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About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 17, 1905)
.., p. .iv.-r-p; o mi wirg5f5 W". c -- 10 The Commoner. VOLUME 5, NUMBER K- T r. J- d"fW Worthiness Whatever lacks purposo is evil; A pool without pebbles breeds slime, Not any one step hath Chance fash ioned, On the infinite stairway of Time. Nor evor came good without labor Tn toil, or in scienco, or art; It must be wrought out through the muscles Born out of the soul and the heart Why plow in the stubble with plow shares? Why winnow the chaff from the grain? Ah, since all His gifts must bo toiled for: Since Truth is not born without pain, Ho giveth not to tho unworthy, The weak, or tho foolish in deeds; Who giveth but chaff at tho seed-time , Shall i;enp but a harvest of weeds. As the pyramid builded of vapor Is blown by his whirlwinds to naught, So tho song without truth is forgot ten His poem to man is man's thought. Whatever is strong with a purpose, In humbleness woven, soul-pure, is known to the Master of Singers; He toucheth it, saying, "Endure!" Selected. Home Cha The general Idea of Thanksgiving day is that it is a tlr . for feasting, principally. Tho feasting is all right, lnt it should not be allowed to be come a time of glutton: . In too many instances, we are inclined to take tho Bible's injunction to "take no thought or tomorrow," too literally, but to eat, drinkv and be merry, whatever the future may hold in storo for us. In this way, we lay up many a season of Suffering, for outraged nature will havo her revenge, and the "fulfilling. or the law" is sometimes gather hard oa us. In many families, foi days before the arrival of the festival oc casion, tho women of the household work themselves into a state of ex haustion, in the "preparation 0f the storo of "good things" which a few hours wilL see .utterly demolished, and then, for more days, there will be 8ffering, not only for themselves, but for those who have literally "stuffed" themselves, in order to do what thev suppose is "justice to the occasion." How much better it would be, if, testead of the material, the social features of the day were more thougtit C and planned for! The dinner might fee simple, satisfying and sustaining, without being unduly elaborate and exhausting, and the main pleasures oT the, day be the meetings and so cial intercourses of friends, the re wrion of families, ,and the exchanging ' of courtesies between polghbors. In country districts, these gatherings are kH, toq few, and, whllo tho money cost of such entertainmenta would be swall, the material for tho feasting befog principally raised on the farm, - yet the cost in nerve force and phy fKcal strength to the hostesses is greatly to bo deplored. Many women hesitate to off6r such hospitalities be cause of tho inability to get help about the work, and tho dread of the ex haustion which is sure to follow tho getting up and serving of such a din ner. The worry of the serving, the fear that every thing may not "go off just right," is much worse than the work of preparation, and nearly every one of us breathes a sigh of relief when the occasion is "over and done with." Heavy dinner-giving is not mifch of an occasion for thanks with tho average woman of today. Preparing the Thanksgiving Turkey Kill the fowl by striking a blow on the head strong enough to draw blood, but not to sever the head from the bod'. Hang it up by the feet and pluck the feathers while the bird is warm. Allow the fowl to hang until the blood has stopped dripping, then hang it in a cool place until required. Any sorts of fowl should be killed and dressed at least twenty-four hours before cooking. When ready to cook the fowl, if it is a turkey, singe off tho fine feathers by holding the bird over a lighted paper; next wash in cold water, dry thoroughly with a soft cloth, and pluck out all pin feathers that remain. Remove the feet by cut ting the skin at the side of the leg, bend the leg back at the joint and pull out the exposed sinews, one by one, with the aid of a steel table fork; then cut the muscles at the joint and remove the remaining sinews. , Make a slit in tho neck and draw out the crop and wind-pipe; turn the fowl over on its back, cut a slit from the breast to the rump and carefully remove the entrails; cut the heart, liver and gizzard free from the en trails, clean the gizzard, and set these pieces (called giblets) aside for the gravy. Cut out the oil bag, and wasn tne towi well and dry inside and out. "Lock" the wings, by turning the ends back over the back, or, if the ends of the wings are cut away, fasten the wings to the sides with a clean cord, or skewers of hard wood. Fill the cavity with the prepared stuff ing, and sew up the incision with fine twine, or coarse thread; draw the skin down over the leg-bones and fasten. Cut the neck away and cover the stump with the skin and 'fasten securely over the end, after press ing stuffing into the cavity left by the crop; Press the legs down elosfilv to the sides and insert the trussing needle through the body, bringing it back over the leg joints to tie at tho side. Tho piece of neck removed should be cooked with the giblets for gravy. -t BETTER THAN SPANKING ftmnklng doot not euro children or bod wotthur. JHranld-ttiero-wnuld bo frivrchUdron Mintirmtlrt rio iL ThorolHuco Btlfutloiml cauRo for thin. Mrs JMLiBaramorH. Uor.llB. Notro Dnmo, Inrt., will send lwrfctmiotroatiuonttouuy mother. Sho nsks no " Vr t0 l,or lSda: i yur children trouhlo ymn this tray. Dan't blnmo tho child. Tho Jiiaiuua io iv "i!im' ii Stuffing for the Turkey For chestnut stuffing, boil three dozen largo ohestnuts in salted water until tender; peel off the hull and brown skin and chop the kernels; then add one and a half cupfuls-of bread crumls, one large tablespoonful of butter, melted, one small, white onion chopped fine, salt, pepper to taste, and two well-beaten eggs. For oyster stuffing, make in the same way, with the exception that the oysters are substituted for tho chestnuts, about three dozen being drained of the liquor and added whole to tho other ingredients. bread, devoid of any Shard crust, buuivuu in jusi enougn of the liquor in which the turkey has been cooked, if boiled, or plain water, if the fowl is to be roasted, to make it moist, with a small quantity of chopped orange or