AUNT DAISY'S MAIL-BAG

Radio Record, Volume XII, Issue 25, 2 December 1938, Page 20

AUNT DAISY'S MAIL-BAG

HIS week’s dip into Aunt Daisy’s mailbag brings to light a variety of useful ‘household hints. The first letter is an inquiry on how to cook soya beans :- Dear Aunt Daisy,-We should be pleased if you coui"* give us :. recipe for cooking : ya beaus. So far we have been unsuccessful with the ‘cooking of these beans. W. soak them for two or three days, renew--ing the water each day. Then we boil them in fresh water, and finally bake them with tomato-s and a mixture of flour, "utter a "~ eggs. "Perhaps we soak them fcr too long a period. We have tried several of your. recipes with success.-"Mar-garet of Ohaupo." . Well, Margaret, I have found out that you ‘must not boil the soya beans. Wash them in hot water, then pour clean, hot water over them, and leave _ them to soak-24 hours is long enough. ‘bring slowly. to the boil, and only just simmer them. . It is hard boiling that makes them not so nice. ‘Letter From India

Dear Aunt Daisy,-I am writing in the hope that you will be kind enough to suggest to me the best method of .dry-cleaning a éarpet. Mine has become rather soiled, and as we are quite out of reach of cities, I want to cleca the carpet myself, Please enrol me as one of your members and make c¢rrespondence "with me. I do a lot of hand-made d’oylies, centres, ovals, collars, toilet sets and many other thingsD. Kanthamma, Amalapuram, E: Godavery, India. Isn’t it interesting to receive a letter from such a far-away country? Here are some good ways, for dry-cleaning a carpet at home, which I have suggested to Mrs. Kanthamma:Rub over the carpet with a rag aopes in turps. The.rag will need pe. e as it will get dirty very 2. Sy rinkle baking. soda all.over the carpet, leave for.a while, and then brush off...This may need repeating, 3. Dry bran and coarse salt mixed-in equal quantities, and then sprinkled thickly on the carpet. Leave on for .@ while,’ and then brush out thorough y- ! hope we shall hear from the Indian lady again-! have given her full address in case any New: > Zealand. listeners may care to write to her. To Preserve. Berries Dear Aunt Daisy,-1I ‘have a prob-lem-we grow strawberries, and, instead of using them all for jam, etc., I wondered if it is:possible to preserve .them?-*Interested Listener at Karori." . Yes, it is possible to preserve ‘straw.berries, I have two very good methods of preserving berries-it is just as good for all kinds. To each level breakfast cup of Sugar, add two breakfast cups of water. Boil together for 10 minutes. Place the strawberries-or any berries -(after washing if needed) into hot, sterilised jars, and. pour the th ‘boiling’.syrup over them, immediately sealing. the jars tightly. The boiling syrup. has enough. heat to cook the berries... It is absolutely essential that the is picked dry and not in the wet,. otherwise it will not keep. Firm fruit must be used, too, of course. — Here is another excellent method from | Stratford -_- 2. The ' jady. says! MT. just . fill the "Jars with firm berries\ and put into "the oven, till. they "are’ heated: well." "They. will ‘séttle" .& little, so put an extra’ -jarful to fill’ up the. others. ‘Then I’ just fill them to°the: top with boiting water, and. shake-: the. bottle, or. put? a- spoon | down -to .let out any air: ‘Hubbles. : Thén’* simply. screw down ‘tightly, .and. put away, ‘It "is . very and "I.:-have been’ preserving pl ee fopseberries: and Various other b Sway. since. the time that Was:’ — suring... ‘the war: -WheneI "URE , Chen... tage "the sugar and. hoil, up Pencil eg 2 Dear. "Aunt. ‘Daigy,--My . problem is: how. to "get" ink-pencil- ‘ptain’ out. "of. "at man’s" grey:; tweed. oat. : My: ‘husband wore his overcoat: to ‘the races, and it was ‘very wet ‘indeed that. Saturday, . "The stands were eked," and evidently. ofomeone. ‘Wehind "him «rubbed -their- peneil: or bak, and ;he. hag’ this horrible

stain right across. I should be very pleased if you could heln me.-

N.

P.

Upper Hutt.

Well, that certainly was a tragedy, wasn’t it? And even if he did make much money, he wouldn’t want to buy another coat when that was so good. A lady at Hikurangi had the same problem a few weeks ago, so we advised her to soak the stain in methylated spirits,.and then sponge it with cool soap jelly, and then with. clear water, to rinse out the soapy water. You _ could also soak it in de-natured alcohol, which you could get from the chemist, and then sponge it out. This is the result that the lady at Hikurangi got:- , . , Dear Aunt Daisy,-Thank -you very much indeed for advising me to try methylated spirits for indelible . pencil. Yes, it worked wonders, and there is not a trace of the marks left. Moths In. Carpet Well, Aunt Daisy, I im going to bother you again. I have three lovely carpets, and we will be going ‘away for a number cf weeks very ne ee Se _ a

Z = | soon, and. so will ‘have. to leave the house. closed up, and. I was wondering what I could put into the rooms . to stop the moths getting in to the

carpets:

"Mrs:

K.

