XVI Bettina Has a Caller

"Well, I'll go back to the hotel for luncheon with him, and then I'll phone him later to meet me at the house. I won't tell him a thing; I'll just give him the address. I'll say it's very, very important. That will surprise him and perhaps will frighten him a little. He never does leave his office during business hours, but it will take only a few minutes for him to run out here in the car. Goodness, I'm forgetting what I came for! Do you suppose I am too stupid to try to make those Spanish buns Frank liked so much? We had them at the picnic, you know. I have three hours after luncheon until he comes, and I just long to give him some good coffee and some Spanish buns that I've made myself! That little kitchen looks as if it would be so nice to work in! I tried coffee a little while ago over at the house, and really—it was fine! It looked just like yours! I was so surprised! To think of my doing such things!" "Of course you could make Spanish buns; it would be fine if you would. I'll tell you,—why not let me come over for an hour right after luncheon and superintend? Then I'll slip home so that you can be alone when Frank comes. I could tell you some other things about cooking while we're there together,—things you may write down in your new notebook. For example, I've often wondered that so few housekeepers can make good white sauce." "What in the world is that?" "It's used in cream soups, and it's the cream part of creamed vegetables and meat and fish, and then there is a thicker white sauce that is used to bind croquettes— that is, hold the ingredients together. There are really four kinds of white sauces and they are very simple to make. I think everyone should know the right way to make them, for they are useful in preparing so many good things." "I'm glad we'll be near you because I can ask you so many questions." "And I'm glad that it is summer, because you can have so many things that require little or no cooking, and by fall, I'm sure you will be an accomplished housekeeper." "Will you come over at two, then, or earlier if you can?" "Of course I will!"

And as Mrs. Dixon hurried away Bettina felt a sympathetic thrill at the happiness two other people were about to find.

BETTINA'S RECIPES

(All measurements are level) Spanish Buns (Twelve Buns) ½ C-butter 1 C-sugar 1 egg-yolk ½ C-milk 1¾ C-flour 3 t-baking powder

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1 t-cinnamon ¼ t-powdered cloves 1 egg-white beaten stiffly 1 t-vanilla ½ C-currants

Cream the butter and sugar, add the egg yolk. Mix and sift the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and cloves; add these and the milk to the first mixture. Beat one minute. Add the vanilla and the stiffly beaten egg white. Bake in well buttered muffin pans twenty minutes in a moderate oven. Ice with confectioner's icing. Confectioner's Icing (Twelve portions) 3 T-cream 1 t-vanilla 1 C-powdered sugar

Mix the cream and vanilla, add sugar slowly until the consistency to spread (more sugar may be needed). This is a most satisfactory frosting and is easily and quickly made. It is suitable for hot weather. White Sauces (Four portions)

1—Soup

1 T-flour 1 T-butter 1 C-liquid ¼ t-salt

This is the consistency for creamed soups.

2—Vegetable Sauce

2 T-butter 2 T-flour 1 C-milk ¼ t-salt

This white sauce is used for creamed vegetables, creamed fish, etc.- This amount is required for two cups of vegetables.

3—Pattie Sauce

3 T-butter 3 T-flour 1 C-milk 1/3 t-salt

This sauce is used for oyster or other patties.

4—Croquette Sauce

3 T-butter 4 T-flour 1 C-milk 1/3 t-salt

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This is called a binding white sauce and is used to hold other ingredients together.

Method of Preparing White Sauces

Melt the butter in a saucepan and add the flour and salt, stirring constantly. When well mixed add the liquid, a little at a time. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. This is far better than mixing the flour with a little of the liquid when cold, as so many people do when creaming potatoes or other things. If the white sauce seems too thick for the purpose, thin with a little more liquid before removing from the fire.

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CHAPTER XXI

A RAINY-DAY DINNER

THE rain had been falling all day in a heavy downpour, and Bettina had ventured out only to gather some red clover blooms for the porch table, which she was now setting for dinner. In spite of the rain, it was not cold, and she liked the contrast of the cheerful little table, with its white cloth and bright silver, and the gray day just outside the screen. "If Bob would only come home early, how nice it would be!" she thought. "Perhaps that's he at the telephone now."

However, it proved to be Mrs. Dixon. "I phoned to ask you if I should throw away the yolks of two eggs. I've just used the whites." "Oh, no, Mrs. Dixon! Beat them up well, and add a little cold water to them. Then set them in the ice-box. They will be just as good later as they would be now. You may want them for salad dressing or something else." "If I ever have the white of the egg left, shall I treat that the same way?" "No, don't beat that up at all, nor add any water. Just set it in the refrigerator as it is. I'm so glad you called up, Mrs. Dixon. Will you and your husband take dinner with us next Sunday? Perhaps we might all go to church first." "We'd love to do that! I've just been worrying over Sunday dinner, and you've restored my peace of mind. But won't it be a great deal of work for you?" "I won't let it be. I don't believe in those heavy, elaborate Sunday dinners that take all the morning to prepare. We'll just come home from church and have it in half an hour. You may help me." "We'd love to come. I have so much to tell you. I've been very busy, but Frank has helped, and it has been such fun! You don't know how he enjoys the little house! Well, good-bye till tomorrow!"

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