Today I give you in their entirety the ‘Hints on Economy’ from the
book. I particularly draw your attention to the exhortation to wear pretty
morning dress (protected by an apron of course), because it is advice entirely
lacking in every modern cookery book I have ever read.
HINTS ON ECONOMY.
PROVIDE ON SATURDAY for Monday, so as not to take up the fire with
cooking, or time in running errands, any more than is possible on washing day.
WAIT TILL ARTICLES, fruit, fish, poultry and vegetables, are in full
season, before purchasing. They are then not only much lower in price than when
first brought to market, but finer in quality and flavor.
OUTSIDE GARMENTS, bonnets, cloaks, hats, shawls, scarfs and the
like, will last clean and fresh much longer, if the dust is carefully removed
from them by brushing and shaking after returning from a ride or a walk.
WHEN YOUR APPLES begin to rot, pick the specked ones out carefully;
stew them up with cider and sugar, and fill all your empty self-sealing cans.
In this way you may keep in nice apple sauce till apples come again.
PICKLE OR PRESERVE JARS should be washed in lukewarm or cold water,
and dried in the sun or near the fire. Hot water cracks the polished surface of
the inside, and renders them unfit for their specific use.
NEVER ALLOW CHILDREN to eat butter with meat or gravy; it is both
wasteful and injurious.
HOT BUCKWHEAT CAKES will go farther and last longer than any other
single article of food. A celebrated judge declared that he could remain in
court all day, without feeling a symptom of hunger, after a breakfast of
buckwheat cakes.
A STEW is not a bad dish for a family dinner, once a week; make it
of good meat, and savory with sweet herbs, and the most fastidious will not
object to it.
RISE EARLY on fine summer mornings, and throw all the windows of the
house open, so that it may exchange its close atmosphere, for the cool, fresh
air. Have the work done before the heat of the day comes on, and save it as
much as possible during the warmest weather.
TAKE CARE OF THE FOOD that is brought into the house, and see that
none of it is wasted; but do not be always on the lookout for cheap things.
Beans are cheap, and very good sometimes; corn meal is cheap too, and even more
available, because it can be made into a great variety of dishes, but people
would not care to live on beans and corn meal all the time, because they are
cheap. Eating is intended as a means of enjoyment, as well as of sustaining
life; and it is right to avail ourselves of the abundant resources provided, as
far as we can consistently.
USE TEA LEAVES, or short, freshly cut grass, to sprinkle upon
carpets before sweeping. It will freshen up the colors, and save the usual
cloud of dust.
HAVE EVERYTHING CLEAN, on Saturday night, something nice for tea,
and also for Sunday morning breakfast. Let the approach of the Sabbath be
anticipated in all things, with pleasure. Stay at home with the children on
Sabbath evening, and finish the day with a sacred concert.
ALLOW NO HOLES, or corners in the house, in drawers, on shelves, or
in closets, for the stowing away of dirty rags, old bottles, grease-pots, and
broken crockery. When bottles are emptied, let them be cleaned, and put down in
the cellar, until they are wanted. Harbor no dirty grease pots, and when an
article is broken past recovery, throw it away at once; there is no use in
keeping it to collect dust, and cobwebs.
MAKE A POINT of examining safe, refrigerator, closets, drawers, and
all receptacles for food, and kitchen articles, at least as often as once a
week, either Saturday, or washing day. Look into pickle jars, bread jars, cake
jars, butter tubs, apple, and potato barrels, everything in fact, examine their
condition, see if they are kept covered and clean, and that food put away, is
not left to spoil, or be wasted.
THE FEWER SERVANTS THE BETTER--two requires a third to wait upon them,
and so on ad infinitum. Have good servants however, pay good wages, and make
them responsible for their work.
IF IT IS POSSIBLE, and when there is a will there is a way, call
your household together, after breakfast every morning, and have domestic worship,
be it ever so short. A verse of a hymn, a passage from the Bible, and just a
few words of heartfelt prayer, and praise, sets everything right for the day,
smooths ruffled tempers, and puts the domestic machine in nicely running order.
It is also no bad preparation for the temptations and annoyances of business.
BEFORE SWEEPING a room, have the furniture, and especially all the
small articles, dusted and removed. This keeps them looking fresh, and new.
WEAR PRETTY MORNING DRESSES; they are inexpensive, and easily
preserved from injury, by a large calico apron enveloping the skirt of the
dress, and sleeves of the same kind, gathered into a band, top, and bottom, and
extending over the elbows. These can be slipped on and off in a minute, and
with a bib added to the apron in front, affords complete protection, while
engaged in dusting, making pastry, and the like.
ALWAYS HAVE YOUR TABLE served neatly, and then if friends
"happen in," you will not be ashamed to ask them to share your meal.
Be hospitable, if it is only a crust, and a cup of cold water; if it is clean
and good of its kind, there is no reason to blush for it; the hearty welcome
will make amends for the absence of rich viands.
IF CHILDREN WANT ANYTHING between meals, which they should not, give
them a cracker, or an apple; do not encourage an irregular and unhealthy
appetite, by giving them pie, cake, or ginger-bread.
The obvious choice for the recipe for the
day is the buckwheat cakes from the book.
Buckwheat Cakes.
Take equal quantities of
buckwheat, Indian meal and Graham flour, to make one quart, add half a cup of
new yeast, a tea-spoonful of saleratus, a little salt and enough good milk, or
luke warm water to make a thick batter. Set it near the fire to rise, and when
risen, cook them in a well buttered griddle.
Quotation
for the Day.
“That's a good girl. I find you are
perfectly qualified for making converts, and so go help your mother to make the
gooseberry-pie.”
Oliver Goldsmith (1730-1774)
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