Pin-money suggestion

Foreword

A woman wishing to earn money at home should first carefully consider many things: her aptitude for certain lines of work; her strength; the amount of time she can afford to devote to this new work daily, etc. She should also consider her surroundings, and the needs and purses of her neighbors.

It is the purpose of this book to encourage the thousands, and hundreds of thousands of women who desire to take up some remunerative line of work during their leisure hours, either as a means of self-support, or to enable them to earn the extra pin-money, which will warrant their taking some long desired trip, some course of study or to spend on the thousand and one little things which bring so much pleasure into one's life.

The following practical suggestions have been furnished by women workers all over the world, and are offered to others as successful methods, by which money may be earned, both in the city and in the country.

Lilian Whitney Babcock.

Contents

CHAPTER PAGE

I. Home Cooking i

II. Homemade Candy and Nut Goodies . 34

Chapter I

Home cooking always pays. The old-fashioned cooking appeals to almost everyone. The servant girl problem will always remain a perplexing one, and the woman who likes to cook has a clear path to success open before her.

In every community there is some woman whose bread surpasses that mixed in any other household; another whose cake is invariably a marvel of lightness, or whose flaky and delicious pie-crust is the despair of other housewives. Such fortunate cooks can almost invariably find a ready market for their cooking, if they will let it be known that it is for sale. Hundreds of women have tried this method of earning pin-money successfully, and one cook sends her recipes for others to try.

" The following recipes are my standbys and if carefully followed there will be no difficulty in getting top prices for these home baked goodies."

WHOLE WHEAT BREAD

Three pints of whole wheat flour, one quart of white flour, one cup of sugar, one cup of molasses, one tablespoonful of salt, one mixing spoon heaping full of lard, one yeast-cake, lukewarm water for mixing.

Break yeast-cake in cup of lukewarm water and place lard in a quart of warm water, and set on shelf over stove for a while to keep warm and dissolve.

Place the two kinds of flour in a large mixing bowl. Add salt, sugar, molasses, also yeast-cake and lard, including water they have dissolved in. Mix all together with a spoon. More warm water may have to be added as this bread is made softer than white bread. Cover and set in a warm place to rise over night.

In the morning let it rise again in pans before baking. Handle dough very little when putting in pans.

A ready market awaits any woman who can make this delicious, wholesome bread.

REAL OLD-FASHIONED RAISED MUFFINS

i Pint Milk 4 Cupfuls Flour

1 Tablespoonful Butter yi Yeast-cake

1 Tablespoonful Sugar ^ Cupful Water

1 Rounding Teaspoonful Salt 2 Eggs

To have these muffins ready for breakfast you must, of course, mix them the night before, setting them to rise about nine o'clock. You will need to have the milk tepid, and dissolve the butter in it. Put the flour, sugar, and salt into a lipped bowl. Having dissolved the yeast in the water, add it to the milk and butter and pour the mixture on the flour. Beat well, and add the eggs, well beaten. Cover, and let rise in a warm place. In the morning put the batter in well-buttered muffin-tins and let it rise for thirty or forty minutes; then bake in a moderate oven for about twenty-five minutes.

If you should wish to have the muffins for some other meal they will rise in four or five hours in a temperature of about 80 degrees Fahrenheit; but you would need for your mixture half a cake of yeast.

SWEET CORN MUFFINS

1 Cupful Cornmeal 4 Tablespoonf uls Sugar i}4 Cupfuls Flour 1 Teaspoonful Soda

2 Cupfuls Milk 2 Teaspoonfuls Cream of Tartar 2 Tablespoonfuls Butter j4 Teaspoonful Salt

3 Eggs

Do not be niggardly in measuring your cornmeal for these muffins. Let the cupful be one that is heaped a bit. Mix the meal and all the other dry ingredients except the soda and sugar, and rub the mixture through a sieve. Having done this, beat the butter and sugar together until creamy; then add the yolks of the eggs and beat well. Beat the whites to a froth. After dissolving the soda in the milk, stir the milk in with the sugar, butter, and egg mixture. Now add those dry materials which were sifted. Beat well, and finally stir in the whites of the eggs. Put into buttered muffin-tins and bake in a quick oven for about half an hour.

