For the Top

1 T-milk 1 t-sugar

Mix and sift the flour, baking powder and salt. Cut in the fat with a knife. Add the egg and milk, using the knife to make a soft dough. Toss onto a floured board. Roll out to a thickness of one-fourth an inch. Cut out with a round cooky cutter, three inches in diameter. Brush over with milk. Fold over like pocket-book rolls. Place in a tin pan and brush over the top with one tablespoon of milk to which has been added one teaspoon of sugar. Bake in a moderate oven for twenty minutes.

Chocolate Kisses= (Fourteen kisses)

1 C-powdered sugar 2 egg-whites 1 C-fine bread crumbs 2 ounces melted chocolate 1 t-cinnamon 1 t-vanilla 1 t-baking powder

Beat the egg-whites very stiffly. Add very carefully the powdered sugar. Cut and fold in the bread crumbs and the baking powder. Add the chocolate, cinnamon and vanilla. Drop the mixture from the tip of a spoon, two inches apart upon a well-greased pan. Bake in a moderate oven twelve to fifteen minutes.

CHAPTER CXV

SUPPER AFTER THE THEATRE

"NOW, Bob, you start the fire in the fireplace while I go into the kitchen and get a little lunch."

"Mrs. Bob," said Donald, an old school-friend of Bob's, "I don't want you to do any such thing! We don't need any lunch! Stay in here and we'll all talk."

"You'll talk all the better for something to eat," said Bettina, "and so will Bob. Won't you, Bob?"

"Well," said Bob, with a grin, "I will admit that coming home in the cold has given me something of an appetite. Then too, I'll tell you, Donald, that Bettina's after-theatre suppers aren't to be lightly refused! Yes, on the whole, I think we'd better have the supper. We couldn't get you for dinner tonight, and you're leaving so early in the morning that you see you won't have had any real meal at our house at all!"

Meanwhile, Bettina was busying herself with the little supper, for which she had made preparations that morning. When she had creamed the oysters and placed them in the ramekins, she popped them in the oven. Next she put on the coffee in her percolator, and placed in the oven with the oysters the small loaf of bran bread that she had steamed that morning. "Bob likes it better warm," she said to herself.

Then she arranged her tea-cart with plates, cups, silver, napkins and peach preserves, not forgetting the rice parfait from the refrigerator.

When she wheeled the little supper into the living room, Bob and Donald welcomed her with delight. "I take it back; I am hungry after all!" said Donald.

Bettina served:

Creamed Oysters in Ramekins Steamed Bran Bread Peach Preserves Rice Parfait Coffee

BETTINA'S RECIPES

(All measurements are level)

Creamed Oysters in Ramekins= (Three portions)

1 doz. oysters 2 T-butter 3 T-flour 1/4 t-salt 1/8 t-paprika 1-1/2 C-milk 2 T-crumbs 2 t-butter 1 hard-cooked egg 2 t-chopped parsley

Heat the oysters until they are plump. Drain. Melt the butter, add the flour, salt and paprika. Mix well. Add the milk slowly and cook until creamy. (About two minutes.) Add the oysters, and place one-third of the mixture in each well-buttered ramekin. Melt the butter (two teaspoons) and add the crumbs, stirring well. Place the buttered crumbs on top of the mixture in each ramekin. Brown in the oven for fifteen minutes. Sprinkle with parsley, and garnish with hard-cooked egg cut in slices.

Steamed Bran Bread= (One small loaf)

1 C-bran 1/2 C-white flour 1/2 t-soda 1/8 t-salt 1 t-baking powder 4 T-raisins 2 T-chopped nuts 1 T-sugar 2 T-molasses 1/2 C-milk 2 T-water

Mix the bran, flour, soda, baking powder, salt, raisins and nuts. Add the molasses, sugar, milk and water. Stir well for two minutes. Fill a well-buttered mould one-half full of the mixture. Cover with the lid, well-buttered, and steam for two hours. The steaming may be done in the fireless cooker, if desired.

Rice Parfait= (Three portions)

1 C-cooked rice 1/2 C-hot milk 2 C-cold water 1 T-granulated gelatin 2 T-chopped nut meats 1/2 C-brown sugar 1/4 t-salt 1/2 C-whipped cream

Soak the gelatin in cold water for five minutes. Add the hot milk and allow it to dissolve thoroughly. Add the sugar, salt, nut meats and rice, and mix well. When thoroughly cooled, add the whipped cream. Pour into a well-buttered mould, and allow to stand in a cool place for two hours. Serve cold. Whipped cream may be served with the parfait if desired.

