January 26. — To keep butter cool. — One of the house-
keeper’s trials in hot weather is how to keep butter cool
and firm, for there is nothing so loathsome as “oily”
butter. Here is a very simple plan which will prevent
such a catastrophe, and which we always find very suc-
cessful (I think I found it originally in a newspaper, and
copied it, but have no record). Take a large new earthen-
ware flower-pot and turn it upside down like a cover over
the bowl which holds your butter, the latter should stand
on a soup-plate or any shallow dish. Pour cold water in
which a pinch of saltpetre, and a little salt also, has been
dissolved, round the butter-bowl (this water may be as
deep as the soup-plate will hold, but must not overflow
A NEW USE FOR A FLOWER-POT Jan.
into the bowl which holds the butter). Cover the flower-
pot with a clean damp cloth and leave the edges of the
cloth dipping into the water all round— this keeps the
cloth damp— and the butter will remain firm and fresh.
Stand the whole apparatus in a draught of air, or before
an open window, but of .course in a shady place, and see
there is ahvays water in the soup-plate, as it evaporates
quickly.
51
1l
/ .
•y
f
9
i
1 -t ’• ' . • '-X ,
'7hK
jfebniar^
February i.— Still hot.— In England they say, “There
are three fine days in the year, and two of them are in
February,” but at the Cape all the twenty-eight days of
February are generally hot and fine, and fruit and vege-
tables, as well as flowers, are as a rule very plentiful in all
parts of the Western Province.
Vegetables. — Potatoes, marrows, beans, cucumbers, par-
snips and green mealies are in abundance. When cucum-
bers turn yellow they may be utilized in cooking, and are
very good if scooped out, stuffed with forcemeat, and
curried, following recipe in Hilda's Where is it, p. 45.
Tomatoes too, which are so universally popular, are
usually very plentiful this month.
Rice and tomatoes. — K writes that she saw rice served
so nicely as a vegetable, in the following way —
Some tomatoes were cooked and cut in half, and the
soft inside taken out and mixed with the boiled rice so
that it looked pink. Then the tomato skins were laid on
the top of the rice, and filled up with forcemeat with a good
deal of truffle in it. She says the result was excellent,
looked ornamental and tasted very good.
Potatoes. — It is curious to see how potatoes were treated
when they were a new importation. Here is an extract
from Gerarde, the herbalist, who wrote of them in 1597.
57
Feb. INDIAN CORN SALAD. GREEN MEALIES
“ Potatoes grow in India and other hotte regions, of
which I planted divers roots (that I bought at the
Exchange, London) in my garden, where they flourished
until winter, at which time they perished and rotted.'’ He
goes on to say, “ they were roasted in the ashes ; and
some when they be so roasted, infuse them and sop
them in wine ; and others, to give them the greater grace
in eating, do boil them with prunes and so eat them.
And likewise others dresse them (being first roasted) with
oil, vinegar and salt, and every man according to his taste
and liking.”
Indian corn salad, from an excellent recipe. — This is
made of mealies, and of course where the recipe says to
use a tin of Indian corn, we can use fresh mealies boiled.
(A green pea salad can be made in the same way.)
Page 26
Presented as published in 1902. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
January 26. — To keep butter cool. — One of the housekeeper’s trials in hot weather is how to keep butter cool and firm, for there is nothing so loathsome as “oily” butter. Here is a very simple plan which will prevent such a catastrophe, and which we always find very successful (I think I found it originally in a newspaper, and copied it, but have no record). Take a large new earthenware flower-pot and turn it upside down like a cover over the bowl which holds your butter, the latter should stand on a soup-plate or any shallow dish. Pour cold water in which a pinch of saltpetre, and a little salt also, has been dissolved, round the butter-bowl (this water may be as deep as the soup-plate will hold, but must not overflow
A NEW USE FOR A FLOWER-POT Jan.
into the bowl which holds the butter). Cover the flowerpot with a clean damp cloth and leave the edges of the cloth dipping into the water all round— this keeps the cloth damp— and the butter will remain firm and fresh.
Stand the whole apparatus in a draught of air, or before an open window, but of .course in a shady place, and see there is always water in the soup-plate, as it evaporates quickly.
/ .
•y
f
1 -t ’• ' . • '-X ,
'7hK
jfebniar^
February i.— Still hot.— In England they say, “There are three fine days in the year, and two of them are in February,” but at the Cape all the twenty-eight days of February are generally hot and fine, and fruit and vegetables, as well as flowers, are as a rule very plentiful in all parts of the Western Province.
Vegetables. — Potatoes, marrows, beans, cucumbers, parsnips and green mealies are in abundance. When cucumbers turn yellow they may be utilized in cooking, and are very good if scooped out, stuffed with forcemeat, and curried, following recipe in Hilda's Where is it, p. 45.
Tomatoes too, which are so universally popular, are usually very plentiful this month.
Rice and tomatoes. — K writes that she saw rice served
so nicely as a vegetable, in the following way —
Some tomatoes were cooked and cut in half, and the soft inside taken out and mixed with the boiled rice so that it looked pink. Then the tomato skins were laid on the top of the rice, and filled up with forcemeat with a good deal of truffle in it. She says the result was excellent, looked ornamental and tasted very good.
Potatoes. — It is curious to see how potatoes were treated when they were a new importation. Here is an extract from Gerarde, the herbalist, who wrote of them in 1597.
Feb. INDIAN CORN SALAD. GREEN MEALIES
“ Potatoes grow in India and other hotte regions, of which I planted divers roots (that I bought at the Exchange, London) in my garden, where they flourished until winter, at which time they perished and rotted.'’ He goes on to say, “ they were roasted in the ashes ; and some when they be so roasted, infuse them and sop them in wine ; and others, to give them the greater grace in eating, do boil them with prunes and so eat them. And likewise others dresse them (being first roasted) with oil, vinegar and salt, and every man according to his taste and liking.”
Indian corn salad, from an excellent recipe. — This is made of mealies, and of course where the recipe says to use a tin of Indian corn, we can use fresh mealies boiled. (A green pea salad can be made in the same way.)