=Green Peppers Stuffed with Corn= (Six portions)

    1 C-corn-pulp, cooked
    1/2 t-salt
    1 egg-yolk
    1/4 C-milk
    2 T-bread crumbs
    1/8 t-pepper
    1/2 t-sugar
    1 T-butter
    6 green peppers

Scoop out the contents of the peppers. Mix the corn, salt, egg yolk,
milk, bread crumbs, pepper and sugar. Fill the peppers. Dot with butter.
Place in a pan and bake thirty minutes in a moderate oven. Cover the
bottom of the pan with water. Baste the peppers frequently.

=Cherry Salad= (Six portions)

    2 C-California cherries
    1/2 C-hazelnuts
    6 lettuce leaves
    6 T-salad dressing

Remove the seeds from two cups of California white cherries, and fill
with filberts or hazel nuts. Arrange on crisp lettuce leaves, and serve
with salad dressing.

=Chocolate Cream Pudding= (Six portions)

    2 C-milk
    5 T-cornstarch
    1/2 C-sugar
    1/4 t-salt
    1-1/2 squares of melted chocolate
    3 T-hot water
    2 egg-whites
    1 t-vanilla

Mix the cornstarch, sugar and salt. Add cold milk gradually, mixing
well. Melt the chocolate in the hot water, and add it to the other
mixture. Cook in the double boiler ten minutes, stirring occasionally.
Beat three minutes. Add the stiffly beaten white and the vanilla. Mould,
chill and serve. If the chocolate does not melt in the hot water, cook
over the fire a minute. Whipped cream may be served with the pudding.

CHAPTER LV

BETTINA PLANS AN ANNOUNCEMENT LUNCHEON

"AND so I thought, if you were willing, I would have the luncheon the
last of this week," said Bettina to Alice one sultry afternoon which
they were spending on Bettina's porch.

"That's dear of you, Bettina. Oh, how queer it will seem to have
everyone know about it! You must let me help with the luncheon, of
course."

"No, indeed, Alice! Ruth and I are going to do it all alone, and the
guest of honor is not to lift a finger! You can advise us, of course,
but you mustn't arrive that day till everything is ready. I want to tell
you about a few plans I've made. I wish I could consult Harry, too."

"But he won't be at the announcement party!"

"No, but he's the leading man in the drama, and important even when off
the stage. Let's telephone him to come here to dinner tonight. It is so
warm that I have planned only a lunch, but we can set the porch table
and have a jolly informal time. Do call him up, Alice."

"I'd love to, of course, if you really want us."

"Indeed I do, but we'll have to hurry, for it's after five now."

"I'll help you," said Alice, after Harry had given his hearty
acceptance. "Let me fix the salad."

"All right, and I'll stir up some little tea cakes. It's better not to
cut those beets too small, Alice; it makes them soft. I never add them
till just before I serve the salad. There, that's fine! Do you want to
fix the parsley to garnish the ham? Ham looks so much better with
parsley that I never fail to garnish it. I have nasturtiums for the
center of the table, and we'll garnish the salad with them, too."

"It will be a festive little meal. What else can I do while you're
baking the tea cakes?"

"You can make the iced tea, Alice. You do everything so easily and
deftly that I love to watch you. And you have never cooked at all until
lately, have you?"

"No, but I really like it. Wouldn't it be a joke if I should become very
domestic?"

"Well, your fate is pointing in that direction! Time is swiftly passing,
and in a few short weeks--Alice, shall I call off the announcement
luncheon?"

"Oh, no, no, Bettina! Let fate do her worst! I'm resigned."

Supper that night consisted of:

    Cold Sliced Ham                     Beet Salad
        Bread                           Butter
            Tea Cakes          Apple Sauce
                       Iced Tea

BETTINA'S RECIPES

(All measurements are level)

=Beet Salad= (Four portions)

    1 C-cold boiled beets cut in 1/2-inch cubes
    1/3 C-cold boiled potatoes, cubed
    1/3 C-diced celery
    1 hard-cooked egg, diced
    1/3 C-diced cucumber
    1/2 t-salt
    1/2 C-salad dressing

Mix the beets, potatoes, celery, egg, cucumber and salt very lightly
together with a fork. Mix with salad dressing. Serve in a bowl garnished
with nasturtium leaves and flowers.

="Lightning" Tea Cakes= (Twelve cakes)

    1-1/2 C-flour
    3/4 C-granulated or powdered sugar
    2 t-baking powder
    1/3 t-salt
    3 T-butter (melted)
    1 egg
    1/2 C-milk
    1/2 t-vanilla

Sift and mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Make a
"well" in the center of the mixture and pour in the melted butter, egg,
milk and vanilla. Stir all together and beat vigorously for two minutes.
Fill well buttered muffin pans half full of the mixture and bake fifteen
minutes in a moderate oven.

CHAPTER LVI

RUTH AND BETTINA MAKE PREPARATIONS

"OH, Bettina, aren't the butterflies darling?" exclaimed Ruth, looking
once more at the table display of her work. "And with everything ready
to begin in the morning, won't things be easy for us both? What shall I
do next?"

"Not a thing, Ruth dear. You've worked too hard all this afternoon, I'm
afraid. Now we're going to sit down to a good hot dinner, and tell Bob
all about our preparations."

"M--m! Something smells good!" said Ruth. "I've been so busy with all
these cunning things that I haven't even thought of eating. But now that
you mention it, I'll admit that I have a fine healthy appetite."

"Well, dinner is almost ready, and Bob will be here any minute. It's all
in the oven except the corn: meat loaf, sweet potatoes and apricot
cobbler."

"Oh, how good it sounds! More sensible than all our fluffy dishes for
the announcement luncheon. But then, I do love fluffy things. I'm sure
Alice will like it, and all the others, too. Makes me 'most wish I'd
kept my engagement a secret, and announced it with ceremony as Alice is
doing. But I couldn't, somehow."

"No, you couldn't, Ruth, and neither could Fred. He'd give it away if
you didn't. So I guess there's no use wishing you had kept it. Anyhow,
you just suit me as you are. You've been such a dear to help with the
luncheon! Goodness, there's Bob now!"

The dinner consisted of:

    Beef Loaf                  Sweet Potatoes
                 Corn on the Cob
        Bread                      Butter
                 Apricot Cobbler

BETTINA'S RECIPES

(All measurements are level)

=Beef Loaf= (Three portions)

    1 lb. beef ground
    1/4 lb. salt pork, ground
    1/4 t-onion salt
    1/3 C-fresh bread crumbs
    1 egg
    1/2 t-salt
    1/8 t-pepper
    1/8 C-tomato
    1/4 C-water
    1 T-fat drippings

Mix the ground beef and salt pork, add the onion salt, fresh crumbs,
egg, salt, pepper and tomato. Mix thoroughly. Shape into a loaf which
will fit into a small buttered pan. Add the water and pour fat drippings
over the top. (Bacon fat is good.) Cover the pan, and allow to cook in
the oven one-half hour. Uncover the loaf, basting frequently, and brown
it. This will take fifteen or twenty minutes. Serve hot. More water may
be added while cooking if necessary.

=Sweet Potatoes= (Three portions)

    3 potatoes
    3/4 t-salt

Peel the potatoes, salt them with one-fourth a teaspoon of salt in each
potato, and place them in the pan with the meat. This gives the potatoes
a good flavor.

=Bettina's Apricot Cobbler= (Three portions)

    1 C-cooked and sweetened apricots
    1 T-flour
    1/2 t-cinnamon
    1 C-flour
    2 t-baking powder
    1/3 t-salt
    2 T-butter
    1/3 C-milk
    1/3 C-sugar
    1/2 C-water
    1/2 t-vanilla

Mix the apricots, one tablespoon flour and cinnamon. Mix and sift
together flour, baking powder and salt. Cut in the butter with a knife.
Add the milk until a soft dough is formed. Place the apricot mixture in
a baking-dish and the dough on top of the apricots. Cook the water and
sugar together for three minutes. Add the vanilla. When the cobbler has
baked fifteen minutes pour syrup over it. Bake ten minutes more in a
moderate oven.

CHAPTER LVII

A RAINBOW ANNOUNCEMENT LUNCHEON

"OH, Bettina, how lovely!" cried the ten guests in a chorus, as Ruth and
Bettina ushered them into the softly lighted dining-room. Not one had
had even a glimpse of the luncheon table before, for Ruth had been
entertaining them on the porch while Bettina put on the finishing
touches. It all seemed a burst of soft rainbow colors. "What is it?"
cried someone. "How did you ever get the rainbow effect?"

"Let's not examine it too closely," said Bettina. "You know a rainbow
after all is nothing but drops of water with the sun shining through,
and maybe my rainbow table has a prosy explanation, too."

From the low mass of variegated garden flowers in the center--pink,
yellow, lavender, orange, blue, and as many others as the girls could
find--ran strips of soft tulle in rainbow colors. The strips were
attached at the outer end to the dainty butterflies which perched
lightly on the tulle covered candy cups. These candy cups held pink,
lavender and green Jordan almond candies. More butterflies in all sizes
and colors hovered among the flowers. Upon the plain white name cards,
little butterflies had been outlined in black and decorated in butterfly
colors. Ruth and Bettina had cut with the scissors around this outline
and then, when it had been cut almost away, had folded back the
butterfly so that it stood up on the card, as ready for flight as its
brothers and sisters.

"Aren't they cunning?" exclaimed Barbara, taking her butterfly from her
favor cup. "Goodness, it's attached to something!" Pulling gently by
the rainbow tulle to which the butterfly had been pasted, she drew forth
from the greenery in the center a little golden bag. It was in reality a
little fat bag of soft yellow silk tied with gold cord and holding
something that, seen through the mesh, appeared to be--gold?

The other girls, in great excitement, drew forth their little bags.

"Rice!" declared Mary, "though it looks yellow!"

"It's the bag of gold at the foot of the rainbow!" exclaimed Ruth, with
flushed cheeks. "Discovered by----"

"Harry Harrison and Alice!" cried the girls, laughing almost
hysterically. For one small card which read, "Discovered by" and the two
names, in gold letters, was tied to the little bag by the gold cord.

"Alice, how did you ever manage to keep it a secret?" asked someone.

"Well, it would have been harder if you had all known Harry, but you
see, we haven't been with the crowd much lately, have we? Now admit it!
You haven't even missed me!"

"But you're more of a butterfly than any of the rest of us. And the
limits of the old crowd don't always bound your flutterings."

"I'm not a butterfly anymore," said Alice. "I suppose I'll have a
butterfly wedding (Harry will detest it, but he'll have to give in that
once), but after that I expect to be as domestic as Bettina here, though
not such a success at it, probably. Aren't these orange baskets the
prettiest things?"

The girls, in their excitement, had almost forgotten to eat, but now
they looked down at their plates. Fruit cups in orange baskets, with
handles of millinery wire twisted with pink, green, yellow and violet
tulle, added to the rainbow effect. The baskets were placed on paper
doilies on tea plates, and were artistically lined with mint leaves.

"It looks too pretty to eat," said Dorothy.

"Ruth will feel hurt if you don't like it, but I know you will," said
Bettina. "She prepared this course, and made most of the table
decorations, too."

"And didn't you wish that you were announcing something yourself, Ruth?"
asked Mary. "Although I don't believe the crowd could stand two such
surprises! We've known Fred and you so long that your engagement seems
the natural thing, but when a perfectly strange man like Mr. Harrison
happens by, and helps himself to one of our number--well, it certainly
takes my breath away! Where did you first meet him, Alice? Was it love
at first sight?"

"Love at first sight? Bob introduced us--here, in this very house, and I
thought--well--I thought Harry the most disagreeably serious man I'd
ever had the misfortune to meet! And he thought me the most disagreeably
frivolous girl he had ever seen! So our feud began, and of course we had
to see each other to fight it out!"

"And then comes Bettina's rainbow luncheon to show us how serious the
feud proved to be," laughed Barbara. "What? More courses, Bettina? This
is a beautiful luncheon! I wonder who'll be the next to discover the
treasure at the foot of the rainbow?"

The menu consisted of:

            Fruit Cups in Orange Baskets
    Cream of Celery Soup             Whipped Cream
                     Salt Wafers
        Tuna Moulds                  Egg Sauce
                Potatoes a la Bettina
    Green Peppers Stuffed with Creamed Cauliflower
           Rolls                     Butter
            Head Lettuce, Russian Dressing
           Thin Sandwiches in Fancy Shapes

                  Marshmallow Cream
                       Coffee

BETTINA'S RECIPES

(All measurements are level)

=Tuna Loaf= (Eight portions)

    1-1/2 C-tuna
    1 C-fresh bread crumbs
    2 eggs (just the yolks may be used)
    1 t-lemon juice
    1 t-chopped green pepper
    1 t-salt
    1/4 t-paprika

Mix all the ingredients together thoroughly, picking the fish apart with
a silver fork. Mould firmly in a loaf. Roll in flour, and place in a
buttered bread pan. Dot with butter, and bake thirty minutes in a
moderate oven. This same recipe may be distributed among fancy
individual moulds, filled half full. Arrange a star-shaped piece of
pimento, green pepper, beet or egg in the bottom of a fancy aluminum
mould. An attractive design may be made by putting the star cut from any
vegetable with radiating pieces of any other kind of vegetable of a
different color. Place the design firmly on the fish. Set the moulds in
a pan of hot water and bake until the mixture is firmly set. (About
thirty minutes.) Remove from the oven, let moulds stand three minutes,
and then, with the assistance of a knife, slip them from the pan,
unmould all the moulds in one flat pan, and keep them hot until needed.
Do not forget that the mould must be thoroughly buttered before using.
When ready to serve, make a regular vegetable white sauce (two T-butter,
2 T-flour, 1 C-milk, 1/4 t-salt). When ready to serve and while steaming
hot, add one beaten egg yoke. The hot sauce will cook the egg. Pour
around the mould.

CHAPTER LVIII

AN EARLY CALLER

BOB had scarcely left the house the next morning when Bettina was called
to the door. "I couldn't resist coming!" said Alice. "The announcement
party was lovely, and I must thank you for doing it. Aren't you tired to
pieces?"

"No, Ruth helped me a great deal, and by the time Bob came home to
dinner, the luncheon dishes were washed and put away and the house was
in apple-pie order."

"Everything tasted delicious, Bettina. Maybe it sounds altogether too
practical for my own announcement party, but I'm armed with a pencil and
a notebook, and I do want to get some of those recipes of yours!"

"You're welcome to them all, Alice, of course. They are all recipes that
I have used over and over again, and I'm sure of them."

"What kind of soup was it? Celery? I thought so. Wasn't it hard to
prepare?"

"Why, Alice, it was canned celery soup, diluted with hot milk. Then I
added a teaspoonful of chopped parsley and a teaspoonful of chopped red
pepper."

"But surely it had whipped cream in it, Bettina!"

"Yes, I put a teaspoonful of whipped cream in the bottom of the bouillon
cup and poured the hot soup on it, so that it would be well mixed."

"Well, that accounts for it; I thought it must be made with whipped
cream. Oh, Bettina, everything was so pretty! The tulle bows on the
baskets holding the wafers and the rolls--and the butterflies perched
on them! How did you ever think of it?"

"Well, butterflies are a happy choice for decorations! They can be put
anywhere, and they are easy to make--at least Ruth says so."

"You use paper doilies a great deal, don't you! Aren't they expensive?"

"Expensive? Well, I wish you'd price them! They are so inexpensive that
I like to use them even for a very informal meal; they add such a dainty
touch, I think."

"I must write down the recipes for your tuna loaf, and green peppers
stuffed with cauliflower, and Russian dressing--and oh, that wonderful
kind of rainbow dessert! Bettina, what was that dessert?"

