CHRISTMAS EMERGENCIES IN THE LARDER

New Zealand Listener, Volume 10, Issue 235, 24 December 1943, Page 23

CHRISTMAS EMERGENCIES IN THE LARDER

O matter how carefully the housewife prepares and plans ahead for the feeding of her family during a holiday period, there yet are bound to be unforeseen émergencies- extra visitors arrive, appetites are larger, the baker doesn’t come -all sorts of happenings. Here are some practical recipes which may help. Bread If you run short of bread, it is very easy to make this wholemeal loaf. Eight breakfast cups wholemeal, 1 cake compressed yeast, 134 pints medium hot water-or less, 1 tablespoon each salt and raw sugar, 1 tablespoon malt if liked. Mix flour and salt. Dissolve yeast in warm water with sugar and malt if using. Pour into flour, and stir and knead for 5 minutes. If not the right consistency, add flour or water accordingly. Mould into loaves and put into greased tins. Put in a warm place (oven slightly heated), till double the size-about 112 hours. Keep covered while rising. Then bake about % hour till done. Gas regulo 7. Electric 425 to 450 degrees, top element low, bottom medium. Bran Muffins One cup bran flakes, 4% cup wholemeal, % cup flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 tablespoon treacle or syrup, 1 large cup milk or milk and water, a few chopped dates or sultanas, 1 teaspoon baking powder. Mix syrup and milk together and add soda; stir into dry ingredients. Mixture must be wet. Put in dessertspoon lots into wellgreased patty tins, and bake in a hot oven. Split and butter when cold. Vera’s Surprise This is an excellent emergency cake, which will also serve as a pudding if cut in slices and fried:-Two ounces butter, 4 tablespoons shredded suet, Goz. sugar, 2 eggs, 1% cup milk, % cup golden syrup (or a little more, warmed for mixing purposes), 120z. flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon each vanilla, almond, rum and brandy essences, i1lb. sultanas, 14lb. cherries, %lb. almonds. Cream butter, sugar, suet well, add eggs, then warmed syrup and milk. Add essences, then fruit, and lastly flour and baking powder. Cook about 212 hours in moderate ovenregulo 4. Creamed Vegetable Omelet This is a good substantial emergency meal, made with "left-overs." Make a rich white sauce, and when cooked and smooth, add to it all the left-over cooked vegetables you have-a few peas, beans, bits of cauliflower, slices of new potatoes, chopped celery, asparagus, sliced carrots, chopped parsley. Make also a’ Crumb Omelet by crumbling 2 or 3 slices of white bread and soaking in ¥% cup warm milk or water for 10 minutes. Beat’ the mixture well, then add the beaten yolks of 3 or 4 eggs, seasoned with pepper and salt, and then fold in the stiffly-beaten whites. Melt a tablespoon of butter or good fat in fairsized frying pan, turn in the omelet, and cook gently till browned. Spread with the Creamed Vegetable mixture, fold

over, put on a hot plate, and garnish with the remaining vegetable mixture. Serve either plain gor with grated cheese, which adds further to the food value. Many people like to set .the omelet under the grill or in the oven for a moment before folding over, to firm the top. _ oi

: ai Baked Cheese Crumb !Omelet Separate the yolks from the whites of a sufficient number of eggs for your family. Beat the yolks until creamy, and | add some soft breadcrumbs, a little milk, pepper and salt, a pinch of baking powder, and about as much grated cheese as breadcrumbs. Whip the whites till stiff and dry, fold the mixture into them, and pour all into a pie-dish containing a little melted butter or dripping. Bake in a moderate oven for about 25 to 30 minutes, and serve at once. | ees gg