Blueberry Mixture

1/2 C-blueberries 1/4 C-sugar 1 T-butter 1 T-vinegar 1 t-cinnamon

Mix the berries, sugar, butter cut in small pieces, vinegar and cinnamon. Cook, stirring constantly, over a moderate fire for three minutes.

CHAPTER XXXVI

BETTINA ENTERTAINS HER FATHER AND MOTHER

"WE had no such steak as this in California!" declared Bettina's father with satisfaction, as Bob served him a second helping.

"But then," said Bettina's mother, "did you find anything in California that you thought equalled anything in your own state? Father never does," said she, laughing. "He seems to enjoy traveling because it makes him feel that his own home is superior to every other place on earth. And it is," she agreed, looking about her happily. "I can say that after a summer spent in California, I'm more than thankful to be back again."

"I was afraid that you and father would be so anxious to open up the house that you wouldn't agree to come here for your first meal."

"Of course we're anxious to get home," said Mother, "but after you wrote Father that if he would come here to dinner tonight you would have a steak cooked just to suit him, he was as eager as a boy to get here."

"Well, who wouldn't look forward to it, after a summer spent in hotels?" said Father. "And I must say that Bettina's dinner justifies my eagerness. It's exactly right--steak and all."

"Now for dessert!" said Bob. "This coffee that I've been making in the percolator is all ready, Bettina!"

For dinner that night they had:

Pan-broiled Sirloin Steak Mashed Potatoes Carrots Head Lettuce Thousand Island Dressing Sliced Bananas Quick Cake Coffee

BETTINA'S RECIPES

(All measurements are level)

Pan-Broiled Steak= (Six portions)

2 lb. sirloin steak an inch and a half thick 1 T-butter 1/2 t-salt 1 T-parsley 1 T-lemon juice

Wipe the meat with a damp cloth. Have a tin pan sizzling hot. Place the meat in the pan and cook directly under the broiling flame. Turn frequently with spoons, as a fork will pierce the meat and allow the juices to escape. A steak an inch and a half thick should be cooked from eight to ten minutes. Place the steak on a hot platter. Sprinkle with salt, lemon juice and parsley. Dot with butter. Serve very hot.

Gravy= (Six portions)

2 T-drippings from the steak 2 T-flour 1/2 C-water 1/2 C-milk 1/4 t-salt

Pour the drippings from the steak into a pan, add flour and mix well. Allow the flour to brown, add water and milk very slowly to the flour and drippings. Add the salt and allow to cook until the gravy thickens. If there are not two tablespoons of drippings, add sufficient butter to equal the amount.

Carrots= (Six portions)

6 medium-sized carrots 2 T-butter 1/2 t-salt 1/4 t-pepper

Wash and scrape the carrots, cut into two-thirds inch cubes and cook until tender in enough boiling water to cover. (About fifteen minutes.) Drain, add the butter, salt and pepper. Heat thoroughly and serve. Carrots may be scraped and steamed whole or cooked whole in boiling water.

Quick Cake= (Sixteen pieces)

1/3 C-butter 1-1/2 C-brown sugar 1 egg 1/2 C-milk 1/4 t-salt 1-2/3 C-flour 3 t-baking powder 1 t-cinnamon 1/2 t-nutmeg 8 dates, cut fine

Cream the butter, add the sugar and mix well. Add the egg and milk, salt, flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and dates. Beat for two minutes. Bake in a well-buttered loaf cake pan for thirty-five minutes.

1 egg white 2 T-cold water 3/4 C-powdered sugar 1/2 t-vanilla

Beat the egg white until very stiff; add water and sugar gradually. Beat thoroughly and add the flavoring. Beat until it will stand alone, then spread on cake. More sugar may be added if necessary.

Thousand Island Salad Dressing= (Six portions)

1/2 C-olive oil juice of half a lemon juice of half an orange 1 t-onion juice 1/4 t-salt 1/4 t-paprika 1 t-Worcestershire sauce 1/4 t-mustard 1 T-chili sauce 1 T-green pepper cut fine 1 t-chopped parsley

Place all the above ingredients in a pint fruit jar, fit a rubber and top tightly on the jar, shake vigorously until well mixed and creamy, and pour over head lettuce, tomatoes, asparagus, peas, beans or spinach. Serve as a salad.

CHAPTER XXXVII

THE BIG SECRET

"COME in, Alice! Now do say that you'll stay to dinner, for we can talk afterward."

"Well, if you'll take me out into the kitchen where you are working. You see, I have all this to learn, and I'm depending on you to help me."

"Of course I'll help, Alice, but you are so clever about anything that you care to do that I know you'll soon outstrip your teacher. Tell me first, does anyone know the Big Secret yet?"

"Not a soul but Bettina, Bob, and my family. That is what I came to talk about."

"Oh, Alice, I'd love to be the one to give the announcement luncheon, or the breakfast, or whatever you prefer to have it!"

"Would you do it, really? Bettina, I've been longing to have you offer, but it is work and trouble, and I didn't want to suggest it."