CHAPTER CXVI

WASHINGTON'S BIRTHDAY PLANS

"GOOD bran bread," said Bob, reaching for another piece.

"I like that recipe," said Bettina, "and it is so easy to make."

"What have you been doing all day?" Bob asked, "Cooking?"

"No, indeed. Charlotte was here this afternoon and we made plans for the tea we are going to give at her house on Washington's birthday. Oh, Bob, we have some of the best ideas for it! Our refreshments are to be served from the dining-room table, you know, and our central decoration is to be a three-cornered black hat filled with artificial red cherries. Of course we'll have cherry ice, and serve cherries in the tea, Russian style. The salad will be served in little black three-cornered hats; these filled with fruit salad, will be set on the table and each guest will help herself. The thin bread and butter sandwiches will be cut in hatchet shape. And--oh, yes, I forgot the cunningest idea of all! We'll serve tiny gilt hatchets stuck in tree-trunks of fondant rolled in cocoanut and toasted brown. Isn't that a clever plan? Charlotte saw it done once, and says it is very effective."

"It sounds like some party! And I'll feel especially enthusiastic if you don't forget to plan for one guest who won't appear--or perhaps I should say two, for I know Frank won't want to be forgotten."

For dinner that night Bob and Bettina had:

Corned Beef au Gratin Baked Tomatoes Apple Sauce Gluten Bread Butter Cream Pie Coffee

BETTINA'S RECIPES

(All measurements are level)

Corned Beef au Gratin= (Three portions)

1-1/2 C-milk 1/2 slice of onion 1 piece of celery 2 T-flour 2 T-butter 1 egg 1 t-salt 1/4 t-paprika 1 C-chopped corned beef

Place the milk, onion and celery over the fire. Allow to get very hot. Remove from the fire and let stand for ten minutes. Remove the celery and onion from the milk. Melt the butter, add the flour. Mix well and slowly add the milk. Cook until the consistency of white sauce. Add the egg, well beaten, the salt, paprika, and beef. Pour into well-buttered individual dishes.

Place in a moderate oven and bake twenty-five minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to stand two minutes. Remove from the moulds and garnish with parsley.

Baked Tomatoes and Cheese= (Three portions)

1 C-canned tomatoes 1/2 t-salt 1/4 t-paprika 1/4 C-fresh bread crumbs 3 T-cheese, cut fine 1/4 C-cooked celery 1 T-butter

Mix the tomatoes, salt, paprika, cheese and celery. Add half the bread crumbs. Pour into a well-buttered baking dish. Melt the butter, add the remaining crumbs and place on top of the mixture. Bake twenty minutes in a moderate oven.

Gluten Bread= (Ten slices)

1 C-gluten flour 1-1/2 t-baking powder 1/4 t-salt 1/4 C-bran 2 T-sugar 1/3 C-milk 1/3 C-water 1 t-melted butter

Mix the flour, baking powder, salt, bran and sugar. Add the milk and water. Beat vigorously for one minute and then add the butter. Pour into a well-buttered bread pan and bake forty minutes in a moderate oven.

CHAPTER CXVII

AN AFTERNOON WITH BETTINA

WHEN Bettina pushed her tea cart into the living-room, Alice and Ruth laid aside the mending at which they had been busy.

"What delicious toast, Bettina!" said Alice, taking one bite. "Why, it has cinnamon on it! And sugar! I wondered what on earth you were making that smelled so good, and this is something new to me!"

"It is cinnamon toast," said Bettina, "and so easy to make. I was busy all morning, and didn't have time to make anything but these date kisses for tea, but cinnamon toast can be made so quickly that I decided to serve it."

"I like orange marmalade, too, Bettina," said Alice. "I wish I had made some. I have spiced peaches, and a little jelly, but that is all. Next summer I intend to have a perfect orgy of canning. Then my cupboard will be even better stocked than Bettina's--perhaps! I opened a jar of spiced peaches last evening for dinner, and what do you think! Harry ate every peach in the jar! I had expected them to last several days, too."

"I hoped you saved the juice," said Bettina.

"I did, but I don't know why. It seemed too good to throw away, somehow."

