REHEARSING THE CEREMONY
ALICE'S wedding day dawned clear and cold, and Bettina realized with a start all that was before her. She had as house guests two school friends of Alice's, gay and charming girls who were, nevertheless, somewhat difficult visitors, as the little bungalow was soon strewn with their belongings and as they were completely indifferent to such a thing as punctuality.
"S'pose Geraldine'll be in to borrow my mirror in a minute," grumbled Bob. "How long'll they stay?"
"'Till tomorrow morning, dear. Hurry! You know we have to rehearse at ten o'clock."
"Ushers and all?"
"Of course. You wouldn't know what to do without a rehearsal, would you?"
"I suppose not. But what if I can't get away from the office?"
"You'll have to, Bob, for Harry's sake. Surely you can manage it for once."
Bob went on grumbling about the foolishness of "these fancy weddings" until Bettina consoled him with the promise of waffles for breakfast.
"And we'll simply have to call Geraldine and Lenore," said she. "They are going to the rehearsal with me, and I must have my morning's work done before we start. You see I shall have them here for luncheon, and we won't be back 'till noon."
Bettina, with some effort, managed to reach the church withher guests shortly after ten o'clock. The nervous and excited wedding party stood about in chattering groups, and when summoned, went through their parts with many mistakes and giggles.
"How can it ever seem beautiful and solemn," thought Bettina in despair, "when we all do it so stupidly? I'm afraid we are going to spoil the wedding!"
BETTINA'S RECIPES
(All measurements are level)
MORE BRIDAL DINNER RECIPES
Sautéd Halibut(Twelve portions)
2½lb.halibut steak¼t-pepper1t-salt1T-lemon juice1/8t-onion juice4T-egg-yolks1T-water1½C-cracker crumbs4T-fat2T-melted butter
Mix the pepper, lemon juice, onion juice, salt, butter, egg and water. Wipe the halibut with a damp cloth and then cut into strips two and a half by four inches. Dip each strip into the above mixture and roll in cracker crumbs. Place the fat in a frying-pan, and when hot add the halibut. Brown thoroughly on each side and garnish with lemon and parsley.
Potato Rosettes(Twelve portions)
3C-mashed potatoes3T-milk1t-salt¼t-paprika2T-butter
Mix potatoes, milk, salt, paprika and butter. Beat one minute. Place the hot potato mixture in a pastry bag and press rosettes on a flat buttered tin pan three inches apart. Set in a moderate oven twenty minutes to brown. Remove from the pan with a spatula.
Cabbage Relish in Green Pepper Cases(Twelve portions)
12 green peppers3C-finely chopped cabbage3T-pimento, cut fine1 green pepper, cut fine2/3C-vinegar2T-"C" sugar1t-salt1t-mustard1T-olive oil
Mix the mustard, oil, salt, sugar and vinegar. Add the green pepper, pimento and cabbage. Fill the peppers with this mixture. The peppers are prepared by cutting off the stem end, removing the seeds and washing thoroughly.
Glazed Sweet Potatoes(Twelve portions)
6 sweet potatoes1C-brown sugar½C-water3T-butter
Wash, pare and boil the sweet potatoes. When tender, drain, cut in lengthwise slices one-half inch thick, and lay in a buttered pan. Cover with a syrup made by cooking the brown sugar, water and butter for two minutes. Baste frequently. Bake twenty minutes in a moderate oven.
AFTER THE WEDDING
THE stately wedding ceremony had taken place in the big church, and Bettina, climbing into the automobile for the drive to the reception, had, for all her own part in the affair, only a confused memory of music, lights and faces, soft lavender and soft pink, and Alice and Harry murmuring their vows.
"Wasn't it lovely, Bob? Wasn't it stately and impressive?"
"Say, aren't you cold?" was his prosy reply. "That church was too warm; take my coat!"
"No, indeed; I don't need it! Oh, wasn't it a beautiful wedding! Did Lillian and I walk slowly enough?" And she chattered on about all of the details until the house was reached.