"Marshmallow cream made with gelatine and cream and marshmallows and
whites of eggs. I puzzled a long time over a real 'rainbow' dessert, and
finally decided on marshmallow cream with a few variations. Come into
the kitchen, where I keep my card index, and I'll get all the recipes
for you."

BETTINA'S RECIPES

(All measurements are level)

=Potato Balls= (Four portions)

    4 potatoes
    1 C-crumbs
    1 t-salt
    2 T-egg

Boil potatoes of uniform size with the skins on. When cold, peel, roll
in crumbs, to which salt has been added and then the beaten egg and
crumbs. Deep fry in very hot fat.

=Green Peppers Stuffed with Cauliflower= (Four portions)

    4 green peppers
    1 C-cooked cauliflower
    1 C-vegetable sauce
    2 T-crumbs
    1 T-butter, melted

Cut a thin slice from the stem end of each large green pepper and remove
the seeds. Parboil ten minutes, and fill with creamed cauliflower and
buttered crumbs. Bake until the skins are tender, basting occasionally
with butter and water.

=Marshmallow Cream= (Four portions)

    2 t-granulated gelatin
    4 T-cold milk
    2/3 C-sugar
    1-1/3 C-double cream
    1 t-vanilla extract
    1 egg white well beaten
    1 t-lemon extract
    1/4 lb. marshmallows, cut in one-fourth cubes
    4 toasted marshmallows
    4 pecans
    4 almonds

Soften the gelatin in milk for five minutes, and dissolve by setting the
dish in boiling water. Add the sugar. Allow the mixture to cool. When it
begins to congeal, add the flavorings. Beat in the whipped cream, and
continue beating until it is firm. Fold in the egg-white and the
marshmallows cut in cubes. When the mixture begins to set, pile lightly
in sherbet cups. Place one-half of a toasted marshmallow on the top, and
arrange pecan meats and candied cherries in a conventional design. Set
aside one hour to cool and harden.

Bettina colored the mixture with vegetable coloring of a very delicate
green. Then on the top she placed a teaspoonful of white whipped cream,
then the toasted marshmallow and the different fruits. Bettina browned
the marshmallows quickly in the oven, after she had cut them the desired
shape. She used cups with handles, and decorated them with fluffy bows
of variegated tulles. To make these bows, she took strips of each color
desired, one inch wide, tied them together, and "fluffed them out." She
might have gained a real rainbow effect by dividing the marshmallow
cream (when mixed, but not yet firm) into three bowls, and coloring them
green, lavender and pink, with delicate vegetable colors. Then, having
beaten in the whipped cream, she might have placed in each sherbet cup
three layers, pink, lavender and green. Then, on the top, she might have
placed the whipped cream.

CHAPTER LIX

RUTH COMES TO LUNCHEON

"AND here we are, busily planning Alice's affairs," said Bettina, "when
we might be talking of yours, Ruth. Are you sure, sure, sure, that you
don't want any parties, or showers, or affairs of any sort?"

"Sure, sure, sure!" said Ruth, emphatically. "I may be silly, Bettina,
but to me such a fuss beforehand takes something away from the beauty of
the wedding! And then there are other reasons. We've had to postpone
building till next summer, and may not be married till the house is
done--you know that. So we'll have been engaged a long time. It seems to
me that after a long engagement like ours, it is better to have a simple
wedding and no parties. Alice's is happening just as I always expected
that it would--a surprising announcement, a short engagement, and many
parties, with an elaborate wedding as the climax! Sometimes I think that
sort would be the kind to have--but you see, Bettina, when you're
expecting to be married only once, you want to have just the kind that
seems best to you."

"And yours will be just right for you, Ruth," said Bettina, warmly. "You
are you, and Fred is Fred, and I can't imagine either of you caring for
much excitement. And when you are in your new house----"

"I'm going to have you over at least once a week to just such a dear
little luncheon as this! Or rather--as much like it as I can devise.
Bettina, how did you have time to cook such good things?"

"Well," said Bettina, "Bob will have these same things for dinner
tonight, with the addition of some cold sliced meat. So now, Ruth, we
have a long afternoon before us--to sew and talk!"

Bettina's luncheon consisted of:

    Bettina's Mexican Salad             Brown Bread
                   Apricot Preserves
        Orange Cake               Hot Chocolate

BETTINA'S RECIPES

(All measurements are level)

=Bettina's Mexican Salad= (Four portions)

    1 cucumber diced
    2 tomatoes cut in one-inch cubes
    1 C-cut celery
    1/4 C-cooked beets
    1 T-chopped parsley
    2 T-green pepper, cut fine
    1/3 C-cottage cheese
    1 t-salt
    2/3 C-salad dressing
    4 lettuce leaves

Mix all the ingredients in order given and serve on lettuce leaves.

=Brown Bread (Baked)= (Two loaves)

    2 C-graham flour
    2 C-white flour
    2 t-soda
    1 t-salt
    1/2 C-molasses
    2 C-sour milk

Mix well the graham flour, white flour, soda and salt. Add the molasses
and sour milk; mix thoroughly. Pour into two well-buttered bread tins,
and bake forty minutes in a moderate oven.

=Orange Cake= (Sixteen pieces)

    1/3 C-butter
    1 C-sugar
    2 eggs beaten separately
    Grated rind of one orange
    3 t-baking powder
    1/4 t-salt
    1/4 C-orange juice
    1/4 C-milk
    1-2/3 C-flour
    1/2 t-lemon extract

Cream the butter, add the sugar and egg-yolks; mix thoroughly. Add the
orange rind. Add the baking powder, salt and flour sifted together and
then the orange juice and milk. Mix, and beat one minute. Add the
egg-whites beaten stiffly, and the lemon extract. Bake in two square
cake tins fitted with waxed paper for twenty-five minutes in a moderate
oven.

=Orange Filling for the Cake= (Sixteen portions)

    1/2 C-sugar
    3 T-flour
    1/8 t-salt
    1 egg yolk
    Grated rind of 1/2 an orange
    1/4 C-water
    1/4 C-orange juice
    1/2 t-lemon juice

Mix the flour, sugar and salt well; add slowly the egg-yolk and the
grated rind, the orange juice and water. Cook slowly over hot water for
ten minutes, or until thick enough to spread. Add the lemon juice or
lemon extract. Spread on one layer of cake. Place the other layer
carefully on the top and spread Quick Cake Icing over the top and sides
of the cake.

_OCTOBER._

    _Oh, hazy month of glowing trees,--
      And colors rich to charm our eyes!
    Yet--not less fair than all of these
      Are Mother's fragrant pumpkin pies!_

CHAPTER LX

A KITCHEN SHOWER FOR ALICE

"DID you want me for something, Mary?" asked Alice at the door. "Mother
said you had telephoned."

"Come in! Come in!" cried ten girls at once, while Bettina whispered to
Ruth: "Thank goodness, she's come! The muffins are all but done!"

"What in the world!" said Alice.

"A party for you!"

"And I'm wearing my old suit!"

"We caught you this time, but never mind. Come in, and take off your
things."

As soon as Alice reappeared in the living room, a small table was drawn
up before the open fire. Two girls appeared, wearing gingham aprons and
carrying overflowing market baskets.

"This is a kitchen shower for you, Alice," Ruth explained somewhat
ceremoniously. "But if you are willing, we will use the utensils in
serving the luncheon and afterwards present them to you. May we unpack
the baskets?"

"Do," said Alice, laughing.

From the larger basket, Ruth removed twelve white enamelled plates of
different sizes (suitable for holding supplies in the refrigerator), and
twelve cross-barred tea towels. The latter she passed around to be used
as napkins, and Mary distributed the plates. On the small serving table
before the fire, a white muslin table cover was placed. As she unfolded
it, Ruth read from the attached card:

    "If breakfast you should chance to eat
      Upon the kitchen table--
    I'll make it dainty, fair and neat
      So far as I am able."

When the steel forks and spoons of various sizes were taken out and
passed around, two glass measuring cups were found to hold loaf sugar
wrapped in frilled paper. Upon one of these Ruth read:

    "Please eat us all, but let your sweet
      Sweet hours be duly treasured,
    For we belie the worldly eye--
      True sweetness can't be measured."

A glass rolling-pin filled with stick candy came next, and its
sentiments read, and meanwhile the girls had begun to read aloud the
advice pinned upon the tea-towels, such as:

    "No matter what his whims and wishes--
    Just tell him he must wipe the dishes!"

and

    "But if he breaks a cup or plate,
     Just throw the pieces at him straight."

"What vindictive dish-towels!" said Alice. "They're not a bit
sentimental!"

When the contents had been removed and all the verses read, the large
basket was presented to Alice, who read from its handle:

    "To market, to market, to buy your supplies!
    You'll go there in person, if careful and wise."

"I will, Mr. Basket, with you over my arm!" answered Alice.

Meanwhile the girls had carried in the salad in an earthenware
mixing-bowl, the muffins heaped high in a small basket with a dainty
dustcloth over them, the coffee in a large enamelled pitcher, and the
"molasses puffs" wrapped in frilled paper in a basket suitable for
holding supplies. "Bettina's apples" were arranged in two flat enamelled
pans. All the food was served informally from the small table, and the
merriment grew as the luncheon progressed.

"I wish that all the meals Harry and I have together might be as jolly
as this one! I'm sure I should be glad to eat always from kitchen
dishes, if that is what makes the fun," said Alice.

At the kitchen shower, the luncheon was as follows:

    Bettina's Potato Salad        Bettina's Spiced Beets
        Twin Mountain Muffins          Currant Jelly
            Molasses Puffs      Bettina's Apples
                 Coffee         Stick Candy

BETTINA'S RECIPES

(All measurements are level)

=Bettina's Potato Salad= (Twelve portions)

    3 C-cold boiled potatoes, diced
    1 C-diced celery
    1/2 C-diced hard-cooked egg
    1/4 C-diced sweet pickles
    3 T-diced pimento
    2 t-salt
    1 T-chopped onion
    1 C-salad dressing
    12 lettuce leaves

Mix all the ingredients in the order named. Serve the salad very cold on
crisp lettuce leaves.

=Bettina's Spiced Beets= (Twelve portions)

    5 large, cooked beets, sliced
    1/2 C-vinegar
    1 T-"C" sugar
    6 cloves
    1 t-salt
    1/8 t-pepper

Heat the vinegar, add the cloves, sugar, salt and pepper. Pour over the
beets, cut in one-third inch slices. Allow to stand one hour before
serving.

=Molasses Puffs= (Twelve portions)

    3/4 C-molasses
    3/4 C-sugar
    1/2 C-hot water
    1/3 C-butter and lard (melted)
    1 egg, well beaten
    2 t-ginger
    1 t-cinnamon
    2 t-soda
    3 C-flour

Mix the molasses and sugar. Add the hot water and fat. Beat well, add
the egg and mix thoroughly. Sift the ginger, cinnamon, flour and soda
together, and add to the rest of the ingredients, mixing well. Fill
well-buttered muffin pans three-fourths full. Bake in a moderate oven
for twenty-five minutes. Ice with "C" sugar icing.

=Icing=

    2 egg-whites beaten stiffly
    2 C-"C" sugar
    1/2 C-water
    1/2 t-vanilla

Cook the sugar and water together until it "clicks" when a little is
dropped into cold water. Pour the syrup slowly over the stiffly beaten
egg whites. Beat vigorously until cool and creamy. Add the vanilla and
spread on the cakes. If the icing gets hard before it is cool, add two
tablespoons of water and continue beating. The secret of good icing is
steady, constant beating.

=Bettina's Apples= (Twelve portions)

    12 apples
    3 C-"C" sugar
    2 C-water
    1/4 t-cinnamon
    1/2 t-vanilla
    18 marshmallows
    1 T-butter

Wash, peel and core the apples. Place in a broad flat pan in which the
sugar and water have been thoroughly mixed. Cook the apples, turning
often until tender, remove from the syrup and place in a serving dish.
Fill the center with one-half a marshmallow. Add the cinnamon and butter
to the syrup and cook five minutes or until it thickens. Pour over and
around the apples. Decorate with a marshmallow cut into fourths. Serve
warm.

CHAPTER LXI

A RAINY NIGHT MEAL

"WHY, Bob, I thought you'd be miles away by this time!" cried Bettina,
as Bob came into the house at the usual time one evening.

"They called off our trip on account of the weather. And I supposed
you'd be at your mother's!"

"It was raining so that I decided to build a cozy little fire in the
fireplace and stay at home."

"Well, I'm glad you're here! I was expecting to come home to a cold,
dark house, and this is much more cheerful."

"And I expected not to see you till midnight, so I'm well suited too!
But, Bobby, you mustn't complain if I give you a 'pick-up meal.' I
expected to eat only a lunch myself."

"I don't care what you give me, just so it's hot. My walk through the
rain has given me an appetite. I'll help you get supper and wash the
dishes, Bettina, and then afterward we'll pop corn and toast
marshmallows by the fire. What do you say?"

"Fine, Bob! I cooked some celery today--just a little--and I think I'll
fix 'celery au gratin' for you. The cooky-jar is full of rocks----"

"A full cooky-jar! Bettina, that ought to be the symbol of our happy
home. May it always be full!"

"You're altogether too oratorical for a staid married man, Bob. Well, as
I was saying, here is apple sauce, and I'll soon have some emergency
biscuit stirred up. Then with scrambled eggs----"

"Hurry, Bettina! My appetite grows with every dish you mention!"

They had a meal of:

    Scrambled Eggs               Celery au Gratin
        Emergency Biscuit   Fresh Apple Sauce
           Rocks                    Coffee

BETTINA'S RECIPES

(All measurements are level)

=Scrambled Eggs= (Two portions)

    3 eggs
    5 T-milk
    1/4 t-salt
    1/8 t-paprika
    1 T-butter

Beat the eggs slightly; add milk, salt and paprika. Melt the butter in a
frying pan or omelet pan. When hot, add the egg mixture, and cook
slowly, scraping from bottom and sides of the pan when mixture first
sets. Cook until creamy, or longer if preferred. If desired, the egg may
be constantly "scrambled" with a fork while cooking. Turn into a hot
dish and serve at once.

=Celery au Gratin= (Two portions)

    1 C-cooked diced celery
    1 T-butter
    1 T-flour
    1/2 C-milk and celery stock
    3 T-grated cheese
    1/8 t-paprika
    1/4 t-salt

Cook the celery in a small amount of water at a low temperature, as too
fast boiling makes it tough. Simmer until tender.

Melt the butter, add the flour and blend well. Add the milk and stock,
pepper and salt. Add the cheese. Allow to cook until it is the
consistency of a thin vegetable white sauce. Add the celery. Place in a
hot oven for fifteen minutes.

(Bettina uses a part of the water in which the celery is simmered to
make up the cup of combined milk and celery stock. The remainder of the
celery stock she saves for soup.)

=Rocks= (Two dozen)

    1-1/2 C-brown sugar
    2/3 C-butter
    2 eggs
    1 t-cinnamon
    1/4 t-ground cloves
    1/4 t-salt
    2-1/2 C-flour
    1 t-soda
    1-1/2 C-chopped nut meats and raisins
    1 t-vanilla

Cream the butter, add the sugar, and cream the mixture. Add the eggs,
well beaten, and the remaining dry ingredients (except nuts and raisins)
sifted together. Mix well. Add the nut meats and chopped raisins, and
vanilla. The mixture should be very stiff. Drop from a spoon onto flat
buttered pans or preferably onto a buttered baking sheet. Bake about
twelve minutes in a moderate oven.

(Bettina keeps rocks in a stone jar, and finds that they keep well, and
are really better when a day old.)

