Fruit Cups in Orange Baskets—————————Cream of Celery Soup Whipped CreamSalt Wafers—————————Tuna Moulds Egg SaucePotatoes a la BettinaGreen Peppers Stuffed with Creamed CauliflowerRolls Butter—————————Head Lettuce, Russian DressingThin Sandwiches in Fancy Shapes—————————Marshmallow CreamCoffee
BETTINA'S RECIPES
(All measurements are level)
Tuna Loaf(Eight portions)
1½C-tuna1C-fresh bread crumbs2 eggs (just the yolks may be used)1t-lemon juice1t-chopped green pepper1t-salt¼t-paprika
Mix all the ingredients together thoroughly, picking the fish apart with a silver fork. Mould firmly in a loaf. Roll in flour, and place in a buttered bread pan. Dot with butter, and bake thirty minutes in a moderate oven. This same recipe may be distributed among fancy individual moulds, filled half full. Arrange a star-shaped piece of pimento, green pepper, beet or egg in the bottom of a fancy aluminum mould. An attractive design may be made by putting the star cut from any vegetable with radiating pieces of any other kind of vegetable of a different color. Place the design firmly on the fish. Set the moulds in a pan of hot water and bake until the mixture is firmly set. (About thirty minutes.) Remove from the oven, let moulds stand three minutes, and then, with the assistance of a knife, slip them from the pan, unmould all the moulds in one flat pan, and keep them hot until needed. Do not forget that the mould must be thoroughly buttered before using. When ready to serve, make a regular vegetable white sauce (twoT-butter, 2T-flour, 1C-milk, ¼t-salt). When ready to serve and while steaming hot, add one beaten egg yoke. The hot sauce will cook the egg. Pour around the mould.
AN EARLY CALLER
BOB had scarcely left the house the next morning when Bettina was called to the door. "I couldn't resist coming!" said Alice. "The announcement party was lovely, and I must thank you for doing it. Aren't you tired to pieces?"
"No, Ruth helped me a great deal, and by the time Bob came home to dinner, the luncheon dishes were washed and put away and the house was in apple-pie order."
"Everything tasted delicious, Bettina. Maybe it sounds altogether too practical for my own announcement party, but I'm armed with a pencil and a notebook, and I do want to get some of those recipes of yours!"
"You're welcome to them all, Alice, of course. They are all recipes that I have used over and over again, and I'm sure of them."
"What kind of soup was it? Celery? I thought so. Wasn't it hard to prepare?"
"Why, Alice, it was canned celery soup, diluted with hot milk. Then I added a teaspoonful of chopped parsley and a teaspoonful of chopped red pepper."
"But surely it had whipped cream in it, Bettina!"
"Yes, I put a teaspoonful of whipped cream in the bottom of the bouillon cup and poured the hot soup on it, so that it would be well mixed."
"Well, that accounts for it; I thought it must be made with whipped cream. Oh, Bettina, everything was so pretty! The tulle bows on the baskets holding the wafers and the rolls—andthe butterflies perched on them! How did you ever think of it?"
"Well, butterflies are a happy choice for decorations! They can be put anywhere, and they are easy to make—at least Ruth says so."
"You use paper doilies a great deal, don't you! Aren't they expensive?"
"Expensive? Well, I wish you'd price them! They are so inexpensive that I like to use them even for a very informal meal; they add such a dainty touch, I think."
"I must write down the recipes for your tuna loaf, and green peppers stuffed with cauliflower, and Russian dressing—and oh, that wonderful kind of rainbow dessert! Bettina, what was that dessert?"
"Marshmallow cream made with gelatine and cream and marshmallows and whites of eggs. I puzzled a long time over a real 'rainbow' dessert, and finally decided on marshmallow cream with a few variations. Come into the kitchen, where I keep my card index, and I'll get all the recipes for you."
BETTINA'S RECIPES
(All measurements are level)
Potato Balls(Four portions)
4 potatoes1C-crumbs1t-salt2T-egg
Boil potatoes of uniform size with the skins on. When cold, peel, roll in crumbs, to which salt has been added and then the beaten egg and crumbs. Deep fry in very hot fat.
