Household hints

become spft and unfit for use. Watermelon rinds pickled in this way are nice. To prepare Mustard for the Table. — Take two tablespoonfuls of mustard, one table-spoonful of flour, mix them well while dry ; then take half a cupful of strong vinegar, fill the cup with water, stir the mustard and flour into it ; cook it as you would boiled custard. When thick enough take it from the fire and add one tea-spoonful of sugar. More cake is spoiled in baking than is dreamed of in the philosophy of most women. After a recipe which is known to be good has been carefully followed, some mysterious power seems to interfere to prevent success, whereas it is very likely true that when the cake had risen to the top of the tin, and the crisis had come, the oven door was opened and a piece of cold newspaper laid over the tin, the cake fell, and the inexperienced cook wondered why it was so poor. The oven door should never be opened unless there is really danger of burning the cake, and if a paper is laid over it, be sure to see that it is first heated. When baking nice cake a cook should try to arrange her work so as to have nothing else of importance on her mind. When making layer cake it is desirable to have all the layers the same thickness. Five table-spoonfuls of the dough are enough to fill a tin of medium size, and the quantity which ordinary recipes give will make five of these tins full. After measuring once to find out how much it takes to fill your tins, write it down in your recipe book, and so save a few minutes each time you bake. After buttering your cake tins scatter a little flour over them, and the cake is absolutely certain not to stick to the tin. If your oven is likely to bake hard at the bottom, put a paper in the tin. Butter it well first. A labor-saving invention is to have one long cake tin divided in the middle. When making cake, put half the quantity in one end of the tin. Add to the remainder spices, raisins, etc., according to taste, and put into the other end of the tin. This saves time in making and baking. The result will be two kinds of cake for the basket ; and if the family is small, one is less likely to have dry cake on hand than if two large cakes are made at the same time. It is a good plan to keep a nice wooden pail full of sifted flour in the pantry ready for use ; you will save time by doing so, as all lumps must be stirred out, any way, and it is a much easier operation to sift them out. In using baking powder be sure not to use too much ; it is unwholesome, and spoils the flavor of the cake. If you do not make your own cake, impress this fact upon your cook. I believe it to be a matter of economy to buy and use a good egg-beater ; with proper care, it will last a lifetime. Sponge Cake. — Everybody likes sponge cake ; few, however, can make it satisfactorily without using from seven to ten eggs. The recipe here given is never known to fail when a little care is exercised in making and baking. It is not only delicious, but very nice to look at on the table. It should be baked in long, narrow tins : Four eggs, two cups of sugar, two cups of sifted flour, two tea-spoonfuls of baking powder, a small tea-cupful of hot water. Beat the eggs very light, whites and yolks together ; use granulated sugar ; mix the baking powder with the flour, and stir it in a little at a time ; do not put all the hot water in at once ; put in a table-spoonful, beat the dough well, and then add more, and so on. When making this for the first time one is almost certain to be tempted to put in a