CHAPTER LXII

ALICE GIVES A LUNCHEON

"THESE are the first baking powder biscuits I have ever made for
company," said Alice, "but I knew that I must begin some time. Mother
has gone out to spend the day; I persuaded her that my efforts to serve
a luncheon would upset her nervous system completely. Just think, girls!
You are at my mercy--for I have prepared this humble repast with my own
useless hands!"

"Shame on you, Alice! Don't pretend to be so humble. You do everything
so easily that I'll not be surprised to see you papering your own house
and acting as your own plumber and doing every other hard thing. A
useless butterfly like you who turns out to be so competent after all is
the despair of all us plodders who have always plodded and always will!"
And Ruth sighed.

"Never mind, Ruthie," said Bettina. "I've eaten a mighty fine luncheon
that you cooked yourself--four or five courses, if I haven't forgotten!"

"Yes, and I worried every minute during that day!"

"We all do at first, except maybe Alice!"

"Why worry?" said Alice. "(Seems to me I've heard that expression
before.) You girls won't die if the biscuits do fail--I'll give you
bread. Harry and I are going to laugh at our own mistakes--and enjoy
them. Isn't that a good philosophy? But, girls, to get down to biscuits.
I want to ask you--one and all--collectively and individually, to be in
my wedding party. With the addition of Sister, who isn't here. She and
Bettina will be the matrons of honor. Will you?"

"Will we!" they all cried with enthusiasm.

The luncheon menu was as follows:

                   Salmon Salad
    Green Beans                      Butter Sauce
               Baking-powder Biscuits
                 Watermelon Pickles
           Cream Puffs              Coffee

BETTINA'S RECIPES

(All measurements are level)

=Salmon Salad= (Six portions)

    1 C-salmon
    1 C-diced celery
    1/4 C-sweet pickles, cut fine
    1 t-salt
    3 hard-cooked eggs, cut fine
    1 C-salad dressing

Break the salmon apart carefully with a silver fork, add the diced
celery, sweet pickles, salt and hard-cooked eggs. Mix together well, and
add the salad dressing. Arrange on lettuce leaves in a salad bowl,
garnish with hard-cooked eggs to represent daisies, and pickles cut in
strips. Serve very cold. (To represent daisies, cut the whites of each
hard-cooked egg in six long petals. Arrange these on the salad. Cut the
yolks in half, and place in the center--round side out. Arrange the
pickle to represent stem and leaves.)

=Green Beans, Butter Sauce= (Six portions)

    2 C-green beans (canned)
    1 T-water
    1 t-salt
    1/4 t-paprika
    3 T-butter

Remove beans from the can and rinse with cold water. Add water, salt,
paprika and butter. Cook over a moderate fire for three minutes. Serve.

=Cream Puffs= (Twelve Puffs)

    1 C-boiling water
    1/2 C-butter
    1/4 t-salt
    1 C-flour
    3 eggs

Place the water and butter in a sauce pan. Heat to the boiling point,
then add the flour, all at once, and stir till smooth. Cook till the
paste comes away from the sides of the pan. (A very short time.) Remove
from fire, and when cold, add the unbeaten eggs, one at a time, beating
thoroughly after each egg is added. (The mixture should be stiff enough
to hold its shape without spreading.) Chill the paste by placing in the
ice-box and then drop by tablespoonsful on a buttered sheet. Bake
thirty-five minutes in a hot oven. When cold, make an opening in the
side of each and fill with cream filling.

=Cream Filling= (Twelve portions)

    1 C-milk
    1/2 C-sugar
    1/4 t-salt
    4 T-cornstarch
    1 T-flour
    1 egg
    1 t-butter
    1/2 t-vanilla

Mix the sugar, salt, cornstarch and flour. Gradually add the milk and
egg. Cook until very thick, in a double boiler. Add the butter and
vanilla. Beat one minute. Cool before using.

CHAPTER LXIII

MOTORING WITH THE DIXONS

"NOT through dinner yet?" exclaimed the Dixons at the door. "May we sit
down and wait? It's a beautiful evening, and we've come to get you to
take a long drive with us."

"Fine," said Bob. "Come out to the dining-room and talk till we're
through."

"And then I'll help Bettina clear off the table," said Charlotte. "Well,
people, it looks like a good dinner, and Sherlock Holmes deduces,
moreover, that you had roast lamb yesterday for your Sunday dinner."

"You might also deduce that we had baked potatoes, from which these
creamed ones are made," laughed Bettina. "Nothing else to guess at,
except that part of a cabbage made cold slaw yesterday and escalloped
cabbage today. And my dessert, while simple, has no secret past," she
added as she removed the first course. "A plain and simple custard,
that's all."

"Suits me," said Bob, heartily, "especially when it's cold like this."

"By the way, Bettina," said Charlotte, "did you ever get rid of those
black ants you were telling me about?"

"Yes, I've never seen one since."

"Well, you know how worried I was about the little red ones that
bothered me. Aunt Isabel, in a letter, gave me a remedy that has worked
like magic."

"Aunt Isabel has her uses, after all," teased Frank.

"I should say she has! She knows all about housekeeping, from A to Z!
Her remedy sounds queer, but I can vouch for its efficacy, so if anyone
ever asks you what to do for red ants, you tell them this, Bettina. I
took some covers from baking powder cans, and some Mason jar covers, and
some pie tins, and chalked the sides well with common school crayon.
Then I set them on the pantry shelves to hold dishes of whatever kinds
of food the ants liked. The ants never climbed over those chalked covers
and soon they had all disappeared. I don't have to use the chalked tins
any more, but if I ever see a red ant in my pantry again, I'll get out
the chalk."

"Couldn't you make a heavy chalk mark on the shelf paper around the dish
of food?" asked Bob.

"I tried that, but it didn't do any good. But the other way worked
beautifully."

"I'm glad to know about it," said Bettina. "Well, Bob, are you ready? It
will take only a few minutes to carry out the dishes and pile them up.
I'm sorry we've kept you people waiting."

For dinner that night they had:

    Cold Sliced Lamb             Creamed Potatoes
        Chili Sauce        Escalloped Cabbage
            Bread                  Butter
                    Baked Custard

BETTINA'S RECIPES

(All measurements are level)

=Escalloped Cabbage= (Two portions)

    1 C-cooked cabbage
    1 T-butter
    1 T-flour
    1/4 t-salt
    1/2 C-milk
    2 T-fresh bread crumbs
    1 T-melted butter

Melt the butter, add the flour and salt, and mix well. Slowly pour over
the milk and cook until creamy. Add the cabbage. Pour into a buttered
baking dish. Add bread crumbs to melted butter, and place the buttered
crumbs on the cabbage. Bake in a moderate oven for fifteen minutes, or
until the crumbs are browned.

=Chili Sauce= (One and one-half pints)

    12 large, ripe tomatoes
    3 green peppers
    2 onions
    2 T-salt
    2 T-sugar
    1 T-ground cinnamon
    3 C-vinegar

Peel the tomatoes and onions, and chop separately very fine. Chop the
pepper also, and add the salt, sugar and cinnamon. Mix all the
ingredients together and add the vinegar. Cook one and one-half hours
over a moderate fire, stirring sufficiently to prevent sticking. Bottle,
and when cool, seal with paraffin.

=Cup Custard= (Three portions)

    2 eggs
    2 C-milk
    4 T-sugar
    1/8 t-salt
    A few gratings of nutmeg
    1/4 t-vanilla

Beat the eggs slightly, add the sugar and milk slowly. Add salt and
flavoring. Stir well. Pour into well-buttered cups. Sprinkle the nutmeg
gratings on the top. Set the cups in a pan of hot water and bake in a
moderate oven until a knife comes out clean upon piercing the custard
(about thirty-five minutes). Do not allow the water in the pan to boil.
Serve the custard cold, removing from the cups just before ready to
serve. The custards may be served in cups.

CHAPTER LXIV

RUTH MAKES BAKING POWDER BISCUITS

"OH, Ruth!" called Bettina from her door to Ruth, who was walking past.
"Come in and stay to dinner!"

"My dear, I'd love to, but----"

"I'm going to have baking powder biscuits, and I remember that you were
longing to learn how to make them."

"Oh, Bettina! Would you really show me? I'll simply have to come, then.
I hesitated because Aunt Martha is here, but I know she'll excuse me for
one evening. What time is it? Five? I'll take these packages home and be
back in fifteen minutes!"

When Ruth returned she found Bettina in her kitchen with all of the
ingredients for the biscuits set out on the table.

"Perhaps two cups of flour will make too many for three people," she
said, "but Bob has a good-sized appetite these crisp fall days, and he's
fond of biscuits with jelly. Now, Ruth, you can get to work! Sift the
flour, baking powder and salt together, and then cut the lard in this
way with this knife. . . . Fine! Now add the milk very slowly--perhaps
it will take a little more than two-thirds of a cup, it all depends on
the flour. There! Now pat the dough into shape on this floured board,
and then you can cut the biscuits out with this little cutter. Yes,
about three-fourths of an inch thick. Ruth, those look fine! We'll wait
a little while to bake them, they're better perfectly fresh. Set them
out in the cold, there, until I have fixed the macaroni, and they can
pop into the oven at the same time."

"That was so easy, Bettina. I do hope those biscuits will be good!"

The dinner consisted of:

    Lamb Chops             Macaroni and Cheese
                 Sliced Tomatoes
       Baking Powder Biscuits         Jelly
          Apple Tapioca Pudding    Cream

BETTINA'S RECIPES

(All measurements are level)

=Macaroni and Cheese= (Three portions)

    1/2 C-macaroni, broken in pieces
    1 qt. water
    1 t-salt
    2 T-butter
    4 T-cheese, cut in small pieces
    1-1/2 C-milk
    1/2 t-salt
    1/4 t-paprika
    3 T-flour

Cook the macaroni in the boiling salted water until tender. (About
fifteen minutes.) Drain and rinse thoroughly with cold water. Melt the
butter, add the flour, salt and pepper. Gradually add the milk and
cheese. Cook three minutes. Add the macaroni. Mix well, and pour into a
well-buttered baking dish. Place in a moderate oven and cook twenty
minutes.

=Baking-powder Biscuits= (Fifteen biscuits)

    2 C-flour
    4 t-baking powder
    1/2 t-salt
    3 T-lard
    2/3 C-milk

Mix the flour, baking powder and salt, and cut in the fat with a knife.
Slowly add the milk. (More or less may be required, as it depends on the
flour.) Pat into shape three-fourths of an inch thick. Cut with a
cutter, place side by side on a tin pan. Bake in a hot oven twelve to
fifteen minutes.

=Apple Tapioca= (Three portions)

    6 T-pearl tapioca
    1/4 C-cold water
    1-1/2 C-boiling water
    1/3 t-salt
    3 T-sugar
    1 C-sweetened apple sauce
    1/2 t-vanilla

Soak the pearl tapioca in the cold water for ten minutes in the upper
part of the double boiler. Add the boiling water, salt and sugar. Cook
in the double boiler until transparent. Add one cup of apple sauce and
the vanilla. Mix well. Serve either hot or cold.

CHAPTER LXV

PLANS FOR THE WEDDING

"OH, Bob, I can hardly wait to tell you all of Alice's wonderful plans,"
said Bettina.

"Don't wait, then. (Say, these are my favorite potatoes, all right!)
Well, what about the wedding? All the gowns are being made, I suppose?"

"Yes, indeed. You know the four bridesmaids are to wear lavender maline
over lavender taffeta, very fluffy and short,--can you picture them in
your mind, Bob?"

"Not exactly, but then, go on."

"Well, they're nearly finished. I saw them today, and they're lovely.
The girls are to carry lavender maline muffs, too--the round kind with
fluffy bows at each end, and little pink rosebuds around the hand, you
know. Then a corsage bouquet of violets with a pink rose in the center
will be pinned on each muff. The bridesmaids will also wear lavender
maline hats, with fluffy tarn o' shanter crowns and pink rosebuds around
them."

"Is that what you'll wear?"

"No, Lillian and I are the matrons of honor, and we will be all in
white, with white muffs, and corsage bouquets of pink roses on them.
Won't that be lovely? I don't know yet whether Lillian's little
Elizabeth, who will scatter rose petals from a fluffy long-handled
basket, is to wear pink or white. Oh, I wish you might have seen the
girls this afternoon! We tried on our dresses and planned the hats and
muffs. I shall begin my muff this evening; won't that be exciting?"

For dinner that night they had:

    Pork Chops                       Bettina's Potatoes
       Date Bread                             Butter
          Head Lettuce            French Dressing
                  Chocolate Sponge Cake
                         Coffee

BETTINA'S RECIPES

(All measurements are level)

=Bettina's Potatoes= (Two portions)

    1 C-cold cooked potatoes diced
    1 T-butter
    1-1/2 T-flour
    1 T-pimento, cut up
    1 piece of soft cheese--a 1-inch cube
    1/2 t-salt

Melt the butter, add the flour, cheese and salt. Mix well, and add the
milk gradually. Cook until thick and creamy. Add the pimento and
potatoes. Serve hot. (Bob considers this dish superfine.)

=Date Nut Bread= (Twelve pieces)

    1 C-graham flour
    1 C-white flour
    1/2 C-"C" sugar
    1 t-salt
    4 T-nut meats
    3 T-chopped dates
    3 t-baking powder
    1 C-milk

Mix the ingredients in the order given. Place in a well-buttered bread
pan, and bake in a moderate oven for thirty-five minutes.

=Chocolate Sponge Cake= (Fourteen cakes)

    5 T-butter
    4 T-cocoa
    1 egg
    1/8 C-sugar
    1 t-cinnamon
    1/4 t-cloves
    1 C-flour
    3 t-baking powder
    1/2 C-cold water
    1/2 t-vanilla

Cream the butter, add the sugar. Stir in the egg and beat well. Add the
cinnamon, cloves, baking powder, cocoa, flour, vanilla and water. Beat
vigorously for two minutes. Bake in well-buttered gem pans for eighteen
minutes. Serve warm if desired.

CHAPTER LXVI

A GUEST TO A DINNER OF LEFT-OVERS

"AHA, I've found you out!" Bettina heard a laughing voice shout as she
hurried up the steps.

"Why, Jack, when did you come to town?"

"This afternoon. Went to Bob's office the very first thing, and he
insisted on bringing me home with him to dinner. I told him it might
'put you out,' but he spent the time it took to come home assuring me
that you were always waiting for company--kept a light ever burning in
the window for them and all that. He said that I'd see,--that you'd be
on the doorstep waiting for us!"

"And after all that--you weren't here!" said Bob reproachfully.

"I'm just as sorry as I can be not to live up to Bob's picture of me,"
said Bettina. "I generally am waiting for Bob,--almost on the doorstep
if not quite. But this afternoon I've been to a shower for Alice,--do
you remember Alice, Jack?"

"Very well. The gay dark-eyed one. You don't mean to say that she's
found a man who's lively enough to suit her?"

"Well, she seems to be suited, all right. But I must fly into an apron
if you boys are to get any dinner within a half-hour. Jack, you'll have
to pardon me if after all of Bob's eloquence I give you a meal of
left-overs----"

"Don't apologize to a bachelor, Bettina. He probably won't know
left-overs from the real thing," said Bob.

"Bachelors are said to be the most critical of all," she answered. "But
I'll do my little best to please."

That night Bettina served:

                Roast Beef Pie
    Bread                            Butter
      Sliced Tomatoes with Salad Dressing
        Marble Cake              Coffee

BETTINA'S RECIPES

(All measurements are level)

=Roast Beef Pie= (Three portions)

    2 C-chopped cold roast beef
    1 C-gravy
    1 C-cold diced potatoes (cooked)
    2 T-chopped onion
    1 C-flour
    2 t-baking powder
    2 t-lard
    1/8 t-salt
    6 T-milk

Mix the beef, gravy, potato and onion. Place in a shallow buttered
baking dish. Make a biscuit dough by cutting the lard into the flour,
which has been sifted with the baking powder, and salt, and gradually
adding the milk. Pat the dough into shape and arrange carefully on top
of the meat. Make holes in the top to allow the steam to escape. Bake in
a moderate oven twenty minutes.

