The Home Office

Southland Times, Issue 20081, 19 January 1927, Page 11

The Home Office

Any usefn. wrinkle in connection with the home—cookery, sewing, beautyhint, care of the children, etc., wilt find a place in this section. Address all communications to “The Home Office,” Southland Times, Esk St., Invercargill.

FLAKY PASTRY

“Nelly”, Thornbury, sends this recipe in answer to “Jane”, Southland: Required: 4 cup flour, Bozs. butter, pinch salt and water to mix. Sift flour and salt into a bowl and rub in half of the butter and mix with cold water in a dough as for plain pastry. Turr. on to a floured baking board and knead lightly, put into cool place for .5 minutes. Roli into a sheet and spread top half with butter, fold and press edges together to keep in air, then -spread on remainder of butter, fold and press edges together, as before. Set aside again for 5 minutes, then roll out 3 or 4 times then finally to thickness required. Pastry requires a very hot oven.

RECIPE FOR PRESERVING MINT. Tn answer to “A.G.”, “F.A.8.” sends the following: Mince finely the leaves which may be now gathered anil add sufficient fresh vinegar to them to make a stiff paste. It should then be bottled with air tight stoppers. This paste will keep for months. When required for use, sugar and vinegar are added to taste.

APRICOT FRITTERS. “Eliza” sends the following recipes: Drain the syrup from a tin of apricots. Mix 1 tf/blespoonful of cornflour with a dessertspoonful of caster sugar and J teaspoonful of grated nutmeg. Roll the apricots in the mixture, brush them over with beaten egg, and roll them in biscuit or cake crumbs. Fry in deep fat, drain well on soft paper, and pile on a d’oyley on a hot dish. Sprinkle with caster sugar and serve at once.

APRICOT PUDDING.

Make a custard with custard powder and a pint of m’.lk. Drain the syrup from half a tin of apricots and cut the fruit into small pieces, add the apricot syrup to the custard, sweeten to taste, stir in an ounce or butter, and the chopped apricots. Whisk the whites of two eggs to a stiff froth and stir them lightly to the mixture. Put all into a greased pie-di.'h and bake in a moderate oven for about 20 minutes. Serve hot or cold.

KIDNEY SAUCE

"A.S.” writes: — Try the effect of kidney sauce with grilled lamb or mutton chops. Split two sheep’s kidneys lengthwise, remove white part, slip them in boiling, then in cold, water, skin and chop into split pea-sized pieces. Melt three tablespoonfuls of butter or bacon dripping in a frying pan, add kidney, cook with lid on, removing it to stir contents of pan occasionally till the pieces are nicely brown. Then stir in two tablespoonfuls of flour, and when well blended thin down with a cup of stock. Bring to the boil, add a teaspoonful of your favourite ketchup, and serve in a sauce-boat piping hot.

BACON AND BANANAS.

“Dora” sends the following recipes:— Fry some rashers of streaky bacon Jn the usual way, remove the bacon and keep it hot, then fry some bananas in the bacon fat. Dish half a banana on each rasher. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and serve hot.

DEVILLED EGGS AND BACON

Boil some eggs (one per person) for 10 minutes. Remove the shells and coat each egg in devil paste. Wrap each egg in a thin rasher of bacon, place .the rolls in a frying pan, and turn constantly until the bacon is cooked. Serve on croutons of fried bread or toast, as hot as possible. The eggs may be boiled, prepared with the paste, and rolled in the bacon overnight.

DEVIL PASTE

RED CURRANT JELLY

Chop finely 4 teaspoonful of chutney and mix it well with 4 saltspoonful of curry powder, 1 teaspoonful of made mustard, Aoz. of butter, salt., cayenne, a squeeze of lemon juice, and a few drops of vinegar.

RED CURRANT JAM. “Interested” sends the following recipes for preserves:— Gather the currants on a dry day, wash them, remove the stalks, and weigh the fruit. To each pound of currants allow 1 lb of sugar. Put the fruit and sugar together into a preserving pan over low heat. Stir gently until the sugar has melted, bring to the boil, skim and boil fast for nine minutes. Put the jam into jars and cover.

Remove the stalks from Gib. of red currants, put them into a jar or jars, place them in a pan of cold water, bring to the boil and simmer until the juice flows freely. Strain through a fine hair sieve or a clean scalded tea-cloth, leaving it to drip all night. Do not press the fruit. Measure the juice, put it into a pan, and boil it for two minutes. Add a pound of loaf or granulated sugar to each pint of juice, stir until it has melted, then boil fast for ten minutes or until the jelly sets when a little is put on to a plate and left in a cold place. Put the jelly in small jars and cover. If desired Jib. of raspberries may be added to each pound of red currants.

WHOLE FRUIT STRAWBERRY JAM. 61b small strawberries, 61b sugar, 1 piH red currant juice. Put the pint of currant juice and the sugar in the pan and dissolve slowly; then boil gently for ten minutes. Stalk the strawberries, and when the syrup is ready add them to it a few at a time; then boil gently until jam sets when tested. To make the currant juice place very ripe red currants into a jar, which stands in a pan of boiling water and simmer until the currant juice flows; strain this juice when you have a pint. A little water may be added to the currants. When the jam sets turn into warm pots and cover when cold.

RED CURRANT AND GOOSEBERRY JAM.

To 31b gooseberries allow 341 b. sugar and J pint of red currant juice. Top and tail the gooseberries and wash well and dry. Put into preserving pan with the red currant juice in above proportion. Bring slowly to the boil, and then boil for fifteen minutes; add the warmed sugar gradually, and boil again until the jam sets when tested. Pot as usual and cover when cold.

TO REMOVE POTATO STAINS,

“Nelly” writes that if “N.T.” washes her hands in warm water and then rubs them with the juice of a lemon, the potato stains will be removed.