3—Pattie Sauce
3T-butter3T-flour1C-milk1/3t-salt
This sauce is used for oyster or other patties.
4—Croquette Sauce
3T-butter4T-flour1C-milk1/3t-salt
This is called a binding white sauce and is used to hold other ingredients together.
Method of Preparing White Sauces
Melt the butter in a saucepan and add the flour and salt, stirring constantly. When well mixed add the liquid, a little at a time. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. This is far better than mixing the flour with a little of the liquid when cold, as so many people do when creaming potatoes or other things. If the white sauce seems too thick for the purpose, thin with a little more liquid before removing from the fire.
A RAINY-DAY DINNER
THE rain had been falling all day in a heavy downpour, and Bettina had ventured out only to gather some red clover blooms for the porch table, which she was now setting for dinner. In spite of the rain, it was not cold, and she liked the contrast of the cheerful little table, with its white cloth and bright silver, and the gray day just outside the screen.
"If Bob would only come home early, how nice it would be!" she thought. "Perhaps that's he at the telephone now."
However, it proved to be Mrs. Dixon. "I phoned to ask you if I should throw away the yolks of two eggs. I've just used the whites."
"Oh, no, Mrs. Dixon! Beat them up well, and add a little cold water to them. Then set them in the ice-box. They will be just as good later as they would be now. You may want them for salad dressing or something else."
"If I ever have the white of the egg left, shall I treat that the same way?"
"No, don't beat that up at all, nor add any water. Just set it in the refrigerator as it is. I'm so glad you called up, Mrs. Dixon. Will you and your husband take dinner with us next Sunday? Perhaps we might all go to church first."
"We'd love to do that! I've just been worrying over Sunday dinner, and you've restored my peace of mind. But won't it be a great deal of work for you?"
"I won't let it be. I don't believe in those heavy, elaborate Sunday dinners that take all the morning to prepare. We'll just come home from church and have it in half an hour. You may help me."
"We'd love to come. I have so much to tell you. I've been very busy, but Frank has helped, and it has been such fun! You don't know how he enjoys the little house! Well, good-bye till tomorrow!"
"Boo!" shouted Bob in her ear, as she hung up the receiver. "I discovered your dark secret this morning! Frank Dixon told me!"
"Well, what did you think of it?"
"The only possible solution in that case. You are their good angel—that is, if she doesn't poison Frank with her cooking, or burn the house down when she's lighting the fire."
"She won't, don't worry! She takes to housekeeping as if she had always done it. Her house is immaculate; she has been cleaning and dusting and polishing from morning to night. I'm almost ashamed of mine!"
"I'm not!" said Bob, decidedly. "I don't see how you can keep it clean at all with a man like me scattering papers and cigar ashes everywhere. And I'm always losing my belongings, and always will, I suppose."
"That's only a sign that we haven't discovered the proper place for them all yet. But we'll work it out in time. Well, are you hungry?"
"Hungry? I should say so! Why, I could almost eat you!"
"Well, Bob, we have a rainy-day dinner tonight that I hope you'll enjoy. Hash! Does that frighten you?"
"Not your hash, Betty."
"Well, everything is ready."
The rainy evening menu consisted of:
Browned Hash Creamed CauliflowerDate Muffins ButterApple Sauce Cake Chocolate
BETTINA'S RECIPES
(All measurements are level)
Browned Hash(Two portions)
1C-chopped cold cooked beef1C-cold boiled potatoes diceda few drops of onion juice2/3t-salt¼t-pepper1T-milk1T-fat (lard, butter or one-half of each)
Mix all the ingredients thoroughly. Spread the mixture evenly in a hot frying-pan in which the fat has been placed. Cook without stirring until a crust is formed on the bottom; fold over like an omelet and place on a hot platter.
Creamed Cauliflower(Two portions)
1 head cauliflower4C-water1t-salt1C-vegetable white sauce
Separate cauliflower into sections, wash well and cook in boiling salted water until tender. (About half an hour.) Drain and cover with vegetable white sauce.