=Marble Cake= (Fourteen slices)

    1 C-sugar
    1/2 C-butter

Cream together and divide into two parts, half for light and half for
dark.

=Dark Part=

    To one half add:

    1/4 C-molasses
    1/2 C-milk
    2 egg-yolks
    1 C-flour
    1 t-baking powder
    1 t-powdered cinnamon
    1/2 t-powdered cloves
    1/4 t-grated nutmeg
    1/2 t-vanilla

Mix this together thoroughly and set aside while the light part is being
mixed.

=Light Part=

To the other half of the butter and sugar add:

    1/2 C-milk
    1 C-flour
    1 t-baking powder
    1/2 t-vanilla
    Whites of two eggs beaten stiff

Put large spoonfuls of light and dark batter, alternating, in a loaf
cake pan well fitted with waxed paper, until the pan is two-thirds full.
Bake thirty-five minutes in a moderate oven.

CHAPTER LXVII

A HANDKERCHIEF SHOWER

"WHAT a cunning table!" exclaimed four girls in various words and ways.
Ruth and Bettina smiled happily to each other, for they, too, had
admired the low bowl of purple and yellow pansies in the center, and the
tiny individual vases for a few pansies at each place. The dainty
doilies were also attractive, and Ruth had darkened the room and lit the
small yellow candles on the table.

"But Bettina helped with the soufflé and the gold hearts," she said
gallantly. "Did you see her disappear a short time ago? She was baking
the cakes. When she suggested refreshments that should be made just
before they were served, I was frightened. But when she offered to bake
the things, you may be sure I was delighted."

At this moment a small figure appeared in the doorway. "Weady, Cousin
Wuth?"

"Yes, dear."

In popped little Marjorie, Ruth's cousin, carrying a huge bouquet of
handkerchiefs folded like white roses, fastened somehow to long stems
with green leaves attached, tied with streaming yellow satin ribbon.
Making a low bow to Alice, she recited in a baby voice:

    "A handkerchief posie to carry each day.
       We trust they will not come amiss,
     In fact, we are sure that no other bouquet
       Was ever so useful as this!"

"Thank you, you darling!" said Alice, receiving the gift with delight.

Ruth served:

    Apricot Soufflé            Whipped Cream
                   Gold Hearts
      Salted Peanuts                Coffee

BETTINA'S RECIPES

(All measurements are level)

=Apricot Soufflé (Soo-Flay) "Lightened with Air"= (Six portions)

    1/4 lb. dried apricots
    1/2 C-sugar
    1 t-lemon extract or 1 t-lemon juice
    1/8 t-salt
    3 eggs
    1 t-baking powder
    1/4 t-vanilla
    6 candied cherries

Wash the dried apricots and soak for three hours in sufficient water to
cover them. Cook slowly until tender (about ten minutes) in the same
water in which they were soaked. Press through a colander, add the sugar
and cook until very thick, stirring constantly to prevent burning. Add
salt and extract. Allow to cool. Beat the egg whites until very stiff,
add the baking-powder, apricots and vanilla. Stir just enough to mix.
Pour into well buttered individual tin or aluminum moulds until
two-thirds full. Place the moulds in a pan of hot water and bake
thirty-five minutes in a slow oven. Turn off the fire and allow the pans
to remain in a warm place so that they will not fall. When slightly
cool, remove carefully and serve as quickly as possible. Place whipped
cream and a candied cherry on the top.

=Whipped Cream= (Six portions)

    1/2 C-heavy cream
    1 t-sugar
    1/4 t-vanilla
    3 drops of lemon extract

Beat the cream until thick, add the sugar, vanilla and lemon extract.
Place in a cool place until used.

=Gold Hearts= (Twelve Hearts)

    4 T-butter
    1/2 C-sugar
    3 egg-yolks
    1 T-water
    1/4 C-milk
    7/8 C-flour
    1 t-lemon extract
    1 t-baking-powder
    1/8 t-salt

Cream the butter, add the sugar, and mix well. Add the egg yolks, beaten
well, and the water, milk, flour, baking-powder, lemon extract and salt.
Beat for two minutes. Pour into a large flat pan prepared with waxed
paper. The batter should be three-fourths of an inch thick in the pan.
Bake twelve minutes in a moderate oven. Remove the paper, and cut when
cool with a heart-shaped cooky cutter. Wet the cutter with water before
using, as this assures even edges. Keep in a moist place until ready to
serve.

=Salted Almonds= (Six portions)

    1/4 lb. almonds (shelled)
    1 qt. boiling water
    1 t-salt
    3 T-olive oil

Allow the almonds to stand in boiling water in a covered utensil for
fifteen minutes. Rinse off with hot water and place in a colander.
Remove the skins. Place oil in a frying-pan when hot, add nuts. Stir
constantly over a moderate fire for fifteen minutes. Pour into a clean
cloth. Rub off any oil which has remained on the almonds. Sprinkle salt
over the nuts while warm. When thoroughly cooled, place the almonds in a
covered tin can until ready to serve.

CHAPTER LXVIII

JUST THE TWO OF THEM

"IT seems good to be alone this evening, doesn't it, Bettina?" said Bob,
as they sat down to dinner. "Or are you growing so accustomed to gaiety
lately that a dinner for two is a bore?"

"Bob!" said Bettina reproachfully. "If I thought you really believed
that I was ever bored by a dinner for the two of us,--well, I'd never be
in a wedding party again! Alice likes excitement, and I suppose that
next week will be very gay, but after the wedding I hope that you and I
can have a quiet winter, with just invitations enough to keep us from
becoming too stupid."

"But tell me what the wedding will be like. Is it all planned down to
the last detail? I suppose it is, although Harry doesn't seem to have
any idea what it is to be."

"Poor Harry, he seems to be left out of most of the showers and parties
so far."

"Don't pity him; he wouldn't go if he could. I'm just wondering what
they'll do after the wedding. Will Alice go and Harry stay at home? Or,
will he be obliging and force himself to go, too?"

"I don't know, I'm sure. Alice is so full of life that I don't see how
she can settle down and never go anywhere, as Harry would have her. But
time will tell. Perhaps they'll compromise. Meanwhile, we must plan some
sort of a shower or prenuptial party that Harry can enjoy, too. One with
the men included, I mean. Of course, I know he hates parties, but I
think he would really like a very jolly informal one with just a few
friends!"

The dinner for two consisted of:

    Cold Sliced Lamb                   Baked Potatoes
                  Creamed Carrots and Peas
        Bread                                 Butter
                      Apple Dumplings

BETTINA'S RECIPES

(All measurements are level)

=Creamed Carrots and Peas= (Three portions)

    1/2 C-cooked, diced carrots
    1/2 C-peas
    1/2 t-salt
    1 T-butter
    1 T-flour
    1/2 C-milk

Melt the butter, add the flour and salt, gradually add the milk. Cook
two minutes. Add the peas and carrots. Serve very hot.

=Apple Dumpling= (Three portions)

    1/2 C-flour
    1 t-baking powder
    1/8 t-salt
    4 T-sugar
    1 T-lard
    2 T-milk
    2 apples
    1/2 t-cinnamon

Mix the flour, baking-powder and salt, cut in the lard with a knife. Add
the liquid, mixing to a soft dough. Roll on a well floured board to
one-fourth of an inch in thickness. Wash, pare and quarter the apples.
Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon. Cut the dough in five inch squares;
place two quarters of apple in the center of a square; moisten the edges
of the dough with water and bring the four corners together around the
apple. Place in a tin pan and bake in a moderate oven until the apples
are soft. (About thirty minutes.) Serve warm with cream.

CHAPTER LXIX

A LUNCHEON IN THE COUNTRY

"OH, Charlotte, I've just come from the loveliest luncheon," said
Bettina, coming face to face with Mrs. Dixon in front of her own home.

"You have? Another for Alice?"

"No, this was in the country--on the interurban, at Cousin Kate's.
Frances, her daughter, who was married last spring, has come home on a
visit, and Cousin Kate was entertaining for her."

"Tell me about it!"

"Oh, it was just an informal luncheon, but I couldn't help thinking how
delicious everything was, and at the same time inexpensive. In fact, I
wrote down several of Cousin Kate's recipes after the guests had gone,
and I'm sure that there aren't many such inexpensive luncheons that are
also so good."

"You must let me have some of the recipes."

"Of course I will. Come in now, and copy them."

"I can't possibly, Bettina. As it is, I'm afraid that Frank will be home
before I am. It's almost six o'clock now."

"Is it? Then I must hurry in and start dinner; I want to make some
muffins. I hate to have Bob eat a cold dinner just because I've been out
in the afternoon; in fact, I usually spend more time than usual in the
morning fixing some dessert that he especially likes, if I'm to be out
in the afternoon. Good-bye, Charlotte!"

"Good-bye, dear!"

The luncheon menu was as follows:

                Oyster Cocktail in Pepper Cases
    Cream of Celery Soup                           Croutons
        Cheese Timbales                   Creamed Peas
                         Baked Apples
                    Baking-Powder Biscuit
            Green Bean Salad         Salted Wafers
        Lemon Sherbet         Devil's Food White Icing
                            Coffee

BETTINA'S RECIPES

(All measurements are level)

=Oyster Cocktail in Pepper Cases= (Six portions)

    6 green peppers
    1 pint oysters
    5 T-tomato catsup
    1 T-lemon juice
    1 T-horseradish
    1/2 t-salt
    1/2 t-tabasco sauce

Cut the stem end from the sweet green peppers. Remove the seeds and
allow to stand in iced water. Pick over the oysters to remove any
shells, and surround with chipped ice until ready to serve. Mix the
catsup, lemon juice, horse radish, salt and tabasco sauce. Fill each
pepper with four oysters, and put on tablespoon of the mixture on the
top. Serve very cold.

=Cheese Timbales= (Six portions)

    1 T-butter
    1 T-flour
    1/2 C-milk
    1/2 t-salt
    1/4 t-paprika
    1/4 C-fresh, soft bread crumbs
    1/4 C-grated American cheese
    1 egg

Melt the butter, add the flour, salt and paprika. Mix well, gradually
add the milk, cheese and bread crumbs. Cook three minutes, and then stir
in the egg, well beaten. Butter six timbale moulds well. Place the cups
in a pan of hot water and cook fifteen minutes in a moderate oven. Allow
to stand three minutes, and remove from the moulds. Serve hot with
creamed peas.

=Bettina's Green String Bean Salad= (Six portions)

    1 C-cooked green beans
    1/4 C-cut celery
    1/4 C-pimento, cut fine
    1 hard-cooked egg, diced
    1 t-salt
    1/4 t-paprika
    1/2 C-salad dressing
    6 pieces of lettuce

Mix thoroughly the beans, celery, pimento, egg, salt and paprika. Add
the salad dressing and serve on a piece of crisp lettuce.

=Devil's Food Cake= (Twenty-four pieces)

    2 C-brown sugar
    1 C-milk
    1/2 C-butter
    2 eggs
    3 squares chocolate
    2 C-flour
    1 t-soda
    1 t-vanilla

Cream the butter, add one cup sugar. Mix egg yolks, the other cup sugar,
one-half cup milk and chocolate; cook two minutes, stirring constantly.
When cool, add this to the first mixture. Add the rest of the milk,
vanilla, the flour and soda sifted together. Beat two minutes. Add
stiffly beaten egg whites. Fill two tin pans prepared with waxed paper,
bake in a moderate oven twenty-five minutes. When cool, ice with white
icing.

CHAPTER LXX

A "PAIR SHOWER" FOR ALICE

WHEN Bettina called the girls into the dining-room after several hours
spent in hemming dish towels for Alice, they exclaimed that the time had
passed so quickly. The table was set for twelve, and the chair at the
right of the hostess was gaily decorated with white ribbon and white
paper flowers.

"Oh, for me?" cried Alice. "How important I feel!"

As soon as the girls were seated, Ruth rose and placed before the guest
of honor a large wicker basket heaped high with packages of all shapes
and sizes, each wrapped in white tissue paper and tied with white
ribbon. A card hung from the handle of the basket. "I'll read it aloud!"
laughed Alice.

    "Dear Alice, we have tried to choose
      Some gifts for you that come by twos.
    A few, perhaps, you'll often use,
      While some may comfort and amuse,
    If you should chance to get the blues,
      When household cares your mind confuse.

    "This basket, which our blessing bears,
      Besides the gifts that come in pairs,
    Our friendship and our love declares.
      'Twill share your troubles and your cares
    And hold the hose that Harry wears.
      So keep them free from holes and tears."

"Goodness!" cried Alice. "The thought of my future cares frightens me!
But now I must open all the packages!"

She discovered a salt and pepper shaker, a pair of guest towels, a pair
of hose, a sugar bowl and a creamer, and many other gifts in pairs. It
was a long time before the girls could calm down sufficiently to eat the
luncheon that Bettina, with Ruth's assistance, set before them.

Bettina served:

                    Bettina's Tuna Salad
    Date Bread Sandwiches                 Salted Peanuts
        Maple Ice Cream   White Cake with Maple Icing
                           Coffee

BETTINA'S RECIPES

(All measurements are level)

=Tuna Salad= (Twelve portions)

    2 C-tuna fish
    2 C-diced celery
    3 hard-cooked eggs, diced
    3 T-green pepper, chopped fine
    4 T-sweet pickle, chopped fine
    4 T-pimento, cut fine
    2 t-salt
    1/2 t-paprika
    1 T-lemon juice
    1 C-salad dressing

Mix the tuna, celery, eggs, sweet pickle, pepper, salt and paprika with
a silver fork. (Care should always be taken not to mash salads.) Add the
salad dressing; more than a cup may be necessary. Keep very cold, and
serve attractively on a lettuce leaf.

=Salad Dressing= (Twelve portions)

    4 egg-yolks
    1/2 C-vinegar
    1/2 C-water
    1 t-salt
    1 t-mustard
    4 T-sugar
    1/4 t-paprika
    2 T-flour

Beat the egg yolks, add the vinegar. Mix the salt, mustard, sugar,
paprika and flour thoroughly. Slowly add the water, taking care not to
let the mixture get lumpy. Pour into the yolks and vinegar. Cook slowly,
stirring constantly until thick and creamy. Thin with sour cream or
whipped cream.

=Date Bread= (Eighteen Sandwiches)

    1 C-graham flour
    2 C-white flour
    3 t-baking powder
    1/3 C-"C" sugar
    2 t-salt
    1/3 pound of dates, cut fine
    1-1/2 C-milk
    1 egg

Mix the flour, baking-powder, sugar, salt and dates ground fine. Beat
the egg with a fork, and add the milk. Pour slowly into the dry
ingredients. Mix thoroughly and pour into two well-buttered bread pans.
Allow to stand fifteen minutes and bake forty minutes in a moderate
oven. When cold, cut very thin and spread with butter for sandwiches.
Date bread is better for sandwiches when one day old.

=Maple Icing=

    1-1/2 C-maple sugar
    1-1/2 C-granulated sugar
    2/3 C-milk
    1 t-butter
    1/8 t-cream of tartar

Cook all the ingredients together until a soft ball is formed when a
little is dropped into cold water. Beat until creamy enough to pour on
the cake.

