XXXVII The Big Secret

"W E have gone 'over home' for so many Sunday dinners lately," Bettina had said to her mother, "that I want you and father to come here tomorrow." "But, Bettina," her mother protested, "isn't it too much work for you? And won't you be going to church?" "I can't go to church tomorrow, anyhow, for Bob's Uncle Eric is to be in town all morning; he leaves at noon, and the Dixons have offered us their car to take him for a drive. Don't worry, Mother, I'll have a simple dinner—a 'roast beef dinner,' I believe. I often think that is the very easiest kind."

Sunday morning was so beautiful that Bettina could not bear to stay indoors. Accordingly, she set the breakfast table on the porch, even though Uncle Eric protested that it was too far for her to walk back and forth with the golden brown waffles she baked for his especial delight. When he and Bob had eaten two "batches," Uncle Eric insisted that he could bake them himself for a while. He installed Bettina in her chair at the table, and forced waffles upon her till she begged for mercy. "Gracious!" Bettina exclaimed as she heard the "honk" of the Dixons' automobile at the door. "There are the Dixons already and we have just finished breakfast! Bob, you and Uncle Eric will have to go on without me, for I must get the roast in the oven and do the morning's work." "Well, I learned today to make waffles," said Uncle Eric.

For dinner that day Bettina served: Roast Beef Brown Gravy Browned Potatoes Baked Squash Lettuce French Dressing Lemon Sherbet Devil's Food Cake Coffee

BETTINA'S RECIPES

(All measurements are level) Roast Beef (Eight portions) 3½ lb. rump roast of beef 4 T-flour 2 t-salt ¼ C-hot water

Roll the roast in the flour and set on a rack in a dripping-pan. Place in a hot oven and sear over all sides. Sprinkle the salt over the meat and add the hot water. Cover the meat and cook in a moderate oven. Baste every fifteen minutes. Allow fifteen minutes a pound for a rare roast, and twenty minutes a pound for a well done roast. When properly done, the outside fat is crisp and brown. Brown Potatoes (Six portions)

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6 potatoes 1 t-salt

Wash and peel the potatoes. Sprinkle with salt. Forty minutes before the roast is to be done, add the potatoes. During the last ten minutes of cooking the lid may be removed from the meat and potatoes to allow all to brown nicely. Browned Gravy (Six portions) 4 T-beef drippings 2 T-flour 1 C-water ¼ t-salt

Place four tablespoons of beef drippings in a pan, add the flour and allow to brown. Add the rest of the drippings, the water and the salt. Cook two minutes. Serve hot.

Baked Squash (Six portions) 1 squash 2 T-butter 1½ t-salt ¾ t-paprika

Wash and wipe the squash, and cut into halves, then quarters. Remove the seeds. Place the pieces of squash, skin down, in a baking-dish and bake in a moderate oven until tender (about one hour). Remove from the oven, mash up with a fork, and add to each portion one-half a teaspoon of butter, one-fourth a teaspoon of salt, and one-eighth a teaspoon of paprika. Reheat in the oven and serve hot. Devil's Food Cake (Sixteen pieces) 1/3 C-butter 1 C-sugar 1 egg 2/3 C-sour milk 1 t-vanilla 2/3 t-soda 2 C-flour 2 squares of melted chocolate

Cream the butter, add the sugar and continue to cream the mixture. Add the egg, well beaten, and the chocolate. Mix well. Add the soda and flour sifted together, and the sour milk and vanilla. Beat three minutes. Bake in two layer cake pans prepared with waxed piper for twenty-five minutes in a moderate oven. Icing (Sixteen portions) 2 C-"C" sugar ½ C-water 2 egg-whites beaten stiffly 1 t-vanilla

Cook the sugar and water together until it clicks when a little is dropped into a cup of cold water. Pour slowly over the beaten egg whites. Beat vigorously until

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creamy. Add the vanilla. Pour on one layer of the cake. Place the upper layer on top, and pour the rest of the icing upon it. Spread evenly over the top and over the sides.

CHAPTER LII

BOB MAKES PEANUT FUDGE

"I USUALLY complain when it rains—I have that habit—but I must confess that I like a rainy evening at home once in a while," said Bob, as he and Bettina sat down at the dinner table. "Dinner on a rainy night always seems so cozy." "Liver and bacon don't constitute a very elaborate dinner," said Bettina. "But they taste good for a change. And oh, Bob, tonight I want you to try a new recipe I heard of—peanut fudge. It sounds delicious." "I'm there," said Bob. "I was just thinking it would be a good candy evening. Then, when the candy is done, we'll assemble under the new reading lamp and eat it." "Yes, it'll be a good way to initiate the reading lamp! Wasn't it dear of Uncle Eric to give it to us? I kept wondering why he was so anxious to know just what I planned to do with the money I won for my nut bread at the fair. I even took him around and pointed out this particular lamp as the thing I had been saving for. And here it arrived the day after he left, as a gift to me! It was dear of Uncle Eric! But now what on earth shall I do with my fair money?" "Don't worry about that, Bettina. Put it in the bank." "But I'd like to get something as sort of a monument to my luck. Have you any particular needs, Bob?" "Not a need in the world! Except for one more of those fine fruit gems over there."

That night they had for dinner: Liver and Bacon Creamed Turnips Fruit Gems Apple Sauce Tea

BETTINA'S RECIPES

(All measurements are level) Creamed Turnips (Two portions)

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