POINTS ABOUT TEA

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 816, 9 November 1929, Page 21

POINTS ABOUT TEA

VARIETY OF USES VALUE NOT REALISED Tea may be put to many other uses than the orthodox one of using it as a beverage. For plants tea-leaves work wonders. Apart from being a stimulating medium for aspidistras, they encourage the growth of geraniums and small ferns. They should be placed round the root of the plant where they will eventually sink into the soil, forming, a good manure. Hot tea, of course, should not be used, neither should it be too strong. When sweeping red, brown or dark blue carpets or rugs a few tea-leaves sprinkled over the surface will help considerably to lay the dust, and to clean the parpet. This, however, should not be done on light coloured carpets. Some women use cold tea for darkening grey hairs and giving henna tints to fair hair. Cold tea is a wonderful tonic for the hair, helping it to thicken and encourage it to curl. Many years ago. when frills of heavy lace were so much the fashion, the lace was often given a rich cream tint by being immersed in tea. Tea when used as a dye should be cold, and if too strong should be diluted with cold water. As a cooling medium it is very effective. If very weak cold tea is rubbed over the hands and face and then dried with a soft cloth It is both cooling and refreshing. For removing stains from furniture, tea is most successful if rubbed in with a soft cloth. Headaches are rapidly cured with strong cold tea. A cloth should be wrung in it and placed over the forehead. The headache will be forgotten in 15 minutes. For sore throats cold tea with a fair amount of sugar is very effective. TODAY’S RECIPE Cheese Puffs One cup cream cheese; J teaspoon baking powder, 3 egg-whites. Beat the egg-whites until firm, add the baking powder, beating it in well, grate the cheese and fold it gently into the eggwhites. Put the mixture on slices of toasted bread and place under the griller for fire or six minutes until the egg-white is firm and the cheese melted. Do not turn the griller heat, full on (too strong a heat will cause the puff to fall). When cooked the mixture should be light and puffy. A delightful and unusual breakfast or supper dish.