonnaise.

Again, try stirring into the mayonnaise that is to complete a piquant salad, about 3 tablespoons good chili sauce, 1 Spanish sweet red-pepper and a tablespoonful of green pepper, both chopped very fine.

For an anchovy mayonnaise, add to the plain dressing the chili sauce and peppers just mentioned and a teaspoonful of anchovy paste, rubbed into a little of the mayonnaise. Another fish dressing is made in the same way, but instead of the anchovy paste, use four small sardines, skinned, boned and rubbed smooth with some of the dressing.

Chopped gherkin makes a tasty addition to mayonnaise and may be combined with chopped olives, parsley, green or red peppers, chili sauce, hard boiled egg, etc. French capers also add an interesting flavour.

These keen-flavoured dressings are excellent accompaniments to foods that are not in themselves highly flavoured—for instance, on a meat or fish salad, or on a green salad that is to accompany cold meats or fish.

Egg Salad

LIARD boiled eggs are a splendid standby, as they combine equally well with lettuce, ^{1 1} endive, cabbage, tomatoes, cucumbers, cooked spinach and many other things. Here are a few suggestions which may be elaborated at will.

Sliced or cut in quarters, lengthwise, and arranged on mounds of chilled cooked spinach.

Cut in halves, lengthwise, the yolks removed and mixed with mayonnaise, salt, paprika, and a little chopped ham or a little crisp cold fried bacon, the mixture replaced in the whites; serve on a bed of cress.

Cut in thin slices, the whites arranged petal-fashion on shredded lettuce or cress, the yolks removed and grated as a garnish.

Piquant Potato Salad

2 cups cold potatoes 4 hard boiled eggs 1 cup nut meats 1 small bottle stuffed olives

/"’HOP rather fine enough cold boiled potatoes to make two large cupfuls. Chop '*■' fine the whites of the Jiard-boiled eggs, and add to the potatoes with the blanched and broken walnuts or hickory nuts and the stuffed olives, cut in bits. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and onion juice, obtained by rubbing the onion over the grater. Melt the butter and stir well into the mixture. Arrange on a platter and grate the egg yolks over the top, putting around the edge a narrow green border of chopped parsley. This is a dainty luncheon or supper dish.

A decorative salad—diced pineapple in the centre of a spread-open orange. Recipe on page 69

A New Fruit Salad

COAK gelatine in cold water 5 minutes, then dissolve in the boiling water; add the *** sugar and lemon juice. Set aside to cool, then beat it until frothy and add the stiffly beaten cream and the salad dressing. Wet individual molds, pour in mixture and chill. At serving time, turn on strawberry or other green leaves and garnish with large, whole strawberries or other fruit.

Peach or Pear Jelly Salad

DEACH or Pear Jelly Salad is an individual note of triumph in the best of dinners.

Very ripe fresh fruit may be used, or the canned or slightly stewed fruit. Halve the peaches or pears, remove stones or cores and fill the centres with maraschino or preserved cherries and diced marshmallows, or with seeded grapes and broken nut-meats. Invert in a small individual mould and pour just enough lemon-flavoured gelatine mixture over to cover—no more, as the filling must not be floated or it will scatter. Turn out on pale, crisp lettuce leaves and serve with mayonnaise, into which an equal quantity of whipped cream has been folded.

A Delicious Fruit Salad

■"TOSS the prepared fruits together lightly in a bowl, with plenty of dressing and serve ^A on beds of shredded lettuce. For the dressing you will require:

2 tablespoons grape fruit juice 1 tablespoon butter V& teaspoon salt 1 egg white

DUT the fruit juices and seasoning together in a double boiler, heat and stir in * gradually the beaten egg yolks, add the butter and cook until thick. Chill and stir in the beaten egg white.

A Decorative Orange Salad

^ Peel the oranges and scrape off all the white membrane. Remove the bit of white core which runs down from the stem end and pull the sections of the orange very carefully apart at that end only. The “little orange” at the other end will hold the sections together there. When all the sections are loosened almost to this end, the orange will open much like a water-lily. Fill the centre with diced grape fruit, which has been sprinkled with sugar and chilled, sliced pineapple and, if desired, a few maraschino or candied cherries cut in pieces. French dressing or boiled dressing, into which whipped cream has been folded, will add the last touch.

Grape, Celery and Pecan Salad

DEEL and halve hot-house grapes, removing the seeds. Chop celery fine and break ¹ or chop some pecan nuts fairly small. Mix all lightly with salad dressing—either a boiled cream dressing or mayonnaise—into which some whipped cream has been folded. Arrange on crisp heart lettuce or endive and drop a spoonful of the fluffy dressing on each one; top with a half grape or pecan nut.

Fruit Salad in Orange Cups

OKIN and seed the grapes, separate the orange pulp from every shred of membrane.

Chop the celery in half-inch pieces and break up the nut meats. Mix all with the mayonnaise and put in the ice-box until serving time when it should be heaped into a lettuce-lined salad bowl, or filled into cups made by cutting the oranges in half and carefully removing the pulp.

Delicate Fruit Salad

l^RAIN the slices of canned pineapple from the juice (which should be saved for U dressing), and dice them. Free the orange from skin and membrane and cut the pulp in small pieces. Put both into a bowl with the hulled strawberries and chill thoroughly.

When it is time to serve, rub the inside of individual sherbet glasses with crushed leaves of fresh mint. Fill with the chilled fruits and add a dressing made of the fruit juice to which salad oil his been added drop by drop.

Cherry Salad

/’■'‘HERRIES lend themselves very well indeed to the uses of the salad. They may be used alone or are very deliciously combined with sliced pineapple, early peaches or with canned peaches, apricots or pears.

Rub the inside of the salad bowl with crushed mint leaves and line it with crisp lettuce or endive; chop the nut meats and work them lightly into the creamed cheese, which should be formed into little balls; toss the fruit lightly in a little of the salad dressing and arrange on the lettuce; garnish with the cheese balls.

If large ripe or canned peaches or stewed, very ripe, or canned pears are being used, a delightful arrangement is to heap the cherries in the cavity of the larger fruit and arrange the whole on a bed of lettuce.

Pear and Cottage Cheese Salad

A delicate and very easily prepared salad is made by arranging halves of preserved pears hollow side up, on crisp lettuce leaves, and putting a little mound of fluffy cottage cheese in each piece. Mayonnaise or cream dressing—preferably with a little whipped or heavy cream folded into it—is best with this salad.

b TESTED HOUSEHOLD RECIPES o®9

Stuffed ‘Beet Salad

CVEN sized, fairly large beets should be selected and boiled until tender. Peel the *“* beets, cut a thin slice from the bottom of each one, so that it will stand upon the dish and scoop out the centre from each beet. Dice the beetroot thus removed and add to it diced celery, a small quantity of chopped gherkins, a few French capers, salt, pepper, and, if desired, some cold chicken, veal or tongue, cut fine. Put all these ingredients together in a bowl and mix lightly with a fork, adding enough mayonnaise or boiled dressing to moisten. Fill into the hollowed beets, add a small spoonful of dressing, sprinkle lightly with paprika, garnish with a slice of stuffed olive or a small sprig of parsley and serve on crisp leaves of head lettuce.