GRAHAM MUFFINS To one pint of cold milk add one and one-half pints of graham flour, one teaspoonful of sugar, half a teaspoonful of salt and one teaspoonful of melted lard, butter, or cottolene. Stir and beat well and lastly sift in two teaspoonfuls of baking powder. Stir so as to mix evenly through the dough. Put into muffin pans well greased and bake in a moderate oven half an hour.

MUFFINS

One quart of flour, two eggs, one pint of milk, one spoonful of butter, one of sugar, two spoonfuls of cream of tartar, one spoonful of soda; heat tins very hot; bake in fifteen minutes. ENGLISH MUFFINS

One cup of mashed potato, three eggs, two cups of water, one yeast-cake, half a cup of sugar, three-quarters cup of lard or cottolene, half a teaspoonful of salt, flour for a sponge.

Beat the lard into the potato while the latter is hot, add the salt, sugar, and water. Beat the eggs, stir them in and then add the flour. Beat hard, add the yeast, previously dissolved in half a cup of tepid water. If you have a Universal Cake Mixer, you may put all the ingredients into it at once, and beat together, adding the flour last. This makes a sponge or soft batter and must be set aside, well covered, for two hours, or until light. When light, change the beater in^the cake mixer for the kneader and turn in enough flour for a soft dough, that may be dropped from a spoon. Set aside again until light, turn the kneader a few times and remove it.

Have ready well-greased muffin rings, set on a baking sheet, drop a spoonful of dough into each one, until it is half full; set in a warm place until they rise to the top of the rings, when they are ready to bake. This quantity will make three dozen muffins,

POP -OVERS

One cup of milk, two eggs, one cup of sifted flour, half a teaspoonful of melted butter, half a teaspoonful of salt.

Beat eggs just enough to mix yolks and whites; add milk and salt. Add this mixture gradually to the flour, stirring hard.

Beat until the batter is smooth. Have muffin pans very hot and well greased, fill three-quarters full and bake forty minutes.

This quantity makes ten pop-overs.

GRAHAM ROLLS One cup of ice water, half a teaspoonful of salt, enough graham flour to make a thick batter. Beat lightly and bake in a very hot oven.

CORN CAKE

One cup of Indian meal, two cups of flour, half a cup of sugar, one cup of milk, one egg, two spoonfuls of cream of tartar, one spoonful of soda, pinch of salt.

GRANDMOTHER'S DOUGHNUTS

Two-thirds of a cup of sour milk; one cup of sugar, a piece of butter the size of a walnut (melted), one egg, one teaspoonful of soda; use nutmeg for spicing; only use flour enough to keep the dough very soft. Have the fat so hot that the cakes will rise to the surface as soon as dropped in.

THE KIND OF DOUGHNUTS THAT SELL

One cup of sugar; one and a half cups of milk; a level teaspoonful of salt, one or two eggs, three teaspoonfuls of baking-powder; one-half teaspoonful of grated nutmeg, or a pinch of ginger. Flour for very soft dough.

Beat egg and add milk and sugar.

Sift together two cups of flour with salt, spice, and baking-powder, and beat this into the mixture; add enough flour for very soft dough. Have the molding board well covered with flour. Roll thin and cut with a doughnut cutter.

MY GRANDMOTHER SHEPHERD'S PLUM PUDDING

" This recipe is nearly one hundred years old and unknown till now, I believe, to anyone but myself."

Butter thickly a four-quart pudding dish; fill the dish nearly half full of warm milk; add ten of the thick, common Boston crackers, pounded fine; eight well beaten eggs; half a cup of molasses; sufficient brown sugar to make it very sweet. Spice to taste (nutmeg prominent) and season with salt. Mix the above, and after standing an hour, add two and three-quarter pounds of raisins (this weight after being picked) ; butter the size of a small egg; if the pan is not full, add a little milk. Bake in a slow oven from three to four hours.

