Jasper County Democrat, Volume 12, Number 29, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 24 July 1909 — FOR THE HOUSEWIFE [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

FOR THE HOUSEWIFE

Time. Table For Cooks. . The following time table for cooking meats and fish will prove handy for reference: Beef underdone, per pound, nine to ten minutes; mutton, leg, per po.und, ten to twelve minutes; mutton, stuffed shoulder, per pound, eighteen minutes; loin, veal, fifteen to eighteen minutes; sparerib, fifteen to twenty minutes; corned beef, twenty-five to thirty minutes; ham, after water begins to boil, fifteen to twenty minutes; baked chicken, three or four pounds, one to two hours; fish', long and thin, six to eight pounds, one hour; fish, thick, six to eight pounds, one and onehalf to two hours; fish, small, twentyfive to thirty minutes. The Test of Good Ham. The characteristics of good bacon resemble those of prime pork. The rind should be thin, the lean pink and tender and the fat firm, with a pinkish hue, due to salting. To test a ham run a steel skewer through the middle of the ham to the bone. If the skewer comes out clean and free from any unpleasant odor it Indicates that the ham is in good condition, but should the skewer be smeared and the odor unpleasant the ham should be rejected. Yellow streaks in ham or bacon indicate a more or less rancid condition. “Setting” Colors. Salt will “set” certain colors, while vinegar is better for others, and, again, when the material displays a combination of colors both the salt and the vinegar are necessary. Salt is good for pink and for blues. Vinegar should be used for greens and mauves. Water in which hay or bran has been boiled is excellent for the natural shades and for all pale tones. To Clean Black Silk. Black silk can be cleaned by means of hot vinegar or black coffee. When thoroughly cleaned it should be pressed on the wrong side. Be sure to use cloth between iron and silk. To remove the shine from a dark wool material sponge it with a solution of common washing blue and water and press it while still damp under a thin cloth. A Combination Table. The piece of furniture herewith shown is designed as a center table, but the receptacles under its top are so Ingeniously arranged that they offer commodious storage facilities for such household articles as sewing bas-

kets and the like and materials such as laces and embroideries that are being worked upon. When working at the table the sides are swung out, revealing lower shelves upon which the materials in use may be placed. Cantaloupe With Ice Cream. Scrub the rough surface of cantaloupes until thoroughly clean and pack In ice. When they are chilled through cut in half, remove the seeds and pack the centers with vanilla ice cream Put two or three whole marachino cherries on the top and serve on Individual plates with a paper doily under each and a nasturtium and leaf at the side. To Make Mint Vinegar. « Mlut vinegar may be made by putting mashed mint leaves Into a wide mouthed bottle. Do not pack. Pour In vinegar to cover, cork securely and let stand for two or three weeks. Pour off the vinegar into another bottle and keep corked until needed. This is a capital substitute for fresh mint when the latter cannot be obtained. Homemade Baking Powder. Sift together, five times over, two ounces of tartaric acid, one pound of cream of tartar, ten ounces of bicarbonate of soda, sixteen ounces of wheat flour or twelve ounces of rice flour. Keep in tight cans or bottles, reserving a small quantity In a quarter pound can for dally use, so that the bulk may retain Its strength. Ham Muffins. Two teaspoonfuls of baking powder sifted with one pint of flour; add one egg, well beaten, one cupful of sweet milk, one tablespoonful of sugar, pinch of salt. Stir In one cupful of finely chopped raw ham. with a little of the fat, and bake twenty minutes In a moderate oven in gem pans. Cabbage a la Cauliflower. Shave finely one small head of cabbage and cook in boiling water until tender. Then stir together one large tablespoonful of butter, two spoonfuls »f flour and stir Into cabbage with one cupful of sweet, rich milk. Cook a few minutes and serve. Cucumber Pickles. If a bone Is put In the jar with cucumber pickles they will keep crisp. And If the vinegar happens to be too strong it will eat the bone Instead of the nlcklea.

HANDY INSIDE ARRANGEMENT.