The bride and groom were already there, and gay congratulations followed from the many guests. The dining-room, where the dainty wedding supper was served, was elaborate with palms and high baskets of roses. Tables about the room held six, and in the center, a large round table, decorated with a broad, low mound of violets and roses, was arranged for the bridal party. Here also was the bride's cake, and the small boxes of wedding cake which the guests received upon leaving the room.
When Alice cut the bride's cake, the thimble fell to Ruth, which occasioned much merriment, while the dime was discovered by Harry in his own piece. The ring went to Mary, who emphatically denied that the omen spoke truly. Butwhen Mary also caught Alice's bouquet of lilies-of-the-valley, the young people refused to listen to her protests.
"Dear Alice," said Bettina, as she helped the bride into her traveling suit, "may your whole life be as beautiful as your wedding!"
The wedding supper consisted of:
Chicken and Mushroom Patties Fruit JellyHot RollsOlives PicklesIce Cream in Individual Slipper MouldsViolet Decorated Cake Salted PecansFancy Candy in Tiny BasketsCoffee
BETTINA'S RECIPES
(All measurements are level)
THE WEDDING RECIPES
Chicken and Mushroom Filling for Patty Shells(Fifteen portions)
2C-cooked chicken, diced1C-button mushrooms, diced3T-pimentoes, cut fine1t-salt¼t-paprika2/3C-flour2/3C-chicken fat3C-milk
Melt the fat, add the flour and salt; mix thoroughly. Add one-half a cup of milk. Cook until thick, remove from the fire and heat one minute. Add one cup of milk and reheat. When it thickens, beat vigorously until creamy. Add the rest of the milk, and cook until thicker than vegetable white sauce. Add the chicken, mushrooms and pimentoes. Serve hot in patty cases.
To prepare the cases for serving, heat until hot in a moderate oven.
To obtain the chicken fat, cook a fat chicken slowly for a long time. Remove the chicken from the stock and allow the stock to cool. The fat will rise to the top. Use this instead of butter. It has a better flavor and is cheaper.
Fruit Jelly(Fifteen portions)
4T-granulated gelatin2/3C-cold water4C-boiling water2/3C-lemon juice2C-sugar1C-white grapes, seeded½C-diced pineapple½C-maraschino cherries, halved
Soak the gelatin twenty minutes in the cold water, and dissolve in the boiling water, stirring till all is thoroughly dissolved. Strain through a moistened cheese-cloth and add the sugar and the lemon juice. Place in moistened individual moulds or one large pan. When the mixture is slightly thick and cool, add the fruit, well-mixed. Set in a cold place for one hour. Cut in squares when desired for use.
A "HAPPEN-IN" LUNCHEON
BETTINA had finished her morning's work and was busy with her mending when the telephone rang.
"Why, hello, Bob!" she answered, surprised to hear his voice at this time of day.
"Bettina," said he, "could you possibly arrange to let me bring Carl Edwards and his wife home to luncheon? They blew in a few minutes ago and leave at two-thirty. We haven't much time, you see, and they are especially anxious to see the house. They are planning to build for themselves soon."
"Why, of course, Bob," said Bettina, hesitating for the briefest possible second. "It's after eleven now, but I'll be glad to have you bring them. Let's see—I'll give them the salad I had planned for tonight, but I don't know what else—but, then, I'll manage somehow."
"All right, dear; that's fine. We'll be there early—a little after twelve."
Bettina's "emergency shelf" was always well stocked, and before her conversation with Bob was over her mind had hastily reviewed its contents. In a very short time, her oven held escalloped salmon, graham gems and "quick pudding," and she was setting the dainty porch table. "I'm glad the weather is so beautiful," she said to herself, "for it is so much fun to have a hurry-up luncheon like this out-of-doors. Well, whatever the guests think, I'm sure that Bob will like my menu, for 'quick pudding' is a favorite dessert of his, and he can always eat several graham gems!"
