THE LADIES’ WORLD.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2638, 21 October 1909, Page 3

THE LADIES’ WORLD.

SALADS AND SALAD DRESSINGS /-. , '

In a climate like ours (writes “Vesta 55 in the Melbourne “Argus”— and her remarks apply with almost equal force to New Zealand) the housewife, is concerned all through the siuiH mer to provide meals which will be nourishing as well ns appetising on hot days. And yet the preparation of good cold dishes is an almost unknown art. There are a few cold puddings which are almost staples of diet, and nearly everybody learns to set veal in jelly or to make a cold meat pfe. But that is the extent of the .provision made for hot days -in most households. The Americans are much wiser in this particular. They have learned the way to make appetising meals for all kinds of weather, and in nothing are they more skilful than in the making of delightful salads.

To begin with, they use very freely at all meals—breakfast, luncheon, and dinner —the excellent standard French salad. This is made by tearing crisp lettuce leaves into a uniform size, and sprinkling them . with olive oil. « nst a few drops of oil are eno.-gn, and the leaves should be turned over and over with a wooden fork and spoon, until every bit gets its thin coating of oil; when that is done, a little vinegar, mixed with pepper and salt, should be sprinkled over' in similar fashion, and the leaves turned over again to get their share of the vinegar. That done, the salad is .ready. It is infinitely bet tor and wholesomer than the usual Eng lish salad, with its sweet hot dressing. If a more elaborate salad is desired, the lettuce can he supplemented with a sprinkling of mustard.and cress, which anyone can grow for herself on a bit of damp flannel, and be served with a good maponnaise dressing. The mayonnaise dressing is made as follows: —Put into a basin the raw yolks of two eggs, add one teaspoonful of mustard, a small half teaspoonfUl of salt, and a little pepper, mix well with a wooden s[oc n; add, drop by drop, half a pint of good salad oil, stirring all the time in one direction. When the dressing seems to be getting too thick add a little vinegar gradually. When the sauce finished it should be of the consistency of thick cream. Two or three tablespoonfuls of vinegar will be required, but more may be added if liked. If possible, tarragon vinegar and malt vinegar should both he used, mixed, if tarragon vinegar cannot be got, however, malt vinegar will do. The sauce must be kept cool, both during the making and afterwards. Standing the vessel in which it is being mixed in a basin of cold water will usually I cep it cool enough. If the oily taste is objected to a similar sauce may nc made with a table* poonful of condensed milk, the yolks of two eggs, a teaspoonful of mustard, four tablespoon fills each o' oil and vinegar, and the white of one egg, and pepper and salt to taste. The since should be made as before, mixing the condensed milk with the yolks of the eggs, and adding the white of the egg stiffly beaten -when all the e.l and vinegar have been worked in. Dressings made' with oil are much more easih’ digested than those without and, even if the taste has to be acquired, the enjoyment afforded by .such salads afterwards more than compensates for the effort to accustom oneself to the use of oil. And the Australian oils are specially fresh and pure, so that there is little excuse for disliking them. With these two dressings, and the plain vinegar and , t oil v dressing, an infinite variety of salads may be devised. Cold boiled potatoes, sliced, are delicious with either dressing, especially if just a hint of cold boiled red herring, or an anchovy, minced, be added to the dish. Cold, boiled asparagus, Freimn beans, broad beans, peas, or .cauliflower, make equally good salads with one of these dressings. They should not, as a rule, be 'mixed; though peas may he satisfactorily combined with cauliflower. Tomatoes, cucumbers, and beetroot and celery are all familiar to most housewives served in salad form, and tomatoes are frequently combined with cucumbers. But how many people have thought of serving beetroot and celery together, though they make a delicious salad? Thick slices of cold boiled turnip, heaped with a mixture of green peas and small dice of carrot, and served with mayonnaise, are surprisingly good. Raw apples by themselves, or with celery and chopped nuts, make another good \sa’rtd,_ and bananas can also be served with mayonnaise dressing.. Any of the vegetable salads may he improved by the addition of a few capers or green nasturtium seeds by way of flavoring, or by sprinkling a little chopped spring onion or chives, over them, Olives are a good addition to potato salad or cauliflower salad.. There are few people who'could not find something to enjoy out of the list I have given, and on a hot niglit a little cold boiled fish, or a slice of cold meat, served with some such arrangement of vegetables, will often tempt the appetite whdn ordinary dishes are not to be thought of.- , . HOME HINTS. > Sweet Sponges.—To keep sponges soft and sweet, wash them in warm water with a little tartaric acid in it, and then rinse in plenty of cold water. Lemon juice will also cleanse a sponge. Tired Feet.—lf your feet ache after ‘dancing, soak them in hot-baysalt and;, water before you get into bed, dry them, and rub briskly, especially about the ankles, with a rough towel. A Fragrant Bath.—A fragrant hath water is made up of eight ounces of alcohol, one ounce of ammonia, and two drams of oil of lavender. A few drops of this lavender lotion used in the bath perfumes the water and skin deliciously. I'';' ' ' . ' . Onions and Nerves. —Onions are stated to 'be the best cure for shattered nerves any one can try., No medicine, it is asserted,'. is so useful in oases of nervous prostration, and there is nothing else that will so, quickly relieve, and tone a worn-out system. ‘ The Empty House.—When leaving a house empty, cover the carpets with dust-sheets or newspapers. Take down the curtains and put them away, remove chair covers and fold them. Take down all the pictures and lay them carefully on sofas or beds.