=Salted Peanuts= (Twelve portions)

    2/3 lb. peanuts (shelled)
    4 T-olive oil
    2 t-salt

Cover the peanuts with boiling water; allow to stand for fifteen
minutes. Place one-third of the amount in a strainer (allowing remainder
to stay in water) and remove the skins. Prepare all the peanuts the same
way. Place two tablespoons of oil in the frying pan, when hot add the
peanuts; stir constantly with a fork and cook over a moderate fire
fifteen minutes. When brown remove the nuts, add another tablespoon of
oil and another third of the peanuts, continue until all the nuts are
cooked. Add the salt. Lard may be used in place of oil, but the latter
makes the nuts taste and brown better.

CHAPTER LXXI

BOB MAKES POPCORN BALLS

"OH, I forgot to tell you, Bettina," said Bob at the dinner table, "the
Dixons are coming over this evening. Frank asked me if we would be at
home."

"I'm so glad they're coming," said Bettina. "I haven't seen Charlotte
for several weeks; I have been so busy with the affairs we girls have
been giving for Alice. But I wish I had known this afternoon that they
were coming. I'd like to celebrate with a little supper, but I haven't a
single thing in the house that is suitable."

"There's the cider that Uncle John brought us," suggested Bob.

"Yes," said Bettina, "we might have cider. But what else?"

"I'll tell you," said Bob, "I'll make some popcorn balls. I've made them
before, and I know exactly how."

"I'll help," said Bettina.

"No, I won't need you at all; I'm the chef."

"Well, Bobbie, at least you'll let me look on. May I be washing the
dishes at the same time?"

"Yes, I'll permit that. These are going to be champion popcorn balls, I
can tell you, Bettina--as big as pumpkins!"

"We'll serve them in that large flat wicker basket, and I'm sure they'll
look and taste delicious. But we must hurry, Bob; it's after seven now!"

For dinner that night they had:

          Broiled Ham         Mashed Potatoes
    Chili Sauce       Creamed Onions      Hot Scones
              Prune Blanc Mange with Cream

=BETTINA'S RECIPES=

(All measurements are level)

=Broiled Ham= (Four portions)

    1 lb. ham
    2 C-milk

Soak a one-half inch slice of ham in one cup of lukewarm milk for half
an hour. Drain and wipe dry. Place in a hot tin pan and cook for five
minutes directly under the flame, turning frequently to prevent burning.

=Scones= (Fourteen scones)

    2 C-flour
    4 t-baking powder
    1/3 t-salt
    2 T-lard
    1 egg
    2/3 C-milk
    1 T-"C" sugar
    1/2 t-cinnamon

Mix the flour, baking-powder and salt. Cut in the lard with a knife, add
all but one teaspoonful of the beaten egg, then add the milk gradually.
Mix with a knife into a soft dough. Pat into a square shape one-half
inch thick. Brush over the top with one teaspoonful of egg and sprinkle
with the sugar and cinnamon (mixed thoroughly). Cut into one and
one-half inch squares. Place in a tin pan and bake twelve minutes in a
hot oven.

=Prune Blanc Mange= (Four portions)

    2 T-cornstarch
    2 T-sugar
    4 T-cold milk
    2/3 C-hot milk
    1/4 t-salt
    1/2 C-cooked, cut prunes
    1/2 t-lemon extract
    1/2 t-vanilla

Mix the cornstarch, sugar and salt, and add the cold milk slowly.
Gradually add the hot milk. Cook in a double boiler for twenty minutes.
Add the prunes, lemon extract and vanilla. Beat well, and serve cold
with cream.

CHAPTER LXXII

AND WHERE WAS THE DINNER?

"HELLO!" called Bob at the door one evening.

No answer.

"Hello, Bettina!" he called again. Again the dark house gave forth no
reply.

Feeling, it must be admitted, a little out of harmony with a world that
allowed weary and hungry husbands to come home to dark and empty houses
when the clock said plainly that it was a quarter after six, Bob made
his way to the kitchen. Perhaps Bettina had left his dinner there for
him; perhaps she had been called away, or perhaps, even, she had rushed
out on some errand after dinner preparations were begun. The kitchen,
however, was so immaculate as to seem distinctly forbidding to a hungry
man whose appetite was growing keener every minute. And he had been
thinking all the way home that a hot dinner would taste so good!

At that moment a clamor of voices at the door aroused him.

"You poor old Bob!" cried Bettina, kissing him twice before Fred and
Ruth without the least embarrassment. "Have you waited long?"

"It seemed hours," admitted Bob.

"Ruth and I have been to a tea for Alice. Fred came for her there, and I
persuaded them to come home to dinner with me. I'll give you each
something to do while I stir up a little cottage pudding. Then dinner
will be ready in half an hour."

"Half an hour?" cried Bob. "But, Bettina, where is the dinner? I didn't
see any!"

"In the fireless cooker, you crazy boy! Are you 'most starved?"

"Well," said Bob, "that cooker was the neatest, stiffest-looking thing
in the kitchen! I didn't dream that it was busily cooking a dinner. Say,
I'll be glad to see a hot meal again!"

The dinner consisted of:

        Round Steak with Vegetables
               Dutch Cheese
    Bread                       Plum Butter
       Cottage Pudding      Vanilla Sauce

BETTINA'S RECIPES

(All measurements are level)

=Round Steak with Vegetables= (Six portions)

    2 lbs. round steak
    6 potatoes
    6 carrots
    6 onions
    2 T-flour
    2 T-lard
    2 t-salt
    1/4 t-paprika
    1/4 C-water

Pound the flour into the round steak with the edge of a small plate.
This breaks the fibers of the meat, making it more tender. Wash and peel
the potatoes, slicing in half lengthwise. Scrape the carrots, and cut
into one-half inch slices lengthwise. Wash the onions and remove their
outside skins. Sprinkle the vegetables with one and a half level
teaspoons of salt, and the paprika. Add the water, and place in the
bottom of the large fireless cooker utensil. Place the lard in a frying
pan, and when hot, add the meat. Brown thoroughly on each side. Salt the
meat with one-half level teaspoon of salt, and place in the kettle on
top of the vegetables. Place the heated disks of the fireless cooker
over and under the utensil, and cook at least one hour in the cooker.

=Cottage Pudding= (Six portions)

    1-1/2 C-flour
    3 t-baking powder
    1/4 t-salt
    1/2 C-sugar
    1 egg
    1/2 C-milk
    1/2 t-vanilla
    3 T-melted butter

Mix the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Add the egg, milk and
vanilla, and beat one minute. Add the melted butter, and pour into a
well buttered tin pan. Bake twenty minutes in a moderate oven. Serve
warm with vanilla sauce.

=Vanilla Sauce= (Six portions)

    2/3 C-sugar
    3 T-flour
    1 t-vanilla
    1/2 t-lemon extract
    1/4 t-salt
    1-1/2 C-water
    1 t-butter

Mix the sugar, flour and salt thoroughly. Add the water slowly. Boil two
minutes. Add the vanilla, lemon extract, and butter. Beat one minute and
serve. If too thick, more water may be added.

CHAPTER LXXIII

ALICE TELLS HER TROUBLES

"AND the minute I caught a glimpse of you, Bettina, at the tea this
afternoon, I thought, 'Oh, if Betty would only ask me to go home with
her to a sensible homelike dinner, with no one there but herself and
Bob----'"

"Not even Harry, Alice?"

"No, not even Harry! I'm so sick and tired of teas and dressmakers and
wedding gowns and bridesmaids that I'm tired even of Harry, too!
Almost."

"But, Alice, then why do it all? Why have all this fuss and feathers?"
And Bettina's knife, with which she was cutting bread, came down with a
click of vehemence. "It has always seemed silly to me--all the worry and
bother----"

"But what can I do now, Bettina? I've started, and I'll have to go
through with it! Why, even now, I ought to be home for dinner--mother
has several guests--but I phoned her that I had a headache and was
coming here, where I could be quiet. And I do have a headache--and no
appetite, and----"

"Just wait till you taste this nice brown meat that I have in the oven,
Alice! The trouble with you is that you've been eating silly party food
for such a long time. And tonight you are to have a sensible dinner with
plain people."

"Plain people? Who calls me plain?" interrupted Bob, coming in like a
tornado. "Hello, Alice! How can you spare any time from all these
festivities I hear about?"

For dinner that night they had:

      Rolled Flank of Beef with Bread Dressing
    Browned Potatoes                    Hot Slaw
        Prune Pudding                  Cream
                         Coffee

BETTINA'S RECIPES

(All measurements are level)

=Rolled Flank of Beef= (Four portions)

    1 lb. round steak one inch thick
    2 T-flour
    1 t-salt
    2 one-inch cubes of suet

Wipe the meat, trim the edges, pound on both sides with the edge of a
plate to break the tendon. Place the dressing (given below) on the
steak, roll, and tie with a cord. Roll in the flour and salt. Place in a
small dripping pan, put the suet on the top of the meat, add enough
water to cover the bottom of the pan, and bake in a moderate oven for
fifty minutes. Baste frequently.

=Bread Dressing=

    1 C-soft bread crumbs
    1 T-melted butter
    1 t-chopped parsley
    1/2 t-chopped onion
    1/8 t-celery salt
    1/2 t-salt
    1/8 t-pepper
    2 T-water

Mix all the ingredients in the order named, stirring lightly with a
fork. Place in shape on the meat. Care should be taken not to have the
dressing soggy or heavy.

=Prune Pudding= (Four portions)

    1 C-cooked, seeded and chopped prunes
    3/4 C-sugar
    1/4 C-nut meats, cut fine
    1/2 C-milk
    1 t-vanilla
    1/2 t-lemon extract
    1/2 C-cracker crumbs
    1 t-baking powder
    1/8 t-salt

Mix all the ingredients in the order named. Pour into a well-buttered
shallow earthenware dish. Place the dish in a pan of hot water and bake
twenty-five minutes in a moderate oven, or until the mixture is firm.
Serve warm. Individual amounts may be made in moulds.

CHAPTER LXXIV

THE DIXONS COME TO DINNER

"CHARLOTTE, you must have Bettina tell you how to cook fish this way,"
said Frank.

"It's the Bechamel sauce on it that you like, I suspect," said Bettina.
"And it isn't at all hard to make. I serve it with so many things. We
like it with carrots----"

"Oh, is it the very same sauce that you serve with carrots?" said
Charlotte. "I can make it, Frank. I'll have it for dinner one of these
days, with halibut, just as Bettina has served it tonight."

"There is only one thing to think about especially in making it," said
Bettina. "After you have beaten the egg slightly, add a very little of
the hot liquid to it, and then pour the mixture into the rest. Then cook
it a short time, not long, as a sauce made with egg sometimes
separates."

"I'll remember," said Charlotte. "You do have such good meals, Bettina.
How do you manage it? Sometimes I can think of the best things to cook,
and other days I don't seem to have a bit of imagination!"

"I plan my menu all out a week, and sometimes two weeks, ahead," said
Bettina. "It is really quite a complicated process, as I want to have a
variety, as well as inexpensive things that are on the market. Of
course, I may change my plans in many details, but I keep to the general
outline. Planning the meals seems simple, but it really requires a lot
of thinking sometimes. Excuse me while I bring in the dessert. Bob, will
you please help me take the plates?"

The menu that night consisted of:

    Sautéd Halibut Steak              Bechamel Sauce
      Potato Cubes                      Butter Sauce
        Sliced Cucumbers and Onions with Vinegar
          Rolls                          Butter
              Prune Whip        Whipped Cream
                         Coffee

BETTINA'S RECIPES

(All measurements are level)

=Bechamel Sauce= (Four portions)

    2 T-butter
    2 T-flour
    1-1/2 C-milk
    1/3 t-salt
    1/8 t-paprika
    1 egg-yolk

Melt the butter, add the flour, salt and pepper, mix well, and gradually
add the milk. Cook until it thickens. (Not as thick as white sauce for
vegetables.) Add the egg yolk. Serve immediately.

To add egg yolk to the hot liquid, beat the egg slightly, add a small
portion of the hot liquid slowly and pour it all into the remainder of
the hot liquid. Cook only a short time, as the mixture may separate if
cooked longer.

=Potato Cubes= (Four portions)

    2 C-raw potatoes cut in 3/4-inch cubes
    1/2 t-salt
    4 C-boiling water

Add the salt to the boiling water, add the potatoes and boil till
tender. (About ten minutes.) Drain and shake over the fire for a moment.
Add the sauce, and serve.

=Butter Sauce= (Four portions)

    2 T-butter
    1 T-chopped parsley
    1 t-chopped green pepper
    1/4 t-paprika

Mix together, heat and add to the potatoes.

=Prune Whip= (Four portions)

    1/3 lb. prunes
    3 egg-whites
    1 T-lemon juice
    1/2 C-sugar

Pick over and wash the prunes, then soak for several hours in cold
water, enough to cover. Cook slowly until soft, about fifteen minutes.
Rub through a strainer. Add sugar and lemon juice and cook five minutes;
the mixture should be the consistency of marmalade.

Beat the whites until stiff, add the prunes when cold, pile lightly into
a buttered baking dish and bake twenty minutes in a slow oven. Serve
with cream.

CHAPTER LXXV

THE WEDDING INVITATIONS

BOB and Bettina had scarcely sat down to dinner one crisp cold evening,
when they heard laughing voices at the door. "It sounds like Alice,"
said Bettina. "What can she be up to now? And Harry, too!"

Bob had already thrown open the door, and there, as Bettina had guessed,
were Alice and Harry, each carrying a large box.

"We've come to deliver your invitation to the wedding," said Alice. "It
may be unconventional, but it's fun. The rest we are going down to
mail--that is, if we don't get frightened at the idea, and pitch the
boxes in the river instead."

"If that's the way you feel," said Harry firmly, "I'll carry your box
myself."

"Please don't, Harry! Just think, I may never have another opportunity
of mailing the invitations to my own wedding, so don't deprive me of the
privilege."

"Stay to dinner won't you?" said Bettina. "We had really planned on
having Uncle John and Aunt Mary this evening, but they didn't come to
town after all. So I am sure we have plenty, even to apple dumplings for
dessert."

"Harry had asked me to take dinner with him down town," said Alice, "by
way of celebrating when these invitations were mailed. But perhaps we
might stay here instead, since this was the very place in which we met
first! Harry, I believe sentiment demands that we accept Bettina's
invitation."

"I must broil another steak," said Bettina, "but that will take only a
few minutes. I'm so glad you can stay."

"But we'll have to leave immediately after dinner," said Alice, "for
these invitations simply must be mailed this evening."

That night for dinner, Bettina served:

    Beefsteak                           Mashed Potatoes
                          Turnips
      Lettuce        Bettina's Russian Salad Dressing
                Apple Dumplings and Cream

BETTINA'S RECIPES

(All measurements are level)

=Turnips= (Four portions)

    4 turnips
    1 T-butter
    1/4 t-salt
    1/8 t-pepper

Wash, pare and cut the turnips in small pieces. Cook until transparent
and tender. Drain, mash, add the butter, salt and pepper, mix thoroughly
and return to the fire to dry out the superfluous water. Serve hot with
vinegar. (Never cook turnips until brown.)

=Head Lettuce= (Four portions)

    1 head lettuce

Remove the outer leaves and core of the lettuce. Clean thoroughly. Place
very wet in a towel, wrap well and lay directly on the ice. Allow to
stand one hour before serving to allow the lettuce to get very cold and
crisp.

=Bettina's Russian Dressing= (Four portions)

    1/2 C-salad dressing
    2 T-chili sauce
    1 T-chopped green pepper

Mix the ingredients in the order named. Shake thoroughly in a glass jar.
Serve cold.

=Apple Dumplings= (Four portions)

    1 C-flour
    2 t-baking powder
    1/4 t-salt
    2 T-lard
    1/3 C-water
    4 apples
    1/2 C-sugar
    1 t-cinnamon

Mix thoroughly the flour, baking powder and salt. Cut in the lard with a
knife, and then add the water, mixing to a soft dough. Roll on a
well-floured board to one-fourth of an inch in thickness. Wipe and pare
the apples, and cut them in quarters.