For luncheon they had:
Escalloped Salmon Graham GemsApricot SauceBettina's Vegetable SaladChocolate MarshmallowsBettina's "Quick Pudding"
BETTINA'S RECIPES
(All measurements are level)
Escalloped Salmon(Four portions)
1½C-salmon3T-sweet pickles, chopped fine1T-lemon juice½C-cracker crumbs1 egg¼t-paprika½t-salt¼C-milk2T-fresh bread crumbs1T-melted butter
Pick the salmon apart with a fork and add the pickles, lemon juice, cracker crumbs, egg, paprika, salt and milk, using a fork for mixing. Place in a well-buttered baking dish. Melt the butter, add the fresh crumbs and spread evenly over the top. Bake twenty minutes in a moderate oven.
Graham Gems(Ten gems)
1C-graham flour1C-white flour1t-salt¼C-sugar¾t-soda¾C-sour milk1 egg
Mix the graham and white flour, the salt, sugar and soda, add the milk and egg. Beat two minutes. Fill well-buttered muffin pans one-half full. Bake twenty minutes in a moderate oven.
Apricot Sauce(Four portions)
¼lb.dried apricots2C-water½C-sugar
Wash the dried apricots well. Add the water and allow them to soak for three hours or longer. Cook very slowly in the same water until tender. Add the sugar, and cook three minutes.
Bettina's Vegetable Salad(Four portions)
½C-cooked peas½C-diced celery¼C-green pepper, chopped½C-diced cooked potatoes1T-chopped onion2 hard-cooked eggs, diced2t-salt2/3C-salad dressing
Mix the peas, celery, green pepper, potatoes, onion, egg and salt thoroughly. Add the salad dressing, and serve cold on lettuce leaves. Garnish with rings of green pepper and egg slices.
Bettina's "Quick Pudding"(Four portions)
2 egg-whites, stiffly beaten4T-powdered sugar10 dates, cut fine3T-nuts, cut fine½t-vanilla1/8t-salt¼t-baking powder
Beat the eggs stiffly, add the nut meats, dates, vanilla, salt, sugar and baking powder. Place in a well-buttered tin mould or a pan and bake in a moderate oven for twenty-five minutes. Allow the mould to stand in a pan of hot water while in the oven. Serve hot.
UNCLE JOHN A GUEST AT DINNER
"WELL, well! In time for dinner; am I?" said Uncle John, letting in a gust of snow-filled air as he opened the front door.
"Why, Uncle John, I should say you are!" answered Bettina with delight as she removed her kitchen apron. "Do you smell my date buns? I believe you'll like them!"
"Date buns? Never heard of anything so absurd in my whole life! What are they?" And then, without waiting for an answer, he went on, "A regular blizzard tonight, I do believe! I telephoned your Aunt Lucy that I wouldn't be back to the farm till morning, then I found a place to leave my car, and came up here to see if I couldn't get a bite to eat. But date buns! I don't know about that! I'm not used to anything so fancy."
"Well, Uncle John, there's a salmon loaf baking in the oven, and also some lemon rice pudding, so I believe there'll be something you'll like."
"Maybe!" said Uncle John, doubtfully, but with a twinkle in his eye that belied his words. "But let me see! Aunt Lucy sent you something; what was it? Oh, yes, some cream!" And he took a glass jar from its wrappings.
"Oh, Uncle John, how lovely!" said Bettina. "Won't we just revel in cream! There comes Bob now! Get behind the door, Uncle John, and say 'boo'! the way you used to do with me when I was a little girl!"
That night for dinner Bettina served:
Salmon Loaf Creamed PotatoesDate Buns ButterCranberry SauceLemon Rice PuddingCoffee
BETTINA'S RECIPES
(All measurements are level)
Salmon Loaf(Three portions)
1C-flaked salmon½C-fresh bread crumbs2/3C-milk1 egg-yolk½t-salt¼t-paprika1t-melted butter1t-flour
Mix the salmon, bread crumbs, milk, egg-yolk, salt and paprika. Pack down in a well-buttered pan. Pour one teaspoon of melted butter over the top. Dredge with flour. Bake thirty-five minutes in a moderate oven. Serve hot or cold.
Date Buns(Twelve Buns)
3C-flour½t-salt1 yeast cake2T-sugar1/3T-butter¾C-milk1 egg2/3C-dates
Mix and sift the flour and the salt. Add the dates, which have been pitted and cut into small pieces. Mix with sugar the yeast cake (broken up). Heat the milk and add the butter. When the butter is melted, cool the milk mixture slightly, and add it to the yeast mixture, stirring carefully until the yeast is dissolved.
