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POETRY IN THE KITCHEN. 
Do you say it is only prose, and very prosy, too,’ 
you who find your penetralia among pots and kettles, 
bread-making, dish washing, and the thousand and 
one petty cares that crowd your days ? But rythms 
and rhymes may have their place even in the kitchen, 
if you know the art of making them. Pots and 
kettles may shine with a glory of their own, and your 
dishes may sing you a song while you wash them, if 
you will take the trouble to teach them how.' And, 
first, be sure to make the room as bright and cheery as 
possible. Dark paper and dull surroundings will 
cause even a parlor to look dingy and uncomfortable. 
I ou are fortunate if your kitchen is sunny and boasts 
a number of windows, but if not, make it light with 
hangings and pictures. It is a mistake to suppose 
that in papering a kitchen, dark paper should be 
chosen ; it will show the soil of dust and smoke much 
sooner than paper of a light shade. It is also more 
economical to purchase satin paper, since the dust 
slips oh easily from the smooth surface. Beautiful 
pictures can be cut from papers and tacked against 
the walls, and albeit they have no frames, will do 
much to- brighten the room. If you cannot have these 
everywhere, do not forget the kitchen in your dis¬ 
tribution. 
Every kitchen should have a pin-cushion — a pretty 
oue, too — which can hang quietly in some corner, and 
give its help towards the lifting of skirts and sleeves 
in times of need. 
Who will say there is not something pretty and 
quite poetical about washing dishes, when one has a 
bright pan for washing and rinsing, clean, hot water 
and plenty of good soap ; when the sink can be kept 
sweet and unsullied by means of a small brush broom 
hung conveniently near at hand; when spiders and 
kettles can he agreeably cleansed with a ring dish 
cloth— blessings on the man who invented it, or was 
it a woman?— when cloth and towels are hung on a 
galvanized wire line, which will not rust; and when a 
general air of order and good management prevails in 
the cupboard ? There should he also a large tunnel 
in the opening of the spout, which will save a too 
frequent use of the brush broom when moments are 
precious. 
Plants are as fond of the kitchen as the library, 
and will beautify the room with their greenness and 
fragrance even if they have no blossoms. Happy are 
they who live in the country, for are there not the 
glorious woods? Put on your hat, take your basket 
and trowel, and come back laden with sturdy ferns, 
bright partridge berries and clumps of green moss. 
You can take up these wood darlings, even though 
they are fast asleep in their snowy beds ; bring them 
into your warm kitchen and plant them in saucers and 
plates—anything that will hold them; give the dears 
enough to drink and they will make poetry for you all 
through the winter mouths. And what else shall you 
bring to your sanctum sanctorum f Do all this and 
other ways will suggest themselves to you; ways of 
making the kitchen one of the pleasantest, brightest, 
happiest rooms in the house. Let it he cosy; have a 
rocking chair or two, three or four hooks and a case 
for newspapers. Let it wear a homey look; make it 
pleasant with pictures, plants, conveniences, cleanli¬ 
ness and sunshine. Let us have such appointments 
in this hitherto prosy kitchen of ours, that it shall 
grow into a poem. Lucy C. Ordway. 
TESTED RECIPES. 
RICE PL CM PUDDING. 
One quart new or raised milk with the cream, one 
cupful seeded raisins, one cupful washed, dried cur¬ 
rants, hall cupful chipped dried citron, and lemon, (or 
orange peel, candied), oue cupful rice, one cupful sugar, 
two eggs, one tablespoonful butter, a little salt, and 
one teaspoonful mixed spices, (cinnamon, nutmeg, 
and a small portion cloves). Burst the rice for two 
hours, keeping it on the stove in a little water for two 
hours, until soft, and each grain entire, then add the 
milk, the eggs beaten separately until light, sugar and 
butter, and lastly the spices and fruit, stir carefully, so 
as not to break the grains, bake about three-quarters 
of an hour. 
SWEET POTATO PUDDING. 
To two coffeecupsful of mashed sweet potato, 
(boiled), add one teacupful sugar, one teacupful 
butter, four eggs, one teacupful sweet cream, oue 
glass of brandy or strong wine, one teaspoonful cin¬ 
namon. one grated nutmeg, a teaspoonful lemon, 
(extract) and a pinch of soda, dissolved in a tea- 
spoonful of water. Beat the eggs light, add sugar 
and butter rubbed to a cream, stir all together into the 
mashed potato while hot. Cover a deep plate with 
puff-paste, and pour in the mixture. Bake iu a 
moderate oven; when done, cover the top with slices of 
fruit marmalade, and sprinkle thickly with granulated 
sugar. To be eaten with a glass of rich milk. This 
will make three puddings. 
CREAM CAKE. 
The Shells .—Beat five eggs, yellow and white 
separately, add to the yolks one cupful of sugar, then 
the whites whisked until they “ stand alone,” rub half 
a teaspoonful of soda into one teacupful of fiour, heat 
this into the eggs and sugar, and add one full tea¬ 
spoonful of cream of tartar, heat well, and divide into 
cakes by dropping a large tablespoonful upon a baking 
tin, not allowing the drops to touch each other, nor 
placed near enough to run together when heated. 