Date Muffins(Ten muffins)
¼C-sugar¼C-dates cut fine1 egg¼t-salt¾C-milk1¾C-flour4t-baking powder2T-butter (melted)
Mix the sugar, dates, baking powder, flour and salt. Add milk in which one egg has been beaten. Beat two minutes. Add butter, melted. Fill well-buttered muffin pans half full of the mixture, and place in the oven. Bake twenty minutes. Serve hot or cold.
Apple Sauce Cake(Ten portions)
½C-butter1C-sugar1 egg, beaten light1¾C-flour1t-soda1½t-cinnamon½t-powdered cloves1C-hot, thick, strained, sweetened apple sauce1C-mixed, chopped raisins, nut meats and dates1t-vanilla
Cream the butter, add the sugar gradually. Stir well. Add the well-beaten egg. Mix the soda and apple-sauce, and add to the first ingredients. Alternately with the flour and spices, add the vanilla and fruit. Beat for two minutes. Turn into a square pan, and sift granulated sugar over the top. Bake in a moderate oven one-half hour.
BUYING A REFRIGERATOR
"SOMETHING in refrigerators?" said the clerk politely to Mrs. Dixon and Bettina.
"You talk to him," said Mrs. Dixon. "I don't know a thing about a refrigerator; that's why I begged you to come."
"Well," considered Bettina, her red brown head on one side, "we want one that will hold not less than a hundred pounds of ice. The large ones are much more economical in the long run. Here, Mrs. Dixon, is a hundred-pound fellow. May we examine it, please?"
"Certainly, madam."
"No, this won't do. See, Mrs. Dixon, the trap is in the bottom of the food chamber. That is wasteful and inconvenient, because in cleaning it you would have to leave the door of the larger compartment open. That would let the cold air out and waste the ice. Anyhow, you know the trap is the sewer of the refrigerator, and has no business in the food chamber. The trap really ought to be in the bottom of the ice chamber, where it can be cleaned without removing the food, or opening the door of the food compartment. Besides, I prefer to have the ice put in at a door on the side of the front, not on the top. Yes, here is the kind I mean. I like this trap, too. See, Mrs. Dixon, isn't it fine? It has a white enamel lining and shelves of open wire that can be removed."
"It looks nice, doesn't it? And when I get some white shelf paper on those shelves it will be like an attractive cupboard."
"Oh, my dear! You mustn't do that! That would prevent the circulation of air through the ice-box, which is the verything that makes the food compartment cold. You see, that circulation of air goes on through these open-wire shelves. Another thing, I've seen people cover the ice with newspapers to keep it from melting, as they thought. But they were mistaken. Any friction causes warmth, and ice keeps better when there is nothing touching it."
"Well, if you like this one, I'll ask the price of it."
"It will be expensive, I'm afraid, but the most economical in the long run. Are you staying downtown to meet Mr. Dixon?"
"Yes, I'd like him to see the refrigerator. He takes such an interest in these household things I'm getting."
"Well, good-bye, dear. I must hurry home to get dinner. It won't take long, but I'll have to go, or Bob will get there first, and I'm a little sentimental about being there to greet him at the door."
Bettina's dinner that night consisted of:
Broiled Lamb ChopsBoiled New Potatoes New Peas in CreamVegetable SaladBread ButterRhubarb Pudding
BETTINA'S RECIPES
(All measurements are level)
Broiled Lamb Chops(Three portions)
3 chops1t-salt
Wipe chops and place in a red-hot frying-pan. As soon as the under surface is seared, turn and sear the other side. Turn down the fire a little, and continue to cook, turning chops often. Cook seven minutes if liked rare. When cooked, sprinkle with salt and spread with butter.
Creamed New Peas(Three portions)
1 qt. peas1/8t-soda½t-salt
Shell one quart of peas, cover with cold water and let stand ten minutes, wash well, and drain off the water. Cover with boiled water and cook twenty to fifty minutes, according to ageof peas. A pinch of soda may be added to the water. It softens the skins on the peas. Add salt when the peas have cooked twenty minutes.
White Sauce for Peas(Three portions)
1T-butter1T-flour1/8t-salt½C-milk
Melt the butter, add the flour and salt, mixing well, and the milk, stirring constantly. Cook two minutes. Add the peas.
