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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Seaforth News, 1956-03-15, Page 2TABLE TALKS eJaue Anckw5. In old-time baking, measur- ing was a matter of judgment. Recipes called for "butter the size of an egg," a "heaping cup ei sugar," or "enough flour to stiffen," The results varied with each cook, and with every trial. No wonder baking was a hard- won art! * * * Today, there's no need for guesswork. Modern teste . reci- pes all talk a common language, They are founded upon exact, standard measurements — the use of standard measuring cups, standard measuring spoons, and level measures. These measures are the same in every kitchen. They make it possible to get the same fine baking results, every time. * * * So use standard tools for your baking. You can buy these in almost any town. You need standard measuring cups, one for the dry ingredients, another for liquids, and one or two sets of standard measuring spoons. With this simple but correct equipment it is possible to mea- sure acurately every ingredient called for in the usual baking recipe. * * * A standard measuring cup is an accurate half-pint measure—the equivalent of 16 level table- spoons. It is grooved on one side to read s/a, ?z, and Via; on the other, to read 1.3 and %. For measuring liquids a glass mea- suring cup is convenient, as the top extends above the cup line and so prevents spilling. A set of graduated measuring cups has advantages, too, for level mea- surements of 1, ?i ?a, and 15- eup amounts of dry ingredients or shortening. * * * A set of standard measuring spoons includes one tablespoon one teaspoon, one half -teaspoon, and one-quarter teaspoon. The tablespoon is the equivalent of d level teaspoons. All measurements are level. That's the success rule for every modern recipe. The exact tech- nique for measuring each ingre- dient is given here. This is the way to get uniform, exact mea- sures every time! SWEET ARRANGEMENT — If you have a nice taste in flowers, you'd enjoy this floral offering. Blossoms of sugar and a vase of almond paste are placed on display at a pastry and confec- tion show in Paris, France, by master confectioner Jean De- Blieux. Flour has a tendency to pack on standing. So always sift flour once before measuring. Remem- ber, the woman too busy to bo- ther to sift may put an extra half -cup of flour in her cake and ruin it. Lift the sifted flour lightly by spoonsfuls into the measuring cup and level off by drawing the edge of a spatula or straight knife across the top. (Do not press flour or shake it down in cup.) * * * For fractions of cup, fill cup slightly _to the proper fraction mark. Or use the correct mea- sure of your set of graduated cups; fill and level off as just directed. Use a dry standard measuring baking powder. Even a little too much or too little can give disappointing results. Be sure to Use the baking powder called for in the recipe and the exact amount specified. Use special care in measuring spoon, Dip the spoon into the baking powder and fill it full, Then level off spoon lightly with edge of spatula or straight knife. For fractions, use the small sizes of your set of measuring spoons. * « * There are several ways to measure solid shortening. Snfall amounts are more easily mea- sured by tablespoons; fractions of cups may be measured in graduated measuring cups. Use one of these convenient ways: (1) Press shortening into a measuring cup (or tablespoon), packing it tightly, Then level off at top or fraction mark. (2) An easy way to measure butter is by weight, Allow Si pound for 1 cup. With print but- ter, u4 pound equals Si eup. (3) Or measure shortening by water displacement. For ex- ample, to measure SS cup short- ening, fill cup half -full of cold. water; add shortening until wa-• ter rises to the top of cup; then drain off all water. This leaves % cup shortening in the cup. Measure melted shortening like a liquid. With granulated or white su- gar, fill a standard treasuring cup or spoon with the sugar, and level off with edge of spa- tula of straight knife. Brown sugar needs to be pack- ed into the cup so firmly that it holds the shape of the cup when turned out. This gives a consistent measurement. Average -sized eggs (medium to large) are used in these reci- pes. If using small eggs, allow about 3% tablespoons slightly mixed whole eggs for each egg in recipe. * • * Use special care in measuring liquids for undermeasuring is a common fault. For accuracy, set measuring cup on a level surface. Other- wise the surface of the liquid may slant and deceive you. Fill until liquid flows into the correct groove -mark of cup; do not undermeasure. Thick liquids and syrup, such as molasses, corn syrup, or honey, should be poured into the spoon or cup from the container or from another spoon. If the cup has already been used to measure shortening or water, the syrup will empty out readi- ly. Do not dip a measuring spoon into sticky liquids for too much will cling to underside of spoon, causing overmeasurement or waste. "THIS IS A BATH?"