Stuffed Tomato Salad

IT is sometimes desirable to vary our ordinary tomato salad by serving the tomatoes * whole, hollowing them out and refilling with a tasty mixture. Select medium sized tomatoes which are smooth and nicely shaped, remove a round piece from the stem end of the tomato and scoop out the centre, leaving, however, a good “wall” of the tomato. Place in the refrigerator, so that they will be thoroughly chilled when ready to serve. Fill with some of the solid part removed from the tomatoes and cut thin, some green peas, or diced celery or other vegetable, a mere suspicion of chopped onion, two tablespoons chopped pickle, two tablespoons French capers; season with salt, pepper and paprika and mix with mayonnaise or boiled dressing.

Any cold meat such as chicken, tongue, lamb or veal, may be diced and added if it is desired to make the salad a little more substantial. A few blanched and chopped nuts will have the same effect and are always good in this type of salad mixture.

Tomato and Egg Salad

/'■'HOOSE large smooth tomatoes, plunge them into boiling water, remove at once and peel. Chill the tomatoes thoroughly.

Boil hard as many eggs as you have tomatoes and put them aside also to become thoroughly chilled.

When it is time to serve the salad, cut the tomatoes in halves, lay one half, flat side up, on a bed of lettuce; cut the eggs in quarters, lengthwise, lay two quarters on each piece of tomato. Serve with the mayonnaise or boiled dressing, to which has been added a little pimento, olives and pickles, all finely chopped.

Jellied Tomato Salad

A tomato salad which need not await the arrival of fresh tomatoes, is an all year round friend. A can of tomatoes or a corresponding quantity of stewed fresh tomatoes may be used. Add half an onion, a bay leaf, salt, paprika, and a couple of stalks of celery or some celery seed or celery salt. Cook together for a quarter of an hour, add two tablespoons tarragon vinegar and three quarters of a box of gelatine, which has been soaking in cold water. Add the gelatine, stir until it is dissolved and pour into moulds which have been wet in cold water.

When ready to serve, turn out the jellies (if desired a single fancy mould may be used instead of individual jellies, but the latter are usually preferred), on a bed of shredded lettuce or cabbage and serve with boiled dressing to which chopped pimento and a small quantity of walnut meats have been added.

‘BREADS

To Make Liquid Yeast

T TSE 2 cups of flour and blend with a little cold water until smooth, then pour over ^ this 4 quarts of boiling water and stir the flour and water together thoroughly. Add 1 quart finely mashed potatoes, Yi cup of salt and H cup of sugar. Let this liquid cool until it is lukewarm and add two dry yeast cakes that have been soaked previously for a few minutes in tepid water. Then put this mixture in a warm (not hot) place, well covered, for a few hours. Use a vessel sufficiently large to allow the liquid to rise.

The liquid referred to above could be used four or five hours after making, but to get the best results it should be allowed to stand overnight, or about twelve hours, before using it. It will keep for two weeks in a moderately cool place.

Above quantity of liquid yeast is sufficient to make ten or twelve large loaves of delicious home-made bread.

To Make Two Loaves of Bread, Using Liquid Yeast

Vf/ARM 2 quarts flour, and knead in 2 pints liquid yeast. Mix well, turn out on ” bake board and knead again for a minute or two, or until smooth and even. Cover and set in a moderately warm place (away from draughts) until the bulk has about doubled. If the liquid yeast has stood overnight, the bread sponge should rise enough in one hour and a half, or very little more. Then knead again and divide into two loaves. Put loaves into greased pans, and cover and set to rise again until bulk is double in size, which will probably be in about one hour. Supposing the liquid yeast is made at noon and it is desired to set bread at night, follow the same directions, except that the dough should not be divided into loaves until following morning, thus giving it more time to rise.

If liquid yeast is made the day before, the bread can be set in the morning and baked before noon. One quart of flour and 1 pint of liquid yeast will make a goodsized loaf. If dough is too dry, add a little more liquid yeast, or if too moist, add a little more flour, so that it will not stick to pans or board.

White Bread (Sponge Method)

CANE cake compressed yeast, \^XA. quarts luke-warm water, 2 tablespoons sugar, 4J^

Dissolve the yeast and sugar in one quart of the lukewarm water, and add 1J/2 quarts of sifted flour, or sufficient to make an ordinary sponge. Beat well. Cover and set aside to rise for about one and one-half hours in a warm place.

When well risen add the pint of luke-warm water, lard or butter, the remainder of the flour, or enough to make a moderately firm dough, and the salt. Knead thoroughly; place in greased bowl. Cover and let rise from one and one-half to two hours.

When light, mould into loaves and place in well-greased baking pans, cover and let rise again for about one hour. When light, bake forty to fifty minutes, reducing the heat of the oven after first ten minutes.

The whole process takes from five and one-half to six hours, and if followed closely will produce excellent results.

White ‘Bread (Overnight Method)

("\NE cake compressed yeast, 2 quarts water, 2 tablespoons sugar, 2 tablespoons lard

Dissolve yeast and sugar in the water, which should be lukewarm in winter and cool in summer, add lard or butter and half the flour. Beat until smooth, then add balance of the flour, or enough to make moderately firm dough, and the salt. Knead until smooth and elastic. Place in well greased bowl and cover. Set aside to rise overnight, or about nine hours.

In the morning, mould into loaves. Fill well greased pans half full, cover and let rise until light, or until loaves have doubled in bulk, which will be about one and one-half hours. Bake forty to fifty minutes.

This will make six large loaves. If this quantity of bread is not needed, the recipe can be divided very easily, by taking just half of the ingredients called for above, as well as half a cake of yeast. The half cake of yeast, which you have left over, can be kept in good condition several days by rewrapping it in tinfoil and keeping it in a cool dry place.

Nut ^Bread

DUT into a bread pan (a long narrow one is best), and let rise twenty minutes; then ¹ bake one hour in a slow oven.

Oat Cakes

1V4IX and sift the dry ingredients. Cut in shortenings withjtwo knives. Cut in enough cold water to mix to the stiff dough stage Roll out to inch thickness and cut into triangles Place on a greased baking sheet. Bake in a moderate oven until a crisp brown. These are delicious to serve with cheese, or make the best of sweet cookies if pressed together, two and two, with raisin or date filling.

Fruit Rolls

GIFT flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Cut in fat and milk enough to make ^ a soft dough. Toss on floured board. Roll out to Yi inch thickness. Spread with soft butter, sprinkle with cinnamon and brown sugar and then currants or chopped raisins. Roll and cut into one-inch slices. Place cut side down on a floured and greased baking sheet. Bake in a hot oven.

