BETTINA MAKES APPLE JELLY
"WHAT have you been doing?" asked Bob, as he and Bettina sat down to
dinner.
"Oh, Bob, I've had the nicest day! Mother 'phoned me this morning that
Uncle John had brought her several big baskets of apples from the farm,
and that if I cared to come over to help, we would put them up together,
and I might have half. Well, we made apple jelly, plum and apple jelly,
and raspberry and apple jelly. I had made all these before, and knew how
good they were, but I learned something new from Mother that has made me
feel happy ever since."
"And so you came home, and in your enthusiasm made this fine dandy peach
cobbler for dinner!"
"Bob, that was the very way I took to express my joy!"
"Well, what is this wonderful new apple concoction?"
"Perhaps it isn't new, but it was new to me! It is an apple and mint
jelly, and I know it will be just the thing to serve with meat this
winter."
"How did you make it? (I hope you are noticing how interested I'm
becoming in all the cooking processes!)"
"Well, I washed and cut into small pieces four pounds of greening
apples. Then I washed and chopped fine one cup of fresh mint, and added
it to the apples. I covered the mixture with water, and cooked it all
till the apples were so tender that they were falling to pieces. I
strained it then, and used three-fourths of a cup of sugar for each cup
of juice. I cooked this till the mixture jellied, and then I added four
teaspoons of lemon juice and enough green vegetable color paste to give
it a delicate color."
"Isn't that coloring matter injurious?"
"Oh, no, Bob! It's exactly as pure as any vegetable, and it gives things
such a pretty color. Why, I use it very often, and I'm sure that more
people would try it if they knew how successful it is! It is such fun to
experiment with. Of course, I never use anything but the vegetable
coloring."
"Well, go on with the jelly. What next?"
"That's all, I think. I just poured it into glasses, and there it is,
waiting for you to help me carry it home from Mother's. Now, Bob, won't
that be good next winter with cold roast beef or cold roast veal? I know
it will be just the thing to use with a pork roast!"
"I'm growing very enthusiastic. Sounds fine. But speaking of cooking,
this is a mighty good dinner. I like peach cobbler as well as any
dessert there is."
"I'm glad you like it. But I forgot to tell you, Bob, that I'm to have
all the apples I can use in the fall. Uncle John has promised them to
me. Then Mother says we'll make cider. Won't that be fine?"
"I should say it will! Cider and doughnuts and pumpkin pie! Makes me
long for fall already! But then, I like green corn and watermelon and
peaches, so I suppose I can wait."
That evening Bettina served:
Sliced Beef Loaf
Sautéd Potatoes Creamed Corn
Cinnamon Rolls Butter
Peach Cobbler Cream
BETTINA'S RECIPES
(All measurements are level)
=Sautéd Potatoes= (Two portions)
2 large potatoes cooked
2 T-lard
1/2 t-salt
1/4 t-pepper
Peel cold boiled potatoes. Put two tablespoons of lard in the
frying-pan. When hot, add the potatoes and season well with salt and
pepper. Brown thoroughly on all sides. (They should cook about ten
minutes.)
=Creamed Corn= (Two portions)
1 C-corn cut from the cob
1/2 C-water
1 t-butter
1 T-milk or cream
1/2 t-sugar
1/4 t-salt
Cook the corn and water together very slowly for twenty minutes, or
until the water is all cooked out. (Place on an asbestos mat to prevent
burning.) Add butter, milk, sugar and salt. Serve hot.
=Cinnamon Rolls= (Twelve rolls)
2 T-sugar
1/2 t-salt
1 C-milk (scalded and lukewarm)
1 yeast cake
1/4 C-lukewarm water
1-1/2 C-flour
3 T-butter
4 T-sugar
1/4 C-butter
1/2 C-sugar
Mix sugar, salt and scalded milk. When lukewarm, add the yeast cake
dissolved in one-fourth of a cup of lukewarm water. Add one and a half
cups flour. Cover and set in a warm place to rise. When double in bulk,
add the butter (melted), four tablespoons sugar and more flour (enough
to knead). Let rise, knead and roll into a sheet half an inch thick,
spread with a mixture made by adding melted butter, one and a fourth
cups sugar and the cinnamon. Roll up like a jelly roll. Cut in slices
three-fourths inch thick. Place in a pan one inch apart, let rise again.
Bake in a moderately hot oven twenty-five minutes.
=Peach Cobbler= (Two portions)
1 C-flour
1 t-baking powder
1/8 t-salt
1 T-butter
1/4 C-milk
3 good-sized peaches
1/3 C-sugar
1/4 t-vanilla
1/4 C-sugar
1/4 C-water
Cut the butter into the dry ingredients (baking powder, salt and flour),
and add the milk. (The resulting dough should be of biscuit dough
consistency.) Peel and slice the peaches, mix well with the sugar
(one-third cup) and place on the bottom of a baking dish (not tin.)
Place dough shaped to fit on the top of the peaches. Make three holes to
allow the steam to escape. Bake thirty minutes in a moderate oven. Boil
the sugar and water four minutes. When the cobbler has cooked for twenty
minutes, pour the syrup over it and allow to cook ten minutes more.
Cream may be served with the cobbler if desired.