As soon as it begins to bake on the top, stir it so the raisins may not settle to the bottom. Continue this every little while until sufficiently baked to have the raisins retain their places. When through stirring, pour a little sweetened milk over the top. Let it remain in the oven about three hours after. This pudding is to be eaten with a rich sauce. Put on table whole and slice like rich plum cake. This will keep for days and is delicious. It sells readily.

BOILED SUET PUDDING One cup of chopped suet, one cup of sweet milk, one cup of molasses, a little less than four cups of flour, one teaspoonful of soda. Boil two hours. One cup of currants or chopped raisins improves this. — Contributed.

CRUMPETS Take three teacups of raised dough and work into it with the hand half a teacup of melted butter, three eggs and enough milk to render it a thick batter. Turn into a buttered pan and let stand for fifteen minutes, then put this into a baking pan, heated so as to scorch flour. It will bake in half an hour. — Contributed.

SUPERIOR JUMBLES

Four eggs, one cup of butter, three cups of white sugar, two teaspoonfuls cream of tartar, one teaspoonful soda, half a cup of milk, flour enough to roll out easily; cut into the shape of cookies; before cutting, wet the dough and sift over it a little powdered sugar. — Contributed.

JUMBLES

Two cups of sugar, one cup of butter, three eggs, half a cup of sour milk; flavor; add sufficient flour to make it stiff enough to roll out.

GINGER SNAPS One cup of molasses, one cup of sugar, one cup of lard, one tablespoonful of vinegar, two teaspoonfuls of ginger, two teaspoonfuls of soda, one egg and a little salt; flour enough to stiffen. — Contributed.

SOFT GINGER BREAD Two cups of molasses, one cup of lard or butter, one cup of milk, cne egg, two teaspoonfuls of ginger, one of salt, and one of soda, four cups of flour.

PHILADELPHIA SAND WAFERS One cup of butter, two cups sugar, half a cup of milk, teaspoonful of soda, five cups of flour.

SPONGE CAKE

Three eggs, one and one-half cups of sugar, two cups of flour, half a cup of cold water, one teaspoonful cream of tartar, half a teaspoonful of saleratus. Beat the sugar and the eggs together; add the water when these are light, then the flour, to which soda and cream of tartar have been added. Flavor with lemon and bake in a quick oven. — Contributed.

SPICE CAKE

Beat together one cup of sugar and one quarter pound of butter; add three eggs and about a pint of flour; add one teaspoonful of cream of tartar and half a teaspoonful of soda to half a cup of sweet milk; stir into the flour; add a tablespoonful of cloves and cinnamon mixed, and half a nutmeg. To this add a large spoonful of wine or brandy if desired. — Contributed.

COOKING FOR THE SICK

" My work is cooking solely for the sick and convalescent. There is a constant demand for my diabetic bread and rolls, and for my broths and jellies of all kinds. I have called upon the physicians in our city, explaining my work to them, and the result is that most of my patronage comes through their recommendation. Among the many dishes I prepare are the following: beef extract and albumen water; egg lemonade; Irish moss blanc-mange; wine jelly; calves' foot jelly; cup custard; jellied chicken broth; beef tea; mutton broth; clam broth; wine, whey and tapioca jelly."

THE WAY TO MAKE AND SELL JELLY

A good jelly maker can make more than pin-money by the sale of home-made jelly. If the following directions are carried out the jelly will always be a success.

All fruit must first be washed, and the bad spots, such as worm holes and specks, cut out. Strawberries, currants, grapes, and fruits of this kind must be stemmed before cooking.

Large fruits, such as apples, crab-apples, quinces, etc., must be quartered but not peeled, and the seeds must be left in. Put the washed fruit into an agate or porcelain kettle, and cover within an inch of the top of the fruit with cold water. Place on the stove where it will cook slowly and evenly until the fruit is translucent and soft. Grapes and berries are cooked until broken. Have ready a flannel straining-bag, taking a square piece of flannel twenty-seven by twenty-seven inches, fold it to make a three-cornered bag, stitch one of the sides, cut the top square across, bind the opening with strong, broad tape, and stitch on this binding, four tapes with which to tie to a frame. To use the bag, tie it to a strong frame or to the backs of two kitchen chairs. If the chairs are used, place some heavy articles in them. Or it may hang on a pole (a broom handle) which rests on the backs of the chairs. Before the strainer is used it should be washed and boiled in pure water. Place a dish below the bag and pour the fruit juice into it; this will pass through comparatively clear.

