The fun of cooking

Slice thin and put in a frying-pan with enough warm water to cover; stir it around till the water begins to simmer, and turn this all off and drain the pork. Then fry till crisp. Put this in a hot dish near the fire while you make the gravy. 1 tablespoonful of flour. 2 cups of boiling water. A little pepper. Put the flour in the grease in the frying-pan, and rub till smooth and brown; add the water slowly, stirring all the time, and then the pepper; when smooth and a little thick, pour over the fried pork. With this he had pancakes, plenty of them, which were delicious with the pork gravy, and on these, with plenty of co£fee, the men said they could get along very comfortably till dinnertime. For dinner they had some of the fish they caught, broiled, with boiled potatoes; and, for dessert, corn-cakes and maple-syrup. For supper Jack took the fish left from dimier and made FISH-BALLS 1 pint of cooked fish, picked up smalL 1 quart of hot mashed potato. 1 tablespoonfol of butter. A little pepper. Beat all together till very light, and make into bails the size of an egg. Have ready a pail of very hot fat, and drop in two balls at a time and cook till light brown ; take them out, keep hot, and put in two more, and so on. After this, he had something which had taken a long time to make, but he did not mind it. FRIED CORN-MEAL MUSH 1 rounded tablespoonful of salt. 1 quart of yellow corn-meal. 4 quarts of water. Bring the water to a hard boil in a kettle over the fire; mix the meal with enough cold water to make a thick batter (this is to avoid lumps). Drop spoonfuls of the meal into the water gradually, so it does not stop boiling; when all is in, stir steadily for ten minutes. Then put a cover on the pot and hang it high over the fire so it will cook slowly for one hour; stir occasionally so it will not bum; then pack tightly in a pan and let it get perfectly cold and firm. (The best plan is to let it stand all night if you can.) When you wish to use it, slice it, and fry in very hot grease in the frying-pan tiU brown. The next day the men left, after saying they had had a fine visit and had never had such good things to eat in camp. Then Jack and his father had a quiet time till the guide appeared once more, his boat full of stores and his pockets crammed with newspapers and letters; and in the end of his boat he had a small sheet-iron stove. That they quickly set up under the edge of the lean-to where, if it rained, it would not get wet and rusty. ** And now, Jack,'' said his father, rubbing his hands, * *you shall taste my baked beans. I may say without boasting that they will be the very best you ever ate in your life. Women may be able to cook ordinary food, but it takes a man to cook beans — and I 'm the man ! ' ' Jack laughed, and said he wanted to learn how so he could beat his father making them, and he watched carefully everything that was done. BAKED BEANS Pick over a pint of beans and throw away aU that are shriveled and poor. Wash the rest and put them in cold water to cover them, and let them stand all night. The next day, put the beans in fresh water and gently cook them half an hour, skimming them occasionally. In another kettle, put a piece of salt pork as large as a man's fbt; cover it with water and let it cook till the beans are done. Then drain the water off both, and cut the pork in two pieces; slice each piece part way down, leaving the lower portion solid. Put one piece in the bottom of an earthen dish, and pile the beans around and over it, and put the other piece on top. Mix ^ teaspoonful of salt. y^ teaspoonful of pepper. 1 tablespoonful of molasses or sugar. % teaspoonful of dry mustard.