Green Peppers Stuffed with Cauliflower(Four portions)
4 green peppers1C-cooked cauliflower1C-vegetable sauce2T-crumbs1T-butter, melted
Cut a thin slice from the stem end of each large green pepper and remove the seeds. Parboil ten minutes, and fill with creamed cauliflower and buttered crumbs. Bake until the skins are tender, basting occasionally with butter and water.
Marshmallow Cream(Four portions)
2t-granulated gelatin4T-cold milk2/3C-sugar11/3C-double cream1t-vanilla extract1 egg white well beaten1t-lemon extract¼lb.marshmallows, cut in one-fourth cubes4 toasted marshmallows4 pecans4 almonds
Soften the gelatin in milk for five minutes, and dissolve by setting the dish in boiling water. Add the sugar. Allow the mixture to cool. When it begins to congeal, add the flavorings. Beat in the whipped cream, and continue beating until it is firm. Fold in the egg-white and the marshmallows cut in cubes. When the mixture begins to set, pile lightly in sherbet cups. Place one-half of a toasted marshmallow on the top, and arrange pecan meats and candied cherries in a conventional design. Set aside one hour to cool and harden.
Bettina colored the mixture with vegetable coloring of a very delicate green. Then on the top she placed a teaspoonful of white whipped cream, then the toasted marshmallow and the different fruits. Bettina browned the marshmallows quickly in the oven, after she had cut them the desired shape. She used cups with handles, and decorated them with fluffy bows of variegated tulles. To make these bows, she took strips of each color desired, one inch wide, tied them together, and "fluffed them out." She might have gained a real rainbow effect by dividing the marshmallow cream (when mixed, but not yet firm) into three bowls, and coloring them green, lavender and pink, with delicate vegetable colors. Then, having beaten in the whipped cream, she might have placed in each sherbet cup three layers, pink, lavender and green. Then, on the top, she might have placed the whipped cream.
RUTH COMES TO LUNCHEON
"AND here we are, busily planning Alice's affairs," said Bettina, "when we might be talking of yours, Ruth. Are you sure, sure, sure, that you don't want any parties, or showers, or affairs of any sort?"
"Sure, sure, sure!" said Ruth, emphatically. "I may be silly, Bettina, but to me such a fuss beforehand takes something away from the beauty of the wedding! And then there are other reasons. We've had to postpone building till next summer, and may not be married till the house is done—you know that. So we'll have been engaged a long time. It seems to me that after a long engagement like ours, it is better to have a simple wedding and no parties. Alice's is happening just as I always expected that it would—a surprising announcement, a short engagement, and many parties, with an elaborate wedding as the climax! Sometimes I think that sort would be the kind to have—but you see, Bettina, when you're expecting to be married only once, you want to have just the kind that seems best to you."
"And yours will be just right for you, Ruth," said Bettina, warmly. "You are you, and Fred is Fred, and I can't imagine either of you caring for much excitement. And when you are in your new house——"
"I'm going to have you over at least once a week to just such a dear little luncheon as this! Or rather—as much like it as I can devise. Bettina, how did you have time to cook such good things?"
"Well," said Bettina, "Bob will have these same things fordinner tonight, with the addition of some cold sliced meat. So now, Ruth, we have a long afternoon before us—to sew and talk!"
Bettina's luncheon consisted of:
Bettina's Mexican Salad Brown BreadApricot PreservesOrange Cake Hot Chocolate
BETTINA'S RECIPES
(All measurements are level)
Bettina's Mexican Salad(Four portions)
1 cucumber diced2 tomatoes cut in one-inch cubes1C-cut celery¼C-cooked beets1T-chopped parsley2T-green pepper, cut fine1/3C-cottage cheese1t-salt2/3C-salad dressing4 lettuce leaves
Mix all the ingredients in order given and serve on lettuce leaves.