Hikurangi

I do know an‘excellent remedy for. moths-it not only kills the moth, but also destroys the eggs after they are’ laid,. and. discourages any more moths from coming. It is, however, a patent preparation, and I am_not able to mention trade names inthis column; but if any reader wants to know what it is, and where to get it, do write and ask.me, and I shall be only too pleased to reply by letter. It makes it easier if you enclose. a stamped, addressed * envelope. Office Workers’ Meals. Dear Aunt Daisy,-Would you give some ideas on meals for office workers. I have three brothers to cook for, and they don’t like very heavy meals. As we don’t like crayfish or oysters, but just plain food, it is hard for me to vary’ meals. So, as you have such a lot of experience, I thought you. could perhaps suggest some changes."Interested," Christchurch. Well, that is‘always a hard problem, isn’t it, and I--do sympathise. with you. .Here are one or two dishes to. be. going on with, and,,from. time to time, I shall'try to put-some more i the "Record," so watch out!.. . > TRIPE PIE. -Stew one- pound of tripe for. two hours, and leave it to jelly in™the liquid. Line a: piedish with pastry, put ‘a slice of tender steak (about half a pound) in the bottom. of the .dish,and then put in’ the tripe with. the jeHy clinging to it,- Season with -pepper and salt, put pieces of butter. here. and,there.on the tripe, pour one or. two ‘tablespoons .of brown’ gravy. over it. all.. cover with pastry, -making..a hole in it, and then bake in a moderate oven, ~° © 2 5 tee oD . THREE LIVER DISHES. 1..Put in a piedish ‘slices: of liver. thén:two sheeps’ kidnéys-(eut:in-dice),. -one-. carrot,, one. -parsnip,- one...onion. ‘and. little. cauliflower,-or, in fact, "any: veretables:-you can: get?: Finish with sliced potatoes sand «bake two hours or until the vegetables are quite -ceoked. *, Season ‘with. pepper and salt.-: ethene ee "teaspoon of dried Le) mie : , e wracs a’. w ea Dae oe er : eat one. off iver thinly. Put ne of i cover’ with’)

sliced apples, then onions and, on top. slices of bacon. Season with salt and pepper, pour over half cup water in which has been dissolved two teaspoons Marmite. Cover with lid and bake one hour and a half. Remove lid’ the last few minutes to brown bacon, | 3. One pound minced liver, one egg, two onions, one cup breadcrumbs, one tablespoon Worcester sauce, half teaspoon cinnamon, one-eighth teaspoon salt and pepper. Mix all, put in pudding mould and steam_ three hours. Serve hot, with vegetables. To Waterproof Tents Dear Aunt Daisy,-Would you kindly tell me the method of waterproofing a tent. I have tried ‘to find out.this hint, but without

success.-

M.

H.

of Devon Street,

' T have an excellent way-it has been used by lots of people; and always been successful. As a matter of fact, all of these have been used quite a lot, and they are really quite s‘mple. Mix half pound. sugar of lead and half pound powdered alum in a bucket of water. Stir up well and leave for some hours. Pour off into a tub and immerse the tent thoroughly for 24 or 48 hours. Then. throw. the tent over the line to dry, but do not wring it out. If you find that there is not enough liquid-to cover the tent, you can add more, as the mixture is quite strong enough .to be diluted. , You must see, of course, that the tent is completely covered and saturated. Now, here is a letter from Paerata, which gives another simple method of waterproofing a tent:"Dear Aunt Daisy,-You were talking about waterproofing a tent this morning. ! can give you a very easy way. We have been camping every year for the last 10 years, and we have never had any.water through .the tents, even in the worst weathers. .You buy 6d. worth of sugar of lead and put into a small tub of water. Then put in the tent, and let it have a good soaking. Then hang it out to dry, Quite simple, isn’t it? The tent we have is nine by nine, and has also a‘ fly with it. This tent was done nearly four years ago. We were told that down on _, the West Coast of the South island, where it rains so much, people do their. overcoats with . this solution.-L.A.’ of Paerata." ..From Epsom, Auckland, comes another ‘easy méthod-so we need never have the- rain inside on a camping holiday :- . : "Dear Aunt Daisy,-The following is a.good recipe to waterproof a tent. Soak: the tent in a _ solution of hot, soapy. water for 12 hours. Take out and dry in a shady place. Soak the -tent.again in a solution of 131b. alum dissolved in hot water for another 12 hours. Dry again in @ cool place. The tent can be folded or rolled up afterwards. without heince affected — "7

J. A.

H.

of Epsom."

Saving Soap Ends Dear Aunt Daisy,-The other day you were asking about using up the ends of scented soaps. Well, this is all I ever do, and it works really well, and is so simple to. do. .I put the pieces of soap into a smooth. piece of clean rag, and tie or hold the ends. Then just pop it into boiling water for a minute or two until soft. Now screw the rag around until it form™ the soap into a round ball; then put it all into cold water for a minute. This hardens it up again, and the rag comes off very easily, and leaves a niee round ball... If it is wanted into a square, it can be shaped into. a tin, rag and all, and then put ‘into the cold water to firm up. I use all my ends of soap this way, and if there are various colours, it makes an at-tractive-looking cake of soap, and is a means of.using up all-the odd bits An. Interested Listener. : Dear Aunt Daisy,-I heard’ you read ‘a letter this morning from .+ lady‘ who’-wanted: to know how. tv make. a ‘cake Of : 80D from . ‘smal pieces, . . Put all into.a mig: with a little wate r, and let heat on the stove until , melted. Then. leave. til cold and run.a knife-round. the edge.It. will "lift. out quite. easily.. . it difficult to remove, | just on. stove for a few ‘seconds. . rites : Elove listening: to Your sesgions. . Aunt. ‘Daisy, . You‘ .8eem. "to "cheex. up. the -sWhole. "atmosphere... Best.

wighe8_

‘Mrs.

J.

A.

(Wanganut