"Why, Alice, I just enjoy that kind of work! I'd be flattered to be allowed to have it here. Of course, you know that I can't do anything very elaborate or expensive, but I'm sure that between us we can think up just the prettiest, cleverest way of telling it that any prospective bride ever had!"

"Bettina, my faith is in you!"

"When do you plan to be married?"

"Late in October or early in November, I think. And I'd prefer not to have it announced for a month. You see, I don't want to allow time for too many festivities in between."

"Oh, Alice, if you take my advice, you won't have any showers or parties at all. I know you! If you do allow it, you'll have more excitement than any bride in this town!"

"Well, Harry advises me not to, but oh, Betty, you know how it is! I know so many people, and I do like fun, and then Mother likes to think of me as the center of things. She's afraid that when I am married to Harry I'll become as quiet as he is, and then too, I honestly don't think she'd feel that I was really married without it. You know sister Lillian had lots of excitement and more parties crowded into a day than----"

"Yes, and she was so tired that she nearly fainted when she stood up to be married!"

"That's true, but she liked the fun, anyhow. She says that a girl can have that kind of fun only once, and she's silly to deny herself. Well, I'll have a whole month to think it over in. I've been sitting here all this time, Bettina, trying to decide what it is that you are making--those croquettes, I mean."

"They are potato and green corn croquettes, and Bob is very fond of them. I made them because I happened to have some left-over corn. Until I learned this recipe, I didn't know what to do with the ears of cooked green corn that were left."

"And what is the meat dish?"

"Well, that is made of left-overs, too, but I think you'll like it. Creole Lamb, it is called. It is made of a little cold cooked lamb that was left from last night's dinner. The rhubarb sauce that I am serving with the dinner was our dessert last night. But I do have a very good new dessert!"

"New or not, the dinner does sound good. There is Bob, now, and I'm so glad, for I confess that my appetite is even larger than usual!"

The menu that night was as follows:

Creole Lamb Potato and Green Corn Croquettes Rhubarb Sauce Bread Butter Head Lettuce French Dressing Lemon Pie Cheese

BETTINA'S RECIPES

(All measurements are level)

Creole Lamb= (Three portions)

1 T-butter 1 T-chopped green pepper 1/2 T-onion, chopped 1 T-flour 1/4 C-meat stock or water 1/4 C-tomato pulp 1/2 t-lemon juice 1/2 t-salt 1/3 t-horseradish 1/2 C-cold cooked lamb, cut in cubes 3 pieces of toast

Melt the butter, add pepper and onion. Cook two minutes and add flour, stock, pulp, lemon juice, salt and horseradish. Boil two minutes, stirring constantly. Add the lamb. Heat thoroughly, and serve on toast strips.

Potato and Green Corn Croquettes= (Three portions)

1 C-hot mashed potatoes 1 C-green corn pulp, cooked with 1 T-butter 1/2 t-salt 1/2 t-pepper 1 egg yolk

Mix all ingredients together thoroughly. Shape into cylindrical form, roll in bread crumbs, dip in beaten egg, roll again in crumbs. Deep fry. The egg yolks for croquettes may have a tablespoon of water added for each yolk. The whites as well as the yolks may be used for covering the croquettes. To get the corn pulp, cut the kernels lengthwise of the rows, and press out the pulp with the back of the knife. This recipe is good for left-over corn.

CHAPTER XXXVIII

AFTER THE CIRCUS

"THERE is nothing so exciting as a circus," said Ruth, "but oh, how comfortable and peaceful it seems to get away at last from the crowds and the noise! How quiet and cool this porch is, Bettina. In two minutes I'll get up and help you with dinner, but you made a mistake to put such a comfortable chair here in this particular spot."

"Ruth, stay just where you are! This meal is supper, not dinner, and it will be ready in the shortest possible time. Where are the men?"

"Going over the plans of our house, I suppose. Fred has worn them almost in pieces by exhibiting them so often. There seem to be a great many details to settle at the last minute. As for me, I'm perfectly satisfied, for I'm going to have a kitchen exactly like yours. Bettina, what lovely nasturtiums, and how delicious that cold sliced ham looks with more nasturtiums to garnish it!"

"Yes, and I have nasturtium leaves lining the salad bowl--and see, I'll put one large flower on each plate!"

"Don't nasturtiums always seem cool and appetizing? The whole supper looks that way!"

"Well, circus day is almost invariably warm, and people are tired when they come home, so I planned to have a cold and simple meal."

"Isn't boiled ham hard to prepare?"

"No, indeed, nothing could be simpler. I bought a half of a ham--I like a piece cut from the large end--and I soaked it for an hour in cold water. Then I brought it to a boil in fresh cold water and a little vinegar, and transferred it to the fireless cooker for five hours. Then I baked it for an hour in the cooker, having first trimmed it, and covered it with brown sugar and almost as many cloves as I could stick into it. It is very tender and good, I think--one of the best of my fireless cooker recipes."