Light Buns

""THEY are light buns, rather like English halfpenny buns in texture. They are very * acceptable served hot as a sweet course and are excellent, too, when cold.

D UB the cold boiled potato through a sieve into the flour. Toss them lightly together. ^ Cream the yeast and sugar in a small basin; fill up the basin with water and mix all to a dough, adding more water if necessary. Turn out on a board and knead slightly. Roll into balls about the size of a golf ball and lay them on a greased baking sheet, leaving a good two inches between each. Put them in a warm place to rise for fifteen minutes. Poke each one in the middle with your finger to make a good sized depression. Pop into a hot oven and bake very quickly until nicely browned. Put a little jam, syrup or ripe fresh fruit, such as strawberries, into the hollow you made in each bun. If you want to be very smart, dust over each with sifted sugar.

They rise enormously. They should, if possible, be eaten within twenty-four hours, as the potato is likely to turn sour. They have not even the smallest hint of the wet stickiness which is often connected with potato bread.

Waffles

GIFT all dry ingredients, beat eggs lightly, mix with milk and melted butter and add *“* gradually to dry mixture. Beat the batter for two or three minutes and pour on well greased hot waffle irons. Serve with powdered sugar or syrup.

Orange 'Bakin g Powder Biscuits

GIFT all dry ingredients together. Cut in shortening with two knives. Add liquid, mix with as little handling as possible and turn out on floured board. Roll 1 inch thick. Cut with a small cutter and press into the centre of each biscuit a small lump of sugar which has been dipped quickly into orange juice.

French Pancakes

GIFT together dry materials. Beat egg and add to the milk and add to dry mixture gradually. Beat well.

Heat and grease a griddle and pour on sufficient batter; when a golden brown on both sides, spread with a mixture of sugar, lemon juice and butter, and roll quickly. Serve hot.

Home Made dfaisin Bread

JV4AKE a sponge using the cake of yeast and one tablespoon sugar, dissolved in the lukewarm water. Add the scalded milk and cup of hot water, mixed together, to the yeast and two cups of white flour; beat for five minutes. Allow it to rise until very light, then add three tablespoons sugar and the butter, creamed together, the salt and the raisins, which should be cut in halves. Stir in flour until the dough is stiff, then knead until smooth and elastic; from six to eight cups of flour will be required. Cover and put aside to rise until it has doubled its bulk, then mould into loaves and when it has again risen until light, bake about an hour.

IVAIX and sift flour and baking powder. Cream butter and add the sugar gradually, beating until smooth. Add well beaten egg and flour and milk alternately. Turn out on a floured board and pat until of J^-inch thickness. Wash and pare and core apples. Cut in dice and press into the dough. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Bake in a moderate oven 35 minutes.

DRING milk to blood heat, add butter, sugar and salt. Dissolve yeast cake in small amount of liquid, add to remaining liquid. Sift in sufficient flour to make a medium batter. Beat until smooth.

Cover and let rise to double its bulk. Add beaten eggs and Yi cup floured raisins may be added. Sift in sufficient flour to make thick batter. Cover, allow to rise. Pour into shallow buttered pans. Just before putting in oven spread with following mixture: ,

Melt butter, add sugar and cinnamon. When melted, add flour. Bake in a moderate oven. Plain boiled frosting may be added if desired.

Graham Muffins

4 teaspoons baking powder Vi teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons sugar 1 tablespoon melted butter

1V4IX and sift dry ingredients. Add the wet ingredients to the dry. Beat until smooth. Add butter (melted). Pour into greased tins and bake in a moderate oven about 25 minutes.

0 TESTED HOUSEHOLD RECIPES a

CAKES

Caramel Cream Cake

1 teaspoon cream of tartar Vi teaspoon soda 1 teaspoon vanilla Vi teaspoon lemon extract

^REAM the sugar and butter well together adding the milk, flour, cream of tartar, soda, vanilla and lemon extract; beat well and bake in layers. For the filling cook together 1 cup of milk, Yi cup of sugar, 1 tablespoon of cornstarch and when almost done add a lump of butter; flavour with vanilla.

For the frosting: add \Yi cups brown sugar to % cup of milk and boil until it will form a soft ball when dropped in cold water; beat until cool enough to spread.

Three-Minute Cake

JMIX dry ingredients in a bowl. Break the egg into a cup; fill cup with milk and ¹ add vanilla. Pour into other ingredients and beat three minutes. Melt butter in pan and pour in the mixture.

Chocolate Devil’s Food Cake

Cream butter and sugar, add the well beaten eggs and the milk. Beat all well together.

Sift in 2 cups flour and 4 teaspoons baking powder. Bake in a shallow tin and cover with chocolate icing or bake in tiny pans, ice and top each with a blanched almond.

Inverurie Cake

£REAM the sugar and butter, add yolks of eggs, beating them well; add the milk by degrees, then the whites of the eggs well beaten and the flour (in which the baking powder has been sifted) alternately. Beat thoroughly. Bake about forty-five or fifty minutes. When cool, split in two layers and spread with jam or jelly. Mashed bananas are good for filling, but the cake should be used at once.

/’''REAM the butter, add the sugar gradually, then the eggs. Add sifted flour and ^ baking powder. Roll J^-inch thick and cut. Bake in a moderate oven about ten minutes.

Jumbles

f* REAM the butter, add sugar and beaten egg. Sift and addflour; add nuts. Form into balls. Place on a greased baking sheet. Bake in a quick oven until golden brown.

Oatmeal Date Cakes

VY7ASH and stone dates, place in a saucepan with sugar and water. Cook to a paste.

** Cream butter and lard together, and add sugar; cream well. Add rolled oats, then flour and baking powder sifted together alternately with milk. Use enough flour to make a stiff dough. Place on a slightly floured board and roll out to J^-inch thickness. Spread half the dough with the date mixture. Fold over other half of rolled dough and cut into squares or fancy shapes with a cookie cutter. Bake in a moderate oven.

One cup seeded raisins, cooked to a paste consistency with K cup water and three tablespoons sugar, will make an excellent filling to use instead of dates.

Macaroons

DEAT up the white of an egg to a stiff froth. Mix into it ground almonds and sifted ^ sugar—an alternate teaspoon of each—till you get a paste which is firm enough to handle. Spread a sheet of rice paper on a baking sheet, drop this paste on it, a spoonful at a time, and flatten out each little pile into a neat round, finishing it off by half of a blanched almond in the centre. Cook in a very moderate oven till lightly browned. When cold, cut the rice paper neatly round the biscuits.

Some people like macaroons made all with sweet almonds; others prefer them when to each 6 teaspoons of sweet, 1 teaspoon of bitter almonds is used.