Cut the dough in four square pieces. Place four quarters of apple in the
center of each piece of dough. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon. Moisten
the edges of the dough with water. Bring the four corners of each piece
up around the apple, pressing tightly together. Pierce with a fork to
allow the escape of steam. Place each dumpling upside down on a floured
tin, and bake thirty-five minutes in a moderate oven. Serve warm with
cream.

CHAPTER LXXVI

HALLOWE'EN PREPARATIONS

"THERE it is again!" said Bob to Ruth, who was dining with them. "And
now it's gone!"

"I feel the same old Hallowe'en thrill that I used to, years ago," said
Bettina, "when I turn around suddenly and see a jack-o'-lantern grinning
in at the window! Don't you love them?"

"Those are the Stewart children," said Bob. "They're just hoping that
I'll come out and chase them away! There's no fun for them in having us
like it too well! You girls ought to give at least an imitation of a
shriek apiece. You don't have ladylike nerves at all!"

"Bob, that jack-o'-lantern reminds me that we have a piece of work laid
out for you--making the jack-o'-lanterns for a Hallowe'en party we have
planned. Will you do it?"

"Will I?" said Bob. "Indeed I will! I haven't made one for years and
years! Not since I was a boy!"

"Years and years and years and years!" said Ruth, laughing. "Well, this
party is in honor of Harry, so you mustn't tell him anything about
it--not even that we're giving it. And Bob, I believe Fred would help
make the jack-o'-lanterns."

"See here, Ruth," said Bob, "you want Fred to get half the credit for
the artistic job I'm going to do. Well, for your sake, I may let him
help a little, but I'm bossing the work, I can tell you. Why, I'm
particular."

That evening's menu consisted of:

    Breaded Lamb Chops                    Baked Potatoes
                      Creamed Peas
        Sliced Tomatoes               Salad Dressing
            Steamed Date Pudding     Lemon Sauce
                           Coffee

BETTINA'S RECIPES

(All measurements are level)

=Breaded Lamb Chops= (Four portions)

    4 chops
    1 egg-yolk
    1 T-water
    1/2 C-bread crumbs
    1/2 t-salt
    1 T-butter

Wash and look over the chops carefully to remove any particles of bone.
Beat the egg yolk and water. Dip each chop into the egg mixture, and
then roll in the crumbs, to which the salt has been added. Place in a
buttered pan, dot well with butter, and bake twenty-five minutes in a
hot oven.

=Steamed Date Pudding=

    2/3 C-soft, fresh bread crumbs
    2/3 C-flour
    2 t-baking powder
    2/3 C-fine chopped suet
    2/3 C-sugar
    1 egg
    2/3 C-dates, chopped fine
    1/2 t-salt
    1 t-vanilla
    2/3 C-milk

Mix all the ingredients in the order given. Stir well for two minutes,
and place in a buttered mould. Steam two hours on the stove or in the
fireless cooker. Serve hot with lemon sauce.

=Lemon Sauce=

    1/2 C-sugar
    1 T-flour
    1 C-water
    2 T-lemon juice
    1/8 t-salt
    1 t-butter

Mix well the flour, sugar and salt, add the water and cook for one
minute. Add the lemon juice and butter. Beat vigorously, and serve with
the date pudding.

CHAPTER LXXVII

HALLOWE'EN REVELS

    "Come, on mystic Hallowe'en,
     Let us seek the dreadful scene,
     Where the witches, imps and devils,
     Elves and ghosts will hold their revels!
             1107 Carberry Avenue.
                 Seven o'clock."

THIS was the invitation received by Harry, Alice, Fred and even Bob, who
had an inkling of what was about to happen, inasmuch as 1107 Carberry
Avenue happened to be his own address. At seven o'clock that evening Bob
was nowhere to be found. However, when four horribly disguised figures
were ushered into the house, the witch who pointed the way up the stairs
seemed satisfied. A few minutes later, the ghosts and demons having
removed such garments as were needed only in the outer air, assembled in
the weirdly lighted living-room. All of the electric lights were covered
with yellow crêpe paper shades, with faces cut in them. Jack-o'-lanterns
stood in every conceivable place, and a fire burned brightly in the open
fireplace.

The two witches, who were evidently the hostesses, commenced a weird
chant in a minor key. The male ghosts, three in number, immediately took
up the music, if it could be so called, howling in loud and uncanny
tones. Thereupon the witches beckoned the whole company with all speed
to the dining-room.

The table was a mass of color and light. Potatoes, carrots and beets,
with sticks for legs, held the lighted candles. At each place were
individual favors, witches holding the place cards, and small
Jack-o'-lanterns standing beside them. The center of the table was a
miniature field of pumpkins and cornstalks.

The place cards were read and the places were found. The guest of honor,
he who sat at the right of her who was evidently "witch-in-charge,"
discovered the following on his card, and the others were equally
descriptive and illuminating:

    This place is laid for one who soon
        Will marry!
    O youth bewitched by maid and moon,
        Be wary!
    But if you can't, then make it soon,
        Dear Harry!

The supper, decorative as well as delicious, was all upon the table.
Little individual pumpkin pies on paper doilies stood beside each place.
The salad caused much delight among the guests, who at the invitation of
the witches, had now removed their masks. A large red apple with a face
cut on the outside, had been hollowed out, and the salad was within. On
the top of the apple was a round wafer with a marshmallow upon it to
represent a hat. The hat was further decorated with a "stick-up" of
stick candy on one side. The apple stood on a leaf of lettuce, with a
yellow salad dressing necktie. The favor boxes, which were under the
witches, were filled with candy corn, while the popcorn balls, placed on
a platter, had features of chocolate fudge, and bonnets of frilled
paper.

The supper menu was as follows:

    Oyster Patties       Bettina's Surprise Salad
        Hallowe'en Sandwiches         Pickles
                     Pumpkin Pie
            Cider              Doughnuts
        Jumbles                 Popcorn Balls

"Have another jumble, Harry," urged Ruth. "See, this one has unusual
eyes and a particularly soulful expression."

"I have already eaten so many that I fear my memory of this party will
be a jumble of faces! I'll see them in my sleep--all with that soulful
expression!"

"Another toasted marshmallow, Bettina?" asked Fred, thrusting it toward
her on the end of a hat-pin. "This candle is nearly burned out, so I'm
afraid I can't offer you any more."

"It is really time to bob for apples," said Bettina. "Who ever heard of
a Hallowe'en party without that! And we must each try to bite the
swinging doughnut, and then we must blindfold each other and try to pin
the tail on the unfortunate black cat. Bob, will you carry this tub into
the living-room? And Ruth, will you remove the popcorn balls to the
piano bench? Perhaps someone will grow hungry from the exertion of these
games. And I know that later in the evening Alice, though a guest, will
tell our fortunes."

"Alice can tell my fortune by looking at her own hand," said Harry.
"Because she holds my happiness there."

"What a sentimental sentence, Harry!" said Fred, looking amazed. "See,
you've embarrassed us all!"

"Well, I'm always being called cold and reserved, and I've decided to
turn over a new leaf."

"Oh, Harry, don't be so foolish!" said Alice, who had grown as red as
the apples on the table. "It's time for games!"

BETTINA'S RECIPES

(All measurements are level)

=Oyster Patties= (Six portions)

    3 T-butter
    4 T-flour
    1 C-milk
    1/2 t-salt
    1/8 t-paprika
    1/2 pint of oysters

Clean the oysters by removing any shells, and drain off the liquor. Melt
the butter, add the flour and salt, and mix thoroughly. Gradually add
the milk, stirring constantly. Cook until very thick. Place the oysters
in a pan and heat one minute. This "plumps" them. Do not cook too long.
Add the oysters to the white sauce, and serve immediately in patty
shells which have been freshened in a hot oven.

=Bettina's Surprise Salad= (Six portions)

    6 apples
    1 green pepper, chopped fine
    1/2 C-diced celery
    1/2 C-seeded white grapes
    1/2 C-sliced diced pineapple
    2 T-chopped nut meats
    1 C-salad dressing
    1/2 t-salt
    1/2 C-diced marshmallows

Remove the insides of the apples, add the green pepper, celery, grapes,
marshmallows, pineapple, nut-meats and salt, mixed thoroughly with the
salad dressing. Serve very cold.

=To Make the Hallowe'en Sandwiches=

When the bread is a day old, cut in slices one-third inch thick. Match
in pairs. Cream the butter and spread one side. Place the other side on
top. Press firmly. With a thimble cut out circles on one piece of the
bread, cut nose and mouth with a knife. The butter showing through gives
the resemblance to features.

=Pumpkin Pie= (Eight pies)

=Crusts=

    1 C-flour
    5 T-lard
    3 T-water
    1/2 t-salt

Cut the lard into the flour and salt. Add sufficient water to make a
stiff dough on a floured board. Roll into shape one-fourth inch thick.
Place in tin muffin pans making individual pies, filling with the
following mixture and baking 30 minutes in a moderate oven.

=Pumpkin Filling=

    1-1/2 C-canned pumpkin
    2/3 C-brown sugar
    1 t-cinnamon
    1/2 t-ginger
    1/2 t-salt
    2 eggs
    2 C-milk

Mix the ingredients in the order given, and fill the pie-crusts
two-thirds full.

=Jumbles= (Twenty-four jumbles)

    1/2 C-butter
    1 C-sugar
    1 egg
    1/2 t-soda
    1/2 C-sour milk
    1/4 t-salt
    About 2 C-flour
    Grape jelly.

Cream the butter, add the sugar, and gradually add the egg, the soda
mixed with the sour milk, the salt, and the flour to make a soft dough.
(One which will roll easily.) Cut into shape with a round cooky cutter.
On the centers of one-half the pieces, place a spoonful of grape jelly.
Make features on the rest, using a thimble to cut out the eyes. Press
the two together, and bake 12 minutes in a moderate oven.

_NOVEMBER._

    _Cosy fire a-burning bright,----
    Cosy tables robed in white,----
    Dainty dishes smoking hot,----
    Home! And cold and snow forgot!_

CHAPTER LXXVIII

A FORETASTE OF WINTER

"SAY, but it's cold today!" called Bob at the door. "Frost tonight all
right! I was glad I took my overcoat this morning. Have you had a fire
all day?"

"Yes, indeed," said Bettina, "and I've spent most of the afternoon
cleaning my furs with corn meal, and fixing those new comforters for the
sleeping porch, and putting away some of the summer clothing."

"I believe we will need those new comforters tonight. How were you
fixing them?"

"I was basting a white cheese-cloth edge, about twelve inches wide,
along the width that goes at the head of the bed, you know. It's so easy
to rip off and wash, and I like to have all the comforters fixed that
way. I was cleaning my old furs, too, to cut them up. I'm planning to
have a fur edge on my suit this winter. I don't believe you'll know the
furs, the suit, or Bettina when you see the combination we will make
together! Fur is the thing this year, you know."

"Couldn't you spare me a little to transform my overcoat? I'd like to
look different, too!"

"Silly! Come along to the kitchen! There's beefsteak to-night (won't it
taste good?) and I want you to cook it, while I'm getting the other
things on the table. I didn't expect you quite so soon."

That night for dinner they had:

    Beefsteak                  Creamed Potatoes
                 Devilled Tomatoes
        Rolls                        Butter
                    Plum Sauce
               Bettina's Drop Cookies

BETTINA'S RECIPES

(All measurements are level)

=Creamed Potatoes= (Two portions)

    1 C-diced cooked potatoes
    1 T-green pepper, chopped fine
    1 T-butter
    1 T-flour
    1/2 C-milk
    1/4 t-salt

Melt the butter, add the flour and salt, mix well, and add the milk
slowly. Cook until creamy, and add the potatoes and the chopped green
pepper. Serve very hot.

=Devilled Tomatoes= (Two portions)

    2 tomatoes
    2 T-flour
    1 T-lard
    1/8 t-salt
    1 T-butter
    1 T-sugar
    1/2 t-mustard
    1/8 t-salt
    A pinch of paprika
    1 hard-cooked egg
    1/2 t-flour
    2 T-vinegar
    1 T-water

Peel the tomatoes, cut in half and sprinkle with flour. Place the lard
in a frying-pan, and when hot, add the tomatoes. Brown nicely on both
sides, and sprinkle with salt. When brown, place on a hot platter and
pour over them the following sauce: Sauce--Place the butter in a pan,
add the sugar, mustard, salt and paprika, the egg cut fine, and the
flour. Mix well, add the vinegar and water. Heat, allow to boil one
minute, and then pour over the tomatoes. (If the sauce seems too thick
when it has boiled one minute, add a little more water.)

=Drop Cookies= (Twenty-four cookies)

    1/3 C-butter
    1 C-sugar
    1 egg
    1/2 C-sour milk
    1/2 t-soda
    1/4 t-salt
    1 t-vanilla
    1/4 C-chopped raisins
    2-1/2 C-flour
    1/2 t-baking powder

Cream the butter, add the sugar, then the whole egg. Mix well. Add the
sour milk and the vanilla. Mix the baking powder, soda and flour well,
add the raisins and add to the first mixture. Beat well. Drop from a
spoon onto a buttered and floured pan, leaving three inches between the
cookies. Bake fifteen minutes in a moderate oven.

CHAPTER LXXIX

SURPRISING ALICE AND HARRY

"WE knew you'd be here, and we've come to surprise you!" shouted Bob,
Fred, Bettina and Ruth, as they opened the door of the new apartment
which was to be the home of Harry and Alice. "We've brought the party
with us!" and they held out several bulging baskets.

"Welcome!" smiled Alice, delightedly, as she stepped down from the box
on which she was standing to hang a soft, silky curtain. Harry, tall and
silent, rose, hammer in hand from the crate he was opening, and welcomed
each one in turn.

"Bob and I came to be chaperones if you needed us," said Bettina,
putting on a prim and disapproving look, as different as possible from
her usual happy expression.

"Oh, my dear!" exclaimed Alice's mother, in a shocked tone. "Surely you
didn't imagine--but then, of course you didn't--because you would
naturally know that I would be here."

Alice laughed her ringing laugh. "Mother is too literal for any use,
Bettina!" And Alice's absent-minded father looked up from the newspaper
he was reading to ask what the joke was.

"The joke, Father dear," said Alice, "is that your foolish daughter
should be about to marry this solemn and serious youth!" And she turned
Harry around by the shoulders till he faced her father. "But perhaps you
hadn't heard about the wedding, Father. Now don't tell me you had
forgotten!"

"Forgotten? Forgotten your wedding, Alice?" said her mother, astonished.
"Of course your father hasn't forgotten. Why, only yesterday he was
saying that the cost of a trousseau apparently hadn't lessened since
Lillian was married. Weren't you, Father? It was when your new green
corduroy came home, Alice, and I was saying----" but Alice had led the
girls off to show them over the apartment.

Father had retired behind his newspaper and Harry was showing Fred and
Bob his own private den whither he might retire from the worries of
domestic life. "Only," observed Fred sagaciously, "since it opens off
the living room, you can't retire very far. I predict that married life
will make you rather a sociable person, Harry."

Harry shrugged his shoulders, and said nothing. "Old bear!" cried Alice,
entering the room at this point. "You don't need to be a sociable
person! I like you just as you are!" And she turned to the others. "Come
to the party, please. It's all in the kitchen! We've made coffee, too,
and everything is bee-youtiful! I love surprises!"