Brown Bread (Baked)(Two loaves)
2C-graham flour2C-white flour2t-soda1t-salt½C-molasses2C-sour milk
Mix well the graham flour, white flour, soda and salt. Add the molasses and sour milk; mix thoroughly. Pour into two well-buttered bread tins, and bake forty minutes in a moderate oven.
Orange Cake(Sixteen pieces)
1/3C-butter1C-sugar2 eggs beaten separatelyGrated rind of one orange3t-baking powder¼t-salt¼C-orange juice¼C-milk12/3C-flour½t-lemon extract
Cream the butter, add the sugar and egg-yolks; mix thoroughly. Add the orange rind. Add the baking powder, salt and flour sifted together and then the orange juice and milk. Mix, and beat one minute. Add the egg-whites beaten stiffly, and the lemon extract. Bake in two square cake tins fitted with waxed paper for twenty-five minutes in a moderate oven.
Orange Filling for the Cake(Sixteen portions)
½C-sugar3T-flour1/8t-salt1 egg yolkGrated rind of ½ an orange¼C-water¼C-orange juice½t-lemon juice
Mix the flour, sugar and salt well; add slowly the egg-yolk and the grated rind, the orange juice and water. Cook slowly over hot water for ten minutes, or until thick enough to spread. Add the lemon juice or lemon extract. Spread on one layer of cake. Place the other layer carefully on the top and spread Quick Cake Icing over the top and sides of the cake.
Oh, hazy month of glowing trees,—And colors rich to charm our eyes!Yet—not less fair than all of theseAre Mother's fragrant pumpkin pies!
man in suit carving jack-o-lanterns
A KITCHEN SHOWER FOR ALICE
Two women with shopping baskets over their arms
"DID you want me for something, Mary?" asked Alice at the door. "Mother said you had telephoned."
"Come in! Come in!" cried ten girls at once, while Bettina whispered to Ruth: "Thank goodness, she's come! The muffins are all but done!"
"What in the world!" said Alice.
"A party for you!"
"And I'm wearing my old suit!"
"We caught you this time, but never mind. Come in, and take off your things."
As soon as Alice reappeared in the living room, a small table was drawn up before the open fire. Two girls appeared, wearing gingham aprons and carrying overflowing market baskets.
"This is a kitchen shower for you, Alice," Ruth explained somewhat ceremoniously. "But if you are willing, we will use the utensils in serving the luncheon and afterwards present them to you. May we unpack the baskets?"
"Do," said Alice, laughing.
From the larger basket, Ruth removed twelve white enamelled plates of different sizes (suitable for holding supplies in the refrigerator), and twelve cross-barred tea towels. Thelatter she passed around to be used as napkins, and Mary distributed the plates. On the small serving table before the fire, a white muslin table cover was placed. As she unfolded it, Ruth read from the attached card:
"If breakfast you should chance to eatUpon the kitchen table—I'll make it dainty, fair and neatSo far as I am able."
When the steel forks and spoons of various sizes were taken out and passed around, two glass measuring cups were found to hold loaf sugar wrapped in frilled paper. Upon one of these Ruth read:
"Please eat us all, but let your sweetSweet hours be duly treasured,For we belie the worldly eye—True sweetness can't be measured."
A glass rolling-pin filled with stick candy came next, and its sentiments read, and meanwhile the girls had begun to read aloud the advice pinned upon the tea-towels, such as:
"No matter what his whims and wishes—Just tell him he must wipe the dishes!"
and
"But if he breaks a cup or plate,Just throw the pieces at him straight."
"What vindictive dish-towels!" said Alice. "They're not a bit sentimental!"
When the contents had been removed and all the verses read, the large basket was presented to Alice, who read from its handle:
"To market, to market, to buy your supplies!You'll go there in person, if careful and wise."
"I will, Mr. Basket, with you over my arm!" answered Alice.
