February, 1920 



GliEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



89 



the roeovoiy of his health to the honey diet. 



Now you know and I know that any pat- 

 ent-inedieino manufacturer can find gullible 

 jieople who can be induced to give him testi- 

 monials as to Avhat his medicine has done 

 for them. But the point that makes these 

 stories so convincing is the fact that proba- 

 bly neitiier of these men used the honey 

 witli the idea that his health would receive 

 any benefit from it. If a patient begins 

 any course of treatment with faith that it 

 will help him, it is almost certain to do so 

 to an extent. 



But the grocer not only had no faith in 

 honey as a health-building food, but even 

 had a prejudice against it, believing he had 

 been stung. Also, neither of these men was 

 solicited for testimonials, and had not been 

 in the least interested in the honey business. 



Practical Hints. 



While most of the following timesaving 

 hints are not new, I find so many house- 

 keepers who do not know them that I am 

 giving them a place here: 



To measure accurately hard fat, such as 

 butter, lard, or hardened vegetable fat, try 

 the chemist's way. For instance, if you wish 

 1/4 cup of fat, fill a measuring cup three- 

 fourths full of cold water and then put in 

 fat until the cup is full. Push the fat down 

 so it will adhere to the sides or bottom of 

 the cup, and when the water level reaches 

 the full mark pour it off. This is much 

 quicker than trying to crowd the hard fat 

 into the cup compactly enough to measure 

 it. Eemember there are 16 level tablespoons 

 in a standard half-pint measuring cup. 



If you wish to pare potatoes a number of 

 hours before you cook them, prepare them 

 as usual, rinse them, and put them in the 

 cooking utensil with a folded towel over 

 them and tucked down closely at the sides. 

 If they are covered with water for that 

 length of time, they lose food value and 

 tend to become water-soaked. 



Before washing your meat roaster put in a 

 teaspoon of sal soda or washing soda, add 

 water, cover, and put over the burner until 

 the water has boiled. This will cut the 

 grease and loosen food particles which have 

 dried on the surface. Other greasy cooking 

 utensils may be treated in the same way ex- 

 cept those made of aluminum. 



Have plenty of asbestos mats in your kit- 

 chen. Those covered with sheet iron and 

 %vith handles are durable and convenient. 

 They eliminate all but a minimum of watch- 

 ing and stirring and save food and utensils 

 from being ruined by scorching. 



Worn Turkish bath towels may be made 

 into convenient kitchen holders. If they 

 are small, two may be put together, or a 

 largo, one may be folded in the middle or 

 cut in two and hemmed. They are easily 

 laundered, and their size enables one to lift 

 hea\'y baking dishes with both hands. 



After washing your lettuce, dry it for 

 salail by centrifugal force, on the principle 

 of the honey extractor. Put it in a large 



square of clean cheesecloth, old muslin cur- 

 tain, or any other thin cloth, step outside, 

 and whirl it around your head. It will dry 

 quickly and evenly. 



If you wish to cut a brick of butter 

 smoothly, without crumbling, wrap a sheet 

 of oiled paper around a dull knife. 



When you are about to fry food, stop and 

 ask yourself if you could not do it more 

 easily in your oven. Many foods commonly 

 fried are just as palatable and more digesti- 

 ble baked, and the cook is saved unpleasant 

 work and an unbecomingly flushed face. A 

 number of the following recipes are for 

 foods baked instead of fried. 



BAKED BACON. 



Slice the bacon very thin and arrange on 

 a rack which is fitted into a pan wide 

 enough to catch the drippings. Bake in a 

 rather quick oven until done to taste. Bacon 

 is much more delicate cooked in this way 

 than when fried in its own grease, and the 

 fat which tries out is white and well flavor- 

 ed. When bacon is fried the fat is darken- 

 ed and the flavor of it injured. An ordinary 

 wire cake cooler makes a very good bacon 

 rack. 



BAKED SAUSAGE. 



Bake the sausage as in the preceding reci- 

 pe. If you have no rack, it may be baked 

 in an enameled pie plate if the fat is drained 

 off several times in the baking process. Bak- 

 ed sausage will not burst as it does in frying. 



BAKED LIVER AND BACON. 



Liver 

 Bacon 



Pepper 

 Salt 



Have the liver sliced rather thin and par- 

 boil it by covering with plenty of boiling 

 water, bringing it just to a boil and then 

 draining it. On a flat baking dish arrange 

 the slices of liver, season slightly with pep- 

 per and salt, cover each slice with thinly 

 sliced bacon, and bake in a quick oven until 

 the bacon is done. If preferred, the liver 

 may be floured lightly after parboiling it. 



PIGS IN BLANKETS. 



Oysters Lemon juice 



Bacon Pepper and salt 



Wash large oysters, season lightly with 

 lemon juice and a very little salt and pepper, 

 wrap each one in a very thin slice of bacon, 

 skewer with a toothpick, and bake in a hot 

 oven until the bacon is crisp. Serve at once. 



BAKED RABBIT. 



Rabbit Flour 



Savory cooking fat 1 tablespoon vinegar 



Minced onion Salt and pepper 



Water 



After cleaning and cutting the rabbit in 

 suitable pieces for serving, soak it in salt 

 water for several hours, drain the pieces, 

 roll them in flour, season, and arrange in a 

 covered roaster. Dot the pieces liberally 

 with a savory fat, such as sausage fat. As 

 rabbit is a very lean meat much more fat 

 must be used than for chicken. Pour over 

 cold water until you can see it, add a table- 

 spoon of vinegar and a little minced onion 

 if the flavor is liked, cover, and bake until 

 (Continued on page 117.) 