The "party" consisted of:

    Apples                  Popcorn Balls
                 Nut Cookies
        Maple Fudge            Coffee

BETTINA'S RECIPES

(All measurements are level)

=Popcorn Balls= (Eight balls)

    3/4 C-light brown or "C" sugar
    3/4 C-white sugar
    1/2 C-molasses
    1/2 C-water
    2 T-butter
    1/4 t-soda
    2 qts. freshly popped corn
    2 t-salt
    1 T-vinegar

Place in a sauce pan, the sugar, molasses, water, vinegar and butter.
Cook without stirring until the candy forms a hard ball which clicks
against the side of the glass when dropped into cold water. Add the
soda, stir well and pour over the corn, which has been salted and placed
in a large pan. Mix the syrup thoroughly with the corn, and when
partially cool, moisten the hands and press the corn into balls of
uniform size. Popcorn balls should be kept in a cool place.

=Nut Cookies= (Three dozen cookies)

    1/3 C-butter and lard mixed
    2/3 C-"C" sugar
    1 egg
    4 T-milk
    2 C-flour
    2 t-baking powder
    1/3 C-chopped nut-meats (preferably black walnuts)
    1 t-powdered cinnamon
    1/4 t-powdered cloves
    1/4 t-mace
    1/4 t-nutmeg

Cream the butter, add the sugar and mix well. Add the egg and milk and
then the flour, nuts, cinnamon, cloves, mace, nutmeg and baking powder.
Place the dough on a floured board. Roll it out one-fourth of an inch
thick and cut with a cooky cutter. Place on a well-buttered and floured
baking sheet. Bake twelve minutes in a moderate oven.

=Maple Fudge= (Eight portions)

    1/4 lb. maple sugar
    2 C-granulated sugar
    1/4 t-cream of tartar
    2 T-butter
    2/3 C-milk

Mix all the ingredients in the order named. Cook until the candy forms a
soft ball when a little is dropped in a glass of cold water. Remove from
the fire and let it cool. When cool, beat until it becomes creamy. Pour
into a buttered plate.

CHAPTER LXXX

A DINNER FOR THE BRIDAL PARTY

THE bridal dinner, given for the wedding party by Alice's parents, was
truly an elaborate affair. As the young people, who knew each other so
well, and had spent so many merry hours together, glanced across the
softly lighted table, a little feeling of shyness and constraint came
over them because of the formality of the occasion. Even Alice, usually
the ringleader in all their fun, was a little silent.

"Shucks!" thought boyish Fred. "None of this in mine! I'd elope first!
Wonder if Harry likes it! (Bet he doesn't.)"

Ruth was thinking, "Oh, how lovely! How perfectly lovely! I believe
after all--as a time to remember through all the years----" But Fred
could not read her thoughts, and saw only the particularly happy smile
that she gave him.

"How do you like the nut cups?" Alice asked. "Bettina made these yellow
'mum' nut cups as a Christmas gift to me, and gave them to me now for
this dinner! See, they just match the real chrysanthemums! I'm sure I
don't know which I like best!"

The girls exclaimed so heartily over the nut cups that Bettina declared
to herself that she would make sets for each of them, of different
colors and kinds. These of Alice's were really charming. Their wire
handles were wound with green maline and tied with a green bow. They
were filled with pecans, and pink and yellow bon-bons, which were grapes
covered with colored creams.

The place cards were tied with narrow green ribbon to little china
slippers, cupids, doves and hearts. Besides the yellow chrysanthemums,
which were the table decorations, there was for each of the girls a
corsage bouquet of pink roses, and for each of the men a boutonniere of
pink rosebuds in a tinfoil case. Flower pins were tucked in the maline
bows of the bouquets as favors for the girls, while scarf pins were
favors for the men.

When the dinner was over, and the guests were passing into the living
room for dancing and music, Alice slipped her arm through Bettina's.
"The dinner was lovely; wasn't it?" she said. "I did think I was too
tired to enjoy it, but my heart is as light as a feather now! I am going
to dance all evening till my last guest goes!"

The menu was as follows:

                     Grapefruit Cocktail
        Cream of Asparagus Soup             Croutons
    Sautéd Halibut                       Potato Rosettes
            Cabbage Relish in Green Pepper Cases
                   Peas in Timbale Cases
                          Celery
        Hot Rolls                      Currant Jelly
    Vegetable Salad                        Cheese Wafers
            Brick Ice Cream     Individual Cakes
                          Coffee
                Pecans              Bon-Bons

BETTINA'S RECIPES

(All measurements are level)

RECIPES OF THE BRIDAL DINNER

=Grapefruit Cocktail= (Twelve portions)

    6 grapefruit
    12 T-powdered sugar
    12 cherries

Cut the grapefruit in halves crosswise. Half a grapefruit is one
service. Remove all the seeds. Insert a sharp-pointed knife between the
outside skin or shell and the pulp, and cut out around the inside. Cut
the skin away from each section of the pulp. Insert the knife under the
core and cut free from the shell, lift out the core and membranes in one
piece, leaving the pulp. Sprinkle each grapefruit half with one
tablespoon of powdered sugar. Garnish with a maraschino cherry in the
center and a mint leaf on each side. Serve very cold on a paper doily
with some green rose leaves under the grapefruit.

=Cream of Asparagus Soup= (Twelve portions)

    4 C-strained asparagus pulp
    5 C-milk
    7 T-butter
    9 T-flour
    2 t-salt
    1/4 t-paprika

Melt the butter, add the flour, salt and paprika. Mix well, and
gradually add the milk and asparagus. Cook until slightly thick. (About
two minutes.) Serve hot.

=Croutons= (Twelve portions)

    8 slices of bread
    2 T-butter

Cut the bread into one-third inch cubes, add the butter melted, and
salt. Mix well and brown in a moderate oven, stirring occasionally to
permit the bread to brown evenly.

CHAPTER LXXXI

REHEARSING THE CEREMONY

ALICE'S wedding day dawned clear and cold, and Bettina realized with a
start all that was before her. She had as house guests two school
friends of Alice's, gay and charming girls who were, nevertheless,
somewhat difficult visitors, as the little bungalow was soon strewn with
their belongings and as they were completely indifferent to such a thing
as punctuality.

"S'pose Geraldine'll be in to borrow my mirror in a minute," grumbled
Bob. "How long'll they stay?"

"'Till tomorrow morning, dear. Hurry! You know we have to rehearse at
ten o'clock."

"Ushers and all?"

"Of course. You wouldn't know what to do without a rehearsal, would
you?"

"I suppose not. But what if I can't get away from the office?"

"You'll have to, Bob, for Harry's sake. Surely you can manage it for
once."

Bob went on grumbling about the foolishness of "these fancy weddings"
until Bettina consoled him with the promise of waffles for breakfast.

"And we'll simply have to call Geraldine and Lenore," said she. "They
are going to the rehearsal with me, and I must have my morning's work
done before we start. You see I shall have them here for luncheon, and
we won't be back 'till noon."

Bettina, with some effort, managed to reach the church with her guests
shortly after ten o'clock. The nervous and excited wedding party stood
about in chattering groups, and when summoned, went through their parts
with many mistakes and giggles.

"How can it ever seem beautiful and solemn," thought Bettina in despair,
"when we all do it so stupidly? I'm afraid we are going to spoil the
wedding!"

BETTINA'S RECIPES

(All measurements are level)

MORE BRIDAL DINNER RECIPES

=Sautéd Halibut= (Twelve portions)

    2-1/2 lb. halibut steak
    1/4 t-pepper
    1 t-salt
    1 T-lemon juice
    1/8 t-onion juice
    4 T-egg-yolks
    1 T-water
    1-1/2 C-cracker crumbs
    4 T-fat
    2 T-melted butter

Mix the pepper, lemon juice, onion juice, salt, butter, egg and water.
Wipe the halibut with a damp cloth and then cut into strips two and a
half by four inches. Dip each strip into the above mixture and roll in
cracker crumbs. Place the fat in a frying-pan, and when hot add the
halibut. Brown thoroughly on each side and garnish with lemon and
parsley.

=Potato Rosettes= (Twelve portions)

    3 C-mashed potatoes
    3 T-milk
    1 t-salt
    1/4 t-paprika
    2 T-butter

Mix potatoes, milk, salt, paprika and butter. Beat one minute. Place the
hot potato mixture in a pastry bag and press rosettes on a flat buttered
tin pan three inches apart. Set in a moderate oven twenty minutes to
brown. Remove from the pan with a spatula.

=Cabbage Relish in Green Pepper Cases= (Twelve portions)

    12 green peppers
    3 C-finely chopped cabbage
    3 T-pimento, cut fine
    1 green pepper, cut fine
    2/3 C-vinegar
    2 T-"C" sugar
    1 t-salt
    1 t-mustard
    1 T-olive oil

Mix the mustard, oil, salt, sugar and vinegar. Add the green pepper,
pimento and cabbage. Fill the peppers with this mixture. The peppers are
prepared by cutting off the stem end, removing the seeds and washing
thoroughly.

=Glazed Sweet Potatoes= (Twelve portions)

    6 sweet potatoes
    1 C-brown sugar
    1/2 C-water
    3 T-butter

Wash, pare and boil the sweet potatoes. When tender, drain, cut in
lengthwise slices one-half inch thick, and lay in a buttered pan. Cover
with a syrup made by cooking the brown sugar, water and butter for two
minutes. Baste frequently. Bake twenty minutes in a moderate oven.

CHAPTER LXXXII

AFTER THE WEDDING

THE stately wedding ceremony had taken place in the big church, and
Bettina, climbing into the automobile for the drive to the reception,
had, for all her own part in the affair, only a confused memory of
music, lights and faces, soft lavender and soft pink, and Alice and
Harry murmuring their vows.

"Wasn't it lovely, Bob? Wasn't it stately and impressive?"

"Say, aren't you cold?" was his prosy reply. "That church was too warm;
take my coat!"

"No, indeed; I don't need it! Oh, wasn't it a beautiful wedding! Did
Lillian and I walk slowly enough?" And she chattered on about all of the
details until the house was reached.

The bride and groom were already there, and gay congratulations followed
from the many guests. The dining-room, where the dainty wedding supper
was served, was elaborate with palms and high baskets of roses. Tables
about the room held six, and in the center, a large round table,
decorated with a broad, low mound of violets and roses, was arranged for
the bridal party. Here also was the bride's cake, and the small boxes of
wedding cake which the guests received upon leaving the room.

When Alice cut the bride's cake, the thimble fell to Ruth, which
occasioned much merriment, while the dime was discovered by Harry in his
own piece. The ring went to Mary, who emphatically denied that the omen
spoke truly. But when Mary also caught Alice's bouquet of
lilies-of-the-valley, the young people refused to listen to her
protests.

"Dear Alice," said Bettina, as she helped the bride into her traveling
suit, "may your whole life be as beautiful as your wedding!"

The wedding supper consisted of:

    Chicken and Mushroom Patties            Fruit Jelly
                        Hot Rolls
           Olives                         Pickles
           Ice Cream in Individual Slipper Moulds
       Violet Decorated Cake            Salted Pecans
                Fancy Candy in Tiny Baskets
                          Coffee

BETTINA'S RECIPES

(All measurements are level)

THE WEDDING RECIPES

=Chicken and Mushroom Filling for Patty Shells= (Fifteen portions)

    2 C-cooked chicken, diced
    1 C-button mushrooms, diced
    3 T-pimentoes, cut fine
    1 t-salt
    1/4 t-paprika
    2/3 C-flour
    2/3 C-chicken fat
    3 C-milk

Melt the fat, add the flour and salt; mix thoroughly. Add one-half a cup
of milk. Cook until thick, remove from the fire and heat one minute. Add
one cup of milk and reheat. When it thickens, beat vigorously until
creamy. Add the rest of the milk, and cook until thicker than vegetable
white sauce. Add the chicken, mushrooms and pimentoes. Serve hot in
patty cases.

To prepare the cases for serving, heat until hot in a moderate oven.

To obtain the chicken fat, cook a fat chicken slowly for a long time.
Remove the chicken from the stock and allow the stock to cool. The fat
will rise to the top. Use this instead of butter. It has a better flavor
and is cheaper.

=Fruit Jelly= (Fifteen portions)

    4 T-granulated gelatin
    2/3 C-cold water
    4 C-boiling water
    2/3 C-lemon juice
    2 C-sugar
    1 C-white grapes, seeded
    1/2 C-diced pineapple
    1/2 C-maraschino cherries, halved

Soak the gelatin twenty minutes in the cold water, and dissolve in the
boiling water, stirring till all is thoroughly dissolved. Strain through
a moistened cheese-cloth and add the sugar and the lemon juice. Place in
moistened individual moulds or one large pan. When the mixture is
slightly thick and cool, add the fruit, well-mixed. Set in a cold place
for one hour. Cut in squares when desired for use.

CHAPTER LXXXIII

A "HAPPEN-IN" LUNCHEON

BETTINA had finished her morning's work and was busy with her mending
when the telephone rang.

"Why, hello, Bob!" she answered, surprised to hear his voice at this
time of day.

"Bettina," said he, "could you possibly arrange to let me bring Carl
Edwards and his wife home to luncheon? They blew in a few minutes ago
and leave at two-thirty. We haven't much time, you see, and they are
especially anxious to see the house. They are planning to build for
themselves soon."

"Why, of course, Bob," said Bettina, hesitating for the briefest
possible second. "It's after eleven now, but I'll be glad to have you
bring them. Let's see--I'll give them the salad I had planned for
tonight, but I don't know what else--but, then, I'll manage somehow."

"All right, dear; that's fine. We'll be there early--a little after
twelve."

Bettina's "emergency shelf" was always well stocked, and before her
conversation with Bob was over her mind had hastily reviewed its
contents. In a very short time, her oven held escalloped salmon, graham
gems and "quick pudding," and she was setting the dainty porch table.
"I'm glad the weather is so beautiful," she said to herself, "for it is
so much fun to have a hurry-up luncheon like this out-of-doors. Well,
whatever the guests think, I'm sure that Bob will like my menu, for
'quick pudding' is a favorite dessert of his, and he can always eat
several graham gems!"

For luncheon they had:

    Escalloped Salmon                 Graham Gems
                     Apricot Sauce
               Bettina's Vegetable Salad
        Chocolate                 Marshmallows
               Bettina's "Quick Pudding"

BETTINA'S RECIPES

(All measurements are level)

=Escalloped Salmon= (Four portions)

    1-1/2 C-salmon
    3 T-sweet pickles, chopped fine
    1 T-lemon juice
    1/2 C-cracker crumbs
    1 egg
    1/4 t-paprika
    1/2 t-salt
    1/4 C-milk
    2 T-fresh bread crumbs
    1 T-melted butter

Pick the salmon apart with a fork and add the pickles, lemon juice,
cracker crumbs, egg, paprika, salt and milk, using a fork for mixing.
Place in a well-buttered baking dish. Melt the butter, add the fresh
crumbs and spread evenly over the top. Bake twenty minutes in a moderate
oven.

=Graham Gems= (Ten gems)

    1 C-graham flour
    1 C-white flour
    1 t-salt
    1/4 C-sugar
    3/4 t-soda
    3/4 C-sour milk
    1 egg

Mix the graham and white flour, the salt, sugar and soda, add the milk
and egg. Beat two minutes. Fill well-buttered muffin pans one-half full.
Bake twenty minutes in a moderate oven.

=Apricot Sauce= (Four portions)

    1/4 lb. dried apricots
    2 C-water
    1/2 C-sugar

Wash the dried apricots well. Add the water and allow them to soak for
three hours or longer. Cook very slowly in the same water until tender.
Add the sugar, and cook three minutes.

