492 



NEW ENGLAND FAEMER. 



Oct. 



it will take a great while — from one to two hours, 

 — till it will stay where it is pnt. Some persons 

 mix a teaspoonful of starch and scald it with milk 

 and add this when cold to the egg and sugar, — 

 with this, less time is required to beat it. Spread 

 the frosting with a knife neatly upon the cake, 

 and set it into the oven for fifteen minutes; it 

 should have only a moderate heat. For very rich 

 fruit cake, or for wedding cake, the oven, if of 

 brick, should be slowly heated with hard wood, 

 and the fire allowed to die nearly out before the 

 ashes are removed. A stove should have a steady 

 hot fire three hours before setting in the cake, and 

 the heat be kept up for three more, when the cake 

 will probably be done. Don't look at it until it 

 has been in the oven twenty minutes, (beware of 

 a cold draught) if it browns to'o much cover it 

 with paper. In fifteen mmutes more if the paper 

 is deeply scorched set a pan of cold water in the 

 oven. Don't look at it again till it is nearly time 

 for it to be done. 



In making doughnuts, or fried cakes of any 

 kind, and fried pies, use as little soda or saleratus 

 as possible ; as this makes them absorb the fat. 

 Fry them in equal portions of lard and beef fat. 

 Nuts raised with yeast are less liable to do this ; 

 and pastry for fried pies made of bread dough 

 with a little sugar and a trifle of lard worked in 

 is preferable in this respect to any other kind ; it 

 is. always nice and light. 



;^rof. Horsford's baking powders, being prepara- 

 tions of soda and tartaric acid, are getting into 

 use, and deservedly so, as there is so little depend- 

 ence to be placed upon cream of tartar and soda 

 even when they are bought at the druggists'. 



DOMESTIC RECEIPTS. 

 Fish Chowder. — The best fish for chow- 

 der are haddock and striped bass. Cut the 

 fish in pieces an inch thick and two inches 

 square ; take six or eight slices of salt pork ; 

 put them in the bottom of an iron pot, and 

 fry them till crisped. Take out the pork, 

 leaving the fat ; chop the pork fine. Put in 

 the pot a layer of fish, layer of split crackers, 

 some of the chopped pork, a little black and 

 red pepper, a little chopped onion, then an- 



other layer of fish, split crackers and season- 

 ing. This do till you have used your fish. 

 Then just cover the fish with water, and stew 

 slowly till it is tender ; thicken the gravy with 

 pounded cracker; add catsup if you like. 

 JBoil up the gravy once, and pour over the 

 fish ; squeeze in the juice of a lemon. Add 

 salt if necessary. 



To Preserve Ripe Cucumbers. — Take 

 large yellow cucumbers, pare them', take out 

 the cores, and soak in salt water two days. 

 Then take them from the brine, pour over 

 them boiling water, and let them stand over 

 night. Pour off this water, and they are 

 ready for the pickle, which prepare thus : 

 For each quart of sharp vinegar take one pint 

 of hot water, two large cups of sugar, and 

 one tablespoonful of each of the following 

 spices : cinnamon, cloves, allspice, felack pep- 

 per, mace or nutmeg. Add one handful of 

 raisins or ripe grapes. Scald all together, 

 and boil until the cucumbers are easily pene- 

 trated with a fork. Use as little of the vine- 

 gar to boil them in as possible, and pour the 

 rest over them when done. 



A Cheap Ice Pitcher. — The following is 

 a simple method of keeping ice water for a 

 long time in a common pitcher : Place between 

 two sheets of paper (newspaper will answer, 

 thick brown is better) a layer of cotton bat- 

 ting about half an inch in thickness, fasten the 

 ends of paper and batting together, forming a 

 circle, then sew or paste a crown over one 

 end, making a box the shape of a stovepipe 

 hat, minus the rim. Place this over an ordi- 

 nary pitcher filled with ice water, making it 

 deep enough to rest on the table, so as to ex- 

 clude the air, and the reader will be astonished 

 at the length of time his ice will keep and the 

 water remain cold after the ice is melted. 



Rusks. — Delicious rusks, either for serving 

 with cheese, or for sopping in beef tea for in- 

 valids, may be made in this simple way : Cut 

 a round of loaf baked in a tin in eight three 

 cornered pieces, and put them on a plate in 

 cool oven. When one side is light brown, 

 turn. These rusks are more wholesome for 

 infants' food, when soaked in scalding milk, 

 than the usual bread and milk. 