Rhubarb Pudding(Three portions)
1C-cooked, sweetened rhubarb sauce2T-flour1T-cold water1 egg-white1/8t-salt
Add the water slowly to the flour and mix well. Add the rhubarb sauce and cook until very thick (about five minutes). Add the stiffly beaten white of egg, mix thoroughly and turn into moistened moulds. Serve cold with cream.
BETTINA'S SUNDAY DINNER
"THIS seems like old times!" remarked Mr. Dixon, as he and his wife strolled leisurely home from church with Bob and Bettina. "I haven't had this peaceful Sunday feeling since I was a youngster. Then all the Sundays were like this, cool, quiet and sunny—sprinkled all over with little girls in smooth curls and white leghorn hats, and little boys in uncomfortable, hot clothes a size too large, and newly polished shoes. I often recall the plentiful Sunday dinners, too!"
"Don't get your hopes too high!" said Bettina. "Though I will promise you one treat, wild roses on the table. Bob and I walked out into the country last evening and found them."
"What can I do?" inquired Mrs. Dixon, when she and Bettina were alone in the kitchen.
"You can sit here and talk to me while these potatoes are cooking and the veal birds getting done. You see, the birds have already cooked three-quarters of an hour this morning before I went to church. The waxed beans are in the fireless cooker; I have to make the butter sauce for them. And you see I have the new potatoes all prepared, standing in cold water. I have only to cook them in boiling salted water till they are done. That won't take long, as they aren't large. I set the table on the porch this morning. Bob can make the coffee in the percolator in a little while, when we're ready. He usually starts it when we come to the table, and then it is ready in time to serve last. By the way, if you like the Thousand Island dressing we are to have for the head lettuce, I'd like to give you the recipe. It is a very popular one just now."
"Oh, I've eaten it! Frank is very fond of it, and used to order it every chance he had at the hotel. Will you really tell me how to make it? So many good dinners now end with the salad and cheese and coffee, and I think Thousand Island dressing on head lettuce makes a splendid salad."
"Of course I'll show you. Well, the iced cantaloupe, which is our first course, is in the ice-box. Our dessert today is just cake with chocolate cream frosting, and coffee. It is such a simple Sunday dinner, but that's the kind I believe in!"
BETTINA'S SUNDAY DINNER
Iced CantaloupeVeal Birds Boiled New PotatoesGravyWaxed Beans Butter SauceBread ButterHead Lettuce Thousand Island DressingSalt WafersCake with Chocolate Cream FrostingCoffee
BETTINA'S RECIPES
(All measurements are level)
Veal Birds(Six portions)
1½lb.veal steak4 slices bacon1T-butter½C-crumbs, fresh½t-salt¼t-paprika2T-milk2T-fat
Cut veal from the round (veal steak) into strips, four by two and a half inches. Put the trimming and four slices of bacon through the food chopper. Cook the chopped meat three minutes in the butter. Add to this the fresh bread crumbs, salt, pepper and milk. Spread this mixture on the strips of veal. Roll and tie securely with white cord, roll in flour and sauté until browned a little on both sides, in two tablespoons fat in frying pan. Place in a casserole or small covered pan. Season each bird with salt and a small piece of butter. Pour an inch and a half of water into the pan. Cook an hour, or a little less, in a moderate oven. Gravy may be made by adding four tablespoons of water to two level tablespoons of flour,mixing carefully and gradually pouring into the stock in which the meat has been cooked. Bring to a boil.
Thousand Island Salad Dressing(Six portions)
½C-olive oil2T-lemon juice2T-orange juice1t-onion juice¼t-salt¼t-paprika1t-Worcestershire sauce¼t-mustard1t-chopped parsley
Place all the above ingredients in a pint fruit jar, fit a rubber on the jar cover, and shake vigorously until the dressing is well mixed and creamy. Pour over tomatoes, asparagus, peas, beans, spinach or lettuce. Serve as a salad.
