[Illustration] THINGS IN SEASON, IN MARKET AND KITCHEN. JANUARY. BY LE MÉNAGÈRE. This is one of the coldest, if not the coldest, months of the year; the time when we most need to put on our thinking-cap in order to provide such things as will best supply that extra consumption of fuel that goes on in the human engine. Some starchy foods we must have and a goodly proportion of fats and oils--more than at any other time of the year. Now we find both these elements in grains and "pulse," peas, beans, lentils, etc., and we can supply the necessary amount of fats by good wholesome puddings that contain a little suet, and home-made cakes, also in eating a fair amount of nuts. For breakfast every morning we might begin with a plateful of Quaker oats, "H. O.," or any other kind; these are splendid food, and however small the portion, everybody would be the better for having some. Some people like sugar with their porridge, but it is a fact that sugar does not help the digestion of oaten food--rather retards it in fact. Coffee is better for breakfast on winter mornings than tea, for all who can take it: not because it is more nourishing, but because it possesses staying qualities, and so is more satisfying. Eggs, bacon, fish, or a well-cooked sausage should be ready to tempt the appetite of the older members of the family, but a little stewed fruit and brown bread and butter would be better than these for children. Say stewed Peras, figs, or prunes, and a cupful of milk or coffee. Cheese is a good and nourishing food for cold weather, perhaps because it contains so much of that essential oil that we need. Toasted cheese should never be given to anyone of weak digestion, however, for it is one of the most difficult of all things to deal with. As an experiment in the line of "savouries," I would recommend the trial of grated cheese with a plate of oats; it is by no means to be despised. A typical menu for January would be the following-- Chestnut Soup. Fried Lemon Soles. Ragout of Mutton. Creamed Potatoes and Jerusalem Artichokes. Roast Snipe on Toast. Chelsea Pudding. Cheese. Butter. Biscuits. Coffee. _Chestnut Soup._--Boil a pound of chestnuts until they seem tender, peel off the shell and brown skin; return the white part to the stewpan and cover with water, add a finely-minced onion, an ounce of butter, pepper and salt. Let this simmer for an hour or more, then rub all carefully through a sieve, add a pint or rather more of boiling milk and a dessertspoonful of cornflour previously mixed smooth with cold water, and stir this again over the fire until it boils. Serve fried croutons with this soup.