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Show , The Picture Platter as an Aid to Simple Living II II X all the agitation about the servant On eneh rtntr- l nn ;n;,.:..i ...... ,. : , .,. & W 3 IX all the agitation about the servant qnestion and the high cost of living ninny housekeepers are solving their individual doriicstic problems. There are many women to whom these subjects sub-jects have no terror, as they have happily learned how to minimize their household duties and to dispense with incompetent servants. Imagine the joy, peace and comfort of such a home, free from the rule of ser-s-ants, with a delicious iueal served on short notice to ten or twelve extrn guests without the slightest fuss or worry, and, best of all. witli but a handful of dishes to wash afterward. It sounds too good to be true does it not? Such a stale of: domestic bliss has been reached by at least one happy family. High above the Hudson, midway between be-tween Yonkci'3 and Hastings, like a nest in a tree top. is perched "Aqua Rock," the home Of the emancipated family.. Should you happen in unexpectedly near meal time and be i.rged to partake of their hospitality you will begin to won- ler ns dinner time approaches and you Ietect no signs of preparation, but ?uri-lenly ?uri-lenly your hostess will excuse herself, ind ten miuutcs later you will be seated it a plain mission table standing in a 'orner of the broad piazza that overlooks lie Hudson. It is bare, simply set with ho usual plate, knife. fork nnd spoon' ;ervire. If there is a soup course, a argp terra cotta casserole with a ladle ;ils on a tray in the middle of the tnble. ..AA4AAAfiJIlyjlAAAAMl4L4AjA4Afl On each plate is nn individual casserole to match, aud ench guest serves himself. With the disappearance of the casseroles casse-roles the hostess nppears wilh her chef d'oenvre a huge, round Chinese platter covered with n copper dome thnt looks much like a. hammered lamp shade. This receptacle is placed in the centre of the table, and by a deft touch of the pulley chain overhead tho plnttcr cover it nt-tached nt-tached to the hook. Presto! Tho cover lifts Itself from the plntler nnd hans suspended in. midair. There now nppears the Chinese platter plat-ter itself, filled with steaming hot viands, a gastronomic picture. Heaped in nn oval mound in the centre Is a single vegetable pens, beans, carrots or, more than likely, spinach. Around the pyramid pyra-mid are "rose potatoes" that look like pure white blossoms ngainst the green background of spinach. Next comes the hot chicken or roast, sliced and ready to serve, daintily arranged around the floral potatoes. In a circle around (he inent is nrranged the chestnut .or other, dressing, scooped out in little individual mounds. Lnst Is the gnrnlsh of watercress, water-cress, parsley or lettuce. j There is no carving at the table nnd no necessity for service, ns everything Is on the platter in tho contre of the table with-' in arm's reach of all. A touch of the big automatic brass monogrammed dome and It descends to cover the platter nnd keep the food warm. An improvised sideboard iu the corner consists of three shelves stained to match the table. On these are various edibles-bread, edibles-bread, butter, cheese, fruit and the nap-j kins. The bread is cut in thin, dainty! slices and arranged on a woven sweet' grass Indian tray, in keeping with the! rustic surroundings; the butter is moulded j Into little individual balls; the cheese is1 served on a glass covered plate set on a, dark wooden base; the fine damask uap-kius uap-kius are folded In squares, with the initial' corner on top. The hostess has a notion that the white napkins spoil the effect of the dark mission table, nnd she has therefore adopted the quaint method of serving them after the guests are seated. I Should there be n third course it is a simple matter to remove the big Chinese' plnttcr and the knives, forks nnd nlatc3.i Two trips instead of mnny to the kitchen! nrcompllsh this. On the first return trip! fresh plates and forks arc brought to the I iscrving tnble; on the next trip comes the! j huge lemon meringue pie. heaped high with mounds of frosting, if that hnppcns Chinese Platter with Brass Dome Is Placed in A Touch of the Pulley Chain and the Cover Centre of Table. Lifts Itself. i to be (he dessert. I Should the dessert course be strawberry: jblane mange or one of the fluffy varieties jthnt must be served ice cold, individual cups containing the dainty aro sot in the! bases of old Chinese candlesticks, 'flic cups nrc Chinese, nnd the receptacles are! brass. There wns originnllyn holder for the candle in the centre, but this wns, re-' moved to make a convenient and artistic' receptacle for the dessert cup. These arc. set on a brass trny In the centre of the. tnble, from which the individual cupsi arc easily served. If enke accompanies the service it is passed from the irapro-Nised irapro-Nised sideboard. Coffee is served nt the table by the hostess. This Is the unique method of serving thrice daily at Aqua Rock. Rain or shine, the artist couple cat on the "piazza, in-scrcencd in-scrcencd in summer nnd glass enclosed In the winter. Their music is supplied by the birds thnt fly over the Palisades. "We have more freedom thnn when we kept n houseful of