The Brussels Post, 1957-08-21, Page 2'TABLE TALKS
ektmArapews.
ligasement Kitchen
Had its Charms
The square borne built bY
CleSsert had, on its first
tlaor kitchen that resembled
in its appliances and furnishings
the Other kitchens of the neigh-
bOrhood, But the house also had
e basement kitchen, which Was
reached by a narrow, twisting
stairway. It was unlike any kit-
then we had even seen. Its floor ,
was of bricks that were cool to
the touch on the warmest August.
day, The walls were of split field
stone which; in winter, glistened
with hoarfrost. Between the
front windows were slate tubs
and on the opposite wall was
e stove that had once gone to
sea in the galley of Grandfather's
Meridian. Beside the stove was
a door that gave access to the
dark root cellar. On the outer
wall was a door that opened into
the apple orchard.
Ethel found that the cellar
3 ezn was one of great utility."
During the summer, it served as
a laundry. It was ideal for those
seasonal tasks that were bound
M cause confusion and, conges-
tion. if they- were performed in
the regular kitchen. In •March,
the boiled down the maple sap
en the onetime galley stove, and
the stone walls of the room were
covered with drops of water
from the steam-filled air. In Oc-
tober, she and the children pre-
pared the mincemeat there.
They ground the' meat and ap-
ples, chopped the raisins, mixed
In the spices and cider, and then
slowly cooked the fragrant mix-
ture in the great iron kettle. In
May, she made, soap in the base-
ment. She set tip her quilting
frame there during the winter
months and often spent her af-
ternoons tacking a quilt.
Cousin. Herman also used the
basement room, which, as the
pears went by, came to be called
"kitchen-under." In the fall, he
perted apples there; in winter,
he went there to oil and mend
the harnesses or to hew out an
sat handle! in spring, he cut up
his seed potatoes there. On sum-
Seer Sunday afternoons, the
work room became an art room,
Where he sat before his sketch
book on the table. Sometimes he
Sketched the orchard or the Bay
Pr the distantly blue "Seven Star
Rill." But more often he drew
tit cartoon with. the local judge
Sr county sheriff or the town
Sly
as the target of his
Sly humor.
The children were not encour-
aged to use "kitchen-under" as
play room. We went there only
•t the invitation of Cousin Her-
ttian or Ethel. We sampled the
Syrup, we tasted the mincemeat,
Srid we tested the firmness of
.,The soap with cautious fingers.
ne art of quilt-tacking and the
process of sorting apples and cut-
ting seed potatoes offered no at-
traction to us, but we did enjoy
Watching Cousin Herman at his
Sketching. But we felt that we
were usually onlookers rather
than participants in the tasks
that were performed in "kitchen-
tinder."
However, in July, the base-
Ment kitchen was the scelp of a
task in which we children played
an important part. Late in the
month, Ethel took us to an aban-
doned farm on. McHard's mill-
stream to gather herbs. She bor-
rowed ,Prince and Father's two-
seated buggy in order that all
the young children of the neigh-
borhood mild gO along. We made
Sin early start so that we might
take the two-mile trip, spend
three hours harvesting, and make
the return journey in time for
!Supper. Prince enjoyed the jaunt
es much as we did. Once we had
reached the Carter farm, Ethel
left him unhitched so that he
wandered free to Sample clover
and herdsgrass at his leisure.
We first turned our attention to
the pansy patch that had com-
pletely overrun the barnyard. We
gathered great armfuls of the
golden button blossoms and tied
them into hunches which we
stored under the seats of the bug-
gy. We followed tile tumbled
stone wall to harvest the tiara,
way topped with circles of brown.
seeds, We found the •aromatic
pennyroyal in the runout fields.
We picked the pearly everlast-
ing with its straw-textured,
white blossoms, When we final-
ly turned Prince's head toward
the hilly road to home the bug.,
gy and the arms of the omit-
pants were Ailed with our pun,
gent harvests
Ethel was pleased with our
gleaning, but she had keen eyes
.for the roadside shrubs as we
Made our way home. She was on
the lookout for the gray-leaved
theroughwort and she talked of
how much she would like to lo-
cate a plant that was native to
her childhood home in Unity,
After we reached Ethel's home,
'all the plants were taken direct-
ly to "kitchen-under," where
they were plunged into water-
filled tubs and basins that had
Cousin Herman saw all the
been prepared for them. When
greenery that filled the base-
ment kitchen, he always made
the same remark, "It looks as
though Birnam Wood had come
to Dunsinane." And Ethel made
the same reply. "No, Carter's
field has come to Howard's farm."
The next afternoon "kitchen-
under, was the scene of a chore
in which we children played a
leading part. The tansy blossoms
were cut from their stalks and
stored in bags made of cotton
screening. We toiled up the three
flights of stairs to the attic where
the bags were hung for a long
autumn of slow drying. In Oc-
tober, Ethel divided the dried
blossoms into smaller bags,
which were hung in the clothes
closets. "No moth will choose
to share a home with a bag of
tansy," was. Ethel's declaration.
