Date Rocks

1 C-sugar 1/2 C-lard and butter mixed 1-1/2 C-flour 1/2 t-baking powder 2 eggs 1 t-cinnamon 1/2 t-powdered cloves 1/2 t-vanilla 1/2 C-dates, cut fine 1/2 C-nut meats, cut fine 1/8 t-salt

Cream the butter and lard, add the sugar, and mix well. Add the two eggs well beaten. Mix and sift thoroughly the flour, baking powder, salt, cloves and cinnamon. Add the dates and nuts. Stir these dry ingredients into the first mixture. Add the vanilla. Mix thoroughly and drop from the end of the spoon upon a well larded and floured baking pan. Bake fifteen minutes in a moderate oven.

CHAPTER CXXXIX

PLANNING A CHILDREN'S PARTY

"OF course, I'll help you, Ruth," said Bettina. "I'd love to. A children's party! What fun it will be! How many children will be there?"

"Twelve or fifteen, I think. Now let me tell you Ralph's own idea for entertainment. I suppose I'm a doting aunt, but it sounds very possible to me."

"Did Ralph suggest the kind of a party he wished? Well, isn't he a clever boy! And he's only eleven years old, too."

"He suggested that the invitations invite the children to a circus. You see, we could write a little rhyme to that effect on animal paper, or with an animal picture pasted in the corner. When the children arrive, we'll have the parade. We'll have ready the horns, drums, and so forth, for the band, and some of the children will represent the various wild animals. The parade will lead to the refreshment table (after some circus games, perhaps), which will be set outdoors if it is warm enough. The table must represent a circus ground (I've seen those paper circuses downtown, haven't you?), and the refreshments must carry out the scheme. So, Bettina, do help us to plan the details!"

Bettina's dinner that night consisted of:

Sliced Ham and Potatoes en Casserole Baked Creamed Cabbage Bread Butter Plum Pudding Cocoanut Pudding

BETTINA'S RECIPES

(All measurements are level)

Sliced Ham and Potatoes en Casserole= (Four portions)

1 lb. slice of ham two-thirds of an inch thick 4 new potatoes 1 C-water 12 cloves 1/4 t-paprika 1 t-chopped parsley 2 T-flour

Have a frying-pan very hot. Add the ham and brown thoroughly on both sides. Add the water and let boil for one minute. Remove the ham. Stick the cloves into it, and place it in the bottom of a casserole. Add the parsley and paprika to the water in the pan, and pour the liquid over the meat. Cover and bake in a moderate oven for half an hour. Roll the potatoes (which have been washed and peeled) in the flour, and add to the casserole. Baste with the liquid. Cover and cook three-fourths of an hour. Serve in the casserole.

Creamed Cabbage Baked= (Four portions)

3 C-cabbage, cut or chopped fine 1 qt. water 3 T-flour 2 T-butter 1 t-salt 1 C-milk 1/4 C-cracker or dry bread crumbs 1 T-butter

Wash the cabbage and chop into half inch pieces. Cook in boiling water fifteen minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water. Make a white sauce by melting the butter, adding the flour and salt, and then adding the milk. Cook two minutes, stirring constantly. Add the cabbage, and pour into a well-buttered open baking dish. Melt the one tablespoon of butter, add the crumbs and mix well. Spread the buttered crumbs over the top of the cabbage. Bake fifteen minutes in a moderate oven. Serve in the dish.

Cocoanut Pudding= (Four portions)

1 C-milk 1/4 t-salt 3 T-corn starch 1 egg yolk 1/2 t-lemon extract 1/2 t-vanilla 3 T-cocoanut 2 T-sugar

Mix the corn starch and salt in the upper part of the double boiler. Add the milk slowly, stirring all the time. Add the sugar. Place the upper in the lower part of the double boiler and cook, stirring occasionally to prevent lumping. When very thick, add the egg-yolk, the vanilla and lemon extracts and the cocoanut. Beat one minute. Cook again for three minutes. Place in a buttered baking dish. Beat the egg-white and when very stiff, add the two tablespoons of sugar. Pile lightly on the top of the pudding and place in a moderate oven for ten minutes to brown the meringue.

CHAPTER CXL

THE PARTY CIRCUS

RUTH and Bettina led "the parade," the band at its head, to the cheerful sunroom, where the table had been set. At sight of the "party" spread before them, the young musicians and the others gave a sudden shriek of delight.

"It's a circus!" explained Ralph to curly-headed Margery, who was adding her own piping voice to the general din.

A small American flag floated from a flag pole in the center of the table, and around it were arranged paper circus tents and circus wagons of the five and ten cent store variety. Animal crackers were all about, and the animal sandwiches and animal cakes in flat baskets looked almost too real to be eaten.

Smooth boards on supports represented circus seats, and on these the children soon clambered, eager to eat as children always are.