Cake with Chocolate Cream Filling(Six portions)
½C-butter1C-sugar1 beaten egg yolk1½C-sifted flour2t-baking powder¼t-mace½t-vanilla½C-milk1 egg-white, stiffly beaten
Cream the butter, add the sugar, yolk of egg, dry ingredients and milk. Stir well, add the flavoring, beat two minutes, cut and fold in the egg white. Bake in a large round buttered pan in a moderate oven for thirty minutes. The pan should be seven inches in diameter. Cover with confectioner's icing.
Confectioner's Icing
2C-powdered sugar3T-milk1t-vanilla12 chocolate creams
Mix vanilla and milk, add powdered sugar. Mix until stiff enough to spread. Cut creams in half and arrange on the cake.
BETTINA VISITS A TEA-ROOM
"AREN'T you a bit timid about driving?" asked Bettina, as she stepped into the car beside Mrs. Dixon.
"Not now. You see, I've been practicing every evening with Frank, and he says that I am as good a driver as he is! Oh, Bettina, we are having so much fun these days! The little house is a great success, and I'm really learning to cook! I've had some dreadful failures; but Frank doesn't seem to mind. You see, I know he gets a good meal downtown at noon, and so I don't worry about him."
"Look, Charlotte! What lovely goldenrod! We must stop and get some! Don't you love it?"
"Indeed I do! I have a rough brown waste-paper basket that it looks stunning in. I set the jar of goldenrod right inside! Frank is very fond of it."
"Charlotte, you're just like a bride yourself—thinking about Frank's likes and dislikes."
"Am I?" laughed Mrs. Dixon as her color rose. "Well, lately Frank seems just like his old self! He appreciates everything so, and is so nice at home! And it seems that he can hardly get home quickly enough! We have enjoyed getting things settled and planning our future. Next year we may build a house of our own, but I don't care to have it too large to manage easily."
"Are you going to stop here?" asked Bettina, as Mrs. Dixon slowed down after a peaceful stretch of level road.
"Yes, I want to show you something."
A short path led to a small house close to the road, but almost hidden in a tangle of flowers and wild grapevines.
"Isn't this a cunning little rustic place?" asked Charlotte. "Two friends of mine started it. See" (pointing to the sign over the door), "it's called 'The Friendly Inn.' Inside you'll find that quotation about living in a house at the side of the road and being a friend to every man. You know that one. These girls live on that farm over there. When they came home from college they wanted something to do—some way to earn money—but they didn't care to leave home. This is such a splendid road that the autos swarm past all summer long. These girls opened this little tea room, and serve luncheons and tea here all summer. Most of their supplies come directly from the farm. It is just a pleasant drive from the city, and many people like to come out here in the afternoon. I'll introduce you to the girls."
Bettina found the inn-keepers charming, and after a short conversation, she and Mrs. Dixon ordered:
Tomato Cup Salad Iced TeaBread and Butter SandwichesVanilla Ice Cream Chocolate SauceMarshmallow Cakes
BETTINA'S RECIPES
(All measurements are level)
Tomato Cup Salad(Six portions)
6 tomatoes1C-diced cucumbers¼C-chopped green peppers¼C-sliced radishes1T-chopped onion1t-salt1/8t-paprika6T-salad dressing
Wash cold firm tomatoes of a uniform size. Cut a slice from the stem end and scoop out seeds and pulp. Save the pulp. Sprinkle the inside with salt. Invert for five minutes. Mix the cucumber, green pepper, radishes, onions, tomato pulp, and salad dressing. Fill with the mixture and refill the shells. Have all of the ingredients cold and serve at once. If the mixture stands in the tomato cups very long it becomes watery. The tomatoes may be prepared and kept cool, and the mixtureprepared, all but the onion, and placed in the ice-box until ready for use. Never put anything containing onion in the ice-box. Serve the tomatoes on crisp lettuce leaves.
Chocolate Sauce for the Ice Cream(Six portions)
1C-sugar1 square of chocolate1/8t-salt2T-flour1t-butter1t-vanilla2C-boiling water
Mix the sugar, flour and salt. Add the square of chocolate and boiling water. Allow to boil four minutes, stirring constantly. Add the butter and vanilla. Serve hot or cold with ice cream.