lemon peel, several stalks- of white celery cut into tiny pieces, seasoned with sage, pepper and salt, and a ta blespoonful of butter, and all well mixed together, will be found good. For the Gravy. Wash the heart, liver and giblets and piece of neck thoroughly and put them over the fire with one quart of water; let sim mer until perfectly 4one, when only about a pint of the water should re main. Drain off the water, chop the meat fine, take out the bones, and add to the minced meat the liquor, with a little of the pan gravy, and season to taste. Thicken to the con sistency of cream with flour and water mixed smooth. The turkey may be either roasted or steamed; or, if preferred, may be boiled until tender and then stuffed and roasted. For steaming, a regu lar steam cooker is best, but a wash boiler may be used by placing a rack in the bottom, and setting the pan containing the bird on the rack above the water, putting in water enough to reach the bottom of the pan and covering the hoilcr closely with a thick towel before putting on the lid. It must not he allowed to boil dry, but the water to be added should be boiling when used. Only the water than falls in the pan with the turkey should be used, the water in the boiler being thrown away. No water should be put in the pan with the fowl, as the steam will con-i dense and fall back into the pan. To steam a turkey will take from two to three hours, according to size, arid the care taken to confine the steam. Serving and Carving a Turkey Place the roasted turkey on a large platter, cut and remqve the trussing threads, and garnish vith sprigs of; fresh parsley. When the platter is placed on the table the breast of the fowl should be at the left hand of the carver. It should be seen to pre viously that the carving knife is in good condition and well sharpened, and a small platter should be placed near at hand, on which the disjointed legs and wings may be laid while uie oreast is being carved. Insert the fork at the small end of the breastbone; first cut. off the wings and legs, disjoint the sections and Place them on the small plotter. Then slice the breast downward, through the thick part; the "merry thought" can easily be removed after the white meat of the breast, has been sliced away. When serving, place a piece of white and one of dark meat on each plate, with a portion of the stuffing which' is removed at the in cision at the end of the breastbone, using a table or serving spoon for that purpose; a small port'ion of gravy is added to the stuffing, and the servipg of the various vegetables on the dinner plate, with the sauces in individual dishes,, is a detail left to one's own choosing. Cranberries Pour boiling water over the cran berries, which will cause the good ones to swell, and the bad ones can thus be more easily picked out. Cook the berries always in either porcelain or granite-lined vessels, as the acid of tho fruit will dissolve metal and discolor tho fruit. They should never be cooked in iron, tin or brass. Cranberry Jelly.Cook ono quart of uruuuerries umu sort, then add one I J"!1 Plu; ?f sugar aud wok until n juice thickens. Wet a moid u U! water and pour the cranb rr iJT a porcelain or granite kett o and 1 S come to aboil; then add ouo 1 fully ten minutes, then pour into a mold which has been dipped i cou water Let stand never hour , w 2 t will turn out like jelly, and t S be sweet, yet tart. m Cranberry Pie. Pick over and wash 2 n ? f .cranberrs, chop, 3 add to them two and a half cups of sugar, half cupful of water and one tablespoonful of flour beaten until smooth; this amount is sufficient for two pies. Pour into pans lined with a bottom crust and lay strips of paste diamond-wise over the top. Bake un til the crusj: is a rich brown. t For Keeping the Hands Smooth This is the season when wo have trpuble with our hands. Here are some methods for keeping them smooth. Every one who is employed in such a manner that she must clean her hands frequently during tho day, must remember that every application of soap, which is always an alkaline mixture, takes fat from the skin, and by this means leaves the hands dry and rough, like sandpaper, or chapped out of all bearing. If not attended to, the skin becomes like a grater, fills with grime and dirt, and becomes often times painfully sore, dry, wrinkled and red. To avoid this con dition, you have vbut to wash tho hands thoroughly with bran and cas tile , soap, mixing them together by Sifting the. powdered soap into tho bran. The soap and bran makes a yery soft cleansing mixture, and leaves the skin in good condition. Or, if not very much soiled, the hands should be washed with almond meal, using no soap; or, corn meal and lemon juice is cleansing and healing. Immediately after drying, apply a little geraniunt jelly,, rubbing it in well. If you have a bottle of this jelly where you can use it each time after the hands have .been in water, and at night, aft6r -its use, using a little good cream, drawing old gloves on to t sleep in, 3rou may have nice hands,, even in winter. Another lo tion to use on the hands at night is made by adding to four tablespoonfuls of fine oatmeal the juice of one lemon and a quart of distilled water in which has previously been dissolved one dram of borax. Some recipes advise boiling the oatmeal in the dis tilled water before adding the lemon. Either will make the skin appear softer and finer. ' Thanksgiving Candies The foundation of' a great many confections which cost considerable when bouglit at the confectioners, is "fondant," or plain, white cream candy, and they may be made at home at great saving of cost. Put a scant cupful of granulated, or coffee sugar in a half a cupful of water to dissolve: when dissolved, add a bit or 'creani tartar the size of a large white bean, previously dissolved in a son ful of cold water. Set over a quick fir and stir until the syrup begins o boil, but not a stroke after, or it will "grain" and go back to sugar, w three minutes, drop a little in n cup of very cold water, and if you can malce a soft ball of it between tne fingers, it is ready to pour out. uo AN OJjDANO WKLIiTAlKD IUCMKI' MltB. WlNflr.0W'B800TnN0 STnupior toethln g should alwaysboMscd for c ldre u tvetlilnjr. Itsoftona tho gnma, allays bHpiiu nmil COHO ami IB ino uenii lumcu - Twenty-live conts a bottle. ft tt 11 !