The paper napkins, decorated with animals, were folded before the places to represent tents. The salad faces, which Ralph called "clowns," leered up from the plates.

But the joy was not to be all in seeing. There was a favor for each child to carry away, the favors from the table being claimed by matching the numbers on each one with a corresponding number on the pieces of candy passed at the close of the meal.

The refreshments consisted of:

Clown Salad Animal Sandwiches Picnic Lemonade Brick Ice Cream Fancy Cakes Candies

BETTINA'S RECIPES

(All measurements are level)

Sandwiches= (Forty)

3 loaves bread 1/2 lb. butter 1-1/2 C-ham, minced or ground fine 3 hard-cooked eggs 3 T-chopped pickles 2/3 C-salad dressing 1/3 t-salt

Chop the ham, eggs and pickles very fine. Add the salt and salad dressing. Cut the bread very thin and match the pieces in pairs. Spread one of a pair with the ham mixture and spread the other side with butter which has been mixed and softened with a wooden spoon. Place the two pieces of bread together and press firmly. Moisten the cooky cutter with water and cut evenly the desired shape.

Clown Salad= (Twelve portions)

12 rounds of sliced pineapple 12 T-salad dressing 24 filberts 2 canned pimentos 12 pieces of lettuce

Wash the lettuce carefully. Roll and cut into fine shreds. Arrange a portion on each serving plate. Place a slice of pineapple on each portion and very carefully place the salad dressing on it so that it just covers the circle of pineapple. Arrange two filberts on top to represent eyes, and cut the pimento in a strip to represent the mouth. Cut small triangular pieces of pimento to represent the nose. Arrange these as features on the pineapple and serve at once.

Fancy Cakes= (Eighteen cakes)

1/2 C-butter 1 C-sugar 8 egg-yolks 1/2 C-milk 1-3/4 C-flour 2 t-baking powder 2 t-lemon extract

Cream the butter, add the sugar and mix well. Beat the egg-yolks until very thick, and add to the first mixture. Mix and sift together the flour and baking-powder and add the milk alternately with the flour mixture, beating well. Beat two minutes after mixing. Add the extract. Pour to the thickness of one inch into flat pans lined with buttered paper. Bake twelve minutes in a moderate oven. Remove from the fire and when cool, cut into shapes with fancy animal cutters. The individual cakes may be iced if desired.

CHAPTER CXLI

PLANNING A LUNCHEON

"IT won't be hard, Ruth, if you plan it out in detail several days before. Decide on the menu, and if you find that some one dish is going to cause more trouble than it's worth, plan something else in its place."

"If it weren't for Aunt Gertrude I shouldn't worry at all, but she is such a wonderful housekeeper! And I am determined that Mother sha'n't have one bit of the responsibility. She's to feel herself just as much a guest as Aunt Gertrude."

"I think it's a lovely thing for you to do, Ruth. Now let me tell you how I think you should go about it. Make a visit to your grocery store or to the market tomorrow, and notice the good things that are in season and inexpensive. Build your menu around them. When you get home, sit down with a paper and pencil and plan everything out. Go into detail, even if it takes several hours of planning. It will be well worth it. I don't mean by that an elaborate luncheon; it ought to be a simple and delicious one, but complete in every detail. When I plan, I write down the things that I can do the day before, and even the day before that. You know there are always so many things to see to--polishing the silver and writing the name cards and seeing that the table linen is in order. It ought to be planned so that the day of the party won't be crowded full of 'last minute things.' Come into the kitchen with me, Ruth; I must baste my pork tenderloin."

That night Bettina served:

Pork Tenderloin Baked Potatoes Bread Butter Raspberry Jam Vegetable Salad Salad Dressing Tapioca Pudding Coffee

BETTINA'S RECIPES

(All measurements are level)

Pork Tenderloin= (Three portions)

1 lb. pork tenderloin 1 t-salt 2 T-water 1/4 t-paprika 1 t-chopped parsley 1 T-lemon juice

Have the tenderloin cut in two-inch pieces and flattened. Place these in a small baking dish. Sprinkle with salt and paprika and add the water. Cover, and cook in a moderate oven for thirty-five minutes. Turn and baste frequently. When done, place on a heated platter, pour the parsley and lemon juice over the top and serve immediately.

Vegetable Salad= (Three portions)

1 tomato 9 slices of cucumber 2 T-chopped onion 1 T-chopped pimento 1 t-salt 1/4 t-paprika 2 T-chopped green pepper 2 T-nut meats 3 lettuce leaves

Wash the lettuce carefully and arrange on individual serving dishes. Place upon each lettuce leaf a slice of tomato, three slices of cucumber and one-third of each of the other ingredients. Sprinkle with salt and paprika. Pour the salad dressing over the top and serve very cold.