Meanwhile the girls had carried in the salad in an earthenware mixing-bowl, the muffins heaped high in a small basket with a dainty dustcloth over them, the coffee in a large enamelled pitcher, and the "molasses puffs" wrapped in frilled paper in a basket suitable for holding supplies. "Bettina's apples" were arranged in two flat enamelled pans. All the food was served informally from the small table, and the merriment grew as the luncheon progressed.
"I wish that all the meals Harry and I have together might be as jolly as this one! I'm sure I should be glad to eat always from kitchen dishes, if that is what makes the fun," said Alice.
At the kitchen shower, the luncheon was as follows:
Bettina's Potato Salad Bettina's Spiced BeetsTwin Mountain Muffins Currant JellyMolasses Puffs Bettina's ApplesCoffee Stick Candy
BETTINA'S RECIPES
(All measurements are level)
Bettina's Potato Salad(Twelve portions)
3C-cold boiled potatoes, diced1C-diced celery½C-diced hard-cooked egg¼C-diced sweet pickles3T-diced pimento2t-salt1T-chopped onion1C-salad dressing12 lettuce leaves
Mix all the ingredients in the order named. Serve the salad very cold on crisp lettuce leaves.
Bettina's Spiced Beets(Twelve portions)
5 large, cooked beets, sliced½C-vinegar1T-"C" sugar6 cloves1t-salt1/8t-pepper
Heat the vinegar, add the cloves, sugar, salt and pepper.Pour over the beets, cut in one-third inch slices. Allow to stand one hour before serving.
Molasses Puffs(Twelve portions)
¾C-molasses¾C-sugar½C-hot water1/3C-butter and lard (melted)1 egg, well beaten2t-ginger1t-cinnamon2t-soda3C-flour
Mix the molasses and sugar. Add the hot water and fat. Beat well, add the egg and mix thoroughly. Sift the ginger, cinnamon, flour and soda together, and add to the rest of the ingredients, mixing well. Fill well-buttered muffin pans three-fourths full. Bake in a moderate oven for twenty-five minutes. Ice with "C" sugar icing.
Icing
2 egg-whites beaten stiffly2C-"C" sugar½C-water½t-vanilla
Cook the sugar and water together until it "clicks" when a little is dropped into cold water. Pour the syrup slowly over the stiffly beaten egg whites. Beat vigorously until cool and creamy. Add the vanilla and spread on the cakes. If the icing gets hard before it is cool, add two tablespoons of water and continue beating. The secret of good icing is steady, constant beating.
Bettina's Apples(Twelve portions)
12 apples3C-"C" sugar2C-water¼t-cinnamon½t-vanilla18 marshmallows1T-butter
Wash, peel and core the apples. Place in a broad flat pan in which the sugar and water have been thoroughly mixed. Cook the apples, turning often until tender, remove from the syrup and place in a serving dish. Fill the center with one-half a marshmallow. Add the cinnamon and butter to the syrup and cook five minutes or until it thickens. Pour over and around the apples. Decorate with a marshmallow cut into fourths. Serve warm.
A RAINY NIGHT MEAL
"WHY, Bob, I thought you'd be miles away by this time!" cried Bettina, as Bob came into the house at the usual time one evening.
"They called off our trip on account of the weather. And I supposed you'd be at your mother's!"
"It was raining so that I decided to build a cozy little fire in the fireplace and stay at home."
"Well, I'm glad you're here! I was expecting to come home to a cold, dark house, and this is much more cheerful."
"And I expected not to see you till midnight, so I'm well suited too! But, Bobby, you mustn't complain if I give you a 'pick-up meal.' I expected to eat only a lunch myself."
"I don't care what you give me, just so it's hot. My walk through the rain has given me an appetite. I'll help you get supper and wash the dishes, Bettina, and then afterward we'll pop corn and toast marshmallows by the fire. What do you say?"
"Fine, Bob! I cooked some celery today—just a little—and I think I'll fix 'celery au gratin' for you. The cooky-jar is full of rocks——"
"A full cooky-jar! Bettina, that ought to be the symbol of our happy home. May it always be full!"