Add the egg well-beaten to the milk mixture, and add this to the flour. Mix thoroughly and toss onto a well-floured board. Knead two minutes. Place in a warm place and allow to rise one hour. Divide into twelve pieces by cutting with a knife. Allow to rise ten minutes. Brush the tops with one tablespoon of egg to which has been added one tablespoon of milk. Bake twenty minutes in a hot oven.
Lemon Rice Pudding(Three portions)
2/3C-cooked rice¼t-salt1C-milk1 egg1T-lemon juice¼C-sugar1T-powdered sugar1t-lemon juice
Beat the egg-yolk, add the sugar, salt and lemon juice. Add the milk and the rice. Cook one minute, stirring constantly to prevent scorching. Pour into a well-buttered pudding dish. Beat the egg-white very stiff. Add the powdered sugar and the lemon juice. (One teaspoon.) Pile lightly on top of the pudding. Bake thirty minutes in a slow oven.
DURING THE TEACHERS' CONVENTION
"SO you'll not be back until dinner time?" Bettina had said at the breakfast table to Bob's cousin, Edna, and her friend, Catherine. "A whole day of it! How tired you'll be!"
Edna laughed her ripply laugh that always made everyone else laugh, too. "Tired getting me a hat and a suit? Oh, Bettina! That makes me feel livelier than ever!"
Catherine looked troubled. "Now, Edna," she said, "you positively mustn't miss that afternoon meeting. I know it will be so inspiring! Remember what Professor Macy said!"
Edna laughed again. "Catherine always quotes Professor Macy as if he were an oracle or a sphinx or something instead of a nice solemn young high school teacher who's getting a little bald!"
"He isn't bald and he isn't solemn," declared Catherine with some spirit.
"Forgive me, Catherine dear! He is a lamb and a darling and everything else you want me to say!"
"I want you to say? Why, Edna, aren't you ashamed!" said Catherine, growing very red. "Who ever heard of such nonsense?"
"I love to tease you, Catherine. It's so easy! So you won't help me get my hat? I want a beautiful purple one—or else a perky little black one. I haven't decided whether to be stately and gracious, or frivolous and cunning. But I do know that I will not look as if I were about to cram the multiplication table into the head of some poor little innocent!"
"Don't worry, Edna," said Bob. "You won't look that way at all. In fact, I wonder that you can be serious long enough to impress the members of the school board when they come visiting."
"She doesn't try to impress them; she just smiles at them instead, and that does just as well," said Catherine. "But she's not so utterly frivolous as her conversation sounds. She wants to hear the convention addresses just as much as I do—and I know she'll be there this afternoon. In fact, I intend to save a seat for her."
"Between you and Professor Macy?" asked Edna, innocently. "Or on his left?"
"Shame on you, Edna," said Bettina. "Now you girls tell me just what you'd like for dinner! Aren't there some special dishes you're hungry for?"
"Pork tenderloin and sweet potatoes!" said Edna. "Our landlady never has them, and I often dream of the joy of ordering such delicacies!"
And so that evening for dinner Bettina had:
Pork Tenderloin and Sweet PotatoesBaked ApplesBread ButterCottage Pudding with Chocolate SauceCoffee
BETTINA'S RECIPES
(All measurements are level)
Pork Tenderloin and Sweet Potatoes(Four portions)
1½ lbs. pork tenderloin1t-salt¼t-pepper4 large sweet potatoes
Wipe the tenderloins which have been prepared by cutting into small pieces (by the butcher). Place in a small roaster and put in a hot oven. When brown on each side, season with salt and pepper. Pare the potatoes and place in the pan with the meat. Baste every ten minutes with one-fourth cup of water if there are not sufficient drippings to baste both the potatoes and meat. Cook until the potatoes are done (about forty-five minutes).