Marshmallow Cake
Use any white cake recipe. Bake in gem pans. Cover with White Mountain cream icing. Just before the icing is ready to spread, add quartered marshmallows. Do not add the marshmallows while the icing is hot, as they will melt, and the little "bumps" are attractive when spread on the cake.
BETTINA ENTERTAINS ALICE AND MR. HARRISON
"BY the way, Bettina," said Bob, over the phone, "I saw Harrison and asked him out to dinner tonight. He said he was to call on Alice later, so I suggest that you invite her, too."
Bettina smiled to herself at Bob's casual tone. Ought she to ask him not to invite company without consulting her?
"No!" she decided emphatically. "Company or no company, our meals shall be simple, but good enough for anybody. I'll not change my menu for Alice and Mr. Harrison. I'm sure they'll like it just as it is."
"To tell the truth, Bettina," said Alice's vivacious voice over the telephone, "I'd love to come, if it weren't for that—that man!"
"But, Alice, you're going to see him later."
"I know; worse luck! He's the most insufferable person I know! You see, last night we had a little argument, and he was very rude."
"Maybe he's coming to apologize."
"Don't you imagine it! He couldn't. He dislikes society girls above all other people."
"Oh, Alice!"
"Well, he does! He told me so evening before last, out at the park."
"Seems to me you're seeing a good deal of him for a man you feel that way about."
"Well, you started it. You told me that he was a woman-hater, and I thought it would be fun to reform him. At firsthe thought me fine and sensible, but lately I've been showing him how frivolous I really am. I suppose I hoped that by this time he'd approve of everything I said and did. But he won't. He seems actually to be trying to reform me! And I won't be reformed! I could never be anything but frivolous Alice if I wanted to! I hate those big, slow, serious men, without any fun in them!"
"Cheer up, my dear!" laughed Bettina. "Come tonight, anyhow. I like the frivolous kind, whether he does or not."
That evening, much to Bettina's secret amusement, Mr. Harrison and Alice met on the doorstep.
"Don't think we came together," explained Alice, flippantly. "A dinner and an evening of me are about all Mr. Harrison can endure!"
"I couldn't have spared the time, anyhow, Miss Alice. You see, I'm a busy man, and the people who are doing worth-while things in this world are obliged to overlook some of the amenities."
It was on Bettina's tongue to inquire how a busy man found time to make so many calls as he was making now. But she refrained, knowing well that lively Alice could hold her own with any man in the universe, even though she might not be doing the things that Mr. Harrison considered worth while.
"A fine dinner," said he to Bettina, as they sat down at the table. "I admire a woman who knows how to prepare and serve food. She is paying her way in the most dignified and worth-while profession of all—that of a home-maker."
"Mr. Harrison," asked Alice severely, "may I inquire whether or not you know how to drive insects out of cabbage before serving it?"
"I'm afraid I don't."
"Well, I'm surprised, for even I know that. Bettina just told me. You place the cabbage, head downward, in cold water, to each quart of which has been added a tablespoonful of vinegar."
"Silly Alice!" said Bettina. "Don't tease! Look at my lovely pansies. Alice, I believe you gave me that flower-holder when I announced my engagement."
"When I announce my engagement——" said Alice.
Bettina saw a strange and startled look come over Mr. Harrison's face, which immediately departed when Alice added:
"Which will be years hence, no doubt—I hope my friends will give me nothing useful. I love to come here, Bettina, but I'm not a natural-born housekeeper like you. I shall marry an idle millionaire, and we will do nothing but travel aimlessly about from one end of the world to the other. That is my idea of perfect happiness!"
That night for dinner Bettina served:
Pork Chops Potatoes Maitre d'Hotel ButterBread ButterCabbage Salad Served in Lemon HalvesCocoanut Blanc Mange Custard SauceIced Tea
BETTINA'S RECIPES
(All measurements are level)
Pork Chops(Four portions)
4 chops¼C-water½t-salt¼t-pepper
Wipe the chops, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place in a hot frying-pan (no fat added), brown on one side and then turn on the other side, cooking over a moderate fire. Add the water and immediately place the cover on the frying-pan. The steam cooks the pork more quickly and prevents over-browning. Cook twenty-five minutes.