"I am planning to have a fireless cooker when I keep house."

"That is fine, Ruth! You have no idea how they save both gas and worry. Some day I'll give you all of my best fireless recipes; I use my cooker a great deal. For instance, this brown bread was steamed in the cooker. A fireless is invaluable for steaming. I usually plan to have Boston Brown Bread, Tuna or Salmon Loaf and a pudding all steaming in the large compartment at once. Then I've learned to bake beautiful beans in the cooker! I wonder what our grandmothers think of Boston Baked Beans and Boston Brown Bread all made in the fireless! I'm sure I could prove to any of them that my way is just as good, besides being much cooler and more economical! Well, shall we call Fred and Bob?"

The circus day supper consisted of:

Cold Sliced Ham Boston Brown Bread Butter Blackberries Cream Spiced Cake Iced Tea Sliced Lemon

BETTINA'S RECIPES

(All measurements are level)

Spiced Cake= (Sixteen pieces)

1/3 C-butter 1 C-sugar 2 egg yolks 2/3 C-sour milk 1-1/2 t-cinnamon 1/4 t-ground cloves 1/4 t-mace 1 t-soda 2 C-flour 1 egg white 1 t-vanilla

Cream the butter, add the sugar and egg yolks. Mix well. Mix and sift all dry ingredients. Sift and add alternately with sour milk. Add vanilla and stiffly beaten egg white. Bake in a loaf cake pan, prepared with waxed paper, in a moderate oven for twenty-five minutes. Cover with "C" sugar icing.

"C" Sugar Icing= (Sixteen pieces)

1 C-"C" sugar 1/3 C-water 1/8 t-cream of tartar 1 egg white 1/2 t-vanilla

Mix the sugar, water and cream of tartar. Cook until the syrup clicks when a little is dropped in cold water. Do not stir while cooking. Have the mixture boil evenly but not too fast. Pour gently over the beaten white of the egg. Stir and beat briskly until creamy. Add vanilla. Place on the cake. If too hard, add a tablespoon of water.

CHAPTER XXXIX

MRS. DIXON ASKS QUESTIONS

"I HAD resolved," said Mrs. Dixon, at Bettina's dinner-table, "not to accept another invitation to come here until you people had eaten again at our house. But your invitations are just too alluring for me to resist, and your cooking is so much better than mine, and I always learn so much that--well--here we are! For instance, I feel that I am about to learn something this very minute! (Now, Frank, please don't scold me if I talk about the food!) Bettina, how did you ever dare to cook cabbage? It looks delicious and I know it is, but I tried cooking some the other day and the whole house has the cabbage odor in no time. Yours hasn't. Now what magic spell did you lay on this particular cabbage?"

"Let me answer that," said Bob. "I want to show off! Bettina cooked that as she always cooks onions and turnips, in a a large amount of water in an uncovered utensil. Isn't that correct, Bettina? Send me to the head of the class!"

"Yes, you're right. I did boil the cabbage this morning, and of course I have a well-ventilated kitchen, but I don't believe the odor would be noticeable if I had cooked it just before dinner."

"I never used to eat cabbage," said Bob, "but I like Bettina's way of preparing it. She never lets it cook until it gets a bit brown, and so it has a delicate flavor. Most people cook cabbage too long."

"Another question, Teacher. How did you manage to bake these potatoes so that they are so good and mealy? Mine always burst from their skins."

"Well," said Bettina, "I ran the point of the knife around the outside of the potato. This cutting of the skin allows it to swell a little and prevents it from bursting. Then I baked it in a moderate oven. Another thing. I've discovered that it is better not to pierce a potato to find out if it is done. I press it with my fingers, and if it seems soft on the inside, I remove it from the oven and press the skin until it breaks, allowing the steam to escape. If I don't do that, a mealy potato becomes soggy from the quickly condensing steam."

"Oh, Bettina, I'm so glad to know that! I like baked potatoes because I know they are so digestible, but I never can make them like these. Now I won't monopolize the conversation any longer. You men may discuss business, or the war, or anything you choose."

The dinner that night was as follows:

Hamburger Steak Lemon Butter Baked Potatoes Escalloped Cabbage Bread Butter Prune Soufflé

BETTINA'S RECIPES

(All measurements are level)

Hamburger Steak= (Six cakes)

1 lb. of beef cut from the round 1/4 t-salt 1 t-onion salt or onion juice 1/8 t-pepper

Grind the meat twice and add the seasoning. Shape into cakes two and a half inches in diameter and one inch thick, handling as little as possible. Place on a hot pan and cook under the broiler twelve minutes, turning when brown. Dot with butter and serve hot.

Lemon Butter for the Steak= (Four portions)

2 T-butter 1/2 t-salt 1/2 T-lemon juice 1/2 T-minced parsley 1/4 t-paprika

Mix in order given and spread on hot meat of any kind, broiled steak, chops or fish.

