Evening star., 1899-03-11
HOUSEHOLD HIN T s.


At this season fish Of all kinds occupy a
more prominent place On the table than at
any other time of the year, and the house.
wife has to rack her brains in order to find
new and dainty ways of serving familiar
dishes. While there seems to be no foun-
dation for the prevalent belief that fish
contain certain elements which support
mental labor and supplements a deficiency
of brain power, it is conceded by scientists
and food experts thatG the nutritive ele-
ments afforded by fish admirably supply an
important part of the wants of the body
THE moderate amount Of flesh-forming ma
terial present in fish" declares Sir Henry
Thompson. "and in a form which entails
little labor on the digestive organs and
the facility with which fish may be asso-
ciated with other elements-some fatty mat
ters. with cereals and vegetables, as well
as fruits-place it in the first rank of foods
in that mixed dietary suitable to those who
live somewhat sedentary life" Warming
is given, however, that person who has
habitually eaten meat two or three times
daily cannot exchange it at once for fish
and cereals or vegetables without more or
less discomfort. All radical changes in diet
even in the right direction, require to be
gradually made; the stomach conforms
slowly, when long accustomed to deal with
highly nitrogenized animal food, to the task
of depriving from unaccustomed materials
the support necessary to the body.
One of the most delicious of all the little
fishes that swim the sea is the snfelt, es-
pecially if it can be procured without hav-
ing been frozen first. The common frozen
smelts, which comes to the great city mar
kets from Canada, loses it's violet smell
and taste, which was its distinctive charac
teriStic.
The green or unfrozen smelts. which come
mainly from the Massachusetts and Rhode
Island coasts, should be cooked as soon as
possible after leaving the ocean. While
the conventional method of cooking smelts
is to skewer them in rings, tail in mouth,
and then fry them, there are many other
delicious ways of preparing them.
They are excellent baked in papers. Sc
lect the larger smelts, split them up the
back and take out the bone. Rub the in
side with salt, pepper and little olive
oil or melted butter. Close the fish and lay
on a square of white note paper. folding,
doubling over and pinching the edge of the
case together. much after the fashion of
hem. Put the papers in baking pan with
spaces between and bake about half an hour
in a hot oven, or spread the paper case with
olive oil first and then brol for about ten
minutes over a clear fire. This is an es
pecially delicate way of cooking fish, chops
or birds for an invalid. The paper will
char for a long time before ignting and
when the paper is well Drowned the fish or
chop will be found done to a juicy, deli
cate and digestble turn. Serve the fish in
and pass tartar sauce with them.
She was one of the daintest, most or
derly little housekeepers imaginable. Asked
how it happened that no matter how hur-
ried she might be- everything seemed al
ways to be in place, she said: 1T is no
credit to me. l was brought up that way.
/ was taught when I came home from
church to fold my gloves, put them in my
coat pocket and hang coat and hat away
before 1 sat down, and the same when l
came in from school. AS an incentive to
memory, 1 was paid cents a week to al
ways put my things in place, and now it's
second nature, and I can't help putting
things where they belong"
An English recipe for savory canapes that
is frequently used here as well, is as fol-
lows: Cut some medium thick slices from a
stale loaf, and stamp them out in circles
with round biscuit cutter Fry a golden
brown, drain on paper and spread with the
following mixture: Pound a tablespoonful
of potted meat or finely minced ham with
two tablespoonful of grated cheese and
little butter and add sufficient Worcester
shire sauce to make the mixture hot; scat
ter the tops of the canapes with fine brown
ed bread crumbs and serve with a garnish
of parsley. IL
Afternoon tea has at last quite become
the fashion in the best circles of French
society. There was a time not so long ago
when it was an impossibility even in the
best hotels of Paris to find any tea fit to
be taken into the stomach. There are now,
however. several tea rooms for women in
that city, and they are all well patronized
by the French we'll as the English and
American women. .-a.a-..F
In making up the list of flower seeds for
the spring planting, do not forget to in
clude the French and African marigolds,
those oid-time favorites of our grandmoth
ers. In the passing of the years flowers
long relegated to only the oldest of old
fashioned gardens have again become fash
ionable, and holyhocks, maIigolds, bleed
ing hearts, four o'clocks and the sweet old
Glove pinks will once more be much in evil
dence.