Cooking and castle-building

"'Scrapple,' made in the following manner, is both palatable and nutritious. Instead of pork, which is generally used for making scrapple, take a piece of beef, or a beef-bone with meat on it, and boil slowly till very tender. Strain the liquor into an earthen bowl, and set aside. Separate the bone from the meat, and when cold, hash the meat fine and put it in a kettle with the liquor and half of the fat that has risen on it. Season with salt and pepper ; and when it boils, thicken with corn meal. Stir in the meal as in making mush or hasty pudding. When thick enough, or as thick as mush, pour into a pan to cool ; and when cold, cut in slices and fry in a skillet, or on a hot griddle. In cool weather scrapple will keep several days, and is a convenient breakfast-dish. "Hashed potato warmed, I think much nicer than that which is coarsely sliced. This is my method of preparing it : Place a small piece of butter in the kettle or pan to be used for warming, and when melted, add milk, or thin cream (which is better) , with salt and pepper to taste ; and lastly, add the hashed potato. Cover closely and set where it will heat slowly. The milk should boil up through and over the potato, and have time to soak into it pretty thoroughly. It should be stirred very little, and when served no milk should be visible. Hashed potato warmed in this manner is very nice with beefsteak, ham, or cold meat. " Chicken croquettes are very nice for breakfast, lunch, or supper. Do you know how they are made, Kate?" asked Emeline. "There are more elaborate methods, but this is very nice : Take a chicken, boiled as for salad, or cold roast chicken will answer. Chop fine and place in a stew-pan, with a gill of chicken broth. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir to a smooth paste an ounce of butter and tablespoonful of flour, which add to the chicken when boiling. Lastly, add the well-beaten yolks of two eggs, stirring rapidly. Eemove at once from the fire. When cold, add minced parsley; mix well. Scatter fine bread-crumbs on the bread-board, and taking a spoonful of chicken roll into any shape desired, rolling in some of the crumbs. When shaped, dip in beaten egg, roll in bread-crumbs, lay in a wire basket, and fry in hot lard the same as chicken, potatoes, etc. The wire basket is also nice for frying potatoes. " A simple stew that is relished occasionally as a breakfast dish, by most persons, is made in this manner : Put a piece of butter and two or three sliced onions in the stew-pan. Cover, and cook slowly until brown. Add cold meat, roast or boiled, cut in small pieces, and gravy, if you have any; also a quart of ripe tomatoes, fresh or canned, with pepper and salt to taste. Cover closely and simmer gently for two hours ; when, if too thin, thicken with a mixture of flour and butter, or flour and sweet cream. Cover the top of the stew with pieces of stale bread, half an inch thick, and two inches square. Simmer a few minutes, and serve on a heated platter, placing the pieces of bread at the bottom, and dishing the stew over it." "But, as you and I, Kate," said Emeline, rising, " are to go for the mail to-day, isn't it about time to stop our gossip ? " In the afternoon Emeline and I took a long