Maitre d'Hotel Butter Sauce(Four portions)
3T-butter1T-lemon juice½t-salt1/8t-pepper½t-parsley
Cream the butter, add the lemon juice, salt, pepper and finely chopped parsley. Pour this over new potatoes which have been boiled. Garnish with parsley.
Cocoanut Blanc Mange(Four portions)
¼C-cornstarch¼C-sugar½t-salt2T-cold water2C-milk2/3C-cocoanut2 egg whites½t-vanilla
Mix the cornstarch, sugar and salt with the cold water. Add the milk slowly, stirring well. Cook twenty minutes in a double boiler, stirring occasionally, or ten minutes over the flame, stirring constantly. Cool slightly and add the shredded cocoanut and the stiffly beaten whites of the eggs. Add the vanilla. One-fourth of a cup of nuts, candied cherries or preserved pineapple may be added if desired. Chill in moulds wet with cold water. Serve with cream or custard sauce made from the egg yolks.
Custard Sauce(Four portions)
2 egg yolks1/3C-sugar1/8t-salt1T-flour2C-milk1t-vanilla
Beat the eggs, slowly add the sugar and the flour well blended, the salt and the milk. Cook in a double boiler until thick enough to coat a silver spoon. Add the flavoring and serve cold.
OVER THE TELEPHONE
BOB and Bettina were at breakfast one morning when the telephone rang. "It's Mrs. Dixon, Bettina," said Bob, his hand over the mouthpiece. "Much excited. Panicky. House afire. Hurry."
"Hello, Charlotte!" said Bettina, quickly. "What in the world is the trouble?"
"The worst yet!" came a nervous voice. "Frank's Aunt Isabel is to be at our house tonight! Oh, I wish you knew her! She never did approve of me!"
"Oh, Charlotte, you just imagine that! She wouldn't come if she disliked you so!"
"That's just it! She didn't approve of me when we lived at the hotel, and now that we've taken a house, she wants to see how things are."
"Well, things are fine! Doesn't Frank say so?"
"Yes, of course. But the meals! Two company meals to get, and for a critical person like her, too! What on earth shall I do?"
"Now, don't be nervous, Charlotte! It's easy! We'll think up a delicious little dinner that you can prepare mostly beforehand. When does she arrive?"
"Five o'clock, and leaves just after breakfast."
"Good! Two simple meals and all day in which to get them ready. Let's see. The weather is warm, so you will prefer a dinner that is partly cold. Watermelon that has been in the refrigerator all day would be a simple dessert, with no cake or anything else to think of. How about cold boiledtongue for your main dish? Sliced thin and garnished with parsley. You might also have a very good salad. Apple, celery and green pepper salad would be delicious and economical also. Then you might have corn on the cob. I've had it recently and know how good it is. That would be the only thing you would have to think of at meal time, and it is very easy to cook. You would serve it in a napkin to keep it hot. Then I want to send you some peach butter that I made the other day; that would go beautifully with your dinner. There you have it all! If I were doing it, I should add iced tea to drink, served very daintily, with sliced lemon and mint leaves."
"Oh, Bettina, how good it sounds! Will you repeat that menu for me?"
Cold Boiled TongueApple, Celery and Green Pepper SaladGolden Bantam Corn on the CobBread Butter Peach ButterIced Tea LemonSliced Watermelon
"Now, if you'll get a pencil and paper, I will give you some directions about cooking."
BETTINA'S RECIPES
(All measurements are level)
Boiled Tongue(Four portions)
A fresh beef tongue of two pounds1T-vinegar
Wipe the tongue well. Place in a kettle and cover with cold water. Add the vinegar. Bring to a boil, and boil slowly until it seems tender when pierced with a fork. (It should boil at least two hours.) Take the tongue from the water, and remove the skin and roots while it is still warm. Cool, and slice thin. This may easily be cooked in the fireless cooker, in which case the water with which the tongue is covered must be brought to a good boil on the stove, and then removed to the cooker. If the tongue is very salty, soak in cold water for two hours.
