Part 11 (1/2)

[Ill.u.s.tration: The Refreshments were Perfectly Delicious, Everybody Said]

The refreshments were perfectly delicious, everybody said, and the girls said the pink ice-cream, and the sponge-cake, and the grape-juice lemonade were ”the best ever.” When everybody had gone, Mildred took a big plateful of ice-cream over to Miss Betty.

”Oh, how good that is!” she said as she ate it. ”How _beautifully_ good!

So good to look at, I mean, as well as to taste. Would you like to have some more strawberry ice-cream receipts to go with it?” Mildred said she would love to, so Miss Betty began to write:

FROZEN STRAWBERRIES

1 quart of water.

2-1/2 cups of sugar.

2 quarts of berries.

Juice of 1 lemon.

Crush the berries and press through a sieve; there should be two cups of juice; if not, add a few more berries. Boil the water and sugar one minute, cool, add the berry juice and that of the lemon, cool and freeze; serve in gla.s.s cups.

”You can see, Mildred,” went on Miss Betty, as she finished this, ”that a pretty way to serve this is to put each cup on a small plate and lay a few fresh strawberry leaves by it.”

”Sweet!” said Mildred, and Miss Betty began the second receipt

ICE-CREAM AND STRAWBERRIES

1 quart of plain ice cream.

1 quart of large strawberries.

1/2 cup of powdered sugar.

Cut the berries in slices and lay them on a dish, and sprinkle the sugar over them. Take some tall gla.s.ses, put in a layer of ice cream, then a layer of berries; let the cream be on top, and put two or three whole berries on top of all. Or, if you can get little wild strawberries, use those whole both in the layers and on top.

”Those are both just perfect,” sighed Mildred. ”Now haven't you one more receipt, dear Miss Betty? Three is a lucky number, you know.”

Miss Betty thought a moment ”Well, here is something I think is just delicious, and it's so easy that Brownie could make it alone--or even Jack! There is no turning of the freezer at all, only the ice to be broken. But it must be made in good season, for it has to stand awhile, as you will see. And when you turn it out you can put a row of lovely big strawberries all around it and sprinkle them with sugar.”

PARFAIT

1 cup of sugar.

1 pint of cream.

1 cup of water.

Whites of 3 eggs.

1 teaspoonful of vanilla.

Put the sugar and water on the stove and boil gently three minutes without stirring. Lift a little of the syrup on the spoon and see if a tiny thread drops from the edge; if it does, it is done; if not, cook a moment longer. Then let this stand on the edge of the stove while you beat the whites of the eggs very stiff and slowly pour the syrup into them, beating all the time. While you are doing this, have somebody else beat the cream stiff; when the eggs and syrup are beaten cold, fold the cream into them, add the flavoring, and put in a mold with a tight cover. Put this in a pail, cover deeply with ice and salt as before, and let it stand five hours.

”You see how easy that is,” said Miss Betty. ”That's all the receipts to-day. But, Mildred, if you and Jack, and Brownie will all come to luncheon next Sat.u.r.day, I'll have something else made out of strawberries for you.”

”Oh, Miss Betty!” cried Mildred, rapturously, ”we'll come--indeed we will!”