TAPIOCA SOUP

_Ingredients._—5 oz. of tapioca, 2 quarts of stock. _Mode._—Put the tapioca into cold stock, and bring it gradually to a boil. Simmer gently till tender, and serve. _Time._—Rather more than 1 hour. _Average cost_, 1_s._ 6_d._ per quart. _Seasonable_ all the year. _Sufficient_ for 8 persons.

_Ingredients._—Trimmings of puff-paste, any jam or marmalade that may be preferred. _Mode._—Roll out the paste to the thickness of about ½ inch; butter some small round patty-pans, line them with it, and cut off the superfluous paste close to the edge of the pan. Put a small piece of bread into each tartlet (this is to keep them in shape), and bake in a brisk oven for about 10 minutes, or rather longer. When they are done, and are of a nice colour, take the pieces of bread out carefully, and replace them by a spoonful of jam or marmalade. Dish them high on a white d’oyley, piled high in the centre, and serve. _Time._—10 to 15 minutes. _Average cost_, 1_d._ each. _Sufficient._—1 lb. of paste will make 2 dishes of tartlets. _Seasonable_ at any time.

TARTLETS, Polish.

_Ingredients._—Puff-paste, the white of an egg, pounded sugar. _Mode._—Roll some good puff-paste out thin, and cut it into 2½-inch squares; brush each square over with the white of an egg, then fold down the corners, so that they all meet in the middle of each piece of paste; slightly press the two pieces together, brush them over with the egg, sift over sugar, and bake in a nice quick oven for about ¼ hour. When they are done, make a little hole in the middle of the paste, and fill it up with apricot jam, marmalade, or red-currant jelly. Pile them high in the centre of a dish, on a napkin, and garnish with the same preserve the tartlets are filled with. _Time._—¼ hour or 20 minutes. _Average cost_, with ½ lb. of puff-paste, 1_s._ _Sufficient_ for 2 dishes of pastry. _Seasonable_ at any time.

_Note._—It should be borne in mind, that, for all dishes of small pastry, such as the preceding, trimmings of puff-paste, left from larger tarts, answer as well as making the paste expressly.

TEA, to make.

There is very little art in making good tea; if the water is boiling, and there is no sparing of the fragrant leaf, the beverage will almost invariably be good. The old-fashioned plan of allowing a teaspoonful to each person, and one over, is still practised. Warm the teapot with boiling water; let it remain for two or three minutes for the vessel to become thoroughly hot, then pour it away. Put in the tea, pour in from ½ to ¾ pint of _boiling_ water, close the lid, and let it stand for the tea to draw from 5 to 10 minutes; then fill up the pot with water. The tea will be quite spoiled unless made with water that is actually _boiling_, as the leaves will not open, and the flavour not be extracted from them; the beverage will consequently be colourless and tasteless,—in fact, nothing but tepid water. Where there is a very large party to make tea for, it is a good plan to have two teapots, instead of putting a large quantity of tea into one pot; the tea, besides, will go farther. When the infusion has been once completed, the addition of fresh tea adds very little to the strength; so, when more is required, have the pot emptied of the old leaves, scalded, and fresh tea made in the usual manner. Economists say that a few grains of carbonate of soda, added before the boiling water is poured on the tea, assist to draw out the goodness; if the water is very hard, perhaps it is a good plan, as the soda softens it; but care must be taken to use this ingredient sparingly, as it is liable to give the tea a soapy taste if added in too large a quantity. For mixed tea, the usual proportion is four spoonfuls of black to one of green; more of the latter when the flavour is very much liked; but strong green tea is highly pernicious, and should never be partaken of too freely. _Time._—2 minutes to warm the teapot, 5 to 10 minutes to draw the strength from the tea. _Sufficient._—Allow 1 teaspoonful to each person.