"Have you ever eaten ham cooked in the juice of pickled peaches? It's delicious. Just cover the slice of ham with the juice and cook it in the oven until it is very tender. Then remove it from the juice and serve it."

"It sounds fine. I'll do it tomorrow."

That afternoon Bettina served:

Cinnamon Toast Tea Orange Marmalade Date Kisses

BETTINA'S RECIPES

(All measurements are level)

Cinnamon Toast= (Six portions)

6 slices of stale bread 2 T-butter 1/3 C-powdered sugar 1/2 t-cinnamon

Make a delicate brown toast and butter each slice. Mix the sugar and cinnamon, and place in a shaker. Shake the desired quantities of sugar and cinnamon over the hot buttered toast. Keep in a warm place until ready to serve.

Bettina's Date Kisses= (One dozen)

1 egg-white 1/8 t-salt 1/2 C-powdered sugar 1/4 t-baking powder 1/4 C-chopped dates 1/4 C-chopped nut meats 1/2 t-lemon extract

Add the salt to the white of an egg, and beat the egg-white very stiff. Then add the sugar, baking powder, nuts, dates and lemon extract. Drop from a teaspoon onto a buttered pan. Bake in a slow oven until delicately browned. (About twenty-five minutes.)

Orange Marmalade= (One pint)

3 oranges 2 lemons 1/2 grapefruit Sugar

Wash thoroughly the rinds of the fruits. Weigh the fruit, and slice it evenly. To each pound of fruit, add one quart of cold water. Let the mixture stand for twenty-four hours. Cook slowly for one hour. Drain. Weigh the cooked fruit, and add an equal weight of sugar. Cook with the sugar for thirty minutes, or until it stiffens slightly when tried on a dish. Pour into sterilized jelly glasses. When cool seal with hot paraffin.

CHAPTER CXVIII

A WASHINGTON'S BIRTHDAY TEA

WHEN the tea guests were ushered into Charlotte's dining-room that afternoon, they were delighted with the table and its red, white and blue decorations. In the center was a large three-cornered hat made of black paper, and heaped with artificial red cherries. The cherry ice was tinted red, and served in sherbet glasses. A large white cake, uncut, was one of the chief decorations, for halves of red cherries were placed together on it to represent a bunch of cherries, while tiny lines of chocolate icing represented the stems.

Bettina poured the tea and placed in each cup a red cherry. The guests helped themselves to trays, napkins, forks and spoons, and each took a portion of Washington salad, served in a small, black, three-cornered hat, lined with waxed paper. Each took also a rolled sandwich, tied with red, white and blue ribbon, and a nut bread sandwich in the shape of a hatchet.

The Washington fondant, rolled in cocoanut and toasted to represent tree trunks, with small gilt hatchets stuck in them, occasioned great delight. "How did you ever think of it?" Ruth asked, and Bettina gave Charlotte the credit, though she in turn disclaimed any originality in the matter.

"One thing is lacking," said Bettina. "Charlotte and I should be wearing colonial costumes. We did think of it, but happened to be too busy to make them."

That afternoon Charlotte and Bettina served:

George Washington Salad Rolled Sandwiches Nut Bread Sandwiches Cherry Ice Cherry Cake Washington Fondant

BETTINA'S RECIPES

(All measurements are level)

Washington Salad= (Twelve portions)

1 C-diced pineapple 1 C-marshmallows, cut fine 1 C-grapefruit, cut in cubes 1 C-canned seeded white cherries 1/4 C-filberts 1/4 C-Brazil nuts, cut fine 1-1/2 C-salad dressing 1/2 C-whipped cream 6 red cherries 12 tiny silk flags

Mix the pineapple, marshmallows, grapefruit, white cherries and nuts. Add the salad dressing. Serve immediately. Place waxed paper in the paper cups of the small, black, three-cornered hats. Place one serving of salad in each cup. Put one teaspoon of whipped cream on top and half a cherry on that. Stick a tiny silk American flag into each portion.

Nut Bread for Sandwiches= (Twenty-four sandwiches)

2 C-graham flour 1 C-white flour 3 t-baking powder 1 egg 2/3 C-sugar 1-1/2 t-salt 1/2 C-nut meats, cut fine 1-1/2 C-milk

Mix the flours, baking powder, salt, nut meats and sugar. Break the egg in the milk and add to the dry ingredients. Mix thoroughly, pour into a well-buttered bread pan and allow to rise for twenty minutes. Bake in a moderate oven for fifty minutes.