Claret Sauce

Boil one cup of sugar with one-fourth of a cup of water; when slightly thickened, cool and add one-half of a cup of claret.

Stewed Green Apple Sauce

The first green apples that are found in the market usually awaken an appetite for apple sauce and apple pie. The former is seldom seen in perfection. Try this method.

With a sharp silver knife cut the apples in quarters, remove the cores and skin and put them, as fast as pared, into a bowl of cold water. When all are ready, skim them out into a porcelain-lined or agate kettle with a large surface, so there will not be much depth to the apples. Add boiling water, just to show among the pieces, cover tightly to keep in the steam, and let them cook quickly. Shake the pan occasionally, and as soon as soft, mash them with a silver fork, sprinkle over sugar to taste, cover again and cook until the sugar is dissolved, and serve hot or cold. It should be free from lumps, white or about the shade of the inside of a lemon, and not too sweet. When eaten hot for breakfast, sometimes a pat of butter is an improvement. When cooked in this careful way, it will be far more appetizing than if of a dingy-brown color, of half cooked, and there will be no occasion for sifting it.

Bananas With Fruit Sauce

Pick over one quart of currants; wash, drain, and mash them. Sprinkle over them one cup of sugar, and let them stand until the sugar is dissolved. Stir occasionally, then squeeze through coarse cheese-cloth, or press through a strainer fine enough to keep back the seeds. Peel four bananas, remove all the stringy membranes, cut them in halves lengthwise and crosswise. Arrange them in a shallow glass dish, and pour the currant juice over them. Keep it in a cold place until ready to serve. The flavor of the currant juice improves the bananas, and the color gives a pretty effect. Do not use the currants without sifting, for the seeds will be quite objectionable in the sauce. Blackberry juice may be used in the same way. A cool, simple dessert like this is more acceptable on a summer day than a hot starchy pudding served with meringue or whipped cream.

Stewed Prunes

It would appear that so simple a thing as a dish of stewed prunes might always be acceptably served, but they are usually too sweet or insufficiently cooked. All dried fruits - that is, fruits that have been deprived of their natural juices by quick evaporation, or sun drying - need to have this juice or water replaced by a long soaking in cool water before being subjected to heat. This softens the cellular tissues so that they can absorb the water, the fruit swells out to nearly its natural condition; and then by the heat applied in cooking, the softening process is continued until every particle of the skin is, or should be, perfectly soft.

Just enough water to cover them, so that all may be equally softened, is all that is necessary, and when the prunes are sufficiently cooked this should boil down to a thick syrup. Except in some of the most acid varieties, no sugar is needed. In fact, many prunes are so rich in sugar that a little lemon juice seems to be an improvement. It is understood, of course, that the prunes should be well washed in tepid water before they are soaked.