=Bettina's Vegetable Salad= (Four portions)

    1/2 C-cooked peas
    1/2 C-diced celery
    1/4 C-green pepper, chopped
    1/2 C-diced cooked potatoes
    1 T-chopped onion
    2 hard-cooked eggs, diced
    2 t-salt
    2/3 C-salad dressing

Mix the peas, celery, green pepper, potatoes, onion, egg and salt
thoroughly. Add the salad dressing, and serve cold on lettuce leaves.
Garnish with rings of green pepper and egg slices.

=Bettina's "Quick Pudding"= (Four portions)

    2 egg-whites, stiffly beaten
    4 T-powdered sugar
    10 dates, cut fine
    3 T-nuts, cut fine
    1/2 t-vanilla
    1/8 t-salt
    1/4 t-baking powder

Beat the eggs stiffly, add the nut meats, dates, vanilla, salt, sugar
and baking powder. Place in a well-buttered tin mould or a pan and bake
in a moderate oven for twenty-five minutes. Allow the mould to stand in
a pan of hot water while in the oven. Serve hot.

CHAPTER LXXXIV

UNCLE JOHN A GUEST AT DINNER

"WELL, well! In time for dinner; am I?" said Uncle John, letting in a
gust of snow-filled air as he opened the front door.

"Why, Uncle John, I should say you are!" answered Bettina with delight
as she removed her kitchen apron. "Do you smell my date buns? I believe
you'll like them!"

"Date buns? Never heard of anything so absurd in my whole life! What are
they?" And then, without waiting for an answer, he went on, "A regular
blizzard tonight, I do believe! I telephoned your Aunt Lucy that I
wouldn't be back to the farm till morning, then I found a place to leave
my car, and came up here to see if I couldn't get a bite to eat. But
date buns! I don't know about that! I'm not used to anything so fancy."

"Well, Uncle John, there's a salmon loaf baking in the oven, and also
some lemon rice pudding, so I believe there'll be something you'll
like."

"Maybe!" said Uncle John, doubtfully, but with a twinkle in his eye that
belied his words. "But let me see! Aunt Lucy sent you something; what
was it? Oh, yes, some cream!" And he took a glass jar from its
wrappings.

"Oh, Uncle John, how lovely!" said Bettina. "Won't we just revel in
cream! There comes Bob now! Get behind the door, Uncle John, and say
'boo'! the way you used to do with me when I was a little girl!"

That night for dinner Bettina served:

    Salmon Loaf                Creamed Potatoes
           Date Buns              Butter
                  Cranberry Sauce
                Lemon Rice Pudding
                      Coffee

BETTINA'S RECIPES

(All measurements are level)

=Salmon Loaf= (Three portions)

    1 C-flaked salmon
    1/2 C-fresh bread crumbs
    2/3 C-milk
    1 egg-yolk
    1/2 t-salt
    1/4 t-paprika
    1 t-melted butter
    1 t-flour

Mix the salmon, bread crumbs, milk, egg-yolk, salt and paprika. Pack
down in a well-buttered pan. Pour one teaspoon of melted butter over the
top. Dredge with flour. Bake thirty-five minutes in a moderate oven.
Serve hot or cold.

=Date Buns= (Twelve Buns)

    3 C-flour
    1/2 t-salt
    1 yeast cake
    2 T-sugar
    1/3 T-butter
    3/4 C-milk
    1 egg
    2/3 C-dates

Mix and sift the flour and the salt. Add the dates, which have been
pitted and cut into small pieces. Mix with sugar the yeast cake (broken
up). Heat the milk and add the butter. When the butter is melted, cool
the milk mixture slightly, and add it to the yeast mixture, stirring
carefully until the yeast is dissolved.

Add the egg well-beaten to the milk mixture, and add this to the flour.
Mix thoroughly and toss onto a well-floured board. Knead two minutes.
Place in a warm place and allow to rise one hour. Divide into twelve
pieces by cutting with a knife. Allow to rise ten minutes. Brush the
tops with one tablespoon of egg to which has been added one tablespoon
of milk. Bake twenty minutes in a hot oven.

=Lemon Rice Pudding= (Three portions)

    2/3 C-cooked rice
    1/4 t-salt
    1 C-milk
    1 egg
    1 T-lemon juice
    1/4 C-sugar
    1 T-powdered sugar
    1 t-lemon juice

Beat the egg-yolk, add the sugar, salt and lemon juice. Add the milk and
the rice. Cook one minute, stirring constantly to prevent scorching.
Pour into a well-buttered pudding dish. Beat the egg-white very stiff.
Add the powdered sugar and the lemon juice. (One teaspoon.) Pile lightly
on top of the pudding. Bake thirty minutes in a slow oven.

CHAPTER LXXXV

DURING THE TEACHERS' CONVENTION

"SO you'll not be back until dinner time?" Bettina had said at the
breakfast table to Bob's cousin, Edna, and her friend, Catherine. "A
whole day of it! How tired you'll be!"

Edna laughed her ripply laugh that always made everyone else laugh, too.
"Tired getting me a hat and a suit? Oh, Bettina! That makes me feel
livelier than ever!"

Catherine looked troubled. "Now, Edna," she said, "you positively
mustn't miss that afternoon meeting. I know it will be so inspiring!
Remember what Professor Macy said!"

Edna laughed again. "Catherine always quotes Professor Macy as if he
were an oracle or a sphinx or something instead of a nice solemn young
high school teacher who's getting a little bald!"

"He isn't bald and he isn't solemn," declared Catherine with some
spirit.

"Forgive me, Catherine dear! He is a lamb and a darling and everything
else you want me to say!"

"I want you to say? Why, Edna, aren't you ashamed!" said Catherine,
growing very red. "Who ever heard of such nonsense?"

"I love to tease you, Catherine. It's so easy! So you won't help me get
my hat? I want a beautiful purple one--or else a perky little black one.
I haven't decided whether to be stately and gracious, or frivolous and
cunning. But I do know that I will not look as if I were about to cram
the multiplication table into the head of some poor little innocent!"

"Don't worry, Edna," said Bob. "You won't look that way at all. In fact,
I wonder that you can be serious long enough to impress the members of
the school board when they come visiting."

"She doesn't try to impress them; she just smiles at them instead, and
that does just as well," said Catherine. "But she's not so utterly
frivolous as her conversation sounds. She wants to hear the convention
addresses just as much as I do--and I know she'll be there this
afternoon. In fact, I intend to save a seat for her."

"Between you and Professor Macy?" asked Edna, innocently. "Or on his
left?"

"Shame on you, Edna," said Bettina. "Now you girls tell me just what
you'd like for dinner! Aren't there some special dishes you're hungry
for?"

"Pork tenderloin and sweet potatoes!" said Edna. "Our landlady never has
them, and I often dream of the joy of ordering such delicacies!"

And so that evening for dinner Bettina had:

     Pork Tenderloin and Sweet Potatoes
               Baked Apples
        Bread                Butter
    Cottage Pudding with Chocolate Sauce
                   Coffee

BETTINA'S RECIPES

(All measurements are level)

=Pork Tenderloin and Sweet Potatoes= (Four portions)

    1-1/2 lbs. pork tenderloin
    1 t-salt
    1/4 t-pepper
    4 large sweet potatoes

Wipe the tenderloins which have been prepared by cutting into small
pieces (by the butcher). Place in a small roaster and put in a hot oven.
When brown on each side, season with salt and pepper. Pare the potatoes
and place in the pan with the meat. Baste every ten minutes with
one-fourth cup of water if there are not sufficient drippings to baste
both the potatoes and meat. Cook until the potatoes are done (about
forty-five minutes).

=Baked Apples= (Four portions)

    4 Jonathan apples
    8 T-"C" sugar
    2 t-cinnamon
    1 C-water
    1/2 t-vanilla

Wash and core the apples. Fill each with one tablespoon of sugar and
one-half teaspoon of cinnamon. Place in a small tin pan just large
enough to hold them. Add the water and the rest of the sugar, and bake
forty-five minutes in a moderate oven. Baste frequently with the syrup.
After the apples have cooked thirty minutes, add the vanilla to the
syrup.

=Bettina's Cottage Pudding= (Four portions)

    1/2 C-sugar
    1/4 t-salt
    1 C-flour
    2 t-baking powder
    3 T-chopped nuts
    1/2 t-vanilla
    1 egg
    1/2 C-milk
    3 T-melted butter

Mix the sugar, salt, flour, baking powder and nuts. Add the egg and milk
and mix well. Add the vanilla. Beat vigorously for two minutes, and then
add the melted butter. Pour into well-buttered gem pans, filling each
half full. Bake fifteen minutes in a moderate oven. Serve with chocolate
sauce.

=Chocolate Sauce= (Four portions)

    1/2 C-sugar
    2 T-flour
    1 C-water
    1/8 t-salt
    1 square of chocolate
    1/4 t-vanilla

Mix thoroughly the sugar, flour and salt. Add the water and the
chocolate. Cook slowly until the chocolate is melted (about two
minutes). Add the vanilla and serve hot. If too thick, add more water
until the desired consistency is reached.

CHAPTER LXXXVI

A LUNCHEON FOR THE TEACHERS

"I'LL stay at home and help you this morning; may I, Bettina?" asked
Edna, looking wistfully around at Bettina's white kitchen.

"No, indeed, my dear. It is such a simple little luncheon that I have
planned that I can easily do it all alone. And you must go to the
meeting. All I ask is that you won't forget to come home at noon."

"Edna would much rather fuss around with you in this dear little kitchen
than to go to the meetings," said Catherine, "but I won't let her. She
is always crazy to cook and do housework and things like that, but she
came to this convention with me, and I intend to have her get the
benefit of it. Do you hear me, you bad girl? It's almost time for us to
be there. Go and get your things!"

"This is the way I'm managed all the time!" complained Edna to Bettina.
"Do you wonder that I look thin and pale?"

"Poor Edna!" said Bettina, smiling at her round figure and rosy cheeks.
"Now do run along with Catherine. But don't forget we'll have three
other guests at noon! So wear your prettiest smile!"

"And I'll help you serve!" Edna smiled back.

That day for luncheon, Bettina had:

               Creamed Oysters on Toast
    Pear Salad             Brown Bread Sandwiches
        Pecan Ice Cream           Sponge Cake
            Mints                   Coffee

BETTINA'S RECIPES

(All measurements are level)

=Creamed Oysters on Toast= (Six portions)

    6 pieces of toast, cut circular
    3 T-butter
    4 T-flour
    1/4 t-paprika
    1 t-salt
    1-1/2 C-milk
    2 C-oysters

Pick over the oysters, and drain off the liquor. Melt the butter, add
the flour, salt and paprika, and mix thoroughly. Gradually add the milk,
cook until thick and creamy (about three minutes), and add the oysters.
Serve very hot on toast. Garnish with parsley.

=Pear Salad= (Six portions)

    6 halves of pear
    1/2 C-cottage cheese
    1 T-chopped pimento
    1 T-chopped green pepper
    6 halves of walnuts
    1/8 t-paprika
    6 T-salad dressing
    6 pieces of lettuce

Arrange the pears on the lettuce leaves. Mix the cheese, pimento, green
pepper and paprika thoroughly. Fill the half of the pear with the
mixture. Place salad dressing over the mixture and lay one nut meat on
top of each portion. Serve cold.

=Pecan Ice Cream= (Ten portions)

    1 qt. of cream
    3/4 C-sugar
    1-1/2 T-vanilla
    1/2 C-pecan meats, cut fine

Mix the cream, sugar and vanilla. Fill a freezer half full of the
mixture. When half frozen add the pecan meats. Continue freezing until
stiff. Pack and allow to stand two hours to "ripen" before serving.

=Sponge Cake= (Ten portions)

    6 egg-yolks
    1 C-sugar
    1 t-lemon extract
    6 egg-whites
    1 C-flour
    1/4 t-salt

Beat the egg-yolks until thick and lemon colored. Add the sugar
gradually and continue beating, using a Dover egg-beater. Add the
extract and whites of the eggs very stiffly beaten. Remove the egg
beater and cut and fold the flour which has been sifted four times, the
salt having been added to the last sifting. Bake one hour in an
unbuttered, narrow pan in a slow oven.

Genuine sponge cake has no baking powder or soda in it. The eggs must be
vigorously beaten so that the cake will rise. A very slow oven is
necessary. Increase the heat slightly every fifteen minutes.

Do not cut sponge cake; it should be broken apart with a fork.

CHAPTER LXXXVII

RUTH COMES TO LUNCHEON

"BETTINA, what makes the gas stove pop like that when I light it? I've
often wondered."

"Why, Ruth, that's because you apply the match too soon. You ought to
allow the gas to flow for about four seconds; that fills all the little
holes with gas and blows out the air. Then light it, and it won't pop or
go out. The flame ought to burn blue; if it burns yellow, turn it off,
and adjust it again."

"Well, I'm glad to know that. Sometimes it has been all right and
sometimes it hasn't, and I never realized that it was because I applied
the match too soon. I'm glad I came today."

"I'm glad, too, but not because of instructing you, I'm not competent to
do that in very many things, goodness knows! When I called up and asked
you to lunch, it was because I had such a longing to see what lovely
things you'd be making today. You will have the daintiest, prettiest
trousseau, Ruth!"

"I love to embroider, so I'm getting great fun out of it. I tell Fred
it's a treat to make pretty things and keep them all! They were usually
for gifts before! Oh, lobster salad?"

"No, creamed lobster on toast. There, Mister Lobster, you're out of your
can. I always hurry him out in double-quick time onto a plate, or into
an earthen-ware dish, because I'm so afraid something might interrupt
me, and I'd be careless enough to leave him in the opened can! Though I
know I never could be so careless. Then I never leave a metal fork
standing in lobster or canned fish. It's a bad thing."

"I knew about the can, but not about the fork, though I don't believe I
ever do leave a fork or a spoon in anything like that."

"Would you prefer tea, coffee, or chocolate with these cookies for
dessert?"

"Coffee, I believe, Bettina. Aren't they cunning cookies! What are
they?"

"Peanut cookies. I think they are good, and they are so simple to make.
They are nice with afternoon tea; mother often serves them. There--lunch
is all ready but the coffee, and we'll have that last."

Luncheon consisted of:

                 Creamed Lobster on Toast
    Head Lettuce      French Dressing with Green Peppers
               Bread                  Butter
                      Peanut Cookies
                          Coffee

BETTINA'S RECIPES

(All measurements are level)

=Creamed Lobster on Toast= (Two portions)

    2/3 C-lobster
    2 T-butter
    A few grains of cayenne pepper
    1/3 t-salt
    2 T-flour
    1 C-milk
    1/2 t-lemon juice
    1 egg-yolk
    3 slices of toast

Melt the butter, add the salt, cayenne and flour. Gradually add the
milk, cook until thick, stirring constantly unless in double boiler. Add
the egg-yolk. Add the lobster, separated with a fork, and the lemon
juice. Serve very hot on toast, garnished with parsley.

=Head Lettuce= (Two portions)

    1 head lettuce

Remove the outside leaves and the core. Soak in cold water with one-half
teaspoon salt in it, with the head of the lettuce down. Cut into
quarters. Serve a quarter as a portion.

=French Dressing with Green Peppers= (Two portions)

    1/2 t-salt
    1/4 t-pepper
    2 T-vinegar
    4 T-olive oil
    2 T-chopped green peppers

Mix the salt, pepper, and green pepper. Add the vinegar. Beat well and
add the olive oil slowly. Beat with a silver fork until the dressing
thickens.

=Peanut Cookies= (Two dozen)

    1/2 C-sugar
    3 T-butter
    1 egg
    1 t-baking powder
    1/4 t-salt
    1 C-flour
    1/2 C-chopped peanuts
    1/2 t-lemon juice

Cream the butter, add the sugar, mix well, and add well-beaten egg. Add
the baking-powder, salt, flour, chopped peanuts, and lemon juice. Mix