LADIES' COLUMN.

Waikato Argus, Volume V, Issue 336, 3 September 1898, Page 2 (Supplement)

LADIES' COLUMN.

DOMESTIC ECONOMY. First:—Pay cash for everything, or settle all bills at tho end of tho week or month. Secondly : Examine the supplies as they come"in, to see if they are in good condition and of the quality ordered, thon put them away in thoir special receptacles and in tho atmosphere best adapted for their preservation, if possible. Thirdly : Be as careful in the _ use of groceries which you have bought in large quantities as though they had been bought in small parcels. Fourthly: Buy fruit, vegetables, game poultry, meat, and fidi when it is in season, instead of paying high prices for unseasonable delcacios which are not at their best. Fiftly : Use up all the left-overs. Tiny scraps of meat and vegetables, and even a spoonful of gravy, will all contribute to material for croquettes. A teaspoonf u I of jam or jelly will serve to flavour a pudding sauce. YOU OUGHT To rub tough meat with a cut lemon. To use bacon fat for frying chicken or game. To try dipping slioed onions in milk before frying. To use lemon and orange peel for flavouring sauces. To use tender boiled asparagus tips for a nice omelette. To remember fried sweet apples are excellent for flavouring with liver or kidneys. To add a few drops of vinegar to the water for poaching eggs, to make them get properly and keep the white from spreading. To attach an iron holder with a string to the band of the apron while you are cooking, it will save many burnt fingers and scorched dish towels. FANCY WORK. Woodoarving is a delighfnl art, that is already very popular, and if the possibilities" of simple treatmeat were more studied it would be much more so. In this, as in all other work, nothing too elaborate should bo undertaking for a bazaar- Really to look round a modern house one might almost think that woodcarving was "a lost art, or, at any rate, beyond the means ef ordinary folks. There is absolutely no reason why this should be so if a perverted desire for useless elaboration had not made us forget what beautiful results may be obtained by simple means. Kven simple gouge cutting is full of possibilities. To those who carve, a few suggestions may be useful. Simple things simply treated should pay well. The design may be simply marked by a gouge-cut, or outlined with a V-tool and the back-ground punched. Boxes of all sorts and shapes and sizes, made in plain deal, simply carved and stained, would sell. Glove and handkerchief boxes and trinket boxes carved in good designs, would be attractive, while larger boxes, for papers, work, and so on, might be made after the type of old chest*. Take the wooden stool we all know so well, and its larger brother tho school form Take an ordinary stool, if the ends are sauare cut shaped pieces out of them, so ) ( ; run a gouge-line round, about half-an-inch from tho edge ; inside this trace and work some simple geometric design, treat the sides and, it you like, the top in the samo way, stain and varnish, and see if it is not quite a different thing. I like the top left plain. It may be padded slightly if you like, though I don't think it is much of an improvement. Still, with wood stained di»rk, a red cushion finished with brassheaded nails might not ba bad. A small short form would mako a most useful piano stool. Taller yet and wider and you have a table. A GOOD BARGAIN. The woman who hunts bargains is a usual subject of criticism and a standing newspaper joke. Much of the ridicule is undeserved, and much ill-directed. The whole world, not merely women, loves to get a good bargain, which means full value or extra value f jr its money ; and this seeking of the bargain huuter whose stock of money is limited is not only justified, but oommendable. Nor is it really impossible, as some jokes and comments seem to imply, to get extra value and good returns for the money, time, and work spent in hunting a good bargain. Good bargains are not common, but they are to be had, and extra value for her money is often the reward of the skilful, tireless bargain seeker. She has a small amount of money but plenty of time iu which to hunt her prey, and the shopkeeper who needs her money quickly is the prey she is seeking. No doubt the seller considers the bargain his, but that is as it should be. For the value of a thiDg is only relative after all. If ny time is worth £2OO an hour, and yours" only threepence, one of us would gain largely and the other lose heavily to give that hour to seoure a fivoehilling bargain. And whoever gives what he does not want to get what he does want, and gets it, has obtained a good bargain for the outlay. ABOUT LENDING THINGS. A woman who is an authority on the little things which make people agreeable to one another, said recently to the writer: "I woald always rather give my things than lend them. I have a friend, who is a dear, charming woman, but whose visits I dread. Sha carries away armfuls of books, and when she brings them back they are worn and badly used—authors whom I handle with love and reverence." Every person who borrows freely runs the risk of making himself or herself a nuisance to the friends who love them; every one who lends freely runs the risk of having precious treasures abused by careless hands, and of entertaining ill thoughts in consequence. Lend liberally, give liberally, in response to actual need and in accordance with your judgment and conscience but do not abuse the high privilege of giving and lending by using it heedlessly. And by no means borrow heedlessly, remembering that there is a law in nature which'.makes us pay for everything we get to the utmost farthing. RECII'ES. Little Meat Pies.—Any nice scraps of meat—beef, mutton, ham ; in fact any odds and ends. Mince them finely, add salt and pepper Jo taste, also a dash of nutmeg, an ounce of butter, and two tablespoonfuls of bread crumbs, Beat up an egg, mix with a little good gravy and jitir into mince. Line somo patty pans with thinly rolled pastry, fill each with ihe mince, cover with more pastry, make a few holes with a fork, and bake for 20 . minutes. Fried Salt Beef.—Cut any part of cold salt beef into thin slices, fry them gently in butter, and season with a little pepper. Have ready some very hot mashed potatoes, lay tho slices of beef on them. Cold salt beef, warmed in a little liquor from mixed pickle drained, and served as above, will be found good. Jugged Rabbit.—Cut the rabbit into pieces, dredge with flour, and fry in hot butter. Chop IMb of beef, cook in a little water, and mako it into gravy by adding a spoonful of flour. Add an onion stack with a few cloves, a lemon peeled .ami cut into quarters, salt to taste and a Jittle «i».yenne pepper. Put the pieces of -fried rabbit into a lard pail which covers .closelv, add (the gravy, put on the cover, immerse in a kettle of boiling water, and Jet it stew until the rabbit is quite tender taking care to kaep the water boiling. "When it is nearly done add two table.spoonfuls of vinegar. This dish should be served with currant jelly. Brown Bread Pudding.—Required : Any 6tala brown bread (say, about 8 oz) :a pint of milk, 3oz of sugar, the grated jjiud of a lemon, 2 eggs. Method ; Break

