Breakfasts and teas

flavored with lemon. Rub it to a smooth batter, then whip unto it one cupful of cream which has been whipped to a dry stiff froth. Fill the cavity of the cake with alternate layers of this mixture and very rich preserved strawberries. Then put on the lid and ice with a frosting made with the whites of three eggs, one heaping cupful of powdered sugar and the juice of one lemon. Spread it smoothly over the sides and top of the cake, and keep in a very cold place until time to serve. Then place it on a silver or crystal dish, and put alternate spoonfuls of the whipped cream mixture and preserved strawberries around the base. Meringues Filled with Preserved Walnuts. Beat the whites of six eggs to a stiff firm snow, stir into it three-fourths of a pound of powdered sugar, flavor with a little lemon or rose water, and continue to beat until very light. Then drop them from a spoon, a little more than an inch apart, on well buttered paper, keeping them as nearly egg-shaped as possible. Place the paper on a half-inch board and bake in a slow oven until well dried out. Remove from the paper, scrape out the soft part from the underside, and before serving fill with preserved walnuts and stick each two together. The preserved walnuts are a very delicious sweet but one rarely met with. Breakfasts and Teas 23 CHAPTER ill. A Cuban Breakfast. The palm, of course, is the key note for decoration, as it is the characteristic plant of the tropics. But in order to be true to the scheme in mind, that is, to make your surroundings appear truly southern and create a local atmosphere, a marked difference should be made between the arrangement of our usual American interior and the room which aims at the imitation of a Cuban home. Light and air are most important, the factors sine qua non, and the scene of the Almuerzo (breakfast) should not recall the hot house, the conservatory, nor the dimly lighted, heavily curtained apartment of our northern dwellings. There should be space, plenty of windows, the fewest possible hangings, and these light in weight and color. For the mantel and table decorations dwarf palms are very effective, while larger ones of many varieties are appropriate for corners and other available places. Very pretty souvenirs can be made of small palm leaf fans. A Cuban landscape and the name of a guest are painted thereon, and tiny Cuban and American flags tied on the handle make a neat finish. As most of the dishes served will be new to the guests, it is advisable to have at each place a menu card where they may see how the dishes are called, that they may not only relish them knowingly but remember their excellence. 24 Breakfasts and Teas The hour for breakfast is noon, although it may be taken as late as one o'clock. Here is a typical breakfast which can be easily reproduced with the material at our command. Almuerzo Olives Aeles Sausage Eggs in Revoltillo Boiled Rice Fried Plantains Fish in Escabeche New Potatoes Tenderloin Steak Lettuce Salad Guava Paste and Fresh Cheese Cocoanut Desert Fruit Coffee The olives should be served with cracked ice; the Aeles sausage (imported) in very thin slices. Eggs in Revoltillo.