"Yes, of course you will; these stoves do not heat the kitchen at
all,--which, by the way, is a merit in city eyes. But you can have a
regular stove for winter, and for summer a kerosene-stove, which is
really as good as a gas-range, because it is made with a flame which
does not smoke or black things up, and it has an oven lifting on and off
exactly like this one on the gas-stove. That will save fuel and work and
keep the house cool at the same time. But I certainly would have a
fireless stove in any case, because you often want to cook things all
night and still not keep the fire going. Oatmeal, for one thing, is far
better cooked in this than on top of a stove; you let it simmer from
eight at night till seven the next morning, and you will take it out in
a sort of jelly which is delicious and very digestible. The Aladdin oven
you can have or not, as you find you need it; perhaps in the country you
might get on without it, but in town I find it a necessity."
"The stoves must have cost a good deal," mused Dolly. "Did you buy them
out of Incidentals?"
"Yes, I did. I consider all utensils for my work necessities, and when I
cannot buy them out of the margin in my tin bank I deliberately take the
money out of the general fund; but in this case you can even things up
by saving on Fuel, so it is all the same in the long run, you see. But
now look at this pail; this is my bread-mixer."
"You don't tell me that you make your own bread! Why, I supposed of
course you bought that in the city. Isn't it a nuisance to have to make
it?"
"Simply child's play with this. In the evening I put in the flour and
milk and water and yeast, according to the directions, exactly so much
of each; then I turn the handle and beat them up for five minutes, cover
the pail, and set it away in a nice cozy place, and in the morning I
beat it all up again for three minutes in the same way, and put it in my
pans to rise. Afterwards I bake it in my gas-oven. In summer I mix it up
in the morning and bake it the same day, because, of course, it rises
more quickly in warm weather."
"Do you really save much by making it yourself? Because unless you do, I
think I'll buy mine; I am sure I would rather."
"I should say you did save! Why, baker's bread would cost at least five
cents a day, getting only one loaf, and that is nearly a dollar and a
half a month, and a good deal more than a bag of flour would cost, which
would last twice as long at least. Flour is expensive to buy by the bag,
too; if I could I should always get a barrel at a time, and save a
bagful by doing so, but I have no place to put a barrel, and when we are
alone it lasts too long, and in a steam-heated apartment it possibly
might spoil. But if you live in the country, buy this by the quantity."
"Don't you always buy things by the quantity? I thought all careful
housekeepers made a point of doing that."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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