—Gunner Aubrey Johnson, right, and his battery mate take a snow bath near Fort Churchill, Manitoba, Canada, during winter maneuvers on the Arctic tundra. Com- pletion of the snow house, in background, is one of their assign- ed -exercises. End of a Tale ON JASPER, A. PET RACCOON at Algonquin Park, lived uneventfully until he crossed the main track of the Canadian National Rail- way... . HE DIDN'T QUITE MAKE IT. The train cut off his tail. Jasper is all right now, but he is unhappy about the loss of his tail, and so is his owner, guide Jack Wilkinson. Wilkinson has asked the railway "What are you going to do about it?" BEST -EVER MUFFINS 2 cups sifted flour 214 teaspoons baking powder 2 tablespoons sugar S.1 teaspoonsalt Si cup shortening 1 egg,well beaten 34 cup milk Method Sift flour once, measure, add baking powder, sugar and salt and sift into bowl. Cut in shortening. Combine egg and milk and add all at once to flour mixtures To mix, draw spoon from side of bowl toward center (15 times), turning bowl gradually. Chop spoon through batter (10 times). •Then stir only until all flour is dampened (only about 5 strokes). Turn into greased muffin pans, filling each about Si full. Bake in hot oven (400°F,) 25 minutes, or until done. Makes 10 large muffins. Regular Method Sift flour once, measure, add baking powder, sugar, and salt and sift into bowl. Combine egg and milk and add to flour mixture. Add melt- ed shortening. To mix, draw spoon' from side of bowl toward center (15 times), turning bowl gradual- ly. Chop spoon through batter (10 times). Then stir only until all flour is dampened (only about 5 strokes). Turn into greased muffin pans, filling each about 'Si full, Bake in hotoven (400° F.) 25 minutes, or until done. Makes 10 large muffins. * * * DELICIOUS VARIATIONS CORN MUFFINS Use only 1 cup sifted flour in Muffins, but increase baking powder to 3 teaspoons and add 1 cup yellow corn meal to sift- ed mixture. BRAN MUFFINS Use only 1 cup sifted flour in muffins. Increase baking powder to a 3 teaspoons and add 1 is cups 40`, Bran Flakes to batter before baking. SPICY -CRUST MUFFINS Mix together 2 tablespoons sugar and teaspoon cinna- mon. Sprinkle this spice mix- ture over batter in pans before baking. DATE OR PRUNE MUFFINS Add 1 cup finely cut dates or prunes to egg -milk mixture for niufnns, DE ..UXE MUFFINS Use ii cup shortening instead of lei cup in muffins, BLUEBERRY MUFFINS Make muffins with % cup shortening instead of Si cup. Feld 1 cup blueberries into bat- ter before baking. CRANBERRY MUFFINS Make muffins with ifz cup shortening instead of i!3 cup. Chop 1 cup cranberries; sprinkle with 2 tablespoons sugar and fold into batter before baking. How Can 1? By Anne Ashley Q. How can I remove all dirt and grease from the hair? A Wet the hair with warm water and then rub into the scalp the juice of a lemon, in- stead of soap. Rinse the hair thoroughly and dry with a soft towel, This will leave the hair soft and glossy. Q. What is a good cleaner for silver? A. An excellent cleaner, and one that does not scratch, is common cooking soda. Follow by polishing with a soft cloth. Q. How can I prevent the dis- coloring and wilting of vege- tables when they must stand af- ter paring? A. Cover them completely with cold water. Q. How can I sterilize the sink? A. Use a solution of chloride of zinc, which can be purchased at any drug store. Use one half pint to two gallons of water and pour through the pipes every week or two. Q. How can I improve the flavor of iced tea? A. Try adding a few drops of lemon juice and a sprig of mint to each glass of iced tea. 0. Should figs and dates be washed before using them? A. Yes, by all means, and wash them thoroughly. Place in a colander and pour boiling water over them. Q. How can I make the teeth whiter? A. Use soda water with any good tooth paste, instead of tap water. It will make the teeth whiter, and will give a soothing sensation to the gums and throat. Q. Flow can I remove mud stains from woolen garments and also from tan shoes? A. By rubbing the spots with the moist cut side of a raw po- tato, changing to a clean. slice of potato when the one piece is soiled. Q. How can I make linen win- dow shades look like new? A. Apply brickdust with a clean, soft cloth. Q, How can I sew buttons on a garment so that it is easy for a child to fasten? A. When sewing buttons on children's garments a good idea i. to sew each one over a pin. Then slip the pin out, which leaves a small amount of loose- ness to the button, making it easier for the child to fasten. Q. How can I prevent water from settling to the bottom of the dish when baking custard? A For a baked custard, waren the milk before adding the eggs, For very yellow custard use brown eggs, for : a lighter cust- ard, white eggs. DARK -EYED MELINDA FOOLED 'EM ALL London — (NEA) — In Bri- tain the Asquiths speak only to the Astors, and the Astors only to God. But American -born Me- linla Maclean, wife of Soviet spy Donald Maclean, was an excep- tion. Dark -eyed Melinda had both the Asquithsand the Astors speaking up for her in public. She also Fooled Sir Winston Churchill's son, Randolph. None suspected that she, herself, was a double-dealer, perhaps the cleverest of the lot. Society swells rushed to Me- linda's defense following the flight to Russia of her husband Donald, one-time head of the American Department `of the British Foreign Office, with his friend and fellow diplomat -spy, Guy Burgess. "Don't Malign Melinda," was the watchword in the best Bri- tish circles. * * * Now that Melinda is revealed to be living in cozy comfort with her co-conspirators in a dacha just outside Moscow, some of Britain's most aristocratic faces are crimson. To think that this charming girl could turn out to be a Communist plotter and renegade, too! Among the reddest faces is that of Lady Violet Bonham- Carter. Lady Violet is not only an Asquith, the daughter of a British prime minister, but a good friend to have in time of trouble. It was Lady Violet who helped Donald Maclean get his first job at the Foreign Office; she sat on the selection Board that tipped him for the post. It was Lady Violet who help- ed to create the picture of Me- linda Maclean as the poor, inno- cent, long-suffering wife of a brilliant, but erratic husband, who divided his time between alcohol and Communism. Was it Melinda's fault that Donald Mclean turned out to be a traitor? After all, Melinda, herself, bad no interest in poli- tics. Was she to blame that Mac- lean also became a booze - hound and a pervert? Hadn't her husband tried to strangle her that time in Cairo? And didn't he desert her for the Russians just as she was about to bear him his third child? * * « So it was argued in the best British circles. And 39 -year-old, Chicago -born Melinda took full advantage of the favorable climate of opinion thus created, For Melinda had a problem: she needed to get clo- ser to the Iron Curtain, so that she could duck behind it quickly when the time came for her to join her husband. So Melinda came to Lady Vio- let Bonham -Carter with a pite- ous story of how she, Melinda Maclean, was being hounded and persecuted by the British press as the wife of "The Missing Dip- lomat." iplomat" It was an elaborate build-up by Mrs. Maclean for the removal of her family to Switzerland, where they could enjoy "greater privacy." - Lady Violet fell for the story hook, line and sinker. First, she wrote a letter to The Times. It just so happens that The Times is owned by a friend of hers, Colonel J. J. Astor, Lady Violet called his attention to what she described as a "flagrant viola- tion of the ethics of journalism," an interview with Melinda she described as phony. Next, Lady Violet got her son- in-law, Joseph Grimond, a Mem- ber of Parliament, to raise the matter in the House of Com- mons. - Randolph Churchill, Sir Win- ston's son, sprang to Melinda's defense with another letter to The Times about journalistic ethics. - Another Astor, this time Da- vid, -publisher of The Observers broke a lance in Mrs. Maclean's cause. Even after Melinda crossed to Russia in September, 1953, Da- vid Astor could find nothing harsh to say about her. He still believed her to be the innocent wife, "demure and peace -lov- ing," whose loyalty to her hus- band had proved stronger than her common sense. Those who have studied the Maclean -Burgess case carefully claim that it was "demure, peace -loving" Melinda who had the nerves of steel: That either Donald Maclean or Guy Burgess would have craeked up under her ordeal, or taken to drink. And the Maclean children, in between 1Vfarxist-Leninist les- sons, can now boast to their Russian playmates how their clever mother made complete mugs of Lady Violet and th* Astors. FEATHERS Dr. Christian A. Wolf, inter- nationally known physicist, a native of Denmark, states that experiments which he has made prove definitely that birds hear through their feathers, especial- ly their tail feathers. While birds have regular ears, much of their acute sense of hearing, Dr. Wolfe says, come through the auditory aid of feathers. TAKES VOWS Boyce Brown, once rated the nation's hottest man on an alto sax, has given up the world of jozz for a life- time in a Catholic monastery. Brown, 45, took his vows as a lay brother of the Servite Fa- thers. Order of the Servants of St. Mary ata monastery. 'It isn't a gloomy life," he says, "To me, it's more exciting than musts was," He'll play his sax only on special occasions. THE GOOD SHEPHERD — A dutiful shepherd defies the cold to lead his, flock clown a snowy mountainside near Rieti, Italy, in search of food. The sheep were led many miles toward the coast during Europe's severest cold wave of the century whew their pasture lands became a desert of snow.