Baked Potatoes= (Four portions)

Select potatoes of a uniform size. Wash thoroughly with a vegetable brush. Run the point of the knife around the outside of the potato. Bake in a moderate oven forty to sixty minutes.

Escalloped Cabbage= (Four portions)

2 C-cooked cabbage 1 C-white sauce 1/8 t-paprika 1/4 C-bread crumbs 1 T-butter

Remove the outer leaves of a two and a half pound head of cabbage. Cut in half (using but half for dinner). Wash thoroughly and cut in shreds or chop moderately fine. Put in a large kettle of rapidly boiling water. Boil for twenty minutes. Drain well, add one-half a teaspoon salt. Make the white sauce, add the cabbage and paprika, mix well. Place in a buttered baking dish. Cover with buttered crumbs and place in a moderate oven until browned.

Prune Soufflé= (Four portions)

1/4 lb. prunes 6 T-sugar 1 T-lemon juice or 1/2 t-lemon extract 2 egg whites

Wash the prunes thoroughly, cover with water, and allow to soak three hours. Cook slowly in the same water until soft. Remove the stones from the prunes, and save the pulp and juice. Add sugar, cook until very thick (about three minutes). Stir constantly. Cool, add the lemon juice. Cut and fold in the stiffly beaten egg whites. Fill a well-buttered open tin mould half full of the mixture. Place the pan in another pan filled with boiling water. Cook in a slow oven until well raised, firm, and light brown in color (about twenty-five minutes). Serve with the following custard sauce:

Custard Sauce= (Four portions)

2 egg yolks 4 T-sugar 1 T-flour 1/8 t-salt 1-1/2 C-milk 1/2 t-lemon extract

Beat egg yolks until light, in the upper part of a double boiler. Add sugar, flour and salt. Mix well and slowly add the milk. Cook over the lower part of the boiler until thick enough to coat a silver spoon. Beat well, add the extract, and cool.

CHAPTER XL

A TELEGRAM FROM UNCLE ERIC

"WHAT shall I do with this butter, Bettina?" inquired Bob, who was helping to clear off the table after dinner one evening. "Put it in the ice-box?"

"The butter from the table?" asked Bettina. "No, Bob, I keep that left-over butter in a covered dish in the cupboard. You see, there are so many times when I need butter for cake making or cooking, and prefer not to have it very hard. Then I use that cupboard butter. There's the doorbell, Bob. Now who do you suppose that can be?"

"A telegram from Uncle Eric," said Bob, when he returned from the door. "Well, isn't that the limit! He's coming tonight!"

"Tonight!" echoed Bettina.

"Yes, on business. You see, there are so many people in town for the state fair and there are several that he must see. He's a queer old fellow--Uncle Eric is--and he has some queer notions. Doesn't like hotels, or anything but home cooking. He doesn't want anything elaborate, but he's pretty fussy about what he does want. I'm sorry for you, Bettina, but I guess we'll have to make him welcome. He's been pretty good to me, in his funny way, and so I suppose he feels he can descend on us without warning."

"But, Bob--tonight! Why, I'm not ready! I haven't groceries in the house, or anything! And I was planning to give you a cooked cereal for breakfast tomorrow."

"It's too bad, Betty," said Bob sympathetically, "but it seems as if we'll just have to manage some way. Uncle Eric has been good to me, you see. He's an old fogy of a bachelor, but he has a warm heart way down underneath his crusty exterior. And----"

"Don't you worry, Bob," said Bettina heartily. "We will manage. As a rule, I think it's pretty poor taste for anyone to come without warning or an invitation, but maybe Uncle Eric is an exception to all the rules. Tell me about him; do you have time? When does the train get in? Do you have to meet it?"

"I guess I'd better hurry right off now."

"But, Bob, tell me! What must I have for breakfast?"

"Anything but a cereal, Betty! Uncle Eric draws the line at cereals. He has an awful time with his cooks, too. They never suit him."

"Goodness, Bob!" said Betty, in despair. "And I have almost nothing in my cupboard. It's as bare as Mother Hubbard's!"

"Good-bye, dear! I'm off! I know you'll think of some thing."

Bettina smiled hopelessly at the masculine viewpoint, and as soon as Bob had gone she sat down to think, a dish towel in one hand and a spoon in the other.

"Be a sport, Bettina," she murmured to herself. "If Uncle Eric doesn't like his breakfasts, it's his own fault for coming. Get a pencil and paper and plan several cereal-less breakfasts, so that while he is here you will never be at a loss."

Thus fortified by her common sense and what is less common, her sense of humor, Bettina soon evolved the following breakfast menus for Uncle Eric:

(1) Cantaloupe French Toast Maple Syrup Broiled Bacon Coffee

(2) Fresh Pears Creamed Beef on Toast Coffee

(3) Cantaloupe Sweet Milk Griddle Cakes Syrup Coffee

(4) Baked Apples Broiled Ham Graham Muffins Coffee

(5) Fresh Plums Codfish Balls Twin Mountain Muffins Coffee

(6) Cantaloupe Waffles Syrup Coffee

(7) Watermelon Corn Oysters Syrup Toast Coffee

BETTINA'S RECIPES

(All measurements are level)

French Toast= (Three portions)

6 slices stale bread 2 eggs 1/4 t-salt T-sugar 2/3 C-milk

Beat the eggs slightly, add salt, milk and sugar. Place in a shallow dish. Soak bread in the mixture until soft. Cook on a hot, well-greased griddle, browning on one side and then turning and browning on the other. Serve hot with maple syrup.