Apple, Celery and Green Pepper Salad(Four portions)
1 cup tart apples cut in ½-inchcubes2T-lemon juice2/3C-celery (diced)1 large green pepper (cut in strips)1t-salt½t-paprika6T-salad dressing
Mix the lemon juice and apples to prevent discoloring. Add the celery, green peppers, salt, paprika seasoning and salad dressing. Serve cold on lettuce leaves.
Corn on the Cob(Four portions)
8 ears corn
Carefully remove husks and all silk from the corn. Cover with boiling water. Cook ten minutes, or longer if the corn is old. If salt is added to water, it turns the corn yellow and toughens the husks. Very tender young corn needs little cooking. Salt may be added (one teaspoon to a quart of water) two minutes before removing from the fire.
Peach Butter(One and one-half pints)
2C-peaches1C-sugar
Peel peaches and slice very fine. Add one cup of sugar to every two cups of peaches. Let stand twenty minutes. Mix well, and cook quickly for twenty-five minutes. Put in glasses and seal.
BETTINA HAS A BAKING-DAY
"WHY, Ruth, I didn't hear you come in!"
"The door was partly open—Bob must have left it that way—and I slipped in quickly to see what you were up to. It's raining as if it never intended to stop. I called to Bob on his way downtown, and asked what you were doing today. He said that wonderful baking preparations were going on because you expected his sister Polly and her three children tomorrow. That sounded like a deluge—all those lively youngsters, and Polly livelier yet—so, I came over to see if I couldn't help."
"Indeed you can, Ruth! That was dear of you! We'll have a houseful, won't we? I have planned to put Polly and Dorothy and the baby in the guest room, but Donald will have to sleep on the davenport. And I'm planning to do most of the cooking today, so that tomorrow we can visit and see people and show the children the sights. They are coming this afternoon, and will be here Sunday and Monday at least. As soon as I finish filling these salt-shakers, I'll begin the baking. Goodness, it will certainly be a help to have you here, Ruth! You were such a dear to come in all this rain!"
"Oh, I like it! I always learn so much from you, Bettina. But what on earth are you doing with that rice?"
"Just putting a few grains in the shakers. You know salt gets damp on a rainy day like this, and the rice loosens it and absorbs the moisture. I'm doing it first because I might forget."
"What are you going to make?"
"Well, I'll cook some potatoes and beets to warm up or make salad of, and I'll make a veal loaf and a white cake, Ithink. Then some salad dressing, and a berry pie and some sour cream cookies. Oh, yes, some nut-bread and some tomato gelatin, too."
"Goodness! Can you use all those things?"
"Yes, indeed! For tonight's dinner I'll have lamb chops, and some of the cooked potatoes, creamed, and tomato gelatin, and the blackberry pie. (You know berry pies ought to be eaten soon after they are made.) If tomorrow is a nice day, we'll eat our dinner in the park, and in any case, I'll be prepared, for I'll have the veal loaf, and the beets to warm up, and the rest of the potatoes to cream or make salad of, and the nut-bread for sandwiches if we need them, and the cake and some sliced peaches for dessert."
"And the cookies?"
"Well, children always want cookies. I'll bake these on my big baking sheets just the size of the oven, and I'll put lots of raisins on top."
"Bettina, what fun it would be to visit you! But we must get at our work or Polly and family will be here before this big baking is done!"
BETTINA'S BAKING DAY RECIPES
(All measurements are level)
Berry Pie(Four portions)
1½C-berries (black or blue berries)½C-sugar2T-flour1/8t-salt1T-lemon juice
Wash the fruit, mix with the sugar, flour, salt and lemon juice. Line a deep pie tin with a plain pie paste and sprinkle one tablespoon sugar over bottom crust. Add the berry mixture. Wet the lower crust slightly. Roll out the upper crust and make slits in the middle to allow the steam to escape. Place on the lower crust, pinching the edges together. Bake in a moderately hot oven forty minutes.
Tomato Jelly(Six portions)