Evening star., 1946-12-05


Now that the Thanksgiving turkey
is gone down to the last morsel, ]
suspect you're ready to concentrate
on preparations for Christmas!
Since I write about foods every
day, naturally I think of food in
terms of gifts, too. Shopping around
the other day, I ran onto some fancy
tidbits that seemed made to order
for gift packages. They would make
nice "thank you" offering to your
dinner hostess, too, instead of the
usual box of candy.
This store has a line of fancy
branded fruit and nuts from Cali
fornia that are really unusual. There
were branded pears, peaches and
cherries, and some simply wonder
full looking honeyed walnuts, al
monds or pecans in brandy. saw
figs stuffed with nuts, also done in
brandy, plain stuffed dates and
spiced orange quarters.
A new item that might interest
the bachelor cooks. and certainly
one to keep on the emergency
cocktail shelf, was an "old-fash-
ioned" setup. The jar contained
orange slices, simple syrup, cherries
and bitters. Another product
hadn't seen before was one OF home
made plum puddings, fruit cakes
and mincemeat. They are made In
the lady's own kitchen and, since
they come from my home State OF
Minnesota, was doubly interested.
A speciality from Honolulu was pa
paya put up in grenadine syrup
and rum.
Then there were barbecued oysters
In cans just waiting to be put on a
toothpick and slipped under the
broiler for a hot canape. Special
dill olives from Texas, red and white
wine vinegars for salad dressings
and that reminds me, there was
California avocado dressing made
with the avocado oil.
For the discriminating tea drinker,
beautifully done packages OF Ming
Cha (divine teal from China; Tor
the lucky person who can breakfast
in bed, clever boxes of assorted
jellies for the breakfast tray.
Complete sets of herbs for your
kitchen shelf come with a little
booklet of recipes to instruct you
how and where to use the proper
herb. Any one of these foods or
even several in basket would make
splendid gift for that person who
is hard to please.
At another store, I spied a new
cheese spread which has cheese
base with a special mixture OF herbs
and spices added to give 1t extra zip |
and zest-good on crisp crackers ana
toast squares. At the same place,
they had the ideal gift for the
gourmet consisting of mixing and
salad bowl, four measuring cups, four
special vinegars, nine assorted herbs
and four assorted spices. If you are
interested in these items, I'll be glad
to tell you where they are available
If YOU will call me at National 5000,
Extension 495.
In the local general markets you'll
find plenty of all the vegetables.
French-type endiye imported from
Belgium has made its first appear
ance since the war; strawberries
are available, too,' for that special
dinner. = They are high in price,
however. Fresh peas and hmas have
likewise returned; the hmas are
scarce, but you will find limited
amounts around. Salad greens,
citrus fruits and root vegetables are
In abundance-Oregon pears, Flor
ida pineapples and Texas pink
grapefruit and plenty of good qua-
ity apples. The cold weather has
cut down the supply of local cook
ing greens such as spinach, kale and
collards. Some tangerineS are
making their appearance-the quail
ity is not too good as yet, it's little
early in the season.
Will LllS CACCpu1OiA Va o1OCo poSSAA,
there will be plenty Of all kinds OF
meat this week end. The fish sup
ply is good-featuring croakers,
trout, rock, butterfish, Spanish
mackerel, haddock, oysters and raw
shrimp.
One dealer told me they had nice
packages of fresh dates this week
good item to stock up on for Christ
mas. There will also be plenty of
sugar for you to use your back
coupons and be ready for the holi-
day baking.
y Il
Here and There: Try cereal
topped with some of your own jellies
to brighten up the breakfast
menu, saves sugar, too. ;. :.
Another change for the morning