Jasper County Democrat, Volume 4, Number 34, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 30 November 1901 — ALL OVER THE HOUSE. [ARTICLE]

ALL OVER THE HOUSE.

Read This, and You Will Know How to Make a Perfect Omelet. To the average cook an omelet is simply eggs, salt, pepper and butter in combination with a hot skillet. To those who eat the omelet it is well known that it is of all dishes the most uncertain. One may draw a prize in the shape of a tender, delicate, creamy omelet flavored to a turn and tempting to the last degree, or the dish may be tough and leathery, solid and tasteless—a most unappetizing blank. The omelet is usually made with the eggs broken together in a bowl and beaten just enough to mix thoroughly. The skillet should be kept for the purpose and should be perfectly clean. Holding a bit of butter the size of a walnut it is put over a clear, Hot fire. Pour in the egg and fold over as it “sets,” taking care tb add the salt and pepper just before it is taken from the fire. An expert chef puts a few drops of vinegar in the edge of the pan, letting it run around the omelet, which gives an additional touch of delicious tenderness. The omelet puff has the whites and yolks beaten separately and thoroughly, the whites folded in carefully as the egg is poured into the saucepan.— Harpers Bazar.

Crisp and Appetizing Celery. To prepare celery so it is crisp find appetizing cut off all the outside stalks, leaving only the tender white part. This is not wasteful, as all the coarse stalks and the root ends may be used for soups or for stewing. After stripping off the outside stalks split the edible part in halves lengthwise or in quarters if the stalk is very thick. Whittle the root end down to a point. Wash each portion perfectly clean in very cold water, then put a layer of chipped ice in the bottom of a long deep dish and place a layer of celery on the ice, dust the celery with granulated sugar, then put on a layer of chipped ice, then one of celery and so on till all the celery is closely packed in ice, not forgetting to dust each layer lightly with the sugar. When all is packed, 6tand the dish in the icebox until ready to serve, then take the celery out of its packing and lay it in a celery dish with freshly chipped ice over it. For the Housewife. In cleaning pap’ier mache articles use a sponge moistened with cold water. They may be polished with flour and a flannel cloth. On a large scale, but equally simple in design, are the desks that open at both sides and thus may be used by two persons at the same time without any inconvenience. They are supplied with a double set of pigeonholes and do not take up much room. For the country cottage game of euchre or bridge whist an ingenious manufacturer has devised a round table of convenient size, with low backed, comfortable chairs that slip in under the table when not in use.

To Remove Dirt From Carpets. For housewives who pride themselves upon spotless floor coverings The Druggists’ Circular gives the following recipe for removing spots of dirt from carpets: “Make a suds with a good white soap and hot water and add fuller’s earth to this until the consistency of thin cream. Have plenty of clean drying cloths, a small scrubbing brush, a large sponge and a pail of fresh water. Put some of the cleansing mixture in a bowl and dip the brush in it; brush a small piece of the carpet with this; then wash with the sponge and cold water. Dry as much as possible with the sponge and finally rub with dry cloths. Continue this till you ere sure that all the carpet is clean; then let it dry.” Imitation Antiques. There not being enough antique furniture to go around, and antique being “the” thing nowadays, the firms which make a specialty of that sort of goods are overwhelmed with orders for imitation antiques. Imitation Chippendale does not, of course, cost as much as the real article, but it is possible to spend a good deal of money upon “new antique” furniture. It is a fad that a poor man cannot indulge in with impunity. At the Paris exhibition replicas were shown of famous pieces of antique furniture which were valued at $50,000.

To Wash Bcarlet Flannel. To wash scarlet flannel mil a handful of flour in a quart of cold water and boil ten minutes. To Uiis add some wanh suds made with Castile soap and then wash the flannel gently, rinsing rather than rubbing it. Now rinse in two or three praters of the same temperature—jurt comfortably warm to the hands, not hotter—and hang out to dry in the shade. By this method the color should remain unchanged in the flannel after many washings.