A Thousand Ways to Please a Husband With Bettina's Best Recipes (8 page)

That evening Bettina served:

Salmon Salad with Jellied Vegetables
Boston Brown Bread Sandwiches
Sliced Fresh Peaches
One Egg Cake Chocolate Icing
Iced Tea

BETTINA'S RECIPES

(All measurements are level)

Salmon Salad with Jellied Vegetables
(Four portions)

1 C-cooked mixed diced vegetables (string beans, carrots, peas or celery)
1 C-meat stock or water (hot)
2 t-granulated gelatin
1 t-salt
1 T-chopped pimento
3 T-cold water
1 t-lemon juice

Cooked vegetables may be combined for this salad. Soak the gelatin in cold water a few minutes, add the meat stock or water and stir until the gelatin is thoroughly dissolved. If it is not completely dissolved, heat over a pan of hot water. Add the vegetables in such proportions as desired or convenient. Add the salt, lemon juice and pimento; turn the mixture into a moistened mould. (A ring mould is attractive.) Allow to stand for one hour or more in a cold place. When ready to serve, remove from mould to a chilled plate. If a ringed mould is used, the center may be filled with flaked salmon over which salad dressing has been poured. If the vegetable part is used as a salad, salad dressing may be placed around the vegetables.

One Egg Cake
(Ten portions)

4 T-butter
½ C-sugar
1 egg
½ C-milk
1
¹
/
₈
C-flour
2½ t-baking powder
1 t-vanilla

Cream the butter, add the sugar gradually, and the egg well beaten. Mix and sift the flour and baking powder and add alternately with the milk. Add the vanilla. Bake in a loaf-cake pan twenty-five minutes in a moderate oven.

Chocolate Icing for Cake

1 square of chocolate, melted
3 T-boiling water
1½ powdered sugar
½ t-vanilla

Melt the chocolate, add a little powdered sugar, then water and flavoring and sufficient sugar to allow the icing to spread on cake. Usually one and one-half cups is the necessary amount. Spread on the cake.

"H
ELLO, Bettina; this is Bob. What are you having for dinner tonight?"

"It's all in the fireless cooker! Why?"

"Couldn't you manage to make a picnic supper of it? One of the men at the office has invited us to go motoring tonight with him and his wife, and, of course, I said we'd be delighted. They're boarding, poor things, and I asked if we couldn't bring the supper. He seemed glad to have me suggest it. I suppose he hasn't had any home cooking for months. Do you suppose you could manage the lunch? How about it?"

"Why, let me think! How soon must we start?"

"We'll be there in an hour or a little less. Don't bother about it—get anything you happen to have."

"It's fine to go, dear. Of course, I'll be ready. Good-bye!"

Bettina's brain was busy. There was a veal loaf baking in one compartment of the cooker, and on the other side, some Boston brown bread was steaming. Her potatoes were cooked already for creaming, and although old potatoes would have been better for the purpose, she might make a salad of them. As she hastily put on some eggs to hard-cook, she inspected her ice box. Yes, those cold green beans, left from last night's dinner, would be good in the salad. What else? "It needs something to give it character," she reflected. "A little canned pimento—and, yes—a few of the pickles in that jar."

Of course, she had salad dressing—she was never without it. Sandwiches? The brown bread would be too fresh and soft for sandwiches, but she could keep it hot, and take some
butter along. "I'm glad it is cool to-day. We'll need hot coffee in the thermos bottle, and I can make it a warm supper—except for the salad."

She took the veal loaf and the steamed brown bread from the cooker, and put them into the oven to finish cooking.

"How lucky it is that I made those Spanish buns! And the bananas that were to have been sliced for dessert, I can just take along whole."

When Bettina heard the auto horn, and then Bob's voice, she was putting on her hat.

"Well, Betty, could you manage it?"

"Yes, indeed, dear. Everything is ready. The thermos bottle has coffee in it, piping hot; the lunch basket over there is packed with the warm things wrapped tight, and that pail with the burlap over it is a temporary ice box. It holds a piece of ice, and beside it is the cream for the coffee and the potato salad. It is cool to-day, but I thought it best to pack them that way."