Baked Apples(Four portions)
4 Jonathan apples8T-"C" sugar2t-cinnamon1C-water½t-vanilla
Wash and core the apples. Fill each with one tablespoon of sugar and one-half teaspoon of cinnamon. Place in a small tin pan just large enough to hold them. Add the water and the rest of the sugar, and bake forty-five minutes in a moderate oven. Baste frequently with the syrup. After the apples have cooked thirty minutes, add the vanilla to the syrup.
Bettina's Cottage Pudding(Four portions)
½C-sugar¼t-salt1C-flour2t-baking powder3T-chopped nuts½t-vanilla1 egg½C-milk3T-melted butter
Mix the sugar, salt, flour, baking powder and nuts. Add the egg and milk and mix well. Add the vanilla. Beat vigorously for two minutes, and then add the melted butter. Pour into well-buttered gem pans, filling each half full. Bake fifteen minutes in a moderate oven. Serve with chocolate sauce.
Chocolate Sauce(Four portions)
½C-sugar2T-flour1C-water1/8t-salt1 square of chocolate¼t-vanilla
Mix thoroughly the sugar, flour and salt. Add the water and the chocolate. Cook slowly until the chocolate is melted (about two minutes). Add the vanilla and serve hot. If too thick, add more water until the desired consistency is reached.
A LUNCHEON FOR THE TEACHERS
"I'LL stay at home and help you this morning; may I, Bettina?" asked Edna, looking wistfully around at Bettina's white kitchen.
"No, indeed, my dear. It is such a simple little luncheon that I have planned that I can easily do it all alone. And you must go to the meeting. All I ask is that you won't forget to come home at noon."
"Edna would much rather fuss around with you in this dear little kitchen than to go to the meetings," said Catherine, "but I won't let her. She is always crazy to cook and do housework and things like that, but she came to this convention with me, and I intend to have her get the benefit of it. Do you hear me, you bad girl? It's almost time for us to be there. Go and get your things!"
"This is the way I'm managed all the time!" complained Edna to Bettina. "Do you wonder that I look thin and pale?"
"Poor Edna!" said Bettina, smiling at her round figure and rosy cheeks. "Now do run along with Catherine. But don't forget we'll have three other guests at noon! So wear your prettiest smile!"
"And I'll help you serve!" Edna smiled back.
That day for luncheon, Bettina had:
Creamed Oysters on ToastPear Salad Brown Bread SandwichesPecan Ice Cream Sponge CakeMints Coffee
BETTINA'S RECIPES
(All measurements are level)
Creamed Oysters on Toast(Six portions)
6 pieces of toast, cut circular3T-butter4T-flour¼t-paprika1t-salt1½C-milk2C-oysters
Pick over the oysters, and drain off the liquor. Melt the butter, add the flour, salt and paprika, and mix thoroughly. Gradually add the milk, cook until thick and creamy (about three minutes), and add the oysters. Serve very hot on toast. Garnish with parsley.
Pear Salad(Six portions)
6 halves of pear½C-cottage cheese1T-chopped pimento1T-chopped green pepper6 halves of walnuts1/8t-paprika6T-salad dressing6 pieces of lettuce
Arrange the pears on the lettuce leaves. Mix the cheese, pimento, green pepper and paprika thoroughly. Fill the half of the pear with the mixture. Place salad dressing over the mixture and lay one nut meat on top of each portion. Serve cold.
Pecan Ice Cream(Ten portions)
1 qt. of cream¾C-sugar1½T-vanilla½C-pecan meats, cut fine
Mix the cream, sugar and vanilla. Fill a freezer half full of the mixture. When half frozen add the pecan meats. Continue freezing until stiff. Pack and allow to stand two hours to "ripen" before serving.
Sponge Cake(Ten portions)
6 egg-yolks1C-sugar1t-lemon extract6 egg-whites1C-flour¼t-salt
Beat the egg-yolks until thick and lemon colored. Add the sugar gradually and continue beating, using a Dover egg-beater.Add the extract and whites of the eggs very stiffly beaten. Remove the egg beater and cut and fold the flour which has been sifted four times, the salt having been added to the last sifting. Bake one hour in an unbuttered, narrow pan in a slow oven.
Genuine sponge cake has no baking powder or soda in it. The eggs must be vigorously beaten so that the cake will rise. A very slow oven is necessary. Increase the heat slightly every fifteen minutes.