"You're altogether too oratorical for a staid married man, Bob. Well, as I was saying, here is apple sauce, and I'll soon have some emergency biscuit stirred up. Then with scrambled eggs——"
"Hurry, Bettina! My appetite grows with every dish you mention!"
They had a meal of:
Scrambled Eggs Celery au GratinEmergency Biscuit Fresh Apple SauceRocks Coffee
BETTINA'S RECIPES
(All measurements are level)
Scrambled Eggs(Two portions)
3 eggs5T-milk¼t-salt1/8t-paprika1T-butter
Beat the eggs slightly; add milk, salt and paprika. Melt the butter in a frying pan or omelet pan. When hot, add the egg mixture, and cook slowly, scraping from bottom and sides of the pan when mixture first sets. Cook until creamy, or longer if preferred. If desired, the egg may be constantly "scrambled" with a fork while cooking. Turn into a hot dish and serve at once.
Celery au Gratin(Two portions)
1C-cooked diced celery1T-butter1T-flour½C-milk and celery stock3T-grated cheese1/8t-paprika¼t-salt
Cook the celery in a small amount of water at a low temperature, as too fast boiling makes it tough. Simmer until tender.
Melt the butter, add the flour and blend well. Add the milk and stock, pepper and salt. Add the cheese. Allow to cook until it is the consistency of a thin vegetable white sauce. Add the celery. Place in a hot oven for fifteen minutes.
(Bettina uses a part of the water in which the celery is simmered to make up the cup of combined milk and celery stock. The remainder of the celery stock she saves for soup.)
Rocks(Two dozen)
1½C-brown sugar2/3C-butter2 eggs1t-cinnamon¼t-ground cloves¼t-salt2½C-flour1t-soda1½C-chopped nut meats and raisins1t-vanilla
Cream the butter, add the sugar, and cream the mixture. Add the eggs, well beaten, and the remaining dry ingredients (except nuts and raisins) sifted together. Mix well. Add the nut meats and chopped raisins, and vanilla. The mixture should be very stiff. Drop from a spoon onto flat buttered pans or preferably onto a buttered baking sheet. Bake about twelve minutes in a moderate oven.
(Bettina keeps rocks in a stone jar, and finds that they keep well, and are really better when a day old.)
ALICE GIVES A LUNCHEON
"THESE are the first baking powder biscuits I have ever made for company," said Alice, "but I knew that I must begin some time. Mother has gone out to spend the day; I persuaded her that my efforts to serve a luncheon would upset her nervous system completely. Just think, girls! You are at my mercy—for I have prepared this humble repast with my own useless hands!"
"Shame on you, Alice! Don't pretend to be so humble. You do everything so easily that I'll not be surprised to see you papering your own house and acting as your own plumber and doing every other hard thing. A useless butterfly like you who turns out to be so competent after all is the despair of all us plodders who have always plodded and always will!" And Ruth sighed.
"Never mind, Ruthie," said Bettina. "I've eaten a mighty fine luncheon that you cooked yourself—four or five courses, if I haven't forgotten!"
"Yes, and I worried every minute during that day!"
"We all do at first, except maybe Alice!"
"Why worry?" said Alice. "(Seems to me I've heard that expression before.) You girls won't die if the biscuits do fail—I'll give you bread. Harry and I are going to laugh at our own mistakes—and enjoy them. Isn't that a good philosophy? But, girls, to get down to biscuits. I want to ask you—one and all—collectively and individually, to be in my wedding party. With the addition of Sister, who isn't here. She and Bettina will be the matrons of honor. Will you?"
"Will we!" they all cried with enthusiasm.
The luncheon menu was as follows:
Salmon SaladGreen Beans Butter SauceBaking-powder BiscuitsWatermelon PicklesCream Puffs Coffee
BETTINA'S RECIPES
(All measurements are level)
Salmon Salad(Six portions)
1C-salmon1C-diced celery¼C-sweet pickles, cut fine1t-salt3 hard-cooked eggs, cut fine1C-salad dressing
Break the salmon apart carefully with a silver fork, add the diced celery, sweet pickles, salt and hard-cooked eggs. Mix together well, and add the salad dressing. Arrange on lettuce leaves in a salad bowl, garnish with hard-cooked eggs to represent daisies, and pickles cut in strips. Serve very cold. (To represent daisies, cut the whites of each hard-cooked egg in six long petals. Arrange these on the salad. Cut the yolks in half, and place in the center—round side out. Arrange the pickle to represent stem and leaves.)
