The Pattern cook-book

To vary the recipe cut the orange into sections, remove the seeds and touch inner skin cut each section into pieces, and mix these with the yolks before cooking ; or cut the orange into small pieces, spread part of it over the omelet before folding, and sprinkle the remainder over the sugared top. By any of these methods a convenient dessert for an emergency may be prepared in ten minutes. OMELET WITH RUM. This is a most delicious omelet. Add a little sugar to the eggs instead of the pepper, and use a little less salt than in the plain omelet. When the omelet is ready to serve, sprinkle a table-spoonful of sugar over the top. and pour over it four or five table-spoonfuls of rum. Set tire to the rum and send blazing to table. " The very staff of life ! The comfort of the husband, the pride of the wife." The making of bread is at once the easiest and the most difficult branch of culinary science. It should be regarded as one of the highest accomplishments, and if a tenth of the interest, time and thought which are devoted to cake, pastry and fancy cooking were spent upon this most important article of food, the presence of good bread upon our tables would be invariably secured. It is deplorable indeed that in thousands of otherwise comfortable homes good bread is an unknown thing. Good bread makes the plainest meal acceptable and the coarsest fare appetizing, while the most luxurious table is sadly wanting without it. Opinions as to what constitutes good bread differ as much as tastes and opinions regarding anything else ; but all will agree that good bread is light, sweet, free from any perceptible taste of the yeast and as white as the grade of flour will admit. Most important among the things needful to produce good bread is good FLOUR. Housekeepers seldom select flour by examination. They usually take some tried brand, or select on the recommendation of their grocer; therefore, a little explanation regarding the different brands may be helpful. The fancy names given to flour amount to very little, as the same flour is sold by several dealers under various brands. The different " processes " refer to the several methods used in converting wheat into flour, the grinding being performed in several ways, each one claiming superiority. One process is by grinding between two horizontal stones, the upper one revolving and grinding the grain against the low^er one, which is stationary. The ground grain is then sifted through bolting-cloth, producing fine wheat flour, coarse wheat meal and bran. This is the St. Louis or " old process " flour and is also sold as pastry flour. The grinding with millstones heats the flour, and as it is often placed on the market without having been properly cooled and dried, it spoils very rapidly. Another m.ethod is the Minnesota or " patent process." The Washburn, Pillsbury and other mills located in Minneapolis are the largest flouring mills in the world. By this process the grain is crushed, not ground, by being passed through corrugated rollers, and is then sifted through bolting-cloth. Flour prepared in this way is considered one of the best grades.