Cookery in Hot Weather

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 222, 8 December 1927, Page 8

Cookery in Hot Weather

Suggestions for Meat and Dessert Dishes

' If it were not for those three meals a day which custom has prescribed for us, even in warm weather, the good old summer time, even with the thermometer doing its "best or its worst, wouldn’t be so bad. But with the prospect before her of mashing potatoes and broiling steak in the sizzling sunshine of the late afternoon, and of whipping up cakes or baking pies in the torrid noontide the housewife may well be pardoned for failing to join enthusiastically in the praise of summer. But what is she to do ? There is no season of the whole year, perhaps, when young folks are so hungry or so given to entertaining. The long summer vacation is to them just a succession of good times, and of course one cannot picnic on delicatessen fare all the time, nor live out of tin cans either. Some cooking must be accomplished, and it must be fairly substantial; so the problem exists and a way must be found to solve it. Fortunately not every summer day is a hot day; some days, even in January, are quite cool, sometimes so chilly and invigorating that it is a pleasure rather than a task to prepare an assortment of cooked foods.

It might be well then to plan a few hot-weather dinners that may be at least partly prepared well in advance of their serving. Meats, perhaps, are the most trying part of the menu to prepare on a hot day, and yet meat is usually demanded by a hungry family. To be sure, it may be cold meat on occasion, but it must be very nicely prepared. So one boils a small ham, perhaps bakes it also in crumbs and brown sugar and serves it all glazed and dotted with cloves, hot for the first day, then sliced, and served with some of the easily prepared vegetable dishes of which I shall tell you shortly. Veal loaf is much more than the familiar beef loaf. Here are the ingredients for an unusually delicious one: 1J pounds of lean veal. i pound of fat salt pork. 1 egg. 1 egg yolk. . 3 tablespoonfuls of crumbs. 1 tablespoonful of chopped parsley. | tablespoonful of grated lemon peel. 1 teaspoonful of powdered thyme. 1 cupful of cream or milk. 1 teaspoonful of salt. 2 gratings of nutmeg. J teaspoonfui of pepper. Have the veal and pork run through a food chopper, beat the egg and yolks until light, then mix all together, form into a loaf and place in a baking pan on two slices of fat salt pork. Place a slice of the pork on the top of the loaf and bake in a moderate oven 350 deg. F., about two hours, basting frequently. Serve the loaf hot for the first day with a gravy made from two tablespoonfuls of liquid in the pan, to which are added a cupful of sour cream, each of butter and flour rubbed to a paste, and salt, pepper and paprika to taste. When serving the loaf cold, garnish the platter with thinly-sliced tomatoes, sprays of watercress and cucumbers dipped in French dressing. A Swiss vegetable platter will make an inviting supper on a hot evening; for it will be required tomatoes, me-dium-sized cold potatoes, with cold cooked peas, beans, carrots and beets as convenient, and one hard-cooked egg for each serving. Border the platter with tender lettuce leaves, slice the tomatoes and place around the edge, spread lightly with salad dressing, arrange the potato slices partly over the tomatoes, cover these with salad dressing, and afterwards arrange the sliced beets or carrots over the potatoes; finally in the centre heap the cold peas mixed with dressing. Over all .sift the egg yolks pressed through a sieve, and garnish the edges of the platter with the rings of egg whites.

Pineapple dressing is used only witfi a fruit salad, and it is delightful. To make it, beat two eggs to a light froth. Rub together a tablespoonful of

butter, a tablespoonful of flour, two tablespoonfuls of sugar and half a teaspoonful of salt, then stir in one and a-half cupfuls of pineapple juice and bring to the boiling point; whip in the eggs, and cook over boiling water until thibk. Add two tablespoonfuls of lemon juice. Before using fold in a cupful of whipped cream. French dressing one may also make on cool mornings. Place in a glass bottle half a cupful of olive oil, a quarter of a cupful of cider vinegar, half a teaspoonful of salt and a-quarter of a teaspoonful of pepper and paprika and a teaspoonful of grated onion. Cover and shake vigorously until well blended, and shake well when ready to use. Desserts are not often a problem in

the summer time, as there is nothing more wholesome and delicious than fresh fruits, for this is the season for luscious melons, as well as peaches and berries of all kinds. On the other hand, if one has a pieloving family, pie may be made on a cool day, and an extra pastry shell also, with perhaps half a dozen smaller tart shells. Bake these and the pie shejl on the outside of the pans, pricking them well to prevent blistering. They may be filled with sugared berries, sliced peaches, or with a lemon or chocolate filling and topped with a meringue a few hours before they are to be served, and a few minutes in the oven to brown the meringue will make them fresh and delicious.

QURRIED eggs is a quickly prepared main dish. 5 or 6 hard-cooked eggs; 2 tablespoonfuls of flour; 2 tablespoonfuls of butter; 1J cupfuls of milk; 3 teaspoonful of salt; 3 teaspoonful of curry powder; paprika and pepper to taste. Make a sauce of the butter, flour, curry and milk, add the salt and pepper, and the eggs halved. Simmer over hot water ten minutes, then serve on freshly made and well buttered toast. A quart or two of string beans, Lima beans or wax beans and beets, are very convenient to have on hand already cooked also, and firm, medium-sized tomatoes are all the better for having been scalded and peeled, then set aside to chill.

CUMMER brings a tempting variety of fruits and no less than 12 kinds of fruit are at present on sale at the Auckland City Markets. Early plums are coming forward in considerable quantities, and strawberries are in keen demand. Cherries, apricots and gooseberries are already in the shops, and a few red currants have been sold. Seven different kinds of apples are offered, made up principally by a shipment brought in by the Aorangi earlier in the week. Californian navel oranges have also made their appearance. The field produce market is crowded with vegetables at every sale.

/"''HICKEN and asparagus timbales ' J afford a way for the tough ends of the asparagus. Chop enough to fill one cup, quite fine, cover with water and cook until very tender. Meantime chop one cupful of cooked chicken and make one and a half cupfuls of white sauce. Add the chicken and the asparagus, with half a teaspoonful of salt, one-quarter teaspoonful each pepper and paprika and one-eighth teaspoonful of mace. Simmer for a few moments then whip in the yolks of two eggs, remove from the fire, fold in the stiffly beaten egg white and a teaspoonful of lemon juice. Butter individual molds and pour in the timbale mixture, sprinkle with very fine bread crumbs, stand on a thick folded paper in a pan of hot water, and bake in a hot oven—4so degrees F.—until well set, about 15 minutes. Turn out on a serving dish, garnish with sprigs of water cress and serve with a cream sauce. AT LAKE OTAKAINA NEW ACCOMMODATION HOUSE Those who have been fortunate enough to spend a holiday at Rotorua, and enjoy what is known as the "Six Lakes Trip,” will remember seeing Lake Otakaina. This lake lies a little apart from the chain of lakes running from Lake Rotorua to Lake Rotoma. and is set in a natural beauty that rouses one’s admiration—to live there would be a delight. The news that an accommodation house has been built right on the shores of this lake will be received with pleasure not only by fishermen but by all lovers of nature. For fishermen the place is ideal, as the lake is teeming with the finest trout. Such a resort is sure to be favoured, and as accommodation is limited, early booking would seem to be necessary.