Almond Wafers

Mix well and spread with a spatula on a greased baking sheet. This mixture must be spread almost to paper thinness. Score in about 4-inch squares, sprinkle with the almonds and press them well into the dough.

. Bake in a moderate oven until a delicate brown, turning the pan frequently to insure even baking. When brown, open the oven door and roll the squares quickly, if rolled wafers are desired.

Little Mocha Cakes

CPONGE cake or any other light mixture may be used in these dainty little cakes. Pieces of lady fingers are splendid.

Make an icing of cups of confectioners’ sugar, creamed well into cup butter and flavoured with almond extract.

Blanch some almonds and chop, not too finely; place on a pie plate, dot with butter and roast until golden in the oven (do not salt). Roll the icing-coated cakes in the nuts and place on a platter to harden.

Savoy Drops

PREAK the eggs into a bowl. Add the sugar. Stir with a wooden spoon, round and round, always in the same direction for twenty minutes. (It’s not hard work at all. You can hold the bowl between your knees, stir with one hand, and hold a book in the other hand!) Sprinkle in the flour gradually, stirring very gently now—only just enough to make the flour vanish into the egg mixture. Drop a teaspoonful at a time on a greased baking sheet, leaving at least two inches between the drops, because they will spread. Pop them into a hot oven and bake three to five minutes. Watch them most carefully and take them out as soon as they begin to brown. They are delicate things, which will burn and spoil easily. Let them cool, then clap them together in pairs, with jam between. Sprinkle with icing sugar before serving.

Cocoanut Puffs

DEAT the egg whites very stiff, add the sugar and stir in the steam over a dish of boiling water until crust begins to form on the bottom and sides of the dish. Remove from the fire. Add the other ingredients and drop on buttered tins. Bake in a moderate oven a few minutes—until the white ones are delicately tinted. (A few drops of vegetable colouring may be added to half the mixture, if desired.)

Oat Nut Cookies

some chopped nuts or shredded cocoanut £*REAM the butter and one-half the sugar. Beat the egg yolks and add remaining sugar and combine with the first mixture. Add the flavouring and fold in the stiffly beaten egg whites. Add rolled oats, mixed with the baking power, and salt, and the nutmeats or cocoanut. Drop from a teaspoon on greased baking sheet and bake.

Date Kisses

DEAT the egg whites stiffly, add the ingredients in order given, and drop from a ^ teaspoon on to a greased baking sheet. Cook in a rather quick oven.

Brownies

{’'•REAM butter and sugar, add melted chocolate, eggs whipped lightly, nuts and ^ flour. Drop on buttered sheet and bake in slow oven.

Chocolate Cakes

1V4AKE the Savoy Drop mixture, and add a teaspoonful of grated chocolate for each egg. Bake just like the Savoy drops. Let them get quite cold.

Mix together 1 tablespoon butter, 2 tablespoons grated chocolate and 2 tablespoons icing sugar. Stir with a wooden spoon till thoroughly blended. Put through a forcing pipe on to the cakes, placing a generous pile on each.

Madeleines

1UIELT the butter in a bowl in the oven. Stir in the flour, the sugar, the lemon and

the yolks of the eggs. Beat the whites to a very stiff froth and stir them in gently. Put the mixture into buttered patty tins and bake in a very moderate oven till nicely browned.

These are very light little cakes of the nature of sponge cakes, but more delicious. They ought to rise up in peaks at the middle and be as light as feathers. If you want to be economical, use one egg less, and replace it by two tablespoons milk and 1 teaspoon baking powder. The result, though good, is not quite as perfect as that of the real Madeleine mixture.

Othello Cream Cake

^rT'0 make this cake, bake a thick layer of sponge cake or any favourite light cake ^ mixture and when cold, split in half. Dissolve 3 tablespoons powdered gelatine in ]/2 cup cold milk, add \^x/i cups heated milk, V/i tablespoons sugar and 1 teaspoon lemon juice. Strain and add 1 cup seeded raisins. When nearly set, spread between the layers of sponge and cover the top with chocolate frosting. Decorate with marshmallows or the top may be covered with sweetened whipped cream.

Chocolate ’Date Cake

CREAM butter and sugar and add beaten eggs. Mix sour cream and soda and add alternately with sifted mace and flour. Cut raisins and dates fine and flour them; add to fruit mixture and flavour with vanilla. Pour into a greased tin and bake.

Cocoanut Marshmallow Cake

1 cup flour Vi cup cornstarch 3 teaspoons baking powder cocoanut marshmallow frosting

and milk—sift the baking powder and cornstarch in with the flour. Bake in layer tins and put together and ice with cocoanut marshmallow frosting.

Pain d’Epice

A slightly sticky, golden cake, which will keep fresh for months. It may be served as a cake, or cut into wafer-thin fingers and served with stewed fruit. Notice that it contains neither sugar nor fat.

2 pounds of flour mixture made of maize or fine oatmeal with a little white flour added 1 pound honey

12 drops essence of lemon or essence of aniseed 1 level dessertspoonful of baking soda 1 good pint water, not quite boiling

Sieve the flour into a large basin. Stir altogether the honey, soda and aniseed. When they are well mixed, stir the hot water into them. Mix all into the flour, a little at a time. Beat steadily with a wooden spoon for fifteen minutes. Put into a large cake pan, or two moderate ones, well greased. Pop into a hot oven till risen and browned. Allow oven to cool somewhat and leave cakes until a skewer thrust into one of them comes away clean. The length of time for baking will probably be about one hour in all. Cool on a cake wire. Don’t cut the cake for two days. They are rather tough at first, but after two days they acquire a sort of sponginess which makes them taste as if they were made with a great deal of fat. Store them in tins and they will keep for months. (This cake is a great favorite in the north of France.)

Chocolate Ginger Bread

JV/IIX the sour milk with molasses, cinnamon, salt, ginger, mace and soda; gradually stir in the flour, chocolate and the raisins. Put the mixture into a greased and floured cake tin and bake in a steady oven forty-five minutes.

Cherry or Blackberry Shortcake

£REAM sugar and shortening; add beaten egg; add dry ingredients alternately ^ with milk; add flavouring and mix well. Pour into a well greased shallow pan and bake in a moderate oven twenty-five to thirty minutes. When cool, split and between layers put crushed and sweetened fruit. On top, pile whole cherries that have been standing with sugar on them. Serve with sweetened cherry sauce. If blackberries or raspberries are used, whipped cream may be spread between the layers and heaped on top of cake.

Orange Cake

A particularly good layer-cake, a little different from those we usually meet, is filled ** and iced in this way.

Cook for ten minutes in double boiler, stirring constantly to keep from lumping; remove from fire, stir in one teaspoon butter, cool and spread.

Peel and separate into sections free from all unnecessary membrane, one goodsized orange.

