Household Hints

King Country Chronicle, Volume IV, Issue 235, 19 February 1910, Page 3

Household Hints

COOL DISHES FOR HOT DAYS.

The appetiteless days of summer are upon us, with the oft-recurring problem of how to present a meal in as cool and tempting a way as possible. Fortunately, we arc blessed with a succession of fruits that lend themselves to attractive arrangement, and a dozen different varieties of compotes suggest themselves. Compotes are fruits preserved with very little sugar, and made as they are needed; the fruits are blanched, a little sugar added for them to absorb, and then they are put into dishes and the syrup poured over them. For the sake of appearances they are ornamented in divers ways with preserved fruits, and sometimes covered with jelly. Great care should be taken to preserve the form and whiteness of the fruits and syrups. To preserve the whiteness of the peeled fruits, they should be pared as rapidly as possible, put into a saucepan with the water or syrup, cooked only long enough to soften, arranged in the dish, and covered with syrup. Compote of Apples.—One pound of apples, one quarter pound of lump sugar, one cup of water, the juice of half a lemon, a few drops of red colouring. Put the sugar, water, and lemon juice into a clean enamelled saucepan, and let them boil quickly for ten minutes. Meanwhile, peel the apples, cut them in quarters and remove the cores. Throw the pieces into the boiling syrup and let them cook slowly until clear and tender, but not broken. Then remove the quarters of apple carefully, reduce the syrup a little, and colour it pink with the red colouring. Arrange the apples on a glass dish and pour the syrup over. A little cream or custard served with the compote is a great improvement. If the apples are small, they may be cored and cooked whole.

Compojbe of Pears. —Two pounds of pears, half a pound of lump sugar, two inches cinnamon stick, a few drops of red colouring, one cup cold water, juice of half a lemon, four cloves. Put into a saucepan the sugar, water, lemon juice, cloves, and cinnamon stick; allow these to boil for fifteen minutes. Peel the pears, cut them in halves or quarters, according to size, remove the cores and stew them slowly until tender, from one to one and a half hours. When nearly ready, add the colouring. Serve the pears in a glass dish, boil up the syrup, allow it to cool slightly, then strain it over the pears. Decorate the compote with strips of angelica. Peach Compote.—Pare a dozen or so ripe peaches Make a syrup, then drop in the whole or sliced peaches, cook till tender, adding one inch of cinnamon and a few of the kernels which have been blanched. When ready, lift out into a compote dish. Add two tablespoonfuls of apple jelly to the syrup; allow it to boil until thick, and strain it over the fruit. For canned peach compote boil the liquor from one can of peaches, add three tablespoonfuls of sugar and a few drops of lemon juice. Let all boil until it has boiled down to a thick syrup. Lay in the peaches, cook until the syrup begins to boil again, then pour into a glass dish and let cool. Serve with whipped cream.

OVERWORK AND WORRY. Too late going to bed, too early rising, or anything that promotes want of sleep are fertile causes of headaches. Long walks before breakfast are very bad for delicate people, and oj'ten bring on headaches. Iv*>r all nervous headaches hot lomentation.s are most comforting and curative, ll'iey are ar better than cold applications. When headaches are not cured by simple means, a doctor should be consulted. They mean something.