Sweet Milk Griddle Cakes= (Four portions)

2 C-flour 3 t-baking powder 1 C-milk 1 t-salt 1 egg, well-beaten

Mix the flour, baking powder and salt, add the milk to the well-beaten egg, and pour the liquid slowly into the dry ingredients. Beat thoroughly for one minute. Put a spoonful on a hot, well-greased griddle. When done on one side, turn, and brown on the other. Never turn more than once.

Broiled Bacon= (Three portions)

6 slices of bacon

Place bacon slices, which have had the rind removed, on a hot tin pan and set directly under a flame for three minutes. Turn and broil the other side.

Corn Oysters= (Three portions)

1/3 C-corn 1/3 C-bread crumbs 1 well-beaten egg 1/4 t-salt 1/8 t-pepper 1/2 t-sugar

Mix the corn, egg, bread crumbs, salt, pepper and sugar. Shape into cakes two inches in diameter and one-half an inch thick. Grease a griddle or a frying-pan thoroughly, and when very hot, place fritters on the pan. When brown on one side, turn over onto the other side. Serve hot, with syrup.

CHAPTER XLI

BETTINA ENTERTAINS STATE FAIR VISITORS

THE next morning when Bob and Uncle Eric had partaken of a cereal-less breakfast, and Uncle Eric had even complimented the cook, Bettina called her mother on the telephone.

"I was about to call you, Bettina. Won't you go to the fair with us this afternoon? You know Cousin Mabel and the children are here from Ford Center, and Cousin Wilfred may arrive some time this morning."

"You do have your hands full this week, don't you, Mother? Uncle Eric is at home only for breakfast, and I called up to ask if you would all come here to dinner tonight."

"Oh, Bettina! I'm afraid it will be too much work for you, dear!"

"I'll plan a simple meal, Mother; one that I can get together in a hurry. In fact I've already planned it."

"But, in that case, you couldn't go to the fair with us this afternoon, could you? And it's said to be especially good today."

"Why, yes, I could go. I can get the most of my dinner ready this morning. What time would you start?"

"At two, I think. Well, Bettina, we'll come, but you must make the meal simple, for we won't be back till six."

"Don't worry, Mother."

Bettina hastened to make her preparations, and at half after one her house was in order and she was ready to go. Besides, she was comfortably conscious of a well-filled larder--cold fried chicken ready and waiting, cold boiled potatoes to be creamed, green corn to be boiled, peaches to be sliced, and delicious chocolate cookies to delight the hearts of the children.

"It will take only a few moments," she thought as she arranged the nasturtiums on her dining table, "to set the table, cream the potatoes, boil the corn, slice the peaches and make the tea. And I believe it's the sort of a dinner that will suit them."

The dinner for state fair guests consisted of:

Cold Fried Chicken Creamed Potatoes Corn on the Cob Sliced Peaches Chocolate Cookies Tea Milk

BETTINA'S RECIPES

(All measurements are level)

Creamed Potatoes as Bettina Served Them= (Six portions)

3 C-cold, cooked potatoes, chopped 2 T-butter 3 T-flour 6 T-grated cheese 1-1/2 C-milk 1/2 t-salt 1/8 t-pepper

Melt the butter, add the flour and seasoning and mix well; gradually add the milk and cheese. Cook until the consistency of vegetable white sauce (about one minute after it boils). Add the potatoes, cook four minutes, stirring constantly, and serve.

Chocolate Cookies= (Three dozen)

1 C-sugar 1/3 C-butter 1 egg 1/4 C-milk 2 C-flour 1/2 t-cinnamon 1/2 t-salt 3 t-baking powder 1 square chocolate 1 t-vanilla

Cream the butter, add the sugar and cream well. Add alternately the sifted flour, salt, baking powder and egg beaten in milk. Add the melted chocolate and vanilla. Turn out on a floured board and roll a small portion at a time to one-fourth of an inch in thickness. Cut with a floured cooky cutter. Place on a buttered, floured pan and bake in a moderate oven until slightly brown. (About ten minutes.)

CHAPTER XLII

UNCLE JOHN AND AUNT LUCY

AS Bettina was standing before a beautiful exhibit of honey in the agricultural building, she was startled by a hand upon her shoulder.

"Gracious, Uncle John!" she exclaimed. "How you frightened me! But I'm so glad to see you! Where is Aunt Lucy?"

"Here, somewhere. You know she took a few prizes herself and is probably hanging around to hear any stray compliments for her butter or preserves."

