Evening star., 1944-04-27
Report to the Housewife


Oysters r over-for this season
While you may be able to find g
few at some speciality fish markets
the approach of May / has officially
closed down supplies. But there are
clans to pinch hit for the oysters
and more New England Holsters are
coming in to local dealers, so the
wintertine favorites will hardly be
missed. Shrimp is practically non
existent, locally, but there will be
plenty of crab meat available for the
week end.
Although Washington is not I'M
dergoing the terrific fish glut that
has swept New York this week, fish
supplies here will be plentiful and
prices reasonable. Shad, both roe
and buck, continues to take the lead,
with the best specimens coming
from the Potomac and Chesapeake
Bay. Cheaper will be some shad
shipped down from the Hudson
River-but many dealers do not like
to stock these fish, as they have been
somewhat effected by the quantities
of oil from busy wartime shipping
In the waters around New York.
Other fish recommended for the
week end include fresh founders,
haddock fillet, rockfish,, trout froz-
en), fresh sea bass, croakers, herring
and Boston mackerel.
Meats remain very much the
same as last week, with pork and
veal most plentiful and lamb
scarcest. CThis last item should
ease considerably in about two
weeks, when the first shipments of
recently slaughtered spring lambs
begin to come in) Beef is not too
plentiful, either, but you can easily
find some kind of cut in most mar
kets.
Although many dealers report a
scarcity of ,stewing and baking
chickens, there should be a good
supply of fryers on hand if you pine
for fried chicken for Sunday dinner.
Eggs continue to be reasonable and
more than plentiful. Market men
here report a fair response to the
"push" given egg buying by recent
sales promotions, which shows a nice
spirit of cooperation among Wash
tngton housewives; New York sur
veys show little or no increased
buying despite all sorts of "propa-
ganda."
Butter is definitely easier to come
by than 1t has been for long time,
but cheese this week shows dis
appointing slump in supply.
Produce has suffered somewhat
from the inclement weather in the
growing areas. Strawberries, par
ticularly, have been a distinct
washout as to quality, having had
no real sun to ripen and sweeten
them. Dealers hope that better
berries will be coming in from the
Carolinas in time for weekend
buying-but are not too optimistic.
More lines have arrived at last-in
time for "long tall ones" if the
weather really does turn warm-and
there are good supplies of oranges,
grapefruit and lemons on hand. A
few pineapples are to be found but
the quality is only average. Avo-
cados continue heavy and good.
In the vegetable line, the only
newcomer is zucchini squash-nice
and small and tender. There is
good white and yellow squash, too,
and cabbage and eggplant are both
plentiful and reasonably priced.
There Is a tremendous supply of
young beets from Texas on hand;
now is the time to make as much
use of them as you can. And don't
forget, the water in which beets
are cooked may be boiled down a
bit, with some shredded cabbage, a
few bouillon cubes added, and,
prestol you have a delicious "fake"
Russian borsch soup to serve in
big plates. topped with a spoonful
of sour cream. If you want to make
1t really something" save one or
two of the cooked beets, mash them
through a sieve, and add them to
the soup, too.
To get back to the job: A car or
two of onions finally did arrive, and
although they are not really plenti-
full, you'll probably be able to buy
q pound or so. All the greens are
at the height of their glory, and in
clude dandelion, rape, land cress,
spinach, kale, collards, turnip and
mustard green's. Also, cabbage cut
tings. Other good buys are cauli-
flowers, green peppers, celery, mush-
rooms, snap beans, asparagus, peas,
tomatoes, young carrots, lettuce,
escarole, radishes, spring onions and
lima beans. Cucumbers are a bit
scarce, and so is watercress.
Il 4 X
Here and There: Consider
the weather before icing the cake,
say cookery experts. Moisture in
the air may make icings and other
sweets soft and sticky. To offset
this, cook icings and other sirup
products longer on damp days
Honey and molasses also absorb
moisture, and cookies or cakes made
with them should be stored in a
tight box or waxed paper bag as
soon as they are cooled If they are
to retain their crispnesS when the
humidity is high Contrary to
most ideas, rain does not harm jelly
when jelly making. Given the right
proportions Of pectin, sugar and
acid, jelly will jell despite moisture.
But if you leave it uncovered in q
damp place it will become sticky
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prepared by the National Gamers
Associations Home Economics Divi-
|T0nzatOSaHce