FOR THE HOLIDAY PERIOD

Wairarapa Times-Age, 13 January 1940, Page 8

FOR THE HOLIDAY PERIOD

DRINKS. FRUIT SHAPES AND SAVOURIES. With holidays in full swing, picnics and all-day excursions of daily occurrence and hot lazy days in prospect in the sea or in the bush, on beaches, hills and lakes the food problem resolves itself chiefly into the choice of dishes which can be prepared beforehand and left in a cool place to set until wanted either for an al fresco meal or in readiness for the family’s return at night. Here are a few suggestions. Meat Loaf Mix together 21b minced steak. 1 cupful breadcrumbs. 4oz finely-chop-ped bacon, 2 small eggs, 1 small grated onion. 1 tablespoon tomato sauce, salt, paprika, pepper to taste, and 1 tablespoon finely-chopped parsley. Press half mixture into a well-greased loaf-tin, place 4 or 5 hard-boiled eggs and a few sour gherkins down the centre. Cover with remainder of the mixture and bake for about one and a half hours in a moderate oven. Turn out, and when cold brush over with meat glaze and serve with salads. To make glaze: Melt I teaspoon gelatine in 1 cupful water, add 2 teaspoons meat extract or 1 teaspoon vegetable extract, add salt and pepper to taste. Red-currant and Mint Jelly Mix together I small jar red-currant jelly, 2 tablespoons finely-chopped mint and 1 teaspoon gelatine (melted). Fill small moulds and place on ice to set. Turn out on small lettuce leaves. Loganberry Sago Soak 3 tablespoons sago in :[ cupful cold water until soft. Rub 1 chip of loganberries through a sieve, add to soaked sago with a little more sugar if necessary. Cook until sago is quite clear, add the rind of 1 orange, finely grated. Turn into wet mould, chill and serve with boiled custard. Fruit Salad Mould. One packet jelly, peaches, passionfruit, bananas, cream, vanilla, sugar. Make jelly a little stiffer than usual, cut the peaches into slices, also the bananas. Remove the seeds from passionfruit. Mix the fruits well together and add the jelly when cold. Pour into a plain wetted mould. Stir occasionally to prevent fruit sinking. Place on ice, and when set turn out on to a glass dish and garnish with whipped cream, which has been well sweetened and flavoured.

Cherry Snow Cap

Take lib cherries .when stoned), 1 gill water. 4 dessertspoons granulated sugar, 1 round flat sponge cake, 2 pairs meringue cases, cream (as required), with sugar and vanilla, 2oz icing sugar, loz butter. Stalk and stone the cherries. Put the water and sugar into a saucepan, dissolve, then boil for two or three minutes. Add the cherries and stew until tender, then leave to cool. The syrup should be fairly thick. If necessary, boil it again for a few minutes after taking up the fruit. Either make or buy a round sponge, such as you would use for a jam sandwich. Split it in halves and cover one half with some of the stewed cherries. Spread the other half with a thin layer of vanilla butter icing (made by beating the icing sugar and butter to a cream and flavouring with vanilla) and sandwich together. Put the remainder of the fruit and syrup on the top. Whip some cream, sweeten and flavour it to taste, and put into the meringues. Arrange these on the fruit, and heap a little cream in the centre. Honey Punch.

Half cup honey. 1 cup water, juice 4 oranges, grated rind 1 orange, juice 1 lemon. Boil water, honey and rind for 3 minutes. Strain and when cold add the strained juices. Chill and serve in glasses diluted with water and shaved ice. Loganberry Mint Crush Half pint ripe loganberries, 11 pints boiling water, 1 pint castor sugar, 1 bunch mint, 1 pint lemon juice, cracked ice and aerated water as required and mint to garnish. Dissolve the sugar in the hot water, then chill. Crush the mint with the berries and add. Stir in lemon juice, chill for 3 hours and strain. Place a tablespoon of cracked ice in each small tumbler and fill up with the beverage. Add a tiny squirt of aerated water to each glass and garnish with fresh mint. Enough for fourteen small tumblers. Hop Beer >• Two pounds sugar, 2oz hops, 2oz bruised ginger. 1 pint yeast, 21 gallons water.

Boil hops and ginger in the water for about 20 minutes, stirring ncca-

sionally. Add sugar, stir till dissolved. Strain into a large vessel and when luke-warm add yeast. Cover with a thick cloth and let stand 24 hours. Bottle and cork well and keep in a cool place. It is ready for use in a few days.