Now measure the juice, put in a clean kettle, and for every quart of liquid, measure out one quart of sugar. Put the kettle on the stove. Do not cover at any time during the process of jelly making. When it has boiled ten minutes, during which it must be skimmed several times, put the pan of sugar in the oven to heat, being careful that it does not burn.

Continue boiling, skimming constantly for ten more minutes, making twenty minutes in all. Now take the pan of sugar from the oven; this should be hot but not browned in the least. Pour the sugar slowly into the liquid, stirring constantly. The hot sugar will hiss as it goes into the juice. When the sugar is all in, stop stirring and let the jelly boil five more minutes; it should then drop from the spoon in thick chunks.

Wring out a piece of cheese cloth in boiling water and place over a pitcher. Skim the jelly once more and pour it through the cheese cloth. If any jelly is left in the kettle, place on the back of the stove to keep hot, while pouring the liquid from the pitcher into glasses. Place a silver spoon in each tumbler, while pouring in jelly, to prevent the glass from breaking. After it is all poured out, skim off the air bubbles with a silver spoon. Do not disturb the glasses until the jelly jells which may be the second day after it is made; this depends upon the weather. When the jelly is firm, melt paraffin and pour a thin coating over each glass. Be sure to label the tumblers.

Grape jelly is nicer if one quart of apple juice is added to three quarts of grape juice. In making elderberry jelly, add half apple juice.

While jelly is being made, get the smallest glasses, that you can buy at the five and ten cent store (two or three for five cents). Fill these tiny glasses, and write cards like this:

" Miss wishes to announce that she is

ready to supply you with the following home-made jellies.

NAME PRICE

" Grape, per dozen, $3.00 " Quince, per dozen, $3.00 " Apple, per dozen, $2.50 "

Mark the small glasses u Sample; Jelly sold in full-sized glasses." Attach the cards to these glasses and send them to the Woman's Exchange, nice hotels, boarding-houses, schools for wealthy girls, and rich private families.

" We tried this and had more orders than we could fill."

GRAPE JUICE

" We have several grape vines on our place which bear heavily every year. This fall I made and sold about ten gallons of grape juice. In making this, I take ten pounds of the grapes and add three cupfuls of water, and a pound of sugar. The grapes are allowed to cook until thoroughly crushed. The juice is then strained through a jelly bag and again allowed to boil. The sugar is now added, and a,fter boiling ten minutes the juice is put into pint and half pint bottles, and tightly sealed."

PRESERVING FIGS

" In Florida, on one of the large plantations, a plucky little woman is preserving whole figs, and selling them in quart jars to the Northern trade. Some of the figs are preserved plain, the balance with ginger. She could sell many times the number of jars now shipped, provided she had the health, and help to extend her work."

EVAPORATING FRUIT

" The evaporating of fruit on a small scale is interesting work and work which provides me with all of my Christmas money each year.

" The sun-drying method is old-fashioned. I use a portable evaporator for fruit of all kinds. With the exception of the bottom and firebox, our evaporator is made of wood. It is three feet wide and five feet long, and two feet high above the firebox.

" This box contains five trays, each two inches deep. The frames of the trays are of wood, and the bottoms of galvanized wire netting. The cover and bottom of the evaporator are supplied with holes for ventilation. As soon as the fruit is peeled and sliced, it is subjected to the fumes of burning sulphur for a half hour, or until the pieces are very white. This is accomplished by putting the trays of the fruit in a tight box and burning the sulphur below. A half pound of sulphur is required to bleach a hundred pounds of the green fruit. Coal or wood may be burned in the furnace beneath the evaporator.

" About six hours are required to thoroughly dry the fruit."