Put the two layers of cake together, with a generous amount of the orange filling between them, and spread very evenly with the frosting, making the surface smooth with a spatula or limber-bladed knife dipped frequently into boiling water. Arrange the sections of fruit attractively on the top of the cake, and if you have a pastry bag, pipe some small design in the centre and trace it lightly over the orange.

Sour Cream Cake

£REAM the butter and sugar, add beaten eggs. Beat together the sour cream and ^ soda and add to butter and sugar. Sift together the flour, cocoa, and salt and beat into other ingredients. Stir in floured nuts and fruit and add vanilla. Pour into a greased dish and bake in a moderate oven.

Economical Fruit Cake

£"REAM the sugar and shortening. Dissolve the soda in sour milk and add, with the eggs, fruit, flour, etc. Bake for about 3 hours.

Raspberry Cake

IX sugar and butter, then add eggs, cinnamon, nutmeg, milk, soda (dissolved first in a little boiling water and added to the sour milk) and flour. When ready for oven, add raspberries and beat.

Delicate Qcike

pREAM the butter and sugar together. Add alternately the milk and dry ingredi-^ ents, which are sifted together. Add the flavouring and last the egg whites beaten to a stiff froth (or the yolks and stiffly beaten whites of 2 eggs, if substituted. This will not make so white a cake). Bake 15 to 20 minutes.

CAKE ICINGS

qA Marvelous Icing

ROIL sugar and water until it threads, pour over stiffly beaten egg and beat until thick. Add vanilla. Pour this mixture over cake and spread and allow to harden. Melt the chocolate and spread very thinly over the white icing. To know the complete excellence of this soft sweet icing with its bitter chocolate top (which holds it together, as it were) spread it upon a good chocolate or devil’s food cake. It is ambrosial!

Chocolate Fudge Icing

JWIIX the first four ingredients together and let boil till they form a soft ball in cold * ¹ water. Before removing from the stove, add the butter and vanilla. Beat until the right consistency to spread.

Brown Sugar Icing

JV4IX sugar and water and slighty beaten egg-white in the top of a double boiler.

Have underneath pot boiling and cook the icing in the top for eight minutes, stirring constantly. Pour on the cake and spread.

Marshmallow Frosting

DOIL sugar and water until it threads. Cut up marshmallows and beat into the ^ sugar mixture until it thickens, then spread on cake.

Cocoanut—Marshmallow Frosting

DUT into a double boiler over boiling water, the egg whites, unbeaten, with the * sugar and water. Let it cook over the steam from the under pan for 15 minutes, beating briskly all the time (a Dover egg-beater gives good results). Add the marshmallows, remove from the fire and beat until smooth. Stir in the cocoanut and spread between the layers and over the top of the cake, sprinkling finally with cocoanut.

Chocolate Icing

JI4ELT chocolate and butter over hot water, add sifted icing sugar, alternating with cream. When enough sugar has been added to make a consistency for spreading heat thoroughly, beating all smooth, add vanilla, pour on cake, spread and let harden.

Coffee Icing

2 tablespoons very strong coffee % teaspoon vanilla From 1 y₂ to 2 cupfuls confectioner’s sugar

LI EAT the coffee, add the vanilla and stir in the confectioner’s sugar, which should * ¹ be sifted, until the mixture is thick enough to hold its shape, so that it will not run off the cake.

Orange Icing

Boiled Icing

DOIL the sugar and water together until the syrup threads. Pour over the stiffly beaten egg white Beat until the mixture thickens, add vanilla and spread on cake. .

Butter Icing

r^REAM cup butter very thoroughly. Add 1 teaspoon any flavouring desired ^ (for Mocha icing, 4 tablespoons strong coffee with a teaspoon vanilla). Sift in 1 cup icing sugar or more, according to quantity of icing required. Use a little cream to soften if necessary. Chopped nuts or candied fruits may be added.

Maple Frosting and Filling

DOIL 2 cups maple sugar, rolled fine, and % cup evaporated milk or heavy cream, until a drop will harden in water. Beat until of consistency to spread.

For a good filling to spread between layers, put into a double boiler 1 cup crushed maple sugar, 1 tablespoon cornstarch, ]/% cup water and a pinch of salt. Cook for 5 minutes, add 2 egg yolks, well beaten, and boil 2 minutes.

For a delicious whipped cream cake, beat V/i cups cream very stiff, and add a pinch of salt and Yi cup maple sugar, rolled very fine.

PASTRY

'T’HE pastry requirements of the ordinary family will be adequately met if the cook ¹ is able to turn out three kinds of pastry:

1. Plain Pastry, in which we work the shortening in with the flour by cutting or chopping; two knives are the handiest things to use.

3. Flaky Pastry, in which we work in the shortening by a combination of these two methods.

Plain ‘Pastry

GIFT the flour and salt into a bowl; cut in the fat, using two knives. Add sufficient water to bind the ingredients. Flour the board and turn out the dough. Divide it into portions which will each make one crust. Roll lightly with rolling pin, using motions outward from centre and keeping the dough as near desired shape as possible; loosen from board occasionally.

Flaky ‘Pastry

'"THE shortening used may be either equal quantities of butter and any good short-^A ening or it may be entirely prepared shortening. Practically the only advantage of using butter lies in the retention of the butter flavour.

Butter used for pastry should be washed in cold water until it is creamy and free from milk and salt.

GIFT flour and salt twice. Put in Yi cup shortening (leaving the butter aside, if you are using it for the second half cup). Add cold water very gradually, mixing dough with a knife as for plain pastry; cup water more or less, according to the flour used). Turn out on a board and knead slightly, first chilling the fingers in cold water. Cover and set aside in a cool place for five minutes. Roll into a rectangular sheet and spread half of it with half the butter or other shortening which was put aside for the purpose. Fold and press down the edges to enclose shortening and air. Spread the remainder of the shortening on one half the present surface, fold and press edges tightly together as before. Set aside in cool place again for five minutes, then roll two or three times. Roll finally to J^-inch thickness and bake in a hot oven.

Puff Pastry

pastry is used chiefly for patty shells, tarts, etc., which require pastry of very great flakiness and lightness—frequently the sort of thing which can be filled.

YY7ASH butter until creamy and free of liquid; separate into six pieces. Sift two thirds the quantity of flour into a bowl and cut one piece of the shortening into it, add the ice water and mix into a paste, handling as little as possible. Turn out on floured board, knead until smooth and elastic; cover and set aside in a cool place for five minutes. Roll again, always using the outward-from-the-centre movement; place one piece of shortening on one half the surface, fold the pastry over, pinch the edges together and put aside to cool for five minutes. Roll again into a rectangular sheet and repeat the former process with another piece of shortening, always folding half the pastry over the shortening and pressing the edges close together to enclose air and shortening.

Repeat until all the shortening has been used, turning the paste half way round each time, in order to roll from another side. When all shortening has been used, put the pastry away for an hour or two to chill thoroughly. It will keep in a cool place for some days.