Green Beans, Butter Sauce(Six portions)
2C-green beans (canned)1T-water1t-salt¼t-paprika3T-butter
Remove beans from the can and rinse with cold water. Add water, salt, paprika and butter. Cook over a moderate fire for three minutes. Serve.
Cream Puffs(Twelve Puffs)
1C-boiling water½C-butter¼t-salt1C-flour3 eggs
Place the water and butter in a sauce pan. Heat to the boiling point, then add the flour, all at once, and stir till smooth. Cook till the paste comes away from the sides of the pan. (Avery short time.) Remove from fire, and when cold, add the unbeaten eggs, one at a time, beating thoroughly after each egg is added. (The mixture should be stiff enough to hold its shape without spreading.) Chill the paste by placing in the ice-box and then drop by tablespoonsful on a buttered sheet. Bake thirty-five minutes in a hot oven. When cold, make an opening in the side of each and fill with cream filling.
Cream Filling(Twelve portions)
1C-milk½C-sugar¼t-salt4T-cornstarch1T-flour1 egg1t-butter½t-vanilla
Mix the sugar, salt, cornstarch and flour. Gradually add the milk and egg. Cook until very thick, in a double boiler. Add the butter and vanilla. Beat one minute. Cool before using.
MOTORING WITH THE DIXONS
"NOT through dinner yet?" exclaimed the Dixons at the door. "May we sit down and wait? It's a beautiful evening, and we've come to get you to take a long drive with us."
"Fine," said Bob. "Come out to the dining-room and talk till we're through."
"And then I'll help Bettina clear off the table," said Charlotte. "Well, people, it looks like a good dinner, and Sherlock Holmes deduces, moreover, that you had roast lamb yesterday for your Sunday dinner."
"You might also deduce that we had baked potatoes, from which these creamed ones are made," laughed Bettina. "Nothing else to guess at, except that part of a cabbage made cold slaw yesterday and escalloped cabbage today. And my dessert, while simple, has no secret past," she added as she removed the first course. "A plain and simple custard, that's all."
"Suits me," said Bob, heartily, "especially when it's cold like this."
"By the way, Bettina," said Charlotte, "did you ever get rid of those black ants you were telling me about?"
"Yes, I've never seen one since."
"Well, you know how worried I was about the little red ones that bothered me. Aunt Isabel, in a letter, gave me a remedy that has worked like magic."
"Aunt Isabel has her uses, after all," teased Frank.
"I should say she has! She knows all about housekeeping, from A to Z! Her remedy sounds queer, but I can vouch for its efficacy, so if anyone ever asks you what to do for red ants, you tell them this, Bettina. I took some covers from baking powder cans, and some Mason jar covers, and some pie tins, and chalked the sides well with common school crayon. Then I set them on the pantry shelves to hold dishes of whatever kinds of food the ants liked. The ants never climbed over those chalked covers and soon they had all disappeared. I don't have to use the chalked tins any more, but if I ever see a red ant in my pantry again, I'll get out the chalk."
"Couldn't you make a heavy chalk mark on the shelf paper around the dish of food?" asked Bob.
"I tried that, but it didn't do any good. But the other way worked beautifully."
"I'm glad to know about it," said Bettina. "Well, Bob, are you ready? It will take only a few minutes to carry out the dishes and pile them up. I'm sorry we've kept you people waiting."