Do not cut sponge cake; it should be broken apart with a fork.
RUTH COMES TO LUNCHEON
"BETTINA, what makes the gas stove pop like that when I light it? I've often wondered."
"Why, Ruth, that's because you apply the match too soon. You ought to allow the gas to flow for about four seconds; that fills all the little holes with gas and blows out the air. Then light it, and it won't pop or go out. The flame ought to burn blue; if it burns yellow, turn it off, and adjust it again."
"Well, I'm glad to know that. Sometimes it has been all right and sometimes it hasn't, and I never realized that it was because I applied the match too soon. I'm glad I came today."
"I'm glad, too, but not because of instructing you, I'm not competent to do that in very many things, goodness knows! When I called up and asked you to lunch, it was because I had such a longing to see what lovely things you'd be making today. You will have the daintiest, prettiest trousseau, Ruth!"
"I love to embroider, so I'm getting great fun out of it. I tell Fred it's a treat to make pretty things and keep them all! They were usually for gifts before! Oh, lobster salad?"
"No, creamed lobster on toast. There, Mister Lobster, you're out of your can. I always hurry him out in double-quick time onto a plate, or into an earthen-ware dish, because I'm so afraid something might interrupt me, and I'd be careless enough to leave him in the opened can! Though I know I never could be so careless. Then I never leave a metal fork standing in lobster or canned fish. It's a bad thing."
"I knew about the can, but not about the fork, though I don't believe I ever do leave a fork or a spoon in anything like that."
"Would you prefer tea, coffee, or chocolate with these cookies for dessert?"
"Coffee, I believe, Bettina. Aren't they cunning cookies! What are they?"
"Peanut cookies. I think they are good, and they are so simple to make. They are nice with afternoon tea; mother often serves them. There—lunch is all ready but the coffee, and we'll have that last."
Luncheon consisted of:
Creamed Lobster on ToastHead Lettuce French Dressing with Green PeppersBread ButterPeanut CookiesCoffee
BETTINA'S RECIPES
(All measurements are level)
Creamed Lobster on Toast(Two portions)
2/3C-lobster2T-butterA few grains of cayenne pepper1/3t-salt2T-flour1C-milk½t-lemon juice1 egg-yolk3 slices of toast
Melt the butter, add the salt, cayenne and flour. Gradually add the milk, cook until thick, stirring constantly unless in double boiler. Add the egg-yolk. Add the lobster, separated with a fork, and the lemon juice. Serve very hot on toast, garnished with parsley.
Head Lettuce(Two portions)
1 head lettuce
Remove the outside leaves and the core. Soak in cold water with one-half teaspoon salt in it, with the head of the lettuce down. Cut into quarters. Serve a quarter as a portion.
French Dressing with Green Peppers(Two portions)
½t-salt¼t-pepper2T-vinegar4T-olive oil2T-chopped green peppers
Mix the salt, pepper, and green pepper. Add the vinegar. Beat well and add the olive oil slowly. Beat with a silver fork until the dressing thickens.
Peanut Cookies(Two dozen)
½C-sugar3T-butter1 egg1t-baking powder¼t-salt1C-flour½C-chopped peanuts½t-lemon juice
Cream the butter, add the sugar, mix well, and add well-beaten egg. Add the baking-powder, salt, flour, chopped peanuts, and lemon juice. Mix thoroughly, and drop two inches apart on a greased baking-tin or in pans. Bake fifteen minutes in a moderate oven.
THE HICKORY LOG
"SAY, this feels good!" said Bob, as he warmed his hands by the cheerful blaze.
"Doesn't it!" said Bettina, enthusiastically. "And see, I've set the dinner table here by the fireplace. It's such fun when just the two of us are here. Isn't the log burning well?"
"I wondered if we could use one of our new logs tonight—thought about it all the way home. And here you had already tried it! November has turned so much colder that I believe winter is coming."
"So do I, but I don't mind, I don't want a warm Thanksgiving."
"Dinner ready? M—m, what's that? Lamb chops? Escalloped potatoes? Smells good!"