HOMEMADE ICE CREAM

" This is the way a friend of mine makes her pin-money. Only a year ago she made enough to have her house repainted. She lives in a city of about ten thousand population. From March 15th to November 1st she makes ice cream or an ice of some kind (three gallons, some days, and when it is very warm as much as eight gallons) and places this on sale in one or two of the drugstores. It is known she makes these ices and they are always delicious, so the drug-store receives the patronage of a large portion of the population. She also takes orders for private parties, making both cakes and whatever ice or ice cream is preferred. As this requires only from two to four hours a day she can attend to her household duties and always has all her afternoons free for callers or social duties or exercise." — Mrs. D. F.

JAPANESE TEA WAFERS " Last summer I earned quite a snug little sum in this way. First I made Japanese Tea Wafers. These are very similar in looks and taste to the cones used for ice cream, only they are far nicer than the boughten ones.

" Break the white of one egg in a bowl. Add one tablespoonful of sugar, stir a minute, and then add one tablespoonful of flour and one-half teaspoonful of softened butter, beat until well mixed. (It should be about as thick as cream.) Pour a teaspoonful of this batter on the reverse side of a large baking pan slightly greased, and with the back of the spoon spread it until about four inches in diameter and almost as thin as tissue paper. Bake in a moderate oven till brown, and while still hot, roll around a new curling iron into a horn. This is very easily done. These horns I filled with home-made ice cream and sold for five cents apiece. They sold like hot cakes, the days I made them."

A WAFFLE KITCHEN

" My home is in Pittsburg. A few years ago I found I must earn my own living or starve. A newspaper man suggested my opening a 6 waffle kitchen ' in ' Newspaper Row.' The advice was followed, and I now have a modest home and a small bank account.

" The waffle irons must be very hot and well greased, using the butter brush to reach into every depression. Pour the batter from a pitcher until the iron is lightly covered. Close the irons and turn them over. If the irons are heated just right, the waffles should bake in three minutes.

"Never wash a waffle iron, but rub clean with salt and put away in a paper bag.

" The following recipe is a good one. Three cups of flour; two eggs; one tablespoonful of melted butter; two cups of milk; one and a half teaspoonfuls of baking-powder; one-third teaspoonful of salt.

" Mix and sift dry ingredients, adding milk gradually, yolks of eggs well beaten, butter and whites of eggs beaten stiff and folded in. Bake at once."

BIRTHDAY CAKE

" My home is in a New Jersey town where there are many well-to-do families. Recently my little daughter celebrated her tenth birthday by having a large party. I had made her a birthday cake for the occasion. This cake was greatly admired by the children.

" Shortly after the party, one of the mothers asked me where the cake had been purchased. On learning that the cake was home-made, she expressed great surprise. I offered to make one for her even prettier than Ruth's. From that day to this the demand for my birthday cake has increased. My prices vary from $2.00 to $5.00 for a cake. By the aid of the pastry tube the cakes are prettily decorated. The child's name or initials, together with the figures of the birth year, may be made with ordinary icing, colored and made a trifle stiffer than usual. A wreath may be made around the edge of little roses or daisies. It is an easy matter to use the pastry tube. The icing is poured into the tube or bag, and the bag is given a twist until the icing begins to ooze out of the end of the tube. One need only move the hand about, or back and forth in one place, until the rose or star, or whatever is desired takes shape."

WHITE MOUNTAIN CAKES

" My old-fashioned White Mountain cakes, with soft, creamy icing sell for one dollar each. These are sold to private customers and through our local grocery store. These cakes supply me with all my pin-money."

ORANGE FILLING

" A delicious orange filling for cakes is made as follows: Boil two cupfuls of granulated sugar with half a cup of water, until the syrup will thread when tested. Beat the yolks of three eggs very light and slowly pour the syrup into these, stirring constantly. Beat this mixture until it is stiff and cool. Then add the grated rind of two oranges and the juice of one. A little lemon juice improves the flavor."

INDIVIDUAL SHORTCAKES " During the strawberry season I serve little individual shortcakes in my Tea Room. These are made as follows:

2 Cupfuls of Sifted Flour i Tablespoonful of Lard

2 Tablespoonfuls of Sugar i Tablespoonful of Butter

y 2 Teaspoonful of Salt y 2 Cup of Milk

2>£ Teaspoonfuls of Baking >^ Cup of Water Powder

" Bake in small cakes the size of tea biscuits. Split and fill with well sweetened, crushed fruit. Also cover the top with the crushed berries."