A Simple Pastry

'"THIS is very light and flaky puff pastry, made with almost no fat. You can use it— * for tarts, tartlets and pastry cases of any kind.

When you are making bread, take 1 pound of dough which has not risen. Work it well with your hands in the usual way, and then roll out on a floured board until thin as paper. Now take 2 ounces of shortening, cut it into the thinnest possible slices and spread them over the dough. Fold it in three, as for ordinary pastry. Roll it out three times, making it finally of the ordinary pastry thickness. Shape it as required. Put it in a warm place to rise for ^l/i hour. Then bake it in a very hot oven. _

It puffs up, layer on layer, as light as a feather. You would say that it was made with equal amounts of fat and flour.

Cherry Pie

Cl FT the dry ingredients together, rub in shortening very lightly with the finger ^ tips; add the cold water slowly; just enough to make a stiff dough. Roll out on a floured board and use paste for the bottom crust of pie, being careful to fold the paste well over the edge of the plate. Bake in a hot oven twelve to fifteen minutes. If a glazed crust be desired, brush over the edge of crust after baking with two tablespoons corn syrup and 1 tablespoon boiling water which have been brought to the boil, and used while hot; return to the oven until the syrup hardens; then fill the pie crust with fresh selected uncooked cherries or other fruit. Pour over the following syrup:

Bring the sugar, fruit and boiling water to the boil, strain. Mix cornstarch with a little cold water and add to the hot mixture. Cook over hot flame, stirring constantly for a minute or two, remove from the fire and beat hard. Return to a slow fire, cook gently until thick; pour while hot over the fruit which has been put in the pie crust. This is very good served either hot or cold.

Coffee Cream Pie

DRING the milk and coffee just to the boiling point, then pour over the egg yolks which have been well beaten with the sugar. Return to the fire (in a double boiler) and add the cornstarch moistened with a little cold milk. Stir constantly until the mixture thickens and coats the spoon. Add the stiffly-beaten white of one egg, cook one minute, then remove, and when nearly cooled turn into a baked pie-shell. Cover the top with the other egg white, piped on with a pastry tube if you have one, and return it to the oven for a minute to colour the meringue. Serve cold.

This pie is nothing short of wonderful if both egg whites are stirred into the mixture and sweetened whipped cream is piped over the top of the cold pie.

Peach Custard Pie

| INE a pie-plate with pastry, put on a paper rim, to prevent the edges from overcooking; prick the bottom of the pastry with a fork and bake it. Have ready a filling made as follows:

Drain the fruit from a jar of peaches (apricots or pears may be very acceptably substituted) and measure the juice. Put 2 cupfuls into a double boiler (if there is less than two cups of juice, add enough water to bring to that amount). Save Y cupful of the liquid to moisten the cornstarch and put the rest on with Y cup sugar, until it comes to the boil.

Moisten 2 level tablespoons corn-starch gradually, with the cold liquid, keeping it very smooth and free from lumps. Stir slowly into the boiling juice, beat it well, and cook for 15 to 20 minutes.

Beat the yolks of 2 eggs light, adding a tablespoon of water to them (this helps to prevent the eggs from curdling) and pour very slowly into the mixture, stirring constantly. If it does curdle, mix another teaspoon cornstarch with a little cold water and add it, stirring all the time, and cook again until there is no odour of the starch—usually about 15 minutes.

Remove from the fire and add a teaspoon of either vanilla, lemon or almond flavouring, or the juice of Yi lemon. Beat in the stiffly whipped whites of 2 eggs and turn into the partially baked pastry shell.

Take the drained halves of peaches and arrange them, hollow side up, in the pie. Press them down into the custard, but do not let any of it get into them. Another egg-white may be beaten up, or the two whites saved, instead of folding them into the custard, and a puffy spoonful of meringue dropped into each peach-hollow. In this case, the pie will be placed in the oven for a few minutes, to brown the meringue lightly—otherwise no further cooking is necessary. Another finishing touch used instead of the meringue is a spoonful of tart jelly, such as grape or currant, dropped into each half-peach, or an almond pressed into the centre of each one, to simulate the pit.

Pineapple-Cocoanut Pie

FA RAIN the juice from a jar or can of preserved pineapple. Put on the juice to boil ■^L_y and proceed just as for the peach custard, adding the same proportion of cornstarch, eggs, etc. When cooked, stir in the pineapple, chopped fine or shredded, and Yi cup shredded cocoanut. Sprinkle the top lightly with cocoanut.

Pumpkin Pie

Fresh Fruit Pie

I INE a pie-plate with short pastry or cover the outside of the inverted pie-plate with the pastry to make a well-shaped shell; prick it in several places with a fork to prevent air bubbles from forming underneath the paste Bake in a hot oven.

Fill the crust with fresh berries—strawberries, raspberries or blackberries or with peaches or stoned cherries and pour over the fruit a syrup made as follows:

Bring to the boil 2 cups boiling water, ]/2 cup sugar, Yi cup of the fresh fruit. Strain and add 1 tablespoon corn-starch which has been mixed smooth with cold water. Return to the fire and cook for a minute or two, stirring briskly; remove from the heat and beat the mixture vigorously for several minutes then put back over the fire, setting the pan in another saucepan of boiling water and allow it to cook slowly until the mixture thickens. Pour the hot mixture over the fruit and serve hot or cold. The hot sauce softens the fruit slightly without altering its fresh-fruit flavour as actual cooking would do. Use this filling for tarts made with Puff Pastry.

Little Caramel Pastries

T'AKE nice puff or flaky pastry, roll it out thinly, and cut it into small fancy shapes * diamonds, stars, crescents or whatever you please Mix into an egg as much brown sugar as will serve to thicken it to the consistency of whipped cream. Spread this on the cakes with a small brush, taking care not to go right to their edges. Pop them into a very hot oven, and bake till brown. You must watch them most carefully as the sugar mixture is so very apt to catch. They come out like light, little crusty biscuits, with toffee tops—very delicious indeed.

Individual Strawberry Shortcakes

CIFT together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar; cut the shortening into the ^ dry materials with a knife; add the egg, well beaten, and the milk Roll lightly, cut with a rather large biscuit cutter and bake in a hot oven

Mash half the berries and sweeten to taste. When the shortcakes are a light golden brown colour, take them out, break apart, spread the lower half with the sweetened pulp, replace the top and garnish with whole berries, powdered sugar and sweetened whipped cream.

DESSERTS

Orange Custards

DARE oranges and slice very thin. Put into glasses (or in the bottom of a large ¹ pudding dish). Sprinkle with sufficient sugar to sweeten pleasantly.

Put milk into a boiler; bring to the boil, add the corn-starch, dissolved in a little cold milk, slowly to the boiling milk and cook about fifteen minutes. Add the two tablespoons of sugar and the vanilla. Remove from fire and add the yolks of the eggs, well beaten. Pour the custard over the sweetened oranges and set aside to cool. Chill thoroughly. Top with whipped and sweetened cream or meringue and garnish, if desired, with crushed nut meats.