"Aren't you ashamed, John!" said Aunt Lucy, herself appearing like magic. "I was just looking for the queen bee among the others in this glass case."

"And here she is!" said Uncle John, laying his hand on Bettina's shoulder, and laughing delightedly at his own joke. "You've been looking in the wrong place."

"For that, Uncle John, I'm going to beg you and Aunt Lucy to come home with me to dinner. Won't you? When did you come in?"

"This morning, and we're making a day of it. We'd like to see the fireworks this evening, but perhaps we could go to your house and get back again. For that matter, you and Bob could go with us to see the fireworks. How about it?"

"Oh, that would be splendid! Bob couldn't come to the fair this afternoon, and I came with a friend."

"Well, we'll take you both home in the car. When shall we see you? Five o'clock? Fine! And you and Bob must come back with us this evening."

Dinner that night consisted of:

Broiled Ham Hashed Brown Potatoes Pickled Beets Bread Butter Coffee

BETTINA'S RECIPES

(All measurements are level)

Hashed Brown Potatoes= (Four portions)

2 C-chopped potatoes 1/2 t-salt a pinch of pepper 4 T-fat

Put fat in frying-pan, when very hot, add the potatoes, salt and pepper. Cook three minutes, allowing to cook without stirring for two minutes. Fold as an omelet and turn onto a hot platter. Garnish with parsley.

Pickled Beets= (Four portions)

6 beets 2/3 C-vinegar 2 T-sugar

Wash the medium-sized beets thoroughly, and cook until tender in boiling water. Drain, cover with cold water and slip off the skins. Slice the beets into one-fourth inch slices. Cover with vinegar and sugar. Allow to stand two hours before using.

Brown Betty= (Four portions)

2 C-sliced apples 1 C-fresh bread crumbs 1/4 C-brown sugar 1 t-cinnamon 3 T-butter 1/2 C-water

Mix the apples, all but two tablespoons of the bread crumbs, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Add the melted butter and pour into a buttered baking-dish. Pour the water over the whole mixture. Use the remainder of the crumbs and a little melted butter for the top. Bake forty-five minutes in a moderate oven. Serve hot or cold with hard sauce.

Hard Sauce for Brown Betty= (Four portions)

4 T-butter 1 C-powdered sugar 1/2 t-vanilla extract 1/2 t-lemon extract 1 t-boiling water

Cream the butter, add the boiling water, and the sugar gradually. Stir until the sauce is creamy. Add vanilla and lemon extract. Set in the ice-box to harden. Serve cold.

CHAPTER XLIII

SUNDAY DINNER AT THE DIXON'S

"YOU seem to have gained in weight, Frank," said Bob, as he and Bettina sat down to Sunday dinner with the Dixons.

"And what's more, I've gained in spirits! Say, there's nothing like living in a real home! Why, people, just think of having Charlotte say to me as she did yesterday, 'Frank, Bob and Bettina are coming to dinner to-morrow, and I want you to plan the menu!' And here it is! Excuse me for seeming too proud of my own good judgment and my wife's skill in cookery, but----"

"Hush, Frank! Maybe Bob and Bettina won't like your choice of dishes or your wife's cooking!"

"What!" said Bob. "I have yet to meet the person who doesn't like fried chicken! And roasting ears and new potatoes! Sa-ay!"

"It's a man-size dinner all right, isn't it?" said Mr. Dixon. "You know ever since I was a boy my idea of Sunday dinner (at least in the summer) has been fried chicken with gravy, new potatoes, boiled corn on the cob, and ice cream with sliced peaches! Because ice cream is coming, isn't it, Charlotte? At least I ordered it, and this appears to be my lucky day!"

"Indeed, it is coming," said Mrs. Dixon. "You see, Bettina, ever since I came to keep house (thanks to you) I've longed for the time to come when I could let Frank plan a company meal that I could carry out to the last detail. I have tried all these things before, although not all at the same time. I have always suspected that he would order fried chicken and its accessories (a 'little boy dinner' I called this), so when I told him that he might plan the meal, I knew that I could cook it. You see, I have wanted to invite you and Bob--oh, I've been thinking of it for a long time, but you can cook so well that I thought perhaps you'd rather eat at home!"

"Charlotte, this is a perfect dinner--far better than I could get, I know."

"This salad is an acquired taste with me," put in Mr. Dixon. "In my boyhood, my ideal dinner did not include salad, but Charlotte said there must be one, so this was my choice. I mixed the oil-dressing myself," he added with pride.

"It was a simple dinner to get," said Mrs. Dixon. "But now, Frank, we mustn't boast any more about our own dinner, must we? Bob and Bettina will laugh at us. You see, we're regular children since we took the house, but we do have lots of fun. I wouldn't go back to hotel living for anything in the world!"

"And neither would I," said Frank, "if for no other reason than the joy of entertaining our friends at dinner this way!"