PIN-MONEY PICKLES

The " Pin-money Pickles " which have been sold in all the best stores in Boston and New York for several years are made by a Southern woman. They are made from very small cucumbers which are covered with sharp points like a baby procupine. These " Pin-money Pickles " have had a wide sale and have made this woman independent financially.

PIN-MONEY PICCALILLI

" Every fall I earn over fifty dollars from the sale of my green tomato piccalilli, made from tomatoes raised in my garden. In making this, I slice a peck of large green tomatoes and half a peck of onions. Each layer of tomatoes and onions is salted well, the whole standing over night. The next morning, the water is drained off. These are covered with two-thirds cider vinegar and one-third water; sugar is added to make it sufficiently sweet (about four cups); also one box of whole mixed spices. Boil until the onions and tomatoes are tender, and can while hot."

COTTAGE CHEESE

Take two quarts of thick, solid, sour milk, and add two cups of hot water. Pour this into a jelly bag, and hang the bag where it may drip for several hours. When the whey has all dripped from it, turn into a bowl and beat it smooth with a fork. If too dry, add a little cream and season with salt. Made into little pats, wrapped in oiled paper, and then in tin foil, they will sell readily to the stores or private families.

ENGLISH CREAM CHEESE Another cheese which can be sold is made as follows: Very thick cream is poured carefully into a bag which is hung up with a basin underneath to catch the whey, in a cool room or cellar. The air in the room must be pure, as the cream easily absorbs odors. When the whey is partly drained off, the bag is twisted tight, and bound so as to dry the curd more. Then, after twenty-four to forty-eight hours, according to temperature and the consistency of the cream, the " cheese " is ready to eat, and may be molded as desired. This is hardly cheese, as no rennet is used. Perhaps it should be called a " sour cream curd."

POTATO CHIPS

" A few years ago I learned of a way for earning extra money by women in the home, which I consider a most excellent plan. In making some purchases at the grocery store I noticed a large box labeled ' Potato Chips/ the price of which I found was thirty cents a pound. The grocer informed me that they had cost him twenty-five cents a pound, besides the freight.

" I purchased a potato slicer and in the morning made some potato chips, keeping count exactly of their cost and found it to be twelve cents a pound. If I could sell fifty pounds a week it would mean a profit of six dollars. I took a sample to the grocer and he thought them excellent and gave me an order. At first I made them in small lots, but later in large ones. I would slice the potatoes in the evening and put them in cold water overnight to draw out the starch. Very soon I found I could make a good deal of money in this way, and not work more than three half days in the week. I live in a town of about ten thousand inhabitants, so my sales would not be as great as in a larger place, but here in my own town I make a profit of from six to eight dollars a week."

SOUTHERN BEATEN BISCUIT

" When it became necessary for me to earn my living and do it at home, I gathered together all my resources. Unfortunately, brought up as I had been, in the greatest comfort in the South, where ' ladies ' do not do manual work, I found myself ' wanting.' But the desire to do was strong, and the need great, so I looked up the needs of the community in which I lived, and found the greatest was for good home-made bread. So I went to work with a will, and made ' Maryland Biscuits ' just as I had seen them made in my home in the old days, and used the same recipe every Southern cook uses: Two pounds of flour, one-fourth pound of lard, half a teaspoonful of salt, and enough water to make a very stiff dough. Beat for twenty minutes on a block with an ax; make into biscuits, and bake for twenty minutes in a very hot oven.

" I made them fresh every morning in time for breakfast. By beginning in a small way, I now have all the orders I can fill. I make and sell from twenty to sixty dozen each and every day, with the exception of Sunday. All my orders are filled by twelve o'clock noon, and the balance of the day is mine. I clear seven cents on each dozen. I sell through a popular grocer, paying him ten per cent, for his trouble, and I sell only perfect biscuits; just the right size and just the right color, snow-white inside, with a delicate brown top and bottom. " Any woman who can make good bread, and will make it regularly, can earn her living."