Living on a Little

s, Salads

have dessert," said Dolly, as sh

especially the vegetables; so sharpen up your wits and let us finish up dinners as soon as possible. I seem to see so much ahead all the time that I am in a constan

finding her pencil;

to buy them by the small basketful in the first place, are all distinctly wasteful. If you live where you can do it, Dolly, always buy them in good measure, a half-barrel at a time, let us say, when you find they are rather cheap, as they are in the fall; then toward the end of winter, when

goes well

use they must be freshly cooked for that; but make more than you need, and the second time you can make potato-cakes of the left-overs of those; the third time you can cream what are still plain boiled. By the way, sometimes cut or chop these potatoes quite fine, and after creaming them put crumbs on top and bake them; that is a good change. Of course you can scallop the second supply, too, or chop and brown them, or serve in any one of a dozen ways; look those things all up, so you will not get into a rut. So many women seem to

in season. You know that all winter long city people can have spinach and string-beans and eggplant and such things, because they come from the South, and also because many

said Dolly, writing down the statement immed

t use them very carefully indeed, and for every-day use you must depend on old-fashioned winter things, parsnips and turni

eve there are

uble boiler with a little butter and let them smother; brown them a little at the end in the frying-pan, and you will find them really delicious. Or, cook them s

eas and diced carrots and serve them around meat. You can get a pint or so of

each one, and cut a slice from the bottom, to make it stand evenly; put butter, salt, and pepper in each and fill with drained and seasoned canned pe

f iron; so have them often. Just boil them, cut them up and cream them, or drain them dry and put a little

a good milk soup the second night. Or, for company you fix them exactly as you did the tur

away the water,' as cook-books say, but save it for soup; put the onions in a baking-dish with white sauce and crumbs and bake them. I think with a dinner ending with black coffee no one will suspect you of having eaten them. If ever you fi

d drain it and scrape it well. Then cut off the little end and also the top, so that what is left is like a croquette in shape; of course the rest can go in soup, so it will not be lost. Dip eac

t it is a pity every one does not know how to do it. You cut the cabbage up in quarters and take out the core; the four pieces you put in a pot of hard-boiling water, dropping in one at a time gently, so as not to stop the boiling

odor, Mary! It would

uncovered, it will not; if you don't believe me, try for yourself. At the end of the time take it up and press the water out in the colander and cut i

own with bits of toast in them; the next time scallop what is left with crumbs, to help out. Canned corn you also divide, having two-thirds as it is, drained and freshly creamed, of course, with lots of seasoning; and the next night you have the left-over third in corn fritters. B

a circle of creamed peas around it on the platter. And with salmon, too, they are invaluable. However, be careful in buying them, for they are not cheap, and remember to buy small American peas, not French

ays in adding a bit of onion to the water I soak them in, for it brings out the flavor; and then add white sauce or butter, as usual. I suppose few people ever bake Lima beans, but they are very good, especially for a change. In winter, Dolly,

g-place, may I speak? Tell me this: are we never to h

seful,-then buy some. Open it and take out the best parts for dinner as they are; scrape the outside pieces and cut them up; stew them and bake in a white sa

conds' in market; that is, lettuce which has had its outer leaves pulled off because they are withered. Those little round heads sell for a small sum, often five cents or less; one of them is plenty for two people, so buy whenever you can. You can omit the soup that night; begin with a heavy

must practise. Never buy bottled oil; it is frightfully dear and too often it is not fresh. Besides, the so-called quart bottles hold only a pint by actual measurement. Always go to an Italian grocery and get the oil that comes in tins, at about sixty cents

se occasionally," mourned Dolly. "And I si

uce, and have it; only remember to make up for your extravagance by having a cheap meat twice over. And sometimes you can have orange s

I will cheerfully sacrifice dessert to ha

hem will be. And in the spring you can have nice little dandelion leaves and spinach and garden lettuce, and such things. And in summer-in summer, Dolly, you can simply revel in salads. Then I should dispense with soup for dinner and h

nnaise for dinner, or you would speak of sa

will take them up then. I think tha

take cooking lessons once, and got in three, all on desserts, and then I went off visiting and never finished the course. But I did learn how to make bomb glac

of the plainer things," laughed

pudding and corn-starch pudding and tapioca pudding in a pleasing round, and when w

s you must be extra careful, for most of them take eggs and butter and sugar and possibly a good many other things that cost money, especially in winter time. You must have simple desserts, made from apples when they are cheap, and rice, and as you suggest, tapioca an

home-made orange peel or orange marmalade; still another, put dates in it or chocolate. A little somethi

ond flavoring, and a third mix the milk with as much coffee; or add orange juice or lemon. Always change the flavor, and you will not tire of the basis. I find the best way to serve those things is in glasses, too,

ly, and very good. In that you can have clear coffee once, and apples or oranges at other times, and any sort of canned

rust forms on top, turn it underneath and the bottom part up, and repeat till the whole is soft and creamy and pale brown; then let the top brown. Put in raisins or chopped dates, and eat it very cold, and

strips of blanched almonds; five cents' worth will be enough for six apples. If you serve them covered with a nice glaz

loset for use at such times, put the junket in glasses to set, and serve with the ginger cut in little cubes on top and a bit of juice with it. On

s blueberries or cherries or plums, and fill the dish; then I add sugar, and a sprinkling of flour, put on the crust and bake it, and serve it almost or quite cold. That is a wholesome dessert

anned fruits, needs only to be set with gelatine in a pretty mould and served with the fruit juice, or cream if you have it. In

r and for dinner make four cakes for two people, because two will be called for apiece. While they

le boiled custard with it. All these things, you see, take only a short time to make, as well as few costly ingredients. I don't think it good policy for people who are trying to economize to put much time or money on desserts. Indeed, if I could I believe I would always have fruit; but i

creams, Mary! Are we

next time. For creams I get the ice in the same way when I can, and either make a mousse and put it in the fireless stove, or make a cheap boiled custard and freeze that, adding a few dried and rolled macaroons to enrich it, or even a few dried crumbs of Boston brown-bread, which, strange to say, look and

enough to sweeten them ought not to cost

t its freshness; indeed, it was not fit to put on the table as it was, but my conscience would not let me throw it away. I just chopped it up, sweetened it

wn; and we can have lots of melons for

make it of, try serving nuts and a few raisins with the coffee for a final course, and you will be surprised to see the rapture which Fred will show. Men always like nuts, and if you are careful not to have them after a heavy dinner of corned beef or such things, they are not unwho

ng made with eggs or butter or cream, so I wo

with a big spoonful of whipped cream on top of each, is ever so good. And just a little cream on a small open shell of pie-crust filled with preserved fruit, makes it what the late Delia used to call 'a stylish dish.' No, don't entirely bar out all expensive ingredients, Dolly; sometimes you can have some of them i

d eggs, now; may I ever

en; and a little sweet omelette made with jam is a delightfu

o? No, don't tell me, for I know

ridiculous to have rice puddings when strawberries were cheaper, or corn-starch, when you could have sherbet or some other delicacy. Just 'use your co