Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-12-22

sugar, one tables spoonful -four and one tea
spoonful cornstarch. Mix WELL then add
one pint hickory or other nuts chopped fine.
Drop In in spoonfus on a buttered paper
on the bottom of dripping pan tin
sheet and bake in moderate oven until q
Eight brown.
Crack Your Own Nuts.
For the woman who is hurried and thinks
to save time by buying nut meats already
picked out for sailing and holiday cakes let
me say Don't" unless you know just
where the nuts We're prepared. In tho
seventh annual report of the National Con-
sumers' League. dealing with the manufac-
ture of foods in tenements, the following
instance on the picking of nuts given:
A large nut factory in New York selling
nuts at wEoesa e to candy factor IS,
bakeries and retail groceries makes a sDe-
cialty of health food preparations and sells
quantities CT nut marmalade. nut butter
and nuts packed in glass jars which sell at
retail for p cents jar. This factory i'd
VertiseS the purity and cleanliness of its
goods. On the first floor is the salesroom
carefully whitewashed. Above this is the
work room, not VIII .tewashed, though fairly
light and clean. Nuts are piled on floor.
tables and boxes about the room. one girl
cracks them by machinery. A dozen Young
italian girls work at long table, seated on
boxes. sorting nuts and packing them in
boxes and glass jars. They also stuff dltes
and fruits with nuts. On visiting the fac
tory, says a member of the league. | found
the workers dirty without exception. Their
hands were filthy, and one cir, whom 1
watched for some tine separating the whole
nuts with her fingers had ulcers covering
the back OF her hands. These workers re-
ceiye from $3.50 to s. a week for work done
in the factory. Above this room was an
other where fifteen italian women piece
workers, separate the whole meats from the
broken pieces and nuts from the shells at
cents per pound. During the rush season.
at this time of the year, workers take work
home fifteen mounds a time maid ar
the same rates. In one of these piece work
ers' homes-a typical one-were found nine
people in four rooms indescribably filthy
and dirty. The house had had several
ders issued against it by the tenement
house department When the nuts picked
in this house, lying on tables in these
rooms. go back to the factory they are not
washed or cleaned but packed into Jars and
sold to the best trade for rs cents jar. A
sorry Christmas theme this.
Aston House Plum Pudding.
So universal is the Christmas plum pud-
ding habit becoming that though a little
late for its proper ripening glad to be
able to give the readers of this column a
recipe for plum pudding furnished by Chef
schoz of the Astor House. New York.
The Astor cuisine is noted for its delicious
old-tme dishes such las mother and even
grandmother used to make"
The recipe as given is just enough for six
generous helpings. The ingredients called
for are one-half pound citron and orange
peel one-half pound seeded raisins. one
quarter pound currants. one-quarter pound
chopped suet, one-quarter loaf white bread
soaked, then pressed dry, one-quarter pound
flour, one-half pound sugar. one-half pint
molasSeS. four eggs, one gill brandy, one
gill sherry. tablespoonful cinnamon,
half tablespoonful each nutmeg and cloves
and one tablespoonful baking powder. Mix
all together and knead then steam or cook
In boiling water in tightly closed mold.
Serve with brandy or hard sauce as pre-
ferred. To make the hard sauce, beat to
cream one-half pound butter and one pound
powdered sugar. Mound up on pretty low
dish and dust the top with mace. To make
the brandy sauce. boil together one quart
water, half cup sugar, two lemons with
the cut yellow peel, and a few whole cloves
and blades Of mace. After twenty minutes
skim out cloves, mace and lemon peel. and
add three yolks of eggs beaten and mixed
with a tablespoonful cornstarch dissolved
in a little water. When thickened, add
brandy to season.
Early Victorian Christmas Dinner.
II any one would like to celebrate Christ
mas with an early Victorian Christmas din.
ner here is the menu:
Clear soup with meat
Goldfish crimped with plenty of oyster sauce and
picked walnuts
Fried smelts Sirloin of Scotch beef
Boiled turkey with celery
r.. budding blazing and mince pies
Hot spiced ale with bobbing apples in ii
Roasted crab apples and sippets Of toast