the bread into small pieces, pour a third of the boiling milk on thorn, and let them soak till soft. well with a fork and remove any lumps that mny remain in the bread. Add the sugar, lemon rind, and a few drops of vanilla essenco. Mix thoroughly, heat up tho eggs, add them to the rest of the milk, and pour all over tho bread. Boil in a greased basin for an hour and a quarter. Graham Cake.—Required : Ono half cupful sweet cream, 1 cupful molasses, flour, to make so stiff it can scarcely be stirred ; then thin with one small cupfu! of water and ono toaspoonful soda. Bake in a loaf. To Make Good Plain Bass. lib flour, Goz good butter, Jib sugar, 1 egir. nearly j pint of milk, 2 small teaspoons of baking powder, a few drops of essence of lemon. Mode : Warm the butter, without oiling it, beat with a wooden spoon ;• stir flour in gradually with tho susrar, and mix well together. Make the milk lukewarm, beat up with the yolk of the eag and the essence of lemon, and stir those to the flour, etc. Add the baking powder, beat the doucrh well about ten minutes, divide it into 2-1 pieces, put them into buttered tins or cups, and bake in a brisk oven from twenty to thirty minutes. Scotch Fingers.—Rub half a pound of buttor and half a pound of sugar into one pound of flour. When smooth, mix with one egg, press it together until it comes a stiff pa*to; cut into pieces, three inches long ; trim at each end; lay a shred of peel on each, and sprinkle with fine sugar. Bake in a quick oven.