The pennyroyal was separated
into small bunches which were
hung to dry from nails struck
into the attic roof. Eventually
pennyroyal bags would be made
for all the linen closets of the
neighborhood. Ethel also shared
the caraway seed and the ever-
gathered. The seeds added
variety to the breads and cookies,
and now and then a daring cook
added the spicy seed to a staid
pumpkin pie. The dried ever-
lasting flowers that we•
lasting blossoms made winter
bouquets for every parlor in the
neighborhood. I never ate a car-
away cookie or sniffed a dried
bouquet without recalling our
many trips from "kitchen-under"
to the attic.
Ethel valued her basement kit-
chen as a laundry and as a se-
cluded room where she could
boil sap or cook mincemeat or
make soap or tack a quilt. Her-
man rated the basement room
highly as a workshop and an art
room. But we children were as-
sured that the sorting of herbs
was the most worthwhile chore
performed in "kitchen-under."—
By Esther E. Wood in The Chris-
tian Science Monitor.
PUZZLED PARSON
The minister had been asked
to present the prizes to the
winners of the local dog show,
but when he got there he was
outraged at the dress of some Of
the girls.
'Just look at that young per-
son there with the cigarette,
close-cut hair, and breeches,' he
cried to a bystander, 'Is it a boy
or a girl?'
'It's a girl' replied the other.
'She's my daghter.'
'Forgive me, sir' apologised
the preacher, 'I never dreamed
you were her father.'
`I'm not,' was the reply, I'm
her mother.'
GOLD IN THE WATER Pinned over Ccirin Cone"' bureau in
her home IS a ,collection of medals that Would do Credit to any"
etthlete. She's packing to get set for another 'trip, The young
twinuning Star Won the silver medal in last -year's Olympic'
e nd holds the National AAU 100 and 20O-hieter backstroke
crovirts.
•UV4..:aM
.Lerlie:te..aeeezeieeeo.
inkvvept
ARSENAL FOR FLU WAR—Workers at a pharmaceutical labora-
tory process eggs in which the Asiatic flu virus is cultured as a
major step in making an influenza vaccine. Several labora-
tories are preparing to make quantities of vaccine should the
disease become epidemic with the corning cold weather. The
Asiatic flu, a relatively mild strain heretofore unknown here,
has swept through much of Asia and parts of Europe.
Authorities caution that the vaccine is a preventive—not a cure—
for the disease.
Shocked The Peers
Discussing a government re,
port on hospitals in Britain's all-
male }louse of Lords, physician-
peer Lord Cohen, 57, wasn't
quite certain he remembered
the yearly infant mortality rate
for a. London district in 1930.
"It's 96 per . 1,000 I be-
lieve,ft he stammered. °X have tQ
refer to my .statistician," From a
seat beyond the Bar; a distinctly
feminine voice called out:. "One
thousand!" "Order, order," cried
horrified peers, The reason: In
the 035-year history of Lords, no
woman has ever spoken during
a debate. As. the first tradition-
breaker, Dr. gSther Rickards, 64,.
explained: "It seemed the . most
natural thing in the world to
reply. But it seemed to upset the,
old dears a great deal, I should.
have sent a note,"
A boy was sent by his doting
parents to a big boarding school.
He had been strictly. enjoined to
write regularly and tell them all
about himself and how he was
getting on.
At the end of a week his first
letter arrived home.
"There are 370 boys here," he
wrote. "I wish there were 369,"
PLEASANT PARIS — Sampling
some of his own stock, ice
cream vendor Joseph Coletta
keeps an eye peeled .for pros-
pective customers at his stand
near the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
Coletta has been doing business
there for more than .,23 years
and isn't going to let a tern- - porary lull ruffle him,
•
Speedy Romance
Handsome Johnny Dennison
ranks as a honeymoon hustler.
He arranged his first marriage,
from meeting to altar, in forty-
five minutes flat.
Yet he recently married again
in thirty-five minutes . . . after
staging a second high-speed ro-
mance with the same girl.
Friends toasted them at a swift
wedding breakfast and express-4
ed the hope that they would
never be divorced again. After
a 24-hour honeymoon, Johnny
was back at his job as an airline
steward . . . and his brunette
Wife was busy caring for his
two children, youngsters whom
the courts had previously decid-
ed should, remain in their father's
care.
Yet even this high-speed ro-
mance is equalled by twerity-
four-year-old Freddy Davies.
When he met his true love, he
proposed within twenty-six min-
utes and the couple took just
a minute to work out the date
of the wedding.
On the other hand, •a Cheshire
girl was engaged for seven years.