Chocolate Junket, Whipped C^ream

ITOLLOW the instructions given with a good junket preparation, using the chocolate

* flavour and turn into dainty glasses or individual dishes to set. Whip some cream stiff, sweeten with a little confectioners’ sugar and add a little vanilla. Put a spoonful on each of the thoroughly chilled junkets and top each with half a pecan or walnut meat.

Individual Cherry ^Puddings

* bottom of a baking dish or in several individual moulds. Sprinkle with sugar and a pinch of the ground spices, then add a layer of the crumbs and repeat until the dish is filled; the top layer will, of course, be of the fine crumbs, dotted with tiny bits of butter and sprinkled with a little sugar and a dust of the spices. Cover and bake in a moderate oven for three-quarters of an hour, removing the cover for the last few minutes of cooking, so that the top may brown delicately.

Serve with hard sauce, made by creaming butter and fine sugar together, adding a little cream to make it work smoothly and a few drops of almond extract; a few cherries chopped rather fine, may be folded into the sauce.

Strawberry and Peanut Cream

DRESS the strawberries through a common sieve until you have the required amount of purefe; soften the gelatine in a very little cold water, then stir it and the sugar into the puree and add the cream, whipped until it is stiff. Line a mould with split lady fingers and scatter the nut-meats into it (any nuts preferred may be substituted for peanuts). Turn in the mixture and keep on ice or in a cold place until set. Just before serving, garnish with large, ripe strawberries.

Bread budding, with Fruit

DOUR boiling water over a pint of bread crumbs, add 1 tablespoon butter, and 2 eggs; beat thoroughly, then add ^l/% cup sugar and a pint of fresh berries or drained canned fruit (in which case distribute in layers over the bread mixture). Bake or steam the pudding for three-quarters of an hour.

Cherry Sponge

COAK gelatine in cold water five minutes, then dissolve it in the boiling water, add sugar, stir until dissolved and strain. Stand bowl in very cold water and chill. Add the chopped fruit and beat until light. Beat the stiff egg whites into the mixture gradually and keep on beating until mixture begins to thicken. Pour into a wet mould and chill. To serve, turn out on a dish and garnish with whole pitted cherries that have been standing in sugar for some time.

Orange JeJJy

("'UT oranges in half and squeeze out juice, retaining rinds unbroken, to use as

Soak the gelatine in enough cold water to cover until soft, then dissolve it in the boiling water. Add sugar and the orange rind, cut in very thin strips (the oranges are, of course, washed first) and simmer for about 10 minutes. Pour through muslin over the strained orange and lemon juice and allow it to cool.

When ready to serve, cut each one (using a very sharp knife so as not to break the shapes) into quarters or if they are large, into eights and serve in the peel, as “orange sections.”

If desired, sections of orange may be arranged in the jelly, or the mould may be turned out and garnished with slices of orange, and halved or broken nut meats.

Raspberry Mould

DUT the raspberry pulp, boiling water, sugar and salt into a double boiler and stir ¹ in the corn-starch which has been worked smooth with tire cold water; stir with a wooden spoon until the mixture boils and thickens like custard, then cover and let it cook for half an hour. Remove from the fire and, when partially cooled, add the lemon juice and pour the mixture slowly over the stiffly beaten egg-whites, beating lightly. Wet a mould in cold water and turn the mixture into it. Put in a cool place to set and chill.

When it is time to serve, unmould the pudding and garnish with alternate spoonfuls of sweetened whipped cream and crushed and sweetened berries.

Blackberries or strawberries may be substituted for the raspberries with excellent results.

Sponge Custard

^ Stir it into the boiling milk, and stir till the mixture begins to thicken. Beat up the yolks of the eggs with a little cold milk or water, and stir them in. Add the sugar. Cook all for 3 minutes. Draw the pan aside, and let it cool.

Beat up the whites to a very stiff froth. Fold them gently into the custard. Pour all into glass dishes and serve. You may use a little red jam, or some chopped preserved fruit as a decoration, if you like.

Coffee sponge is made in the same way, 3 tablespoons coffee essence being stirred into the custard.

Strawberry Jam Sponge

TTAKE a sponge custard, as above, and a pot of strawberry jam of the kind containing ¹ whole fruit floating in syrup. Pick out carefully as many whole berries as you can. Beat the rest of the jam through a strainer into the sponge. Mix it carefully. Put all into a glass dish, and decorate with the strawberries.

Buttered Apples

DEEL and core some large baking apples, keeping them whole. Roll a teaspoonful ¹ of margarine or butter in as much brown sugar as it will pick up, and put this into the hole in the middle of each apple. Put apples into a baking pan, sprinkle a little more brown sugar round and over them, and pour a small teacupful of cold water into the pan. Bake in a brisk oven until the apples are quite soft. Baste frequently. Serve them in a glass dish, with syrup poured round them.

They are always liked, for the syrup is so delicious—like the very best of melted toffee.

Buns, Light......

Coffee Bread.....

Dutch Apple Cake

Fruit Rolls.......

Graham Muffins. .

Nut Bread.......

Oat Cakes.......

Orange Biscuits. . . Pancakes. French.

Raisin Bread.....

Waffles..........

White Bread.....

Yeast, Liquid....

CAKES, 76.

Brownies 7......................

Cake. Caramel Cream............

Cake, Chocolate Date............

Cake, Chocolate Devil’s Food.....

Cake, Cocoanut Marshmallow.....

Cake, Delicate..................

Cake, Fruit, Economical..........

Cake, Inverurie.................

Cake, Orange...................

Cake, Othello Cream.............

Cake, Raspberry................

Cake, Sour Cream...............

Cake, Three Minute.............

Cakes, Chocolate................

Cakes, Oatmeal Date............

Cakes, Mocha, Little.............

Cocoanut Puffs..................

Cookies........................

Cookies, Oat Nut................

Date Kisses.....................

Gingerbread. Chocolate...........

Jumbles. ...'....................

Macaroons..............._.......

Madeleines.....................

Pain d'Epice....................

Savoy Drops....................

Shortcake, Cherry or BlackbeiTy. . . Wafers, Almond.................

79 76

80 76 80 82 82 76 81 80 82 82

76 79

78 77

79 79 81 77

78 81 78

Coffee Idng.........................

Marshmallow Icing..................

Marvellous Idng....................

Orange Idng........................

MEATS, 58.

Beef a la mode......................

Beef Loaf. Delicate..................

Braising............................

Broiling............................

Calves' Hearts. Stuffed...............

Chicken, Club Style..................

Chicken, Deep Pie...................

Frying, Deep........................

Fowl with Onions....................

Ham, Baked........................

Hash, Dry..........................

Hash, Wet..........................

