USEFUL HINTS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 76, 8 July 1910, Page 6

USEFUL HINTS.

Oak Polish.—The following is an excellent polish for old oak:—Mix together two ounces of boiled linseed oil, three ounces of turpentine, one ounce of vinegar and a quarter of a pint of methylated spirit. Rub a little of this well in:o the oak, and polish with a i«ft cloth. Old carved oak that looks -very dusty should be brushed with hot uaur, -md allowed to thoroughly dry before the relish is applied. The Care of Brass.—Lacquered" brass n-!!!.' ure ei'.i' attention ; f :t s 10 i-st 1.0 .ig -.ml look nice. It sho'iid nevei b« tj'-ohec'. v.itii a damp cloth, but in damp weather should be frequently rubbed with chamois leather or a dry duster. Damp destroys lacquer more quickly than anything. Painting ordinary brass over with a solution of slie'.'.ac after cleaning helps to prevent it from Unnishing. But it also gives it a slightly darker tint than brass should have, so we never use it.

To Keep Beds Sweet.—All beds should be stripped before breakfast, and placed where they can get plenty of air, and, if possible, a little sun, too. Mattresses should be half-turned, and allowed to stand in a draught, so that the air will play around them. 'Pillows, too, should be treated in the same way, if you want to keep them from getting musty. Mattresses should be leaned and re-made every three years if you want them to keep their spring:r.:s=. ft is worth while to buy good mattresses in the first place if you can po-iibly afford it, as these clean again ami again, and come up as good a's new. Very cheap mattresses are not worth re-making, and almost invariably get humpy after _ a year &v two. Dry all moulds and basins thoroughly then grease them well, otherwise the food •will stick, and probably break when being turned out. To Make Slipper Fit.—Sew a_ little piece of elastic across the heel inside, about a quarter of an inch from the back. This will catch your heel when you put on the shoe and prevent it from slipping off. i To Clean Leather Gaiters.—Try rubbing the marks with a clean cloth clipped in methylated spirits. This is generally successful in such cases. Leather can also often be cleaned satisfactorily with warm water and soap. Cleaning 'Aluminium.—The most satisfactory way to clean a saucepan of this kind is to wash it well .with cold water and very finely powdered bathbrick, or, if the pan is not very marked, soap could be used instead of bathbrick. Soda should never be used for aluminium. Worth Knowing.—A cloth wrung out of vinegar and wrapped round cheese will keep it from moulding: suede shoes that have become shiny'and worn-look-ing can be freshened up by rubbing with fin« sandpaper; a coarse cloth dipped in salt and, water and rubbed over straw matting will prevent it from turning yellow; ammonia water that has been used for washing may be used for plants—it is an excellent fertiliser. Cleaning a Waterproof.—The best thing to.do to remove a stain is to scrub the waterproof thorough with a clean, hard brush and cold water. Spread the coat on a large table out of doors, if possible, and scrub until the marks are removed, Then hang the coat out on the line to drip dry.

! HOUSEHOLD RECIPES. A Delicious Savory.—Required: A dozen small rounds of tread, a small pot of Strasburg paste, about six olives, about an ounce of fresh butter. Stamp out some small, neat rounds of bread with a plain cutter. They should be the size of half a crown. Fry them a pretty golden brown in hot butter. On each spread a layer of Strasbourg paste. Chop the olives coarsely and put a pile of them on each crouton. With a forcfngbag and pipe force out the butter to make a neat little border round each. Arrange on a lace paper and serve. Pig and Custard Pudding.—Required: Four eggs, half a pint of milk, one lemon riud, six lumps of sugar, vanilla, dried! figs. Well Gutter a plain mould or basin; examine the figs very carefully; cut them open in halves so that they will lie flat like a book. Press these, skin downwards, against the basin. Put the milk ■and" 3Ugar in a pan on the fire and heat it. Beat the eggs, strain them in to the I milk, and add the grated lemond rind and vanilla. Pour this custard gently into the basin, taking care not to disturb the figs. Cover the top with a piece of greased paper. Steam very slowly until the custard feels firm when pressed in the centre. Lift the basin out of the saucepan, let it stand for a second or two, then turn the pudding very carefully on to a hot dish. Serve with it any nice sweet sauce, i ■

Fish Souffle.—Required: Half a pound of any cold fish, half a pound of cold boiled rice, one ounce of butter, two hard-boiled eggs, salt and cayenne, lemon jiree, two raw eggs. Chop the fish, and, ! f possible, rub it through a sieve. Melt the butter, mix it with the rice and fish. Cut the hard-boiled eggs, in' dice, add them, also about a teaspoonful of lemon ; juice and seasoning. Beat yolks of the eggs, stir them in, anl' add enough milk to make the whole the thickness, of cream. Next whisk the ■ whites to a very stiff froth. Butter .a plain round souffle tin, and tie a band of 'buttered paper, coming two or three ' inches above the top of tke tin, round it.] Pour in the mixture, put tke tin in a] saucepan with boiling water to come; : halfway up it, and ]a3' a, piece of buttered paper over the top. Steam the souffle ' gently from one and a-half to two hours. If the water boils furiously it will b« spoilt. Turn it out carefully on to a hot dish, and pour over it some good white sauce. Garnish-it either with (a) ; shelled shrimps in little heaps, (b) powdered yolk of egg in cross lines, (c) : 1 finely chopped parsley in cross lines, or (d) finely chopped truffle in cross lines. ' Macaroni a la Viennoise.—-Required: Half a pound of macaroni, one ounce of butter, two teaspoonfuls of chopped parsI ley, one gill of cream, the yolks of two I eggs-, salt and pepper, fried potatoes, capers. Break the macaroni into pieces about two inches long. Cook it until tender in plenty of fast-boiling salted water; it will probably take about tnree-i quarters of an hour. Then drain it well.

Melt the butter in a pan; put n the macaroni, parsley and a food ■ seasoning! of salt and pepper. Make the mixture thoroughly hot. Beat up the yolks, add the cream, and pour into the macaroni. Stir the mixture over the fire until it is quite hot; but do not let it boil, or it will curdle. Pile itupon a hot dish, and garnish it with little heaps of chopped capers and fried potatoes. These look best if they are cut in small dice and then* fried.