For dinner that night they had:
Cold Sliced Lamb Creamed PotatoesChili Sauce Escalloped CabbageBread ButterBaked Custard
BETTINA'S RECIPES
(All measurements are level)
Escalloped Cabbage(Two portions)
1C-cooked cabbage1T-butter1T-flour¼t-salt½C-milk2T-fresh bread crumbs1T-melted butter
Melt the butter, add the flour and salt, and mix well. Slowly pour over the milk and cook until creamy. Add the cabbage. Pour into a buttered baking dish. Add bread crumbs to melted butter, and place the buttered crumbs on the cabbage. Bake in a moderate oven for fifteen minutes, or until the crumbs are browned.
Chili Sauce(One and one-half pints)
12 large, ripe tomatoes3 green peppers2 onions2T-salt2T-sugar1T-ground cinnamon3C-vinegar
Peel the tomatoes and onions, and chop separately very fine. Chop the pepper also, and add the salt, sugar and cinnamon. Mix all the ingredients together and add the vinegar. Cook one and one-half hours over a moderate fire, stirring sufficiently to prevent sticking. Bottle, and when cool, seal with paraffin.
Cup Custard(Three portions)
2 eggs2C-milk4T-sugar1/8t-saltA few gratings of nutmeg¼t-vanilla
Beat the eggs slightly, add the sugar and milk slowly. Add salt and flavoring. Stir well. Pour into well-buttered cups. Sprinkle the nutmeg gratings on the top. Set the cups in a pan of hot water and bake in a moderate oven until a knife comes out clean upon piercing the custard (about thirty-five minutes). Do not allow the water in the pan to boil. Serve the custard cold, removing from the cups just before ready to serve. The custards may be served in cups.
RUTH MAKES BAKING POWDER BISCUITS
"OH, Ruth!" called Bettina from her door to Ruth, who was walking past. "Come in and stay to dinner!"
"My dear, I'd love to, but——"
"I'm going to have baking powder biscuits, and I remember that you were longing to learn how to make them."
"Oh, Bettina! Would you really show me? I'll simply have to come, then. I hesitated because Aunt Martha is here, but I know she'll excuse me for one evening. What time is it? Five? I'll take these packages home and be back in fifteen minutes!"
When Ruth returned she found Bettina in her kitchen with all of the ingredients for the biscuits set out on the table.
"Perhaps two cups of flour will make too many for three people," she said, "but Bob has a good-sized appetite these crisp fall days, and he's fond of biscuits with jelly. Now, Ruth, you can get to work! Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together, and then cut the lard in this way with this knife.... Fine! Now add the milk very slowly—perhaps it will take a little more than two-thirds of a cup, it all depends on the flour. There! Now pat the dough into shape on this floured board, and then you can cut the biscuits out with this little cutter. Yes, about three-fourths of an inch thick. Ruth, those look fine! We'll wait a little while to bake them, they're better perfectly fresh. Set them out in the cold, there, until I have fixed the macaroni, and they can pop into the oven at the same time."
"That was so easy, Bettina. I do hope those biscuits will be good!"
The dinner consisted of:
Lamb Chops Macaroni and CheeseSliced TomatoesBaking Powder Biscuits JellyApple Tapioca Pudding Cream
BETTINA'S RECIPES
(All measurements are level)
Macaroni and Cheese(Three portions)
½C-macaroni, broken in pieces1 qt. water1t-salt2T-butter4T-cheese, cut in small pieces1½C-milk½t-salt¼t-paprika3T-flour
Cook the macaroni in the boiling salted water until tender. (About fifteen minutes.) Drain and rinse thoroughly with cold water. Melt the butter, add the flour, salt and pepper. Gradually add the milk and cheese. Cook three minutes. Add the macaroni. Mix well, and pour into a well-buttered baking dish. Place in a moderate oven and cook twenty minutes.
Baking-powder Biscuits(Fifteen biscuits)
2C-flour4t-baking powder½t-salt3T-lard2/3C-milk
Mix the flour, baking powder and salt, and cut in the fat with a knife. Slowly add the milk. (More or less may be required, as it depends on the flour.) Pat into shape three-fourths of an inch thick. Cut with a cutter, place side by side on a tin pan. Bake in a hot oven twelve to fifteen minutes.