"You are the best little housekeeper in this town," said Bob as he kissed her. "I don't believe anyone else could have managed a picnic supper on such short notice. Come on out and meet Mr. and Mrs. Dixon. May I tell them that they have a fine spread coming?"

"Don't you dare, sir. It's a very ordinary kind of a supper, and even you are apt to be disappointed."

But he wasn't.

Bettina's picnic supper that cool day consisted of:

Warm Veal Loaf Cold Potato Salad
Fresh Brown Bread Butter
Spanish Buns Bananas
Hot Coffee

BETTINA'S RECIPES

(All measurements are level)

Veal Loaf
(Six to eight portions)

2 lbs. lean veal
½ lb. salt pork
6 large crackers
2 T-lemon juice
4 t-onion salt
1 T-salt
½ t-pepper
4 T-cream

Put two crackers in the meat grinder, add bits of meat and pork and the rest of the crackers. The crackers first and last prevent the pork and meat from sticking to the grinder. Add other ingredients in order named. Pack in a well-buttered bread-pan. Smooth evenly on top, brush with white of an egg and bake one hour in a moderate oven. Baste frequently. The meat may be cooked in a fireless cooker between two stones. It is perfectly satisfactory cooked this way, and requires no basting.

Boston Brown Bread
(Six portions)

1 C-rye or graham flour
1 C-cornmeal
1 C-white flour
1 t-salt
1½ t-soda
¾ C-molasses
¼ C-sugar
1½ C-sour milk or 1¼ C-sweet
milk or water
²
/
₃
C-raisins

Mix and sift dry ingredients, add molasses and liquid. Fill well-buttered moulds two-thirds full, butter the top of mould, and steam three and one-half hours. Remove from moulds and place in an oven to dry ten minutes before serving. 1—If sweet milk is used, 1 T-vinegar to 1¼ C will sour the milk. 2—Baking powder cans, melon moulds, lard pails or any attractively shaped tin cans may be used as a mould. 3—Two methods of steaming are used: (a) Regular steamer in which the mould, either large or individual, is placed over a pan of boiling water. Buttered papers may be tied firmly over the tops of uncovered moulds. (b) Steaming in boiling water. The mould is placed on a small article in the bottom of a pan of boiling water. This enables the water to circulate around the mould. Care must be observed in keeping the kettle two-thirds full of boiling water all of the time of cooking. (Bettina used the method in the fireless cooker.) She started the brown bread in the cooker utensil on the top of the stove. When the water was boiling vigorously, she placed it over one hot stone in the cooker. The water came two-thirds of the distance to the top of her cans. In the cooker, she did not have to watch for fear the water would boil away. After fastening the lid tightly on the cooker-kettle in which the bread was to steam, she did not look at it again for four hours. (It takes a little longer in the cooker than on the stove.)

T
HE next morning Bettina was alone in her little kitchen when the door bell rang.

"Why, Mrs. Dixon; how do you do?" she said, as she opened the door and recognized the visitor. "Won't you come in?"

It must be admitted that Bettina was somewhat embarrassed at the unexpected call at so unconventional a time. Mrs. Dixon was dressed in a trim street costume, but under her veil Bettina could see that her eyes were red, and her lips quivered as she answered:

"Forgive me for coming so early, but I just had to. I know you'll think me silly to talk to you confidentially when I met you only yesterday, but I do want your advice about something. You mustn't stop what you are doing. Couldn't I come into the kitchen and talk while you work?"

"Why, my dear, of course you can," said Bettina, trying to put her at her ease. "You can't guess what I was doing! I was washing my pongee dress; someone told me of such a good way!"

"Why, could you do it all yourself?" said Mrs. Dixon, opening her eyes wide. "Why not send it to be dry-cleaned?"

"Of course I might," said Bettina, "but it would be expensive, and I do like to save a little money every month from my housekeeping allowance. There are always so many things I want to get. You see I'm doing this in lukewarm, soapy water—throwing the soap-suds up over the goods, then I'll rinse it well, and hang it in the shade to drip until it gets dry.
I won't press it till it is fully dry, because if I do, it will be spotted."

