Smoorfish. — I am often asked for the recipe for smoor- fish, so I will write down once for all the way we ourselves do it. The dried fish is first parboiled and then, with two 65 F Feb. “PENANG.” KREBPT CURRY forks, broken up into pieces, carefully taking out all bones. Meantime I have cut up an onion and fried it a light- brown in dripping in a flat pot, and have sliced up a few potatoes, boiled or raw, and a red chilli (or if that is too hot a little pinch of cayenne) ; a cupful of any stock✪ Smoorfish (this may be mutton or made of fish-bones) is added to the mixture, then the pieces of fish are put in and all simmered for an hour. Smoorfish, an old Malay speciality, is an excellent dish for luncheon. Tomatoes, if in season, may be added to it. “Penang,” or Fish Curry. — Another nice way of cooking fish is what we call penang, a species of fish curry, which takes about half-an-hour to do. First prepare some browned onions as you would for chicken curry (cutting the onions into shreds and smooring or browning them), and add curry-powder and a little pinch of sugar, some common vinegar, and some stock (say a tablespoonful of vinegar to one large onion and a large tablespoon ful of curry-powder), make a paste of it, and put fillets of fish into it and fry. Another Penang Recipe, Mrs. Cloete’s, says — Take i lb. raw fish and cut it in fillets an inch or two square ; of the fish-bones make about a pint of stock and strain, add one large onion cut in slices and browned in dripping or butter, one tablespoonful of vinegar or lemon, one teaspoonful of sugar, one teaspoonful of salt✪ Penang Fish Curry, large table- spoonful of curry-powder. Mix all this well in the stock made of the fish-bones, and let it come to a boil, now put the fillets of raw fish into this paste and let it cook for ten minutes, then serve nice and hot with boiled rice. Crayfish or Kreeft Curry. — But if you want to curry cray- fish in a similar way, omit the sugar, and in place of stock 66 VEGETABLES AND SPACE TO GROW THEM Feb. add a small piece of butter and the meat of the crayfish, and serve, when finished, with rice. ^ Make a mixture of curry-paste by browning an onion cut in slices, a cup of stock, one tablespoonful of curry- powder, one teaspoonful of salt, some lemon-juice or vinegar. Mix all well and let it boil up. Cut up the crayfish, the tail part into little squares, the leg, etc., and all the juicy parts from the inside of the body.’ Add all this to the boiling curry sauce, leave it for fifteen minutes. Serve with rice. The crayfish, or Cape lobster, being in season in summer, is very cheap. (See Appendix for way to kill mercifully.) ’ Febniary 6.— Parsley.— Gardening again to-day, as this is such an important seed-sowing time. Parsley I am always sowing a little of in really good soil, and its pretty leaves make quite an ornamental border to the kitchen-garden. Broccoli. — I sowed broccoli too to-day, and Brussels sprouts and cabbage, all such useful vegetables, and all grown in the same way. This is the month too for sowing any of the following which may be wanted— knol kohl, lucerne, mangold, radish, spinach, peas, sorrel, turnips, swedes, and all sorts of herbs. The ground lor all these vegetable seeds has of course been deeply dug and well manured at the proper time, and will have to be kept moist, in dry weather especially.

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Smoorfish. — I am often asked for the recipe for smoor- fish, so I will write down once for all the way we ourselves do it. The dried fish is first parboiled and then, with two 65 F Feb. “PENANG.” KREBPT CURRY forks, broken up into pieces, carefully taking out all bones. Meantime I have cut up an onion and fried it a light- brown in dripping in a flat pot, and have sliced up a few potatoes, boiled or raw, and a red chilli (or if that is too hot a little pinch of cayenne) ; a cupful of any stock (this may be mutton or made of fish-bones) is added to the mixture, then the pieces of fish are put in and all simmered for an hour. Smoorfish, an old Malay speciality, is an excellent dish for luncheon. Tomatoes, if in season, may be added to it. “Penang,” or Fish Curry. — Another nice way of cooking fish is what we call penang, a species of fish curry, which takes about half-an-hour to do. First prepare some browned onions as you would for chicken curry (cutting the onions into shreds and smooring or browning them), and add curry-powder and a little pinch of sugar, some common vinegar, and some stock (say a tablespoonful of vinegar to one large onion and a large tablespoon ful of curry-powder), make a paste of it, and put fillets of fish into it and fry. Another Penang Recipe, Mrs. Cloete’s, says — Take i lb. raw fish and cut it in fillets an inch or two square ; of the fish-bones make about a pint of stock and strain, add one large onion cut in slices and browned in dripping or butter, one tablespoonful of vinegar or lemon, one teaspoonful of sugar, one teaspoonful of salt, large table- spoonful of curry-powder. Mix all this well in the stock made of the fish-bones, and let it come to a boil, now put the fillets of raw fish into this paste and let it cook for ten minutes, then serve nice and hot with boiled rice. Crayfish or Kreeft Curry. — But if you want to curry cray- fish in a similar way, omit the sugar, and in place of stock 66 VEGETABLES AND SPACE TO GROW THEM Feb. add a small piece of butter and the meat of the crayfish, and serve, when finished, with rice. ^ Make a mixture of curry-paste by browning an onion cut in slices, a cup of stock, one tablespoonful of curry- powder, one teaspoonful of salt, some lemon-juice or vinegar. Mix all well and let it boil up. Cut up the crayfish, the tail part into little squares, the leg, etc., and all the juicy parts from the inside of the body.’ Add all this to the boiling curry sauce, leave it for fifteen minutes. Serve with rice. The crayfish, or Cape lobster, being in season in summer, is very cheap. (See Appendix for way to kill mercifully.) ’ Febniary 6.— Parsley.— Gardening again to-day, as this is such an important seed-sowing time. Parsley I am always sowing a little of in really good soil, and its pretty leaves make quite an ornamental border to the kitchen-garden. Broccoli. — I sowed broccoli too to-day, and Brussels sprouts and cabbage, all such useful vegetables, and all grown in the same way. This is the month too for sowing any of the following which may be wanted— knol kohl, lucerne, mangold, radish, spinach, peas, sorrel, turnips, swedes, and all sorts of herbs. The ground lor all these vegetable seeds has of course been deeply dug and well manured at the proper time, and will have to be kept moist, in dry weather especially.

Hilda's diary of a Cape housekeeper