Then she happened to meet an-
other man at a dance — and
married him a week later.
A Birmingham girl was startled
when a man joined her at a bus
stop and injired: "Excuse me.
but are you Married? No? Will
you marry me then?" They were
Married just twelve days later
Then there was the romantic
race against time of an American-
airline second pilot and a girl
hostess.
" They' first "spoke to each other
after take-off when crossing the
Atlantic.
Tony Bartlow proposed in mid-
ocean. After• touching down at,
London airport, they were mar,
ried by special license.'Two days
later, 'their friends met theta at
New York airport and whisked
them "away to ,their wedding
breakfast.
Unaware that Cupid's dart can
be jet-propelled, a young. Welsh-
man omitted one 'girl • for five
yeatt. After a ,quarkel, he wooed
another girl fOr four years', Once
again' drawing a blank, he tried
another for three Years:
Finally; he met an attractive
Young "widow.
He proposed within three
weeks. They were married with=
in three Menthe!
Most of us — whether we ad-
mit it or not — don't eat nearly
enough vegetables. Which is a
pity, especially at this time of
year, when so many of our vege-
tables are just reaching• the peals
of perfection. Possibly the fol-
lowing recipes, which use little
or no meat• yet are nourishing
enough for main dishes, will be
• help. * • *
Perhaps you'd like to try this
macaroni loaf which is served
from the dish it's cooked in and
has a colorful decoration of its
own.
Vegetable Bake
4 ounces elbow macaroni
4 strips bacon diced
2 tablespoons chopped onion
2 tablespoons chopped celery
1 cup cream-style corn
1 tablespoon lemon juice
• teaspoon salt
Vs teaspoon Worcestershire
sauce
1 cup cooked peas
1 cup cooked julienne carrots
Buttered bread crumbs
Cook macaroni in boiling
salted water until tender (about
8 minutes). Drain and rinse.
Brown bacon lightly in skillet.
Add chopped onion and celery,
and brown slightly. Combine
with corn, lemon juice, salt and
Worcestershire sauce. Fold in
cooked macaroni. Pour into 1-
quart casserole. Place peas in
center on top of macaroni mix-
ture. Arrange carrots in spoke-
like fashion around peas. Sprin-
kle with buttered bread crumbs.
Bake at 350 degrees F. 15 min-
utes. Serves 4.
* •
This vegetable-hut loaf is
served with a bright red tomato
sauce. Garnish it with fresh
sliced cucumber, or sprigs of
fresh water cress if you like.
Vegetable-Nut Loaf
1/1 cup melted butter
IA cup chopped onion
1. cup chopped celery
13%. cups soft bread crumbs
1 cup diced cooker carrots
1 cup cooked fresh peas
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
11/4 'teaspoons salt
Vs teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon Worcestershire
sauce
1/L cup liquid from vegetables
2 eggs, well beaten
% cup buttered bread crumbs
6 walnut halves
Saute onion and celery in but-
ter until golden, but not brown:
Combine with remaining ingre-
dients except buttered crumbs
and walnut halves. Mix thor-
oughly and pack into greased
pan 9-6-2 inches, Top with but-
tered crumbs; press walnut
halves into top of loaf. Bake at
375°F. for about 45 minutes. Cut
into six squires to serve. Serve
With tomato sauce.
* *
Would you like to cdok your
loaf in indiVidual custard cups?
Try these tirebales with creole
sauce.
Cheese-Vegetable titithales
2 tablesPOons butter
cup finely chopped' onion
34 cup fine bread crumbs
11/2 'cups milk
1 teaspoon salt
teaspoon pepper
1 clip grated sharp cheddar
cheese
11/2 Cup§ drained; Cooked Peat
2 tiblesPooni finely Chopped
parsley
4 eggs, Slightly heateri
Saute Onion in hotter until
Palaver Over
Red-Hot l-ava
When recently 'a. 150-ft.-wide
strip of red-hot lava began to
creep menacingly down the
slopes of Etna, Europe's biggest
active volcano, vulcanologists
flew to Italy to carry out on-
the-spot investigations,
It was Etna's biggest eruption
for seven years, Explosions every
few minutes sent clouds of
steam and hot gravel hurtling
from a crater a few hundred feet
below the peak The scientists
tested temperatures and pres-
sures and then announced:. "This
is not a serious eruption and will
not last long."
They were right. The "angry
mountain," as some Italians call
Sicily's 10,754-ft.-high volcano,
d i d no serious damage this
time and no lives were lost. The
flow of lava ceased and after
a troubled period of several
days the crater became quiet.
Etna holds a world record —
of having been in eruption lon-
ger than any other volcano. It
is the most fertile and the most
treacherous mountain in Eur-
ope, its lower slopes abounding
in lemon groves, orange gardens
and vineyards.