"How do you learn things like that?"

"Oh, since I've been married, and even before, when I thought about keeping house, I began to pick up all sorts of good ideas. I like economizing; it gives me an opportunity to use all the ingenuity I have."

"Does it? I always thought it would be awfully tiresome. You see, I've lived in a hotel all my life; my mother never was strong, and I was the only child. I liked it, and since I've been married, we've lived the same way. I never thought of anything else and I supposed Frank would like it, too—but lately—oh, all the last year—he's been begging me to let him find us a house. And then"—(Bettina saw that her eyes had filled with tears)—"he has been so different. You have no idea, my dear. Why—he hasn't been at home with me two evenings a week—and——"

"You must be dreadfully unhappy," interrupted Bettina, wondering what she could say, since she disliked particularly to listen to any account of domestic difficulties. "But why not try keeping house? Maybe that would be better. Why, Bob doesn't like to be away from home any evenings at all."

"But you've just been married!" said Mrs. Dixon, tactlessly. "Wait and see how he'll be after a few years!"

"Well, that's all the more reason for trying to make him like his home. Have you thought of taking a house?"

"That was just the reason I came to you. You seem to be so happy living this way—and it surprised me. I knew last evening what Frank was thinking when he saw this little house—and then when you unpacked the lunch—tell me honestly, did you cook it yourself?"

"Of course," said Bettina, smiling.

"Wasn't it hard to learn? Why, I can't cook a thing—I can't even make coffee! Frank says if he could only have one breakfast that was fit to eat——" and she buried her face in her handkerchief.

"Why, Mrs. Dixon!" cried Bettina, cheerfully, though her heart was beating furiously. "Your trouble is the easiest one
in the world to remedy! Your husband is just hungry—that's all! I'll tell you—we'll make this a little secret between us, and have such fun over it! You do just as I tell you for one month and I'll guarantee that Frank will be at home every single minute that he can!"

"Do you suppose I can learn?"

"I'll show you every single thing. We'll slip out this very day and look for a little house—to surprise Frank! And I'll teach you to cook by easy stages!"

"Oh, will you?" smiled Mrs. Dixon, showing an adorable dimple in her round cheek. "You don't know how much better I feel already! When can we begin?"

"Right now—with coffee—real, sure 'nough coffee that will make Frank's eyes stick out! Have you a percolator?"

"No, but I can get one."

"It isn't necessary at all. I'll tell you how to do without it, and then using one will be perfectly simple."

BETTINA'S RECIPES

(All measurements are level)

Coffee
(Four cups)

7 T-coffee
3 T-cold water
½ T-egg white
4½ C-boiling water

Scald the coffee pot, add the coffee, cold water and egg-white. Mix thoroughly, add the boiling water. Boil two minutes. Allow to stand in the pot one minute. Serve.

Twin Mountain Muffins

2 C-flour
4 t-baking powder
¼ t-salt
1 egg
1 C-milk
1 T-melted butter
¼ C-sugar

Mix and sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Beat the egg, add the milk; add these liquid ingredients to the dry ones. Beat two minutes. Add the melted butter. Fill well buttered muffin pans one-half full. Bake in a moderate oven twenty minutes.

"N
OW, Bettina, you sit here and direct me, but don't you dare to move. I'm going to get breakfast myself."

"Fine for you, chef! Have it on the porch, will you? It's the most beautiful morning of the year, I do believe! But you must give me something to do. Let me set the table, will you?"

"Well, you can do that, but get me an apron first. Be sure you get one that'll be becoming!"

Bettina went to a deep drawer in the pantry, of which the breakfast alcove was a part, and selected a white bungalow apron with red dots.

"Here, put your arms through this! There, how 'chic' you look! Bob, do you realize that this is our first breakfast on the porch? I must get some of those feathery things growing out there; I want them for the table. We must celebrate!"

"If having flowers on the table is celebrating, you celebrate every day!"

"Of course, my dear! Our married life is just one long celebration. Haven't you discovered that yet?"