Olive Hyde Foster

“ If the details of preparing the dinner have been followed out as I have suggested, and everything possible done the day before, on Christmas morning there will be little to do: the goose to put into the oven and roast, the potatoes to mash and the beans to dress, the plum pudding to heat up, the sauce to prepare, with the gravy and the coffee to make at the last moment. Our small cook of course has the celery cleaned preparatory to cutting up, and the nuts all cracked, and she can tie up the candy and assist with the decorations. ”

“ But then, as I once heard, "A man's garden is like his wife, whom he never would think of comparing with anybody else's." So you don't have to follow any one's choice. Just make a list of the flowers that you like, find out when they bloom, and then choose as few or as many as you have room for, remembering to plan for something lovely every month of the blooming season. ”

“ The wise mother will suggest to the young cook that instead of always using one recipe she try to think of some way of improving or varying it. A few green peas left from dinner can be made hot and sprinkled over an omelet the same way as the cheese, or the cup of stewed tomatoes left from the day before be strained, thickened with a teaspoonful of flour, seasoned with butter, pepper and salt, and served as a sauce, this making a delicious accompaniment to a plain omelet. ”

“ You go to a lot of trouble to raise fine flowers and vegetables, and then, if you are not on the lookout, before you know it something has happened! Your rose leaves are discovered full of holes, and your potato vines almost destroyed; your tomato plants are being eaten up by the big, ugly "tomato worm," while your choicest flowers are dying from the inroads of green or brown insects so tiny that at first you do not notice them; and strong plants of all kinds are found cut off close to the ground. What further proof do you need that your beloved garden has its enemies? ”

“ All plant life, you must understand, requires five things,—WARMTH, LIGHT, AIR, WATER and FOOD. But plants differ as much as people, and some need more of one thing than they do of another. Some grow best in sunlight, others in the shade; some in sand, others in rich soil. You will have to find out what each kind requires. The food properties needed in the soil have some big names, too,—nitrogen, potash, and phosphoric acid, all of which are found in farm manures. If you can not conveniently get these, however, florists and seed-men can supply you with other fertilizers more easily handled. ”

“ As cooked fruits are such nourishing food, let the child prepare some kind while the biscuits are [5] baking—apples, for instance. The oven being hot, it is best to bake them, so show her how to wash, core and then fill each opening with sugar, cinnamon and a little butter. It will take only a few moments to prepare them, and while the baking is in progress the dishes that have been used should be washed and set in the closet, the materials left be put away. All must be in order before the lesson is pronounced over and the dish-pan wiped and put up. ”

“ Every one longs for roses, the most highly prized of all the flowers; and roses today can be grown almost anywhere.
Rose growers have finally succeeded in budding the tender tea rose on to the hardy briar and also on to the more recent Manetti stock, and in crossing the teas with the hybrid perpetuals,—developed from the old June favorites. The result is ideal roses, that are hardy and bloom all season, with the desired lovely coloring and fragrance. ”

“ Rice pudding is one of the first desserts a child should learn to make, as it is so little trouble and always a favorite. She should first beat up thoroughly two eggs; add half a cupful of sugar, two cupfuls of milk, a little nutmeg, and stir through two cupfuls of cooked rice. If the rice has been standing long enough to stiffen, then, after washing her hands, she will have to work the rice through the custard with her fingers in order to [77] remove any lumps. A half cupful of raisins or dried currants stirred in after the pudding is in the baking-dish will make it just that much nicer. ”

“ Then, when ready for the next course, our little cook can remove the soup plates, taking from the right side of each person, and bring on the dinner. When that is over, she must remove all the dishes before each one, clear the table of everything but the water glasses and the decorations, brush the cloth with a folded napkin and a plate to catch the crumbs, and lastly bring in the dessert. Every family has its own way as regards details, but a mother can very quickly get a child into the habit of being neat, careful and quiet about handling dishes. ”

“ Coming in every shade but true blue, and ranging from the tiny button pom-pon to the largest prim show or the formal decorative,—from the unique collarette to the ragged pæony-flowered, the amateur gardener can hardly believe that they really all belong to one family! ”

“ A halibut steak is fine when, after washing thoroughly, it is put in a dripping pan, seasoned with salt and pepper, covered with boiling water and cooked in the oven until done,—from twenty minutes to half an hour. While it is cooking, our little maid can prepare her favorite white sauce, only now she must add a cupful of strained tomatoes and season with red pepper. When the fish is ready, she must serve it on a hot platter, covered with the hot sauce. A steak of this kind usually weighs about two pounds, and is ample for four or five people. ”

“ A bird bath is sure to prove an irresistible attraction. I have seen my back yard full of starlings and sparrows, pushing and crowding each other to get into a little pool where the snow has melted around a clothes-pole! ”

“ The mother should impress on the little student that the first essential to success is correct measurements, and the second, careful mixing. For cake baking a graduated tin cup, marked in quarters and thirds, is almost a necessity, as different people's ideas vary so as to what constitutes a quarter or a third. If the cup is at hand, however, and is used in taking all the measurements, there can be no mistake. And a cupful means a level cupful, not heaping; a teaspoonful a level spoonful, not a rounded one, unless so specified. ”

