Rensselaer Union, Volume 9, Number 12, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 7 December 1876 — HOME, FARM AND GARDEN. [ARTICLE]

HOME, FARM AND GARDEN.

—Pork Chops—Breaded.—Trim off the fat well, dip first in beaten egg, then in fine bread crumbs, and fry in aide drip- , pings, having first seasoned well with salt ana pepper. —Ham for Breakfast.—Chop coarsely some cold boiled ham, put in a fry pan with a little butter and pepper. When hot, stir in several eggs. When well set, pour on nice squares of buttered toast, and serve. —Pork and Apple Pie.—Cut fat pickled pork in very thin slices, line a deep dish with rich paste, put in a layer of pared and sliced tart apples, then a layer of the thin slices of pork, season with cinnamon, a little butter and sugar, then a layer of apples, pork and seasoning, and so on till the dish is full. Cover with paste. Bake slowly for at least one hour. This will be found excellent. —Window plants should not be kept very warm at this season; they should have all the sun and air, and as little artificial heat of the room as possible. These remarks apply especially to Mignonette, which is very impatient of indoor confinement. Succulents, such as Cacti, are excellent window plants in this respect, as the dry air does not affect them. To keep the air about plants moist is one of the secrets of success in window culture. Some make glazed cases with folding dojrs to enclose the plants, so that when the room gets highly heated and the air dry, they may be enclosed in an atmosphere of their own. In such cases ferns and mosses can be grown to perfection, and pendent in hanging vases, give a Brazillian forest appearance to our nappy Christmas homes. — Gardner's Monthly. —The following is our recipe for curing meat: To one gallon of water, take one and a half pounds of salt, one-half pound of sugar, one-half ounce of potash. In this ratio the pickle can be increased to any quantity desired. Let these be boiled together until all the dirt from the sugar rises to the top and is skimmed off. Then throw it into a tub to cool, and when cold, pour it over your beef or pork. The meat must be well covered with pickle, and should not be put down for at least two days after killing, during which time it shoilld be slightly sprinkled with powdered saltpeter, which removes all th<j surface blood, etc., leaving the meat fresh and clean. Some omit boiling the pickle, and find it to answer well, though the operation of boiling purifies the pickle by throwing off the dirt always to be found in salt and sugar. If this recipe is strictly followed, it will require only a single trial to prove its superiority over" the common way or ways of putting down meat, and will not soon be abandoned for any other. The meat is unsurpassed for sweetness, delicacy and freshness of color.—Germantown Telegraph.