(“Gem pans” are best to hake them in, the flat circles 
instead of deep ones). Let the oven he quick, and 
when the cakes are a light brown, remove them and 
allow to cool a little, then split them open on one side 
and drop the cream in the hollow opening. 
The Cream is made as follows :—Boil one pint of 
new milk, heat the yolks of two eggs and add half a 
teaspoonful of sugar, and enough of corn-starch to 
thicken, (about, three even tablespoonfuls) stirred 
smooth in a little cold milk; add these to the milk 
also, the whites of the eggs, a teaspoonful extract of 
lemon, one also of extract of vanilla, beat well, and 
as soon as thick remove from the fire, allow to cool 
before placing in the puffs, pinching the parts together 
after filling. Paint over with white of egg and dust 
plentifully with powdered sugar. 
WASHINGTON PUDDING. 
Two cupfuls white sugar, one cupful butter, one 
cupful sweet milk, three eggs, nutmeg and extract of 
lemon. Beat the eggs separately, add three teacupfuls 
of fiour, in which a half teaspoonful of soda lias been 
well rubbed, and a full teaspoonful of cream of tartar 
added (sifting after adding these). Bake in shallow 
pans or “jelly-cake pans.” Peel and grate two large 
juicy apples, and the zest of one lemon, also the 
strained juice, one heaping teacupful of fine sugar and 
one egg, boil in a stew pan, when cool spread over 
the cakes, placing one upon the other as with jelly 
cake; sift powdered sugar over the top, and serve with 
rich wine or lemon sauce. 
FRUIT PUDDING. 
Two eggs, (whites and yolks beaten separately), 
one cupful of mixed sweetmeats, (left in jars or at 
table), table spoonful sweet butter rubbed in a cream, 
half a nutmeg, half a teaspoonful of cinnamon. 
Butter a baking dish and bake quickly. Serve with 
tart lemon sauce. This is a delicious pudding. 
WASH-DAY PUDDING. 
One pint of flour, three eggs, one teacupful of 
pounded sugar, one cupful of milk, half a teaspoonful 
of soda, one teaspoonful cream of tartar, one full 
tablespoonful of butter, rub the soda through the flour, 
dissolve the cream of tartar in the milk and stir all 
together quickly, just before dinner is served; bake in 
a quick oven, and eat with sauce, either hard or soft. 
Baked in small tins or open pans, this forms nice 
tea cakes. 
GINGER PLUM CAKE PUDDING. 
Two cupfuls of brown sugar mixed in two teaspoon¬ 
fuls of dark molasses, (not syrup) two teacupfuls of 
butter, six eggs, six cupfuls of flour, one pound of 
raisins, one pound of dried currants, one lemon chop¬ 
ped fine, one teaspoonful ginger, one tablespoonful 
cinnamon, one tablespoonful nutmeg, clove and maise, 
(mixed), one cupful of brandy or wine; beat thorough¬ 
ly for a half hour before adding the fruit, and finally 
add a half teaspoonful of soda and the same of cream 
of tartar, dissolving each in water. Serve hot, with 
wine sauce, (the fruit should he prepared the day pre¬ 
viously. Bake in a slow oven for three hours.) 
BOILED CUP PUDDING. 
Beat four eggs very light, (the whites until stiff), 
mix together one coffeecupful of flour, one coffeecupful 
of brown sugar, one coffeecupful of butter, one coffee- 
cupful of raisins, one coffeecupful of currants, one 
coffeecupful of citron and candied lemon and orange 
peel, (mixed), one nutmeg, one teaspoonful cinnamon, 
one teaspoonful mixed spices, and any flavor desired. 
Pour into a well floured hag and boil four hours. 
Serve with sauce. C. S. J. 
USEFUL HINTS. 
Frosted glass, useful for screens, etc., is made by 
laying the sheets horizontally and covering them with 
a strong solution of sulphate of zinc. The salt crys- 
talizes on drying. 
Butter will remove tar spots. Soap and water will 
afterwards take out the grease stains. 
Black shoes may he bronzed by a strong solution 
of aniline red iu alcohol. 
Flaxseed and tallow are used in Germany as a 
stuffing for cushions. One part of tallow to ten parts 
of flaxseed are employed, the mobility of the greased 
seed rendering the cushion very soft and pliable. 
Four parts borax and three parts Epsom salts, 
mixed with three or four parts warm water to one part 
of the combined substances, is said to form an excel¬ 
lent fireproof wash for clothes. It should he used 
immediately after preparation. 
The total number of strings in a piano, when prop¬ 
erly stretched to produce the right tones, exert a pull 
of over ten tons ; this explains why good pianos must 
be durably and heavily built. 
To prevent moths in carpets, wash the floor before 
laying them with spirits of turpentine and benzine.' 
Straw matting should he washed with a cloth 
dampened in salt water. Indian meal sprinkled over 
it and thoroughly swept out will also cleanse it finely. 
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