“ Flowering plants need sunlight at least part of the day, and generally do best in a south window. Most of the decorative or foliage plants, on the other hand, will keep looking well [116] with only a reasonable amount of light, as when near a north or east window, if they have the proper amount of heat and moisture. But don't, please, set any plant back in the room, away from the light, and expect it to succeed very long,—for it never will! Select, then, growing things suited to your living quarters, and learn their needs. ”

“ First the child should measure her flour while her cup is dry, and adding the baking-powder, sift it on to a paper or in an extra bowl, and set it aside, ready for use. Next she can measure the even cupful of sugar into the mixing bowl, add an even one-third cupful of butter, and rub together to a creamy mass. If the butter has been standing a while in the kitchen, it will be warm enough to work up nicely. Then she must separate the egg, beating the white stiff and the yolk until it is foaming. ”

“ Hollyhocks from seed do not blossom until the second year, but they make off-shoots, which bring flowers every season thereafter. And as they sow themselves, people often mistake them for perennials. They come both single and double, and are especially lovely against a wall or a green background.
The evening primrose, tall and stately, with large yellow flowers, is easily grown in almost any soil. It thrives in almost any soil, and blooms the entire summer. ”

“ Good white sauce is needed for so many different kinds of vegetable, fish and meat dishes, that a child should be taught it at the beginning of her work. Have her melt one tablespoon of butter and stir in one tablespoon of flour. When smooth, add slowly one cup of milk, stirring all the time to keep from getting lumpy. If lumps do form, however, before the child has learned the secret of mixing, she can strain after it has cooked five minutes. Season with quarter-teaspoon of salt and a dash of pepper. For brown sauce, simply brown the flour and butter before adding the milk. ”

“ In the spring when ready to plant again, cut each tuber so it will have a little bit of the heart of the clump on its end, as it is close to this that the new shoots start.
Growing dahlias from seed is a most fascinating pastime, for there is no telling what you may get! The child is rarely, if ever, like its mother,—and [57] this is the only way that we get the new varieties. YOU might happen to grow one of the finest yet! The seed is started early indoors, and very easily grown. ”

“ Hash, though a dish often laughed at, is always appetizing when well made. Corn beef hash indeed has quite a reputation, and is made by chopping cold corn beef rather fine, adding an equal quantity of cold boiled potatoes, chopped, wetting with enough boiling water to keep from burning, seasoning with salt, pepper and a little butter, and then allowing to cook gently for at least twenty minutes. All kinds of hash need to simmer for quite a while, in order to blend the flavor of the meat and the potatoes, and give the delicate taste that marks a carefully prepared dish. ”

“ Even the tiniest bowl is attractive, and one I saw recently had been in the house over two winters. The globe, however, does not meet our modern ideas for the reason that the curved glass reduces the area of water exposed to the air, so is bad for the fish. The new all-glass aquariums can be bought in either the square or cylindrical shapes, from a dollar and a quarter up, according to size and quality, while the golden inmates can be found from five cents, for the child's pet up to the fancier's Japanese prize-winner at one thousand dollars. ”

“ All children like to experiment in the kitchen, and instead of allowing them to become an annoyance, they should be so directed that their efforts will result in immediate help to the mother and prove invaluable life lessons to the little ones themselves. Nothing is really more pitiable than the helpless woman who, when occasion demands, finds herself unable to do ordinary cooking. ”

“ If you are just getting ready to start your garden, the annuals,—the plants that flower from seed the first season though they do not come up again,—will probably interest you most as they give the quickest returns. Many kinds can be started in the house in March, and for this purpose any kind of a shallow box will answer. Bore holes in the bottom and put in a layer of broken pottery or stones, to permit drainage, so the roots will not rot. Fill three or four inches deep with good soil, after pulverizing and taking out all sticks and stones. ”

“ Cool drinks are most welcomed in hot weather, and several kinds are quite nice for little girls to make. Iced cocoa requires for each person [143] half a glass of milk and half a glass of water, heated to the boiling point. Mix in a cup a round teaspoonful of cocoa with one round spoonful of sugar, and dissolve with the hot milk. Then put together in the kettle, boil gently several minutes, and flavor with a drop or two of vanilla before taking from the fire. After cooling, place on ice, and when ready to serve, pour in glasses over ice, and cover the top with sweetened whipped cream. ”

“ But once the buds do show, water frequently in order to enrich the color, and dig in fertilizer around the roots several times during the flowering season, to produce fine, big blossoms.
TAKING CARE OF TABLE FERNS
Tie each plant to a 5-ft. stake, to protect from the wind, but in driving be careful not to pierce—and ruin—your tuber. Nip off all the buds that are imperfect or weak, and cut your flowers with their attendant buds and foliage. They will look better, and no further disbudding of the plants will be necessary. And the more you cut, the better your dahlias will bloom! ”