Their Sunday dinner consisted of:

Fried Chicken New Boiled Potatoes Corn on the Cob Bread Butter Sliced Cucumber, Tomato and Onion Salad Oil Dressing Vanilla Ice Cream with Peaches White Cake Iced Tea

BETTINA'S RECIPES

(All measurements are level)

Vegetable Salad= (Four portions)

2 medium-sized tomatoes 1/2 cucumber 1 onion

4 T-vinegar 2 T-oil 1/2 t-salt 1/4 t-paprika

Cut the peeled tomatoes and cucumber in one-third inch cubes, mix with the onion chopped fine. Add the dressing, which has been well mixed, and allow to stand ten minutes in a cold place. Serve on head lettuce.

Peaches for Ice Cream= (Six portions)

2 C-peaches, sliced 2/3 C-sugar

Add the sugar to the peaches and allow to stand in the ice box for ten minutes. Place peaches around the ice cream.

White Cake= (Twenty pieces)

1/2 C-butter 1-1/2 C-sugar 2-2/3 C-sifted flour 5 t-baking powder 1/8 t-salt 1 C-milk 4 egg whites, beaten stiffly 1 t-vanilla 1/2 t-lemon extract

Cream the butter, add the sugar, and continue creaming for two minutes. Alternately add all the dry ingredients and the milk. Beat well. Cut and fold in the egg-whites. Add the flavoring. Bake in two buttered layer-cake pans, twenty-five minutes in a moderate oven. Cover with "C" sugar icing.

"C" Sugar Icing= (Twenty portions)

3 egg whites 3 C-"C" sugar 2/3 C-water 1 t-vanilla

Cook the sugar and water together without stirring until the icing "clicks" in cold water. Remove from the fire and pour very slowly over the stiffly beaten egg-whites. Beat vigorously and continuously until the icing gets thick and creamy. Add the vanilla. Spread on the cake.

Vanilla Ice Cream= (Six portions)

1 qt. cream 3/4 C-sugar 1 T-vanilla 1/8 t-salt

Mix cream, sugar, vanilla and salt. Place in a scalded and chilled freezer. Turn until the mixture stiffens. Pack for two hours to ripen.

CHAPTER XLIV

A RAINY EVENING AT HOME

"THIS is just the kind of a cold, rainy evening," said Bob as he pushed back his chair, "that makes me feel like making candy."

"Fine!" said Bettina. "What kind shall it be?"

"Penoche, if you have all the ingredients."

"I think I have. Let's see. It's better when it's made partly with 'C' sugar, and I have that. I wonder if there will be enough milk left for breakfast if we use a little! Well, penoche really tastes exactly as good when it is made with water instead, though, of course, it isn't so rich. But then, I think, we do have enough milk."

"First of all, though," said Bob, "we'll wash these dishes. It was a mighty good dinner tonight, Bettina. The nice kind of a hot meal that it seems good to come home to on a night like this."

"It was an oven dinner, Bob. You see, the meat loaf, the escalloped potatoes, and the rice pudding were all in the oven at once. I always try to use the oven for more than one dish if I am using it at all."

"We seem to have eaten all of this tomato sauce," said Bob, as he carried out the dish, "but there is a good deal of meat left. Will you have to make more sauce?"

"No, I planned just enough for one meal. Then, tomorrow, I'll serve the rest of the meat cold without a sauce. How did you like the rice pudding hot as it was tonight? You know I usually serve it cold."

"It tasted very good for a cold evening. There, all these dishes are ready to wash, Bettina. Will you get out some tea towels for me?"

The dinner that night consisted of:

Hot Beef Loaf Tomato Sauce Escalloped Potatoes Bread Butter Rice Pudding

BETTINA'S RECIPES

(All measurements are level)

Beef Loaf= (Five portions)

1 lb. beef cut from the round 1/4 lb. salt pork 1/2 t-salt 1/4 t-pepper 1/8 t-onion salt 1/4 C-cracker or bread crumbs 1 egg yolk 1 T-milk 1 T-butter

Grind the meat well, and mix all the ingredients excepting the butter. Pat into an oblong shape and place in a well-buttered pan. Add three tablespoons of water to the pan, and place the butter in small pieces on the top of the loaf. Cover the pan and bake thirty-five minutes in a moderate oven.

Tomato Sauce= (Three portions)

1 C-tomatoes, cut up 1/2 C-water 2 bay leaves 1 t-sugar 1/4 t-ground cloves 1 slice of onion or 1/8 T-onion salt 2 T-butter 2 T-flour 1/3 t-salt

Simmer for fifteen minutes the tomatoes, water, bay leaves, sugar, cloves and onion. Strain and press out all the pulp. Melt the butter, add the flour, blend well, slowly add the strained tomato and salt. Cook one minute. Serve hot on the meat.

Escalloped Potatoes= (Three portions)

4 potatoes (medium sized) 2 T-flour 2 T-butter 1 t-salt 1/4 t-pepper milk (about one cup)

Wash and peel the potatoes. Slice very thin. Mix through the sliced potatoes, the flour, salt, pepper and the butter in small pieces. Place the mixture in a well-buttered pan or baking dish, and cover with milk. Usually one cup suffices. Bake in a moderate oven forty-five to fifty minutes. (Do not fill the pan more than three-fourths full, as the potatoes will boil over.)

