HOUSEHOLD NOTES.

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 3, Issue 253, 4 December 1914, Page 3 (Supplement)

HOUSEHOLD NOTES.

LIVING ON LITTLE

" How great 'the virtue, and how great the art, To live on little with a cheerful heart.'

To live on little, or no !es» th;*n we have 'won accustomed to do, mid to do it cheei fullv, is what is expected oi us now. Wo should all learn the lesson, if wo have not already done so. Women, although they cannot take the field m defence of their homes and their" country, can do much to promote welfare in tlie'narrower sphere of home life. Frugality is not necessarily stint. It means making the- very best of everything, and exercising rigid economy in expenditure in every possible direction. "A penny saved is a penny gained. That is an axiom we do well to hear in mind. It wives and mothers arc so placed that they cannot earn money they may at least save money arid thus, according to the proverb just.quoted, indirectly earn money. In buying food and household necessaries, leakage oi the purse sometimes occurs; these l«akn"e«. arc mostly due to carelessness.and n?ismanageuient, rather than uiltul extravagance. Now is the tune to put matters on a different tooting. A kind of martial law should be passed, everyone in authority being bound to observe the strictest economy, both tor personal reasons and reasons oi .state, meaning the wellare of all concerned. II we take care of the pinnies the pound, will certainly take care ol thein-Bt-lvis. Few person- who have not tried the experiment of hoarding pennies, the uot nally needed pcuniw that caieless folk fritter away, know how soon a niiekle becomes a muckle, as the tecoUli M v. 1 once tried the plan in order to justify the proverb, and v hen the time, previously fixed for counting the savings tin tunics, only), arrived J was amazed at the total presented. A penny here, and a peony there, ol what account is it:" That ** a r «' mark 1 heard not lon- ago. when an economist remonstrated with a relative. »|io was what sonic persons can a •• matter-coin," not meaning in tbto case throwing money .eckessh about. !„„ a total disregard of tho value ol j The Germans have al«a>» bw-BJRe-garded as strict economist*. Some years | a ..,> 1 met a (iu-niau lady. 1 (oigetali . about the iutimacy «i'l.i one exception, , „ lesson m economies. Heqmnng at* - , ( H„, [ struck a match to win it. hn< - in - 1 needed another light 1 struck a second match, "'What extmaganoe! , cried tho German. "AMwt do >ou ~„?'said I. •"Could younnto t have. S the first match ,s a *%*««£ which to light the ext.a candle? 1 m. but I wonder it any but a German hnusfran would have thought o that small saving. A M.igle match and n itches selling at a few pence per ? tr;n.n £ incident rorciblv illustrates the heart of the Unmans in the direction TRUE AND FALSE ECONOMY.

It was tlio great am! good Lord Chancellor. Sir Thomas More, who alluding to his ivifo\ notion o « She would 5,.0.l a m '; dro*s l.uJ farthins candle." K:U ~on,,my ■ ~P,-U.inly«i l. . :.r.d.h.-r. . ; , B*a t «W oMtto'*.*«™ " .>;■■;":, h ~ U'> v (...„.(> a I'Oiniiiiui < !'>■ K • inn " f ■ ;::;;;„ n. ir mav lv l»ut off to save the c£ of'n,o,Klin S . and soon the dnmap.< s nrPiwrnMo. Thorp you lw.veMrs.Mo.es <!„ul>tful iwnomv exemplified. For wan, of a nail the shoo was lost. For want of a .hoc the horse w ost y rt r want of n horse the ndor wa., lost. For want of a rider a kingdom was

I "If you must spend, spend to save.'l fhiit ia not tlie cryptic saying it npj pejus on first hearing. With regard to household nocessuriesj in ample homes, thoic is never sufficient in the purso to lay in stores in any quantity, although l>y so doing money can l>o «4iv<d indirectly, the wrapping paper is cheajvr than tin article it is u.sed for, but it is weighed in at the sale of th<> contents to the lienefit of the grocer. Soap is indi.«p"nsiblc ; it may be made to go i;s fur again if a small quantity bo laid in, say, a week More it will h,> required lor Divide the bar into convonieut piece*, ajtd Mure- them in a cool', dry place. 'l'll,, soap is then iu&t as detergent a- it would l>e if it lathered eoniously, thus wasting it needlessly. Ik) not cut soap with n knife. The'better way i.s to take a. short piece of btring. bold one end of it in eucli hand, and draw tile string across Ui« soap bar, sawing it in the same manner as a stonemason saws a block of stone. This method make* a clean division, and leaves no shavings.

