Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1873-12-10
Domestic.

is said that the principal of boarding
school, Wishing that the pupils should,
in some unanimous way, observe the
season Of Lent, requested them to in
dicate what particular dish they would
deny themselves during the forty days.
The unanimous reply was, 'hash ]!
The inference from this decision is that
the pupils thought that, in pursuing
such a course of self-denial, "virtue is
its own reward" "Hash," as described
by an English authority, is composed
Of ''tough junks of meat swimming in
greasy water, or a thick, houry mess. y
This is ibellous description Of what
may be made a very savory dish but it
is true sometimes, and even cold NUT
ton can hardly be considered less pal
ateable- though cold mutton is sup
posed to represent the superlative de-
gree of all bad adjectives. We GER
tainly manage this thing better In
America
A culinary lecturer in London indi-
Gates the proper way of reproducing
Yesterdays dinner for to-day's susie
nance. The genteel title for the dish
is of course French-for, if all good
things in cooking are not French. all
French "made-dishes" are good. Under
the improved nomenclature the dish is
not "hash," but a really passable and
excellent rechaufe. That word looks
better and sounds better than hash, "
and is not SO suggestive of the Gun:
considered trifes, not usually deemed
palateable, which occasionally find q
refuge and disguise in the undignified
dish with an undignified name. So good
housewives are henceforth to unders-
tand that the "hash" is out and the re-
chdufe is in
And here is the recipe ''The gravy,
having been carefully mixed, boiled and
strained, is allowed to get nearly cold
before the neatly cut pieces of meat are
put into the saucepan, there to simmer
as slowly as may be. Instead OF slices
of flabby toast, the dish should be gar
nished with symmetrical parallelograms
or triangles of bread slices the said
bits of bread, professionally termed
"sippets," having been crisped into
toast over o brisk fire, in a wire basket,
and then immersed in boiling lard.
If the lecturer had been Yankee, he
would have explained that the bits of
toast should be fried like ''doughr uts. p"
Or if Frenchman he would have said
fried like potato slices and he would
have brought into prominence the in
PRODUCTION of those savorv but simple
herbs which make the genuine "re-
chau6e" SO palatable. Being only an
uninlightened Englishman, his poverty
of illustration can be excused.
Seriously. The great secret of good
cooking (after cleanliness, which Is in
dispensable) is the great secret of sue
cess in anything. The great secret in
good housekeeping is to take the most
pains when you have the least material.
On famous dinner, with all the muni-
tions of the household commissariat,
the most pains are usually wasted. But
Sir Loin of Beef can take care of him
self, and can challenge all comers.
Where of meats, vegetables, fruits and
other edibles there are enough and to
spare, the battle is already won. 1t is
when much is to be made out of little
that the genius of the housekeeper is
exercised. If she is equal to the occa-
sion, her triumph is as much greater,
as is that of the leader of forlorn hope
greater than that of q commander who
merely crushes an enemy with q supe-
rior force. There ale skill and courage
in the one case in the other only blum
dering strength. There are science,
care and tact combined in getting up q
nice spread out of unpromising ma
terials; but any tryo can waste half Of
an abundant provision, and still leaye
enough for dinner.
Cooking suffers principally because
it is pursuit which does not receive
the honorable attention that it merits.
1t is too commonly classed among des-
pissed branches of knowledge, of which
she who knows least is most "intellec-
tual," OF otherwise commendable. As
eating, however, is no small concern,
even of the most elevated specimens of
humanity, and no man or woman can
get on without it, even if we regard it
as q duty, there is no reason why it
should not be made as pleasant as pos
sible. The fare may be simple and still
palatable-the more simple perhaps the
more palateable, if sdgely treated.
Whatever is upon the table, the sur
and associations should be
pleasant, If it is desired that "good
digestion wait on appetite, and health
on both," To produce such a result
patience and cheerfulness are necessary,
as they are in all the ordinary concerns
OF life. The every day matters are
what life is made up of. For extraor-
dinary occasions, extraordinary and
even hurried e1pedients are necessary,
but nothing that should be done
and quietly and with due
preparation, can be done without. OF
book line: "We eat to live, not live to
eat ;" but that does not mean that peo-
pie should take their food as they take
physic, under protest.
PUMPKIN PIEs.-Choose the best
that can be found. Take out
the seeds, cut the rind carefully away,
and then cut the pumpkin into thin and
narrow bits. Stew over q moderate fire
in q little water, Just enough to keep
the mass from burniug, until soft.