Housekeeper

Alexandra Herald and Central Otago Gazette, Issue 358, 19 March 1903, Page 2

Housekeeper

■■ ♦,■>...•■■..;,' i'M - ■£& : JEfKHE heaviest demand made upon the JhMo housekeeper's purse, in the matter ■Qws» °f providing food for her family, " is for meat. Custom sanctions its appearance upon the table, in some form, three times a day. Yet there is no doubt that we consume altogether too much flesh food for good health and real economy, Without going over to the vegetarians entirely there are a good many toothsome disnes that may be prepared from vegetables and very acceptably take the place of flesh and fowl. Just now, when meat is so dear, and making what we have come to regard as a necessity an expensive article of diet, is a good time to try new dishes which require no meat in their composition. .Nor need these, dishes be insipid and tasteless if'prepared according to formula. An attempt to put a family upon vegetarian rations would no doubt be emphatically resisted, especially by the head of the houee. But if an appetising entree is set before him and nothing said in explanation of its ingredients tho chances are that he will. partake and eohd Oliver Twist's petition. The cook may try him first with Mook Chicken Ctjtlbtb .. Bun through the nutmill two cups of breadcrumbs and one good cup of shelled walnuts. Mix together in a basin with a small piece of butter, a tablespoon fui of onion juice and a teaspoonful of mace. Melt a largo tablespoonful of butter in a saucepan, with a half teaspoonful «f flour, and add gradually a cup of Bweet milk; when this boils add the other ingredients, salt and pepper to taste and one beaten egg. Take from the fire and add a teaspoonful of lemon juice. Mix thoroughly, turn into a dish to cool, then roll into balls or croquette shapes, dip in egg and then in breadorumbs and fry in boiling fat. This is an excellent substitute for chicken and when served with bread sauce ia delicious. Scalloped Vegetable Oystebs. Salsify, or vegetable oyster, as it is sometimes called, on account of a vague reminiscence of the oyster flavour, makes a very palatable dish when scalloped like oysters Scrape the roots, out in small pieces, boil till tender,-then alternate layers of cracker crumbs, seasoning each layer generously with butter, salt, pepper, and adding a little minced parsley. Finish with a layer of crumbs, dot the surface with buttnj and pour a quart of rich sweet-milk overall. Bake an hour and a half. Macaroni With Cheese. Macaroni with cheese is a hearty dish, this will lesson the consumption of meat. Throw tee desired quantity of macaroni into boiling salted water and let it boil fifteen minutes. Drain off the water, and replace with sufficient milk to cover. Boil till done. Batter a pudding dish, sprinkle the bottom generously with grated cheese; put in a layer of macaroni, season with a little white pepper and plenty of butter and sprinsle with cheese, then another layer of macaroni, and so on until the dish is full, letting the last layer be breadcrumbs on top of the cheese. A very tittle mustard flour with eaoh layer is liked by some. Set on the oven uubil well heated through and brown on top. THE BEFBACTOBT DBAWEB. 'lt seemed to me,' said Mr. BilUops, ' that I bad never known a drawer to stick so in all my experience. I got hold ef both handles squarely .and fairly, braced my knees against tho next drawer under that one, and pulled as hard as I could and couldn't budge it. -.' ' Then I tried to work it out, pulling first at one end and then at the other. I could start either end a little, bat that's all; I'd get about half an inch on it, and that's all I could get. Then I tried pounding on it the way you do on car windows when they stick, but it was no use; couldn't move it. After that I tried the straight pull on it again. I did joggle some things off the top of rt and then I was meditating on going for the axe when Mrs. Billfcops, passing the door, looked in. ' Is tbe drawer locked, Ez -a ?' she said. ' And by jimmy hoe-cakes, the drawer was locked. The key was in the lock, and somebody, I or somebody, had some time or other tnrned it, and it had never occurred to me to try it now. In fact, I never thought anything about the key, or the leek at all one way or the other; but when I had turned that key, the drawer opened just as easy. And I made up my mind that hereafter the first thing I should always do when I ran across a bureau drawer that stuok would be to see if it wasn't locked.' •.-,-.. DEAPIJSrGr. A useful way of draping your folding doors is to have one curtain considerably wider than its fellow—that cut off Peter will serve to enrich Paul. Tne narrow curtain hangs quite straight from the rod, and in close, folds. Both are gathered with a heading above the gathers; a thick woollen cord conceals the stitches. Bring the wider curtain along the pole to within a faw inches of the end; here it meets its fellow. Pass a piece of the wollen cord through the curtain ring on the right side of the pole, and with it catch back the drapery so as to form a graceful festoon, which is so raised as not to necessitate stooping when passing from one room to the other.