The Cape Girardeau Democrat. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1876-1909, 1900-04-28
HOUSEHOLD HINTS.
Items Of Information for the Benes
Mt Of the Busy House.
wife.

Spinach, which the French people
aptly term "the broom of the stom-
| ach," is one of the most delicate as
/ well as healthful of all the pot greens;
while so readily does it respond to h
attention of the market gardener that
it can usually be found in the markets
| the whole year round. Spinach is n
of the vegetables that improve by be-
| ing warmed over. Indeed, the French
housewife usually cooks it by quantity
looking forward to its reheating. 1t
is related of Brillat-Savarin that after
| his cook had warmed it over for him 13
times he was so much gratified by its
would never eat it again until it had
| received it's 13 consecutive warnings.
| Like the majority of pot greens. spin
| ach should be blanched. and, like the
rest. first thoroughly looked over and
| washed. Cut off all the stalks, and
| after looking over the leaves put them
in a large pan or tub of cold water.
| Plunge them up and down to remove
| the sand, then lift the leaves out into q
second pan of water. Do not attempt
to drain the water off. as that leaves
| the sediment which has sunk to the
| bottom. Rinse yet a third time and
cook in a very little boiling sailed wa
cold water. and when cold drain again.
Put the leaves in a chopping bowl and
cut fine. Have ready in a spider or
frying pan a tablespoonful of butter,
add the spinach. season with salt and
pepper and a little cream, if desired
in which case less butter will be need
ed. Heat thoroughly and serve on a
hot dish, surrounded by toasted bread
points. The yolk of a h~ard-boiled egg
put through a ricer over the mounded
spinach makes an effective and appe-
tizing garnish.
An excellent encaustic used by the
French for polishing floors is made of
one pound of beeswaX and n pint of
turpentine. Melt the wax in a water
bath of gentle heat. When quite soft
remove from the fire and heat in the
turpentine until it assumes the o
sistency of a paste. This polish, it
must be remembered, is extremely in
fnmmable. and great care must be
taken in mixing it not to allow it to
come in contact with the fire. When
ready to use, melt over the register or
in a pan of warm water until it is soft
as butter. Spread a thin layer over the
cl~oth-covered brick, begin at one cor
ner and polish in lengths. letting the
new row overlap enough to avoid show
ing a streak. The corners have to be
done with a flannel cloth. and on the
knees. If there are black spots on the
floor, put on oxalic acid first. then
polish. Bad spots may be rubbed off
with steel wool.
Much labor may be saved in the care
of polished hardwood floors by the
use of the frottoir, or weighted brush.
As these are a great expense to buy. an
excellent substitute may be made at
home by covering a brick with carpet
and catching it in a clamp with a long
handle used for scrubbing brushes. If
there are plenty of active children or
young people in the family a novel plan
is I o wrap pieces of ingram carpet
around their feet. strike up a lively jig
on the piano and turn the children
loose. In an orphans home in New
York state the children. supplied with
wooden socks over their shoes. merriIy
slip and slide about. hand in hand. to
the accompaniment of appropriate
kitchen garden songs until the floors
all v the building are delightful to
behold. This is similar to the French
method. where polishing brushes made
of Russian bristles are strapped to the
feet like skates.-Washington Star.