# * * OOP, NFLtJ I'll

i» very nourishing. It is the ohicf food of some of the healthiest and strongest people in the world. When tome years ago unusual distress prevailed in Knglaml, Government, officials issued a work on cheap iond nourishing foods tor distribution. It was i>ointed out that milk or broth thickened with conflour is a good, strong tneal sufficient for a man to work upon.

# # # POBHIDGE.

That oatmeal porridge is a cheap and mast valuable tood, as Mr. Peggotty would say, "is as true as taxes. It may bo remembered that the famous Sage of Chelsea, Thomas Larlyle, was nourished in youth on porridge wnd even when famous ate it regularly for breakfast and supper, Mrs. Cariylo herself preparing it. The stalwart son* and daughters of Scotland give us incontestable proof that the national fooj can produce not only muscle but brains*. It is strange that the working folk in Kngland are so indisposed to l>uy oatmeal as an occasional substitute for meat, bacon, etc . The coarse Scotch oatmeal is the best, but it takes much longer to boil than the finer aorta do. This is a Scotch recipe:—Put some writer in a pan, Jet it boil up quickly, then throw in <a pinch of salt. Sprinkle in a little of the meal at a time with the left hand, at the same time beating it briskly with a fork held in the right hand to keep it from getting lumpy. Wh«n the porridge i.s sufficiently thick, let it cook for twenty minutes. It must lie constantly stirred to prevent burning. It is much better to make porridge in a double pan. For a makeshift, tlie saucepan inside a larger one, filled with water, will answer.

* * • ANOTHER RECIPE Take a three-pini stewpan—a larger one it need be—have it three-parts full of saltinl water. As it comes to tho boil stir in gradually a handful ot oatmeal for each person to Iks served, till all is mixed in; then cook very gently for twenty-fir* or thirty uiufuU* at least; uio a wooden spoon to stir. Proportions: Allow three-quarters of a pint of water to each handful of oatmeal. Serve with treacle or with a little boiled milk or salt instead of treacle. A doctor writing on this subject *ay« fhat oatmeal, both with respect to its heat and tat making, and its flesh and blood making principles, holds a very high rank indeed in the scale of foods. # * # SOUP JS EXCELLENT.

In Fiance the soup pot is always on the hoi), and the French workman, unlike his fellow workers in England, will make a hearty and nourishing moal of a slice of bread luid a basin of broth. Verv rarely, indcid, is soup Been on the'table of an artisan iu England. Now, a few bones from tho butcher, with an onion or two, a carrot, a turnip, and a crust or two of bread, or ft potato, it gently simmered • together for two or three hours, or longer, will make two or three pints of excellent soup; a little pepper and salt is all that need Ik- added to it. If liked, a thickening of oatmeal may be put with the soup, or a little flour, first mixed with cold water. Th c bones must be p;'rleetly sweet, or the broth "ill be spoil'. Very special care must lje taken to remove the small splinters of bone call* ed bv chopping. Serious consequence* nii'h't tollow if taken into the stomach. * * * POTATO SOUP.

Wash, pare and slice a pound of potatoes, .-km and chop a quarter of a pound of onions. Put them into tlirco piiit> of water and about two ounces of butter. Boil the whole till the potatoes an J onions can be' mashed wrtfl a fork or a spoon; add n teaspoontul oi si:"iir and half a pint of milk. Just boil up and serve with pepper and wit. * « * SKLF-IUISING FLOUR.

Put half a stone of Hour iuto a basin, and mix with it one and a half ounoe* ol carbonate of soda and exactly tho same weight of cream oi tartar. Add al o three tablcspoonsfuls ot hue n>H and one tablespoomful of very lino sugar. Mix, and pass through a wire sieve or verv carefully with th« hand. This Hour will keep good it stored in * cliKsc-rovccrd Urrol or in ft clo*e-oov«r----ed jar for a few weeks; but the cupboard must be very dry.