Democratic Sentinel, Volume 1, Number 29, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 31 August 1877 — About the House. [ARTICLE]

About the House.

Mocking-Bird Food.—One pound hemp-seed, one-quarter pound butter crackers, one-quarter pound rice, onehalf ounce lard; grind seed, crackers, and rice ; mix ; melt lard, and pour over the mixture. It is a mistake to wash glass tumblers, goblets, and the like in hot water; if cold be used a brighter and clearer appearance is left when the glass is wiped dry. If the glass is particularly soiled, a pinch of soda in the water will cleanse it easily. Huckleberry Cake.—Two cupfuls of sugar, one of butter, five eggs, one cupful milk, one teaspoonful soda, one small lemon, a little nutmeg, a wine-glassfull brandy, three cupfuls flour; dredge a quart of huckleberries thickly with flour and add the last thing. Mint Sauce.—Take some green mint and chop it fine ; for every heaping tablespoonful of the chopped mint add one even teaspoonful sugar and a wine-glass-ful cider vinegar ; put the vinegar and sugar in a sauce-boat, then add the mint; let it stand fifteen minutes before serving. French polish for furniture can be made by putting half an ounce of shellac, the same quantity of gumlac, and a quarter of an ounce of gum-sandarac, into a pint of spirits of wine. Put them all together in a stone bottle near the fire, shaking it very often. As soon as the gums are dissolved it is ready for use.

Raspberry Jam.—Make By itself, or, better, combined with currants in the proportion of one-third currants to twothirds raspberries; mash the fruit well, and proceed as in currant jam. Make blackberry jam like raspberry, except that it should not be mixed with currants. Strawberry jam is made exactly like blackberry. Pltjm Jelly.—This can be made in the same manner as currant jelly, only a little water must be put with the plums to burst them and get out the juice; granulated sugar or white crushed sugar is preferable for preserves; and the pulp left from the plum in the sieve can be pressed through and boiled with a little sugar, making a rich, stiff marmalade. A new drink to supply the place of gruel or barley water is recommended by the Times of India, “congee water,” or the liquid in which rice has been boiled. This drink has three excellent qualities—it becomes impregnated with the properties of the rice boiled in it, and thus satisfies hunger; it quenches thirst, and is a capital draught in fever attacks; and lastly, when taken warm in bed, it is good for bad colds and influenza.