Hilda's diary of a Cape housekeeper

Put the milk on the fiie with a little spoonful of sugar, one inch stick of cinnamon (or a little vanilla bean), and some lemon-peel. Bring nearly to a boil ; beat the eggs well and stir into the hot milk, and strain into the pie-dish lined with the paste. Bake in a moderate oven for three-quarters of an hour, and let it stand till cold. October 8. A Dish for “High Tea.” — So many people are fond of the meal known as “ high tea,” that this recipe for mashed potatoes and kidneys may be worth noting. One must remember, however, that to very many people the mixture of actual tea and meat is most indigestible, and these latter may prefer a jug of hot cocoa to take the place of the teapot, as the tannin of the tea is believed to have the effect of turning the meat practically to leather. Wellmade cocoa is very good, instead of tea, but must be served very hot. Kidneys. — For mashed potatoes and kidneys (my own recipe), you boil about six potatoes till quite soft, and then mash them, adding a little pepper, a dusting of Oct. MENUS AND INDIGESTION nutmeg, a little piece of butter, a few spoonfuls of milk, and a beaten-up egg, and bake in a pie-dish. Try some kidneys slowly with a little pepper and salt and a spoonful of dripping, and serve in an entrde-dish or flat dish. Put spoonfuls of potato in a ring all round, and put some gravy over the kidneys. This dish of kidneys would also do for breakfast. “Another Man’s Poison.” — Regarding digestibleness, the housekeeper should always remember that the old proverb, “ one man’s meat is another man’s poison,” is literally true, so she must provide for the health of those she is catering for, to suit individual requirements. For instance, I know a lady who cannot touch anything with egg in it, which has always been a great trouble to her, especially if staying with friends who have not arranged to make puddings and cakes without eggs ! But as the result of taking even a small quantity of egg was to make her swell all over, it was obviously poison to her. Another person — a man this time — could not touch anything with cocoanut in it ; but he himself only recognized the difficulty when staying in Ceylon, where they put cocoanut in some form into almost every dish. He could not at first imagine what should have caused the sudden feeling of illness — of choking — as though his throat were closed and he could not breathe; but proved eventually that it was cocoanut which was poison to him. Again, a lady I heard of used to faint if she ate but one strawberry 1 And the papers lately mentioned a man who was poisoned if he ate as much as three grains of rice. I imagine these varieties of suitableness are far greater than we imagine, and, of course, such sympathies and antipathies must be borne in mind in menus. NEAPOLITAN LEG- OP MUTTON Oct. October lo. — Burnt Almonds, always popular at the Cape, are made in this way. Boil about i lb. sugar (white or brown) in a cup of water till it sugars, put in a pinch of Armenian bohl (which gives the rich reddy-brown colour), some pounded cinnamon. Dip the almonds in this mixture and let it cool. October 13. — “What! another leg of mutton!” said B to-day, when she saw the butcher bringing it in. However, when it came to table she greatly approved of it — dressed so differently to its predecessors.