A perfectly plain dressing of salt, pepper, vinegar and oil, if well beaten together, and then a spoonful of good cream added, becomes almost equal to a mayonnaise, and is not so expensive or troublesome to make ready.

The following would be found a suitable little dinner for this month, and it is easy to vary at will:—

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Cream of Spinach Soup.—Pick and wash a quart of spinach, set it on to boil with enough water to cover it, and a spoonful of salt; stew a couple of young onions and a few herbs in a separate vessel, and then rub all together through a sieve until a green purée is obtained. To this add a pint of hot milk, a spoonful of cornflour wet with milk and an ounce of butter, also seasoning to taste. Boil up once and serve.

Boiled Cucumber is an agreeable change amongst vegetables, and is very easy to do. Pare the cucumber and cut it down lengthwise, then across into inch-lengths; throw into salted boiling water and cook ten minutes. Drain well and serve with a little parsley sprinkled over, or in melted butter sauce.

Rhubarb Fool.—Cut up two or three bundles of fresh rhubarb into short lengths, and stew quickly with sugar until quite soft, then rub through a sieve. Whip about a quarter of a pint of thick cream and the whites of two eggs together, with one or two tablespoonfuls of castor sugar, and lightly whisk these up with the fruit. Heap all in a bright glass dish.

Sponge Custard Pudding.—Make a boiled custard with the yolks of the two eggs, a pint of milk, two ounces of castor sugar, grated lemon rind for flavouring, and an ounce of dissolved gelatine stirred in at the last. Half fill a plain mould with sponge biscuits and pour this custard on them whilst hot. Set aside in a cold place until it is solid. The rhubarb fool would also be improved by being set on ice. Serve both together.

Cheese Aigrettes.—Dissolve an ounce of butter and stir into it a tablespoonful of flour; add half a pint of warm milk, and stir over the fire until a smooth paste is obtained. Add whilst hot salt, cayenne pepper, and grated cheese enough to give a strong flavour. When getting cool mix in carefully the yolk of a large fresh egg. Bring half a pound of lard up to boiling point, and then drop into it small pieces of the paste, and boil rapidly. They should puff out and be a beautiful golden brown. Roll each aigrette in grated cheese when it has drained, and serve on a paper doyley whilst hot. They are not good cold.