Household Recipes and Handy Hints - The Dawn: A Journal for Australian Women (Sydney) September 1889


The Dawn: A Journal for Australian Women was an early feminist journal published monthly in Sydney, Australia between 1888 and 1905. It was first published 15 May 1888 by Louisa Lawson using the pen name of Dora Falconer. The subtitle was later changed to A Journal for the Household. It became the official publication of the Australian Federation of Women Voters.

Household Recipes.

Queen Pudding. — One teacup of bread crumbs, soaked until soft in one pint of sweet milk, one-half teacup of sugar, yolks of two eggs, one teaspoonful lemon extract, one-half teaspoonful salt. Beat well and bake until set, then over pudding spread layer of jam or preserves, over preserves a meringue, made by beating whites of two eggs until very stiff, then adding three teaspoonfuls granulated sugar. Place in the oven until delicately browned. Serve cold.

Gem Pudding. — Two teacups of bread crumbs, two eggs, one teacup sugar, one teacup chopped figs and two of milk, one teaspoonful cinnamon, one-half teaspoonful cloves, one-half teaspoonful salt. Steam three hours, and eat with liquid sauce.

Plum Pudding. — One pint of bread crumbs, one-half teacup of flour, four eggs, two teacups raisins, one teacup finely cut dates, one quart of milk, one-half teacup citron cut fine, one teaspoonful each of cinnamon, cloves and ginger. Steam five hours. Serve with sauce.

Lemon Pudding. — One teacup breadcrumbs, placed in one quart of sweet milk and slowly brought to the boiling point, juice of two lemons, grated rind of one, one coffee cup of sugar, piece of butter size of an egg, three eggs. Bake until set.

Delicate Pudding. — One teacup bread crumbs, one quart sweet milk, one teacup sugar, yolks of two eggs, one teaspoonful lemon extract, one teacup desiccated coconut. Beat thoroughly; bake till firm, then over top spread a frosting made by beating until stiff whites of two eggs, adding one-half teacup of sugar, and one-half teacup of coconut. Place in oven until firm. Serve warm, with or without cream.

Escaloped Potatoes. — Put a little butter in a baking dish, then a layer of raw potatoes sliced thin, salt, pepper and bits of butter; then another layer of potatoes and seasoning, till the dish is full. Fill half or two-thirds of sweet milk, cover, and bake an hour.

Potatoes. — Peel potatoes and cut them into neat strips, put in boiling water and cook till tender, drain well, and pour over them a cup of hot milk thickened with a table-spoonful of flour rubbed smooth with tea-spoon of butter. Season with salt, pepper, and chopped parsley, and simmer three minutes.

Piccalilli. — To half a bushel of chopped tomatoes, which must be squeezed dry, add two dozen onions chopped fine, one dozen green peppers chopped, one pound box mustard, one large root of grated horse-radish, nearly a pint of salt, four tablespoonfuls ground cloves, four of allspice; mix thoroughly in a stone jar and cover with vinegar, making a hole in the centre to let the vinegar run to the bottom.

—Table relishes are good in their place; but let the woman who, in the language of Scripture gives meat to her household, beware of too much and too many. Where dainty dishes abound they resemble the dog in the manger, that would neither eat hay himself, nor let the cattle eat. Sweets and pastries not only do not nourish, but indulged in to excess, take away the appetite for plain, substantial food necessary to build up a good constitution and maintain health and strength.

Useful Hints.

Put tea and coffee away in air tight receptacles as soon as they are brought to the house. They lose much of their flavor by standing uncovered. Lamp chimneys are easily cleaned by holding them over the steam from a tea-kettle, then rubbing with a soft cloth, and finally polishing with paper.

Grease may be removed from wall-paper by laying several folds of blotting paper on the spot and holding a hot iron near it until the grease has been absorbed.

The colors of ginghams, muslins and calicoes will be kept bright for a long time if a piece of alum the size of a walnut is added to every pint of starch used to stiffen them.

Sateens and other soft cotton goods have a newer look when only gum arabic is used for dressing. They should be washed and rinsed quickly and dried in a shaded place.

To set the color in black or dark hosiery, calicoes, cambrics, etc., put a large tablespoonful of black pepper into a pail of water, and let the articles lie in soak for a couple of hours.

Carpets may be greatly brightened by first sweeping thoroughly and then going over them with a clean cloth and clean salt and water. Use a cup of coarse salt to a large basin of water.

Mildewed linen may be restored by soaping the spots while wet, covering them with fine chalk scraped to powder and rubbing it well in. Or soak in buttermilk and spread on the grass in the sun.

To remove fruit stains from linen, rub the part on each side with yellow soap, then tie up a piece of pearl-ash in the cloth and soak in hot water. Afterwards expose the stained part to the sun and air until removed.

A very complete filling for open cracks in floors may be made by thoroughly soaking newspapers in a paste made of one pound of flour, three quarts of water, a tablespoonful of alum, thoroughly boiled and mixed; make the final mixture about as thick as putty, a kind of paper putty, and it will harden like papier-mache.

If the flat-iron is dirty, tie up a piece of yellow beeswax in a rag, and when the iron is almost but not quite hot enough to use, rub it quickly with the wax, and then with a coarse cloth.


Sources:
  1. Household Recipes. (1889, September 2). The Dawn (Sydney, NSW : 1888 - 1905), p. 14. 
  2. Useful Hints. (1889, September 2). The Dawn (Sydney, NSW : 1888 - 1905), p. 14. 

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