Page:Australian enquiry book of household and general information.djvu/103

way of serving cheese. Toast a large slice of bread, butter it lightly, and on it lay a good, thick slice of new cheese, with a sprinkling of pepper; or, if liked, a thin layer of mustard on it. Place this on a tin plate in a hot oven till the cheese melts. Eaten with fresh celery or lettuce, this makes a good and pleasant meal.

Another way is to have the bread toasted. Grate a good quantity of cheese; put it with a small lump of butter into a saucepan. When melted, add half a cup of milk and an egg well beaten; pepper, and, if liked, an onion sliced. Let it thicken, and pour over the toast. Most prefer to eat the raw onion with it, instead of having it sliced with the mixture. A teaspoonful of made mustard is a great improvement stirred in with the cheese.

Stewed Tripe and Onions.—Cut

the tripe into small pieces, and put it into a stewpan with some water, let it stew gently for two hours, and pour in a pint of sweet milk. Slice an onion and add it with pepper and salt, let it stew again till the onion is tender, and before serving thicken with a teaspoonful of butter rolled in flour.

Stewed Onions.—The onion is considered one of the most wholesome vegetables we have. Were it not for the unpleasant aftertaste it leaves, and the smell it imparts to the breath, it would be much more generally used. Peel and cut onions into quarters, then put them on to boil in cold water, and a little salt. When tender strain off the water, and add milk. Let it boil and thicken with a tablespoonful of flour and a lump of butter.

PICNICS.

WHAT TO TAKE.

MEAT for sandwiches must be boiled the day before. Remove all bone, and press if possible for the convenience of cutting. Bread must also be one day old, and a very sharp knife is wanted. Besides beef, ham, tongue, sardines, egg and salad make excellent sandwiches. When all are cut wrap in a table napkin, packed close together to keep them fresh.

Cakes should be a day old, and when making cakes for a picnic mix your cakes a little stiffer and allow five or ten minutes extra in baking to ensure a firmer crust. If iced, let it be put on hot, otherwise it will crack and crumble. Small cakes are better to carry than large ones.

Jellies, cream or custards should not be taken to picnics. Pies and tartlets are best made turnover shape, the pastry covering the filling, wrap each in a separate paper for carrying. If coffee is taken it should be the bottled essence, as being easily made.

Hampers are of course the best for packing, failing them, a case lined with paper answers. All small cakes and biscuits are best put into tins. Plates are unnecessary and far too heavy for a