"Come on, dear! After dinner, we'll try those nuts we left so long out at Uncle John's. Do you think they're dry enough by this time? Charlotte phoned me that they had tried theirs, and found them fine. By the way, she and Frank may come over this evening."
"Hope they do. Listen—I hear a car outside now."
"Sure enough, that's Frank and Charlotte. Go to the door, Bob! We'll persuade them to eat dessert with us.... Hello, people! Come in; you're just in time to have some tea and a ginger drop-cake apiece."
"That's what we came for, Bettina!" shouted Frank, laughing. "And then you must come out in the car with us. It's a beautiful, clear, cold night, and you'll enjoy it—if you take plenty of wraps!"
For dinner that night Bettina served:
Lamb Chops Escalloped PotatoesEgg PlantBread ButterGinger Drop-CakesTea
BETTINA'S RECIPES
(All measurements are level)
Broiled Lamb Chops(Two portions)
2 lamb chops1t-salt¼t-paprika
Wipe the chops and place in a red-hot pan over the flame. When the under surface is seared, turn and sear the other side. Turn often for twelve minutes. When nearly cooked, sprinkle with salt and paprika.
Escalloped Potatoes(Two portions)
1½C-raw potatoes, sliced½t-salt1T-flour½C-milk1T-butter1/8t-paprika1T-chopped green pepper
Mix the potatoes, salt, flour, paprika and green pepper. Place in a buttered baking dish or casserole. Pour the milk over the mixture and dot with butter. Put a cover on the dish and allow to cook for half an hour. Remove the cover and allow to cook twenty minutes more. More milk may be added if the mixture is too dry.
Egg Plant(Three portions)
1 egg plant1t-salt1T-egg-yolk1T-water½C-cracker crumbs2T-lard
Peel and slice the egg plant in slices one-half an inch thick. Sprinkle each slice with salt. Place the slices on top and allow to stand for two hours. This drains out the liquid. Wipe each piece with a cloth and dip in the beaten egg-yolk, to which the water has been added. Dip in the cracker crumbs. Place the lard in a frying-pan, and when very hot, add the slices of egg plant. Brown thoroughly on both sides, lower the fire andcook five minutes. Serve on a hot platter with the slices overlapping each other.
Ginger Drop-Cakes(Fifteen cakes)
1C-molasses½C-boiling water2¼C-flour1t-soda2t-ginger½t-salt½C-chopped raisins4T-melted butter
Put the molasses in a bowl, add the boiling water and the dry ingredients, sifted. Then add the raisins and the melted butter. Beat well for two minutes. Pour into buttered muffin pans, filling the pans one-half full. Bake twenty minutes in a moderate oven.
SOME CHRISTMAS PLANS
"CHRISTMAS is in the air today, I believe," said Charlotte as she took off her hat and warmed her cold hands at Bettina's open fire. "You ought to see the children around the toys downtown—swarming like flies at the molasses! Still, we ought to think about Thanksgiving before we begin our Christmas plans, I suppose."
"I try to get all my Christmas packages ready by Thanksgiving," said Bettina. "Of course, I don't always succeed, but it is a splendid aim to have! There is always so much to do at the last minute—baking and company and candy making! This year we plan to give very few gifts—but to send a card at least to each of our friends. We're racking our brains now to think of something that will be individual—really ours, you know. I think a tiny snapshot of yourself or your home, or your baby or your dog—or even a sprig of holly or a bit of evergreen on a card with a few written words of greeting means more to a friend than all the lovely engraved cards in the world! Of course, some people can draw or paint and make their own—Alice will, I'm sure. One girl I know makes wonderful fruit cake, and she always sends a piece of it, in a little box tied with holly ribbon, to each of her friends. Aren't the little gifts that aren't too hard on one's purse the best after all—especially when they really come straight from the giver, and not merely from the store?"
"Bettina, I'll be afraid to send you anything after such an eloquent sermon as this!"
"Oh, Charlotte, how you talk! I'm telling you my idea ofwhat a Christmas gift should be, but I'll probably fall far below it myself! Luncheon is ready, dear."
For luncheon Bettina and Mrs. Dixon had: