Fish. — Snoek. — Among the different fish in season is Snoek (pronounced Snook), which during the months of April, May and June is considered at its best. This fish used at one time to be so plentiful that it was sold for '^d. apiece, but now one pays 2s. for one ! Speaking to a Malay fisherman about the scarcity of snoek, he says it is owing to the sewerage in Table Bay. The boats have to go out a long way, for, said the Malay, “ a snoek is the most dainty of fish, and will touch no bait that smellsP This of course solves the mystery — it is awful to think of the water being polluted to such an extent ! It is a very delicate fish, with the peculiarity of having no scales. It can be cooked in various ways — boiled, fried, or “ flaked,” which means cut open down the back, sprinkled well with salt or put in brine, and after a day or ,two dried by 105 April A MARINADE. ZAMBAL. KIDNEYS hanging in the sun, and cooked on the gridiron — this is a most appetizing way. The best part is the middle, which is generally very fat. Dried snoek makes an excellent “twicelaid.” See Fish Pie, Hilda! s Where is it, p. i68. German “ Marinade.”— Among my fish recipes I find the following, Mrs. Carl Becker’s, for a German “ Marinade ” for fish — I pint vinegar. I quart water. A few bay leaves. J oz. salt. A small white onion, sliced. ^ oz. butter. I doz. pepper-corns. I doz. allspice. 3 cloves✪ German Marinade. Boil these together about a quarter of an hour, to get out the flavour. Then put into this mixture half a “ stockfish,” or “cabeljon,” and after boiling up another quarter of an hour, leave it to get cold zn the spiced water mixture, and serve with mayonnaise sauce, for which there is a recipe in Hilda's Where is it, p. 14 1. Fish Sambal, or Zambal (Miss Breda’s).— Pound some cold dry fish with some onion and red or green chillies, then add a spoonful of vinegar✪ Fish Sambal. Serve as a relish with bread-and- butter, or buttered toast. April 5. — Kidneys and Eggs. — Every housekeeper is glad of good recipes for breakfast dishes, for which variety is comparatively difficult to get. This one (Mrs. Becker’s) for “kidneys and eggs” will be much liked, I think. Lay four kidneys for a few minutes in warm water, draw off the skins, cut the kidneys in half, and roll them in 106 POPULAR CORNED MUTTON April fine bread-crumbs, seasoned with cayenne or ordinary pepper and salt Fry them slowly in butter or dripping till nice and tender ; when done cut in tiny squares like dice. Take four eggs (two will do if eggs are scarce), beat them up with a little milk✪ Kidneys and Eggs, then mix in the minced kidneys and fry all in a pan as you would “scrambled eggs,” and pour over squares of toast, buttered, before serving. This quantity makes a large dish. Corned Mutton. — Another old-fashioned Cape breakfast dish is corned mutton, as we used to do it at Groote Poste. For this you want — 6 lbs. breast of mutton. 2 ozs. salt. I oz. brown sugar. ^ oz. saltpetre.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

Fish. — Snoek. — Among the different fish in season is Snoek (pronounced Snook), which during the months of April, May and June is considered at its best. This fish used at one time to be so plentiful that it was sold for '^d. apiece, but now one pays 2s. for one ! Speaking to a Malay fisherman about the scarcity of snoek, he says it is owing to the sewerage in Table Bay. The boats have to go out a long way, for, said the Malay, “ a snoek is the most dainty of fish, and will touch no bait that smells. This of course solves the mystery — it is awful to think of the water being polluted to such an extent ! It is a very delicate fish, with the peculiarity of having no scales. It can be cooked in various ways — boiled, fried, or “ flaked,” which means cut open down the back, sprinkled well with salt or put in brine, and after a day or ,two dried by April A MARINADE. ZAMBAL. KIDNEYS hanging in the sun, and cooked on the gridiron — this is a most appetizing way. The best part is the middle, which is generally very fat. Dried snoek makes an excellent “twicelaid.” See Fish Pie, Hilda's Where is it, p. 168. German “ Marinade.”— Among my fish recipes I find the following, Mrs. Carl Becker’s, for a German “ Marinade ” for fish — I pint vinegar. I quart water. A few bay leaves. J oz. salt. A small white onion, sliced. ^ oz. butter. I doz. pepper-corns. I doz. allspice. 3 cloves. Boil these together about a quarter of an hour, to get out the flavour. Then put into this mixture half a “ stockfish,” or “cabeljon,” and after boiling up another quarter of an hour, leave it to get cold in the spiced water mixture, and serve with mayonnaise sauce, for which there is a recipe in Hilda's Where is it, p. 141. Fish Sambal, or Zambal (Miss Breda’s).— Pound some cold dry fish with some onion and red or green chillies, then add a spoonful of vinegar. Serve as a relish with bread-andbutter, or buttered toast. April 5. — Kidneys and Eggs. — Every housekeeper is glad of good recipes for breakfast dishes, for which variety is comparatively difficult to get. This one (Mrs. Becker’s) for “kidneys and eggs” will be much liked, I think. Lay four kidneys for a few minutes in warm water, draw off the skins, cut the kidneys in half, and roll them in POPULAR CORNED MUTTON April fine bread-crumbs, seasoned with cayenne or ordinary pepper and salt Fry them slowly in butter or dripping till nice and tender ; when done cut in tiny squares like dice. Take four eggs (two will do if eggs are scarce), beat them up with a little milk, then mix in the minced kidneys and fry all in a pan as you would “scrambled eggs,” and pour over squares of toast, buttered, before serving. This quantity makes a large dish. Corned Mutton. — Another old-fashioned Cape breakfast dish is corned mutton, as we used to do it at Groote Poste. For this you want — 6 lbs. breast of mutton. 2 ozs. salt. I oz. brown sugar. ^ oz. saltpetre.

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German MarinadeFish SambalKidneys and EggsCorned Mutton

Hilda's diary of a Cape housekeeper