Rice Pudding= (Three portions)

1-1/4 C-milk 1 egg 4 T-sugar 1/4 t-salt 1 t-vanilla 1 C-cooked rice 1 t-butter 1/8 t-grated nutmeg

Beat the egg, add the sugar, salt, nutmeg, vanilla, and milk. Add the rice. Pour the mixture into a well-buttered baking dish and dot over with the butter. Bake in a moderate oven twenty-five minutes. It may be served hot or cold. Cream may be served with it if desired.

2 C-"C" sugar 1 C-granulated sugar 1 T-butter 2/3 C-milk 1/4 t-cream of tartar 1/4 C-nut-meats 1 t-vanilla

Mix the sugar, butter, milk and cream of tartar. Cook, stirring occasionally to prevent from scorching, until a soft ball is formed when a little candy is dropped in cold water. Remove from the fire, and do not stir until it is cool. Put back on the stove for one minute, stirring constantly. Remove from stove, and beat vigorously until very creamy. Add the nuts and vanilla. When hard and creamy, remove from the pan, patting into shape and kneading until soft and creamy. Place on a buttered pan, patting to the thickness of three-fourths of an inch. Cut into the desired shape.

_SEPTEMBER._

_Apple-tree, apple-tree, crowned with delight, Give me your fruit for a pie if you will;---- Crusty I'll make it, and juicy and light!---- Give me your treasure to mate with my skill!_

CHAPTER XLV

RUTH MAKES AN APPLE PIE

"I'LL tell you, Ruth," said Bettina, in answer to some questions, "you come home with me now, and make an apple pie for our dinner! I'll watch and direct you, and perhaps I can show you what made the crust tough on the one you made at home. Do come. I can't promise you an elaborate dinner tonight, for my funds are very low and I must be careful. But I had planned to make an apple pie myself. Bob is so fond of it that no matter what else we may have, an apple pie dinner is a feast to him."

"But goodness, Bettina! I might spoil it!"

"No, you wouldn't, and I would show you just what to do. I suspect that you handled the dough too much before and that was what made the pie seem tough."

"I suppose I did; I was so anxious to have it well mixed."

"Did you use your fingers in mixing in the shortening? I know that many good cooks do it, but it is really better to use a knife, with the blade flat. And then roll the pastry out just as lightly as possible."

"Do you make pastry with lard or butter?"

"I usually make it with an equal amount of each. Lard makes a more tender crust than butter, and a whiter crust, but I think butter gives it a better flavor."

Bettina and Ruth had reached home by this time, and Bettina brought out the materials for Ruth's pie. "I'll give you ice-water to moisten the pastry," said she; "it isn't necessary, but it is really better in the summer time. And while you're mixing in the shortening with this knife, I'll be cooking some eggs hard for eggs a la goldenrod which I am going to give you tonight."

"Eggs a la goldenrod!" exclaimed Ruth, "How good that does sound!"

"It is a very good luncheon-dish, but I find it also good for dinner when I'm not having meat. I think it looks appetizing, too."

"I must learn how to make it. You know Father comes home at noon, and it is hard to think of a variety of luncheon-dishes. I usually have eggs or cheese in some form or other, but 'eggs a la goldenrod,' are new to me."

"We also have cottage-cheese tonight," said Bettina. "I plan to make it about once a week. Ruth, I believe I hear Bob now! Well, he'll have to wait half an hour or more for his dinner!"

That night they had:

Eggs a la Goldenrod Potato Cakes Strained Honey Cottage Cheese Bread Butter Apple Pie Coffee

BETTINA'S RECIPES

(All measurements are level)

Eggs a la Goldenrod= (Four portions)

3 hard-cooked eggs 3 T-butter 3 T-flour 1-1/2 C-milk 1/2 t-salt 1/8 t-pepper 1/8 t-parsley

Melt the butter, add the flour, salt and pepper. Mix well. Add the milk gradually. Cook until a white sauce consistency. Add chopped egg-whites. Pour this mixture over slices of toast arranged on a platter. Force the yolks through a strainer on top of the sauce on the toast. Garnish with parsley and serve hot.

Potato Cakes= (Four portions)

2 C-mashed potatoes 1 T-lard 1 T-butter

Form cold seasoned mashed potato into cakes two inches in diameter. Dip the cakes lightly into a little flour. Allow one tablespoon butter and one tablespoon lard to get very hot in a frying-pan. Put in the cakes, brown on each side, and serve.

Cottage Cheese= (Four portions)

1 qt. sour milk 1 t-salt 1/4 t-paprika 1 T-cream

Place thick freshly soured milk over a pan of hot water, not boiling. When the milk is warm and the curds separate from the whey, strain off the whey in a cheese cloth. Put into a bowl, add salt, pepper and cream to taste. Stir lightly with a fork.