The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1888-10-10
The Wastes Of the Household.

French family could live with elegance
on what an American housewife
throws away, is frequently illustrated
in families where waste can be ill af.
forded, it is also true that, in eight
cases out of ten, this relegation of cold
bits to the offal pail or ash barrel is not
caused so much by extravaganza as by
The lack of knowledge of how to dis
pose of them in any other way. The
dainty utilization of scraps is q subject
that well repays the thoughtful study
of any housewife, and even the least
original cook can often "evolve from
her inner consciousness" an appetiz-
ing dish from cold fragments that ut
first sight appear utterly unpromising.
In this matter, however, the mistress
must generally depend upon her own
brains. Few hirelings have the keen
interest in their employers welfare
that would urge them to save couple
of pennies here and five or six there.
Fewer still, with the best intentions in
the world, knoa0 how to do it or appre-
ciate that it is in the minor economies
that true saving consists. What differ
ence does it make if those scraps of
cold bacon left from breakfast are sum-
marily disposed of in the swill barrel,
or if that bit of corn beef-too small to
appear upon the table again-is be-
slowed upon the first basket 'beggar
who presents himself? And if these
escape that fate from the extra consci-
entiousness of the housekeeper, they
are too often converted into the ubiqui-
tous hash. Hear how one careful
housewife disposed of similar rem
nants: To the corn beef and bacon,
minced fine, she added half as much
cold mashed potato, one raw egg,
little chopped onion and parsley, and
with croquettes made Of these, rolled
in flour and fried in nice dripping,
provided an appetizing dish that was
quite sufficient, when accompanied by
stewed potatoes and bread and butter,
to make lunch for three people. An
other dainty dish, which appeared up
on friends table, was formed from
even less promising materials. Her
dinner the day before had been a stuff.
ed chicken boiled with rice. Exami-
nation of the pantry revealed the car
cass of the fowl, with one leg attached
to it, and couple of spoonfuls of the
cold rice. Nothing daunted, however,
the valiant housekeeper advanced to
the charge, and, with the aid ofa small
sharp knife, removed more meat from
the bones than one would at first have
believed possible. This was cut-not
chopped-in small pieces and set aside
with the rice and half the dressing,
while the bones, the rest of the stuff
ing, and little minced onion were
put over the fire in two cups of cold
water. When slow steady simmer of
couple of hours had reduced this one
half, it was cooled, strained, skinned,
and slightly thickened with Drowned
flour, then returned to the fire with
the fragments of meat, rice, etc.,
brought to boil, poured over crustless
squares of fried bread laid in hot
platter, and garnished with parseley
The result was a savory salmi, whose
scrappy origin no one would have sus-.
pected.
Many other instances of similar
nature could be given. Once, when an
underdone loaf of brown bread, too
heavy and sodden to appear on the Ia
BILE in it's original form, was dried in
the o. IN, grated and converted into a
tempting pudding. Another, when
an equally happy result was achieved
by crushing into fine crumbs a quanti-
ty of stale, hard cookies putting with
them two cups of milk, an egg, tea
spoonful of butter, and the juice and
grated peel of lemon.
The principle objection urged against
the preparation of these and similar
dishes is the trouble it takes. It goes
without saying that when woman's
time is so valuable that she loses mon
ey by spending an hour a day in her
kitchen, she may feel that she can bet
ter afford to let the scraps go than take
the trouble of saving them. But this
is not often the case. With the aver
age American housekeeper it is far cas-
ier to save a dollar than to earn one.
These stoppages of the little leaks may
not seem much separately, but, taken
together at the end of the month or
wear, they mount up to a sum that is
consoling if it has been saved, appalI
ing if it has been wasted. To those
who think this close watching of ''left
oversn has an appearance of meanness
and stinginess, let it be said that while
solid roast and boiled meat give an inn
L. 81 T. -