The European cookbook for American homes (from Italy, Spain, Portugal and France)

boil 10' minutes, but do not stir. Allow mixture to cool and add the strained juice of the oranges. Freeze, and serve in punch glasses garnished with fresh rose petals. VIOLET SHERBET (S or bete de Violets) 1 pint water 1 pint grape juice 2 cups granulated sugar 1 egg white Juice of 2 lemons 2 tablespoons powdered sugar Fresh violets Mix water with sugar, boil for 10 minutes and add the strained lemon juice. Take from fire and allow to cool. Then add grape juice and freeze. When partly frozen open freezer, put in the egg white beaten with the powdered sugar. Serve in glasses on plates decorated with fresh violets. FROZEN MINT PUNCH (Ponche de Menta Helado) 1 dozen mint leaves 1 quart water Yz cup granulated sugar Juice of 3 lemons Pound mint leaves to a paste in a mortar, adding % cup of the sugar gradually. Boil water and remaining sugar for 5 minutes. Remove from fire, strain lemon juice and stir in mint paste. Cool and freeze. Leave punch in the freezer to season 4 or 5 hours before serving. REFRESHING DRINKS (Refrescos) After luncheon and again after dinner a large proportion of the male population of Spain retire to the cafes and order black coffee or anis. Chocolate, served hot, thick and sweet, in small cups, is a favorite drink for cold days; and the cool, creamy horchata de chujas, made from almonds, or the roots of a rushlike plant that grows wild around Valencia, served in tall glasses, quenches the summer thirst. ALMOND REFRESHER NO. 1 {Horchata) l/i pound raw blanched almonds Yi pound roasted almonds Powdered sugar Pound almonds to a paste in a mortar, adding a little water from time to time during the process to keep from oiling. Then add more water and put the paste into a cheese cloth, wringing it to extract the juice. Repeat the process of pounding, adding water, and squeeze again. Add sugar to taste and ice for a refreshing drink. Pumpkin and melon seeds are treated in the same way, to make a similar creamy beverage. ALMOND REFRESHER NO. 2 Run almonds through a grinder, mix well with 4 times their bulk in water and let stand an hour. Then pass through a cheese cloth, pounding and squeezing out the moisture. This makes an almond cream to which water, powdered sugar and ice are added. In the same way a drink is made of hazel nuts or filberts. ORANGE FLOWER DRINK {Rejresco Flor de Naranja) Juice of 2 oranges l/2 cup gin Powdered sugar 2 tablespoons flower water Put the juice of the oranges, powdered sugar to taste, and gin into the cocktail shaker. Add flower water. Shake with cracked ice and serve in champagne glasses. FROZEN SPANISH PUNCH (Ponche Espahol) Juice 6 lemons 1 pint Rioja, red wine Thin rind of 2 lemons l/2 nutmeg, grated 3 cups sugar syrup 1 cup water Mix ingredients and strain into freezer. Freeze; and during the process scrape down with a spatula the ice that forms on the sides. When the punch becomes a slushy snow, just liquid enough to run, pour into glasses and serve. Frosted glasses make the drink seem all the colder. ARROPA This is a favorite beverage in the great grape sections of Spain. It is made with new wine boiled down to a thick syrup, then diluted, sweetened and spiced to taste. Can be drunk either hot or cold. THE BASQUE KITCHEN