In other eruptions this cen-
tury rivers of lava thirty feet
deep and a mile wide have sub-
merged villages and rendered
thousands homeless, but the Si-
cilian peasants have such a stoi-
cal character that they, accept.
Etna's convulsions as a matter
of course and always rebuld
their homes in the vicinity after
disastrous eruptions.
Italy's King Victor Emmanuel
walked right up to the advanc-
ing lava stream during the great
eruption of 1923 when masses
of molten rock slowly but surely
crushed houses and burned up
1/2 teaspoon salt
Pepper
1 cup milk
Melt butter in top of double
boiler over hot water, Blend in
the peanut butter. Add flour and
seasonings and stir until smooth.
Stir in milk slowly. Cook over
boiling water until thickened,
stirring constantly.
vines and trees in its path, Onc
peasant gave him as a souv.eeir •
a piece of cooled lava, on the
surface of which a chin had
been 'pressed when it was in a
molten state.
Superstitious Sicilians stilt be-
ileve that a race of thirty-foot
giants once inhabited Etna,. the
descendants -- says .4 legend
of marriages between the gods.
and womankind., When visitors
doubt the legend, the peasants
declare that stone eoffles. for
men. at least thirty-foot tall
have been found on the volcano'$
slOpeS.
Engineers have studied the
possibility of erecting en enor-
mous lighthouse at the top of
gtna, as a landmark for the _pilots
of aircraft crossing the Medi-
terranean, but while gtna :.con-
tinues to erupt the scheme is.
impracticable. Some experts,
however, predict that Etna may'
cease to, erupt after, the year ••
2000,
Household Hint
Those handy plastic containers
which house ice cream, jellied
salads, or cold slaw at the gro-
cery store have almost become
an institution in many homes,
More than a column could be
written on the many ways these
containers are being used—but
this is a friendly warning on one
thing not to do. Someone we
know wanted to do a little
touch-up painting job in her
kitchen. It required only a little
paint, a small brush—and some
turpentine for clean up. Called
away from her task, our friend
left the brush soaking in tur-
pentine in one of those plastic
containers, pleased with herself
because she had such a handy
item to use.
She returned to a debacle.
Turpentine apparently does not
agree with some kinds of plas-
tic, for the bottom of the con-
tainer had dissolved, and a very
messy paint solution remained'
to be cleaned up from the kitch-
en shelf, sink, etc.
Before using a new paint brush,
run a comb through the bristles.
This removes the few loose*
bristles that are inevitable even
in the best of paint brushes.
golden; add crumbs and • milk
and 'cook until thick, stirring
constantly. Add remaining ,in-
gredients; blend well. Pour into
six greased custard cups and
bake at 325'F, for 45 minutes
or until knife inserted comes out
clean, Serve with creole sauce.
Creole Sauce
21/2 tablespoons each chopped
onion and chopped green
pepper
Vs cup butter
14 cup flour .
2 cups vegetable juice cocktail
% teaspoOn `salt
Dash pepper
Sauté' onion and green pepper;
add flour and blend. Add vege-
table juice cocktail and season-
ing. Cook until thickened, stir-
ring constantly. , * * •
Mashed potatoes and cottage
cheese are combined with mush-
rooms and sour cream to make
this unusual luncheon pie.
Mushroom Pie
2 tablespoons butter
1/ cup finely diced onion
2 cups hot cooked potatoes,
mashed
1 can (3 ounces) chopped broil-
ed mushrooms
2 cups creamed cottage cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon kitchen bouquet
2 eggs, well beaten -
1 unbaked 9-inch pastry shell
Melt butter; add onion and
cook over moderate heat 5 min-
utes, stirring occasionally Add
to mashed potatoes. Stir in
mushrooms, cheese, sour cream,
seasonings, kitchen bouquet, and
eggs. Pour filling into pastry
shell. Bake at 375°F. until puffy
and brown, about 1 hour. Serves
6. * * *
If, you like a nutty taste in
your sauce for vegetables, try
this one made with peanut but-
ter.
Peanut Butter • Sauce
1 tablespoon butter
cup peanut butter
2 teaspoons flour
•
BACK AGAIN-:-The lady and gentleman, lassoed by the hydrant-
happy terrier, should look familiar. They're Myrna Loy and
William Powell at the time the couple were making "Thin Man'
pictures, Hollywood's putting the "Thin Man" into a television
series. Peter Lawford and Phyllis Kirk, who Will play the key
roles in the new series, pos, inset, with a new "Astcx", without
whom no "Thin Man" series could be.
EigFig`rrW°'. ,,:ei00417,444.4
FIFTEEN OF FINEST—The Sea/A far Miss 10:• the Miss .leliVerie contest had ridirrOWeci!
eloWit to Meiji 15 American girls" at LONIBOaChi Califs Judges have a terrible Vey, don't`they?'
ft,