Kidney and Beef Steak Pie...........

Kidney, Delidous Stew...............

Lamb, Curried......................

Lamb, Stuffed Shoulder of............

Meat and Tomato Pie...............

Pork Chops with Scalloped Potatoes...

Roasting...........................

Sausages and Apple..................

Sauteing............................

Simmering or Stewing................

Tongue, Jellied......................

Turkey, Stuffed with Chestnut Dressing

Veal, Fillet.........................

Veal Loaf...........................

Caramel Pastries..............

Pastry, Flaky.................

Pastry, Plain..................

Pastry, Puff..................

Pastry, Simple................

Pie, Cherry...................

Coffee Cream.............

Pie, Fresh Fruit...............

Pie, Peach Custard............

Pie, Pineapple Cocoanut........

Pie, Pumpkin.................

Shortcake, Individual Strawberry

Apples, Buttered.................

Bread Pudding, Fruit.............

Cherry Sponge...................

Cream, Strawberry and Peanut.....

Custard, Orange..................

Custard, Sponge..................

Junket, Chocolate................

Orange Jelly.....................

Pudding, Carrot..................

Puddings, Individual Cherry.......

Raspberry Mould.................

Strawberry Jam Sponge...........

EGGS. 65.

Eggs, a la Goldenrod.............

Eggs, Bonne Femme..............

Eggs, Curried in Chicken Stock....

Eggs, Devilled...................

Eggs, Japanese...................

Eggs, Pressed....................

Eggs, Savoury....................

Eggs, Scrambled with Tomato Sauce

Eggs, in Tomato Cups............

Omelet, French..................

Souffle, Cheese...................

Beet Salad, Stuffed....................

Cherry Salad..........................

Egg Salad............................

Fruit Salad, Delicate...................

Fruit Salad, Delidous..................

Fruit Salad, New......................

Fruit Salad, in Orange Cups............

Grape, Celery and Pecan Salad..........

Orange Salad, Decorative...............

Peach or Pear Jelly Salad...............

Pear and Cottage Cheese Salad..........

Potato Salad, Piquant..................

Tomato and Egg Salad.................

Tomato Jdly Salad....................

Tomato, Stuffed Salad.................

SALAD DRESSINGS, 67.

Cream Dressing without Oil............

French Dressing.......................

Mayonnaise, Plain.....................

Variations............................

FISH. 54.

Bass, Fillets of...................

Chowder, Fresh Fish...............

Codfish Cakes, Excellent..........

Fish, Baked......................

Fish, Boiled or Steamed...........

Fish, Broiled.....................

Fish, Cakes, Delicious............

Fish, Fried......................

Fish, How to Choose..............

Fish, Planked....................

Lobster, Creole...................

Mackerel, Broiled Salt............

Salmon, Scalloped with Corn.......

Stuffing for Fish..................

ICINGS. 83.

57 54

55 54

57 57 54

SAUCES. 48

Almond Sauce.......................

Brown Roux........................

Caramel, How to make...............

Chocolate Sauce.....................

Cream Sauce........................

Fish Sauce, Excellent................

Hard Sauce.........................

Raisin Sauce........................

Sharp Sauce, for Cold Chicken or Game

Tartar Sauce........................

Tutti Frutti Sauce...................

Whipped Cream Sauce...............

White Roux.........................

2 Pie pans	Butcher knife
Muffin pan	2 Sharp paring knives
Tea kettle	Bread knife
Coffee pot	Apple corer
Large frying pan	Chopping knife
Small frying pan	2 Measuring cups
Griddle	Flour sifter
Toaster	Colander
2 Baking dishes, large and small	Frying basket
Casserole, covered	Large and small sieves
Bread box	Potato masher and ricer
Cake box	Lemon squeezer
Flour box	Rolling pin
Food chopper, with assorted blades	Cookie cutters
Baking board	Egg slicer
Jars or canisters for coffee, tea, etc.	Perforated mixing spoon
Jelly moulds	Corkscrew
Dish pan and drainer	Can opener
Soap dish	Flour dredger
Sink strainer and brush	Grater
Large ladle	Cake coolers
Pastry tube	Baking sheets
Scissors	Scale
Knife sharpener	Garbage pail

Rf^Gfeiryls

THE PERFECT KITCHEN

8»0 %> HOUSEWIFE'S OPPORTUNITY- Mi

BRIGHT-SHINING UTENSILS

BRIGHT {/ SHINING UTENSILS

GIVING A GOOD STOVE

I©*®" ITS CHANCE

ms GIVING A GOOD STOVE ITS CHANCE g§8»

mm GIVING A GOOD STOVE ITS CHANCE 2

mm GIVING A GOOD STOVE ITS CHANCE

CAGE ^FLOORS "“AKX3CWM

INFORMATION WORTH WHILE

mOS CARE OF FLOORS AND WOODWORK

mB CARE OF FLOORS AND WOODWORK WM

li SOFT GLOW

SOFT GLOW^WELL KEPT FURNITURE

IKTEHES'TING^EXPERT ADVICE-

TABLE it's SETTING ff

TABLE *‘sSETTING & SERVING®®

SOME LAUNDRY SECRETS

YOU SHOULD KNOW

CUTS OF MEAT-*

HOW TO CHOOSE THEM

McClaryis

SOUP

SAUCES

A Brown Roux

A White Roux

Sharp Sauce, for Cold Chicken or Game

Excellent Fish Sauce

Tartar Sauce

Almond Sauce for the Plum Pudding

Hard Sauce

How to make Caramel

Whipped Cream Sauce

Sauce

Good Cream Sauce

Rich Tutti-Fruitti Sauce

Hot Chocolate Sauce

VEGETABLES

Potato Ribbons

Baked Pumpkin

Stuffed Baked Onions

Creamed Celery in Tomato Cups

Fried Cauliflower

Fried Cucumbers

Green Cabbage and Chestnuts

Squash Stuffed with Corn

Stuffed Egg-Plant

Carrots—Absolutely Different

Stuffed Cabbages

Fried Tomatoes

Baked Tomatoes

Potato Puff

Cream Corn Pie

FISH

Boiled or Steamed Fish

Baked Fish

Stuffing for Baked Fish

Broiled Fresh Fisli

Fried Fish

Fillets of Bass—Superfine

Delicious Fish Cakes

Fresh Fish Chowder

Hot Lobster Creole

Planked Fish

Scalloped Salmon with Corn

Broiled Salt Mackerel

Excellent Codfish Cakes

THE COOKING OF MEATS

MEATS

Meat and Tomato Pie

Stuffed Calves’ Hearts

Delicious Kidney Stew

Beef a la Mode

Kidney and Beefsteak Pie

Sausage and Apple

Curried Lamb

Stuffed Shoulder of Lamb

Deep Chicken Pie

M^cClaryis

Eggs C^uTried in Chicken Stock