FOR A BUSY PERIOD

Wairarapa Times-Age, 1 October 1938, Page 10

FOR A BUSY PERIOD

SPRING-CLEANING MENUS. SOME TASTY DISHES.' One of the minor compensations of spring-cleaning ought to be meals 'with a dash of excitement about them. There ought to be something on the menu to make a second helping essential. Spring-cleaning dishes take some planning, especially if one has a hungry family to feed. They should be nourishing; they must be tasty; and they must require a minimum of preparation. The following recipes can be prepared in approximately ten minutes, and they fulfil the other’conditions as well. AN IDEAL DISH. This is an ideal dish for hungry workers, and if pork is not liked, neck of mutton, cut into convenient slices, can be used quite as well. Take a pound of sliced fillet of pork, cut not too thickly, and season rather highly with salt, pepper and cooking spice. Place these in the casserole along with a sliced carrot, several small whole onions, several small whole tomatoes, and an apple skinned and . cut in quarters. Fill casserole up with water, place lid on top, and cook in a slow oven for about four hours. If mutton is used a little kidney is an improvement. Many people like a piece of cold meat as a standby, and if you belong to that brigade, try doing brisket like this. See that the casserole is large enough to contain -the meat, if not, cook in a pot over a low heat for ’rather less time, then place some hot water in it, to which has been added a drop or two each of clove, garlic and celery essence. This flavour improves the meat enormously. Cook slowly for four hours. DATE SALAD. If you have cold ham or cold meat, serve this salad with it. Stone a dozen or more dates and arrange on a bed of lettuce leaves. On top place sliced tomatoes with chopped walnuts sprinkled over, and arrange as a decoration the heart of the lettuce. Serve with mayonnaise. This is easy to prepare as an ordinary vegetable, and-needs no further attention. SOUPS. Soups are essential on cleaning days. Do you know this ten-minute recipe? Take a tin of Brussels sprouts, or cooked fresh sprouts will do, and sieve them. Make a pint of white sauce, season very well, and add the sieved sprouts, and serve very hot. Or have you tried this easy way of doing cream of celery? Likewise demanding little time to make. Put into a saucepan the contents of a tin of celery soup, a small tin of unsweetened condensed milk, and half a pint of water. Stir these together with a wooden spoon, and when boiling verify the seasonings. Thicken a little with cornflour and milk and serve.

SAUSAGE AND POTATO ROLLS. This supper dish can be prepared beforehand and then popped in the oven when required. Cook lightly in boiling water some sausages, then remove the skins with a sharp knife. Have ready some mashed potatoes. Dip each sausage into some beaten yolk of egg, then fold some potato round the meat. Brush each completed “roll’ with yolk of egg, place in a greased baking tin, ,and allow to bake foi’ about half an hour, or until nicely browned. Serve with tomato sauce. SMOKED FISH WITH BACON. If your family like fish they will appreciate this. Choose fish that are not too highly smoked, remove the skin and bones, and cut in pieces. Wrap round each portion of fish one or two rashers of bacon, place in a flat greased casserole, and bake for about twenty minutes in the oven. Garnish with parsley and serve with fairy toast.