servants," said Mrs. Dressier, "for we have no one but ourselves our-selves to consider. If we wish to rise nnd breakfast at daybreak, when the sun is just rising, that is our privilege, nnd no frowning, sleepy eyed maid interferes; if we wish to feed our 'live stock' the ducks, chickens and birds before breakfast, break-fast, that, too, is our prerogative. "After our simple breakfast is over my morning work is quickly done in fact, long before the majority of households house-holds are astir where there are servants ser-vants for every duty. I can then sit on the piazza nnd sew or read for hours at a stretch without the interruption interrup-tion of servants and the interference of petty household details. Life has surely become worth the living since I made n study of domestic economy from my own viewpoint nnd simplified our modo of living. "If guests come unexpectedly it is a simple matter to extend hospitality.. 'c have our own garden, so there, -is' the 'salad bed' to draw on in, summer time cool, cri9p radishes. nnd"lettuec, a .supply of which I uenrly alwtiys keep on ice for emergency use. It is n few moments' work to boil 6ome eggs for n snlnd sauce, flow do I make itV For a small quantity two hard boiled eggs mashed fine, to which ndd one-half cup of olive oil, one-fourth cup vinegar, one-fourth tenspoonful salt, a chopped onion and chives, if desired, Sometimes I add capers. It is very much on tho order of snuco tartnre. "In all my menus I avoid foods that will run together, otherwise the 'picture platter plat-ter would oe conglomerate, snd it is my aim to have each edible by itself in the arrangement on the platter. For a cold luncheon I have a snlad in the centre. , Next comes the cold cut the Ham, beef or , tongue. Iu the spaces betweeu I place radishes slashed like fuchsia blossoms, and sometimes cheese cut in cubes. 1 have j a brand of my own cheese. 1 take cream, cotjuge or Neufchatel, and crush Jt with a fork, adding chopped nut and a wee bit ' French dressing. I then cut out he nties of red and green peppers, leavini e sbell9 in water ten minutes to take .nay the excessive 'hi toy' taste. The, tapper shells are next filled with cheese, .hich I take en re to pack tightly iu all ne crevices. After a good cooling on let slice the relish and you cannot imagine mv lovely the red and green frnmed heeso looks on the picture platter against .lie wreath of crisp green letluco or cross, 'ontnet with the pepper shells f,or several lours insures n peppery tang that is cx-ecdingly cx-ecdingly appetizing. "I endeavor to arrange the platter differently dif-ferently ench time. The potato snlad, or whatever it may be, is always placed in the centre, mound fashion. It is garnished gar-nished with . -wreath of lettuce with the cheese placed alternately between tho spaces. A favorite treatment of cream cheese is to dip it In chives or carroway. "As potatots are our standard vegetable, vege-table, we have numerous ways of serv-j ing fliem. For the 'Rose' variety, they nre boiled in their skins. Each one isj then slashed on four sides in the form of a cross. I usj the handle of n teaspoon! to turn ench section carefully back like, the petal of a flower. The last moment, I place a lump of butter in each henrt.ji adding a dash of pepper and salt. The '"cr soon melts In the stcnfiilne p6tato w and penetrates well into it. Br "When we tirc of ordinary mashed jHKl Potatoes, J Lave another variation that E we enjoy. I mnsh and cream tho pota- W' toes as s,Ini. I then brown bread ' RM , crumbs in .butter and dip a tablespoon I . K j e latter, afterward dipping the spoon , JET " the potatoes, taking ns much ns the 1 WL spoon w.U hold. When served the brown , 11' mounds look like dumplings, jl&U "Sometimes Mr. Dressier acta ns a ' ! K vegetable sculptor. Hc selects uniform I, Wh sized potatoes, nnd cuts each one in the f Brf , shape of n hnsket with a handle. The H&i centres arc scooped out and the potato ' Glfi nod In hot fat. When done the brown H baskets arc filled with .arrots and peas. El nnd set around the salad on the big pint- Hf .tor. T sometimes plnce a wreath of nas- UK urtiiims around the potatoes to further H J accentuate the brown and yellow. By? I "As to soups, our fnvorito is marrow i mi bone. When marketing, I ask the butcher f for a marrow bone. I Bcoop out" the If A marrow, adding flour nnd cream and W mixing well and then ndd pepper nnd H? : salt, nutmeg nnd a finely chopped onion, - one teaspoon chdpped parsley, one tea- HlL spoon of prepared bread crumbs, one egg, IM all of which I. blend and form Into balls Ee I rub my hands well with flour, rolling i I:-. tho pasto in small balls the size of mar- 1 Ilw. Boil in salt water, five minntes, ! M then serve en cnsseroie. j l"7 m "I frequently have a narrow hone cut ' ij 1-1 m two inch lengths, seal the ends with a J j M paste made of tiour and water, or bread lough, then tie the bones in cheesecloth 1 l' and boil In water for twenty minutes. 1 -uicy arc served individually with toat. ' W& "It sounds as if it all took a great 1$ deal of time, but it really does not; be- 1 sides we enjoy experimenting In dainty, ' vfl iminiio wnys of serving on our picture i w platter. I lA 'As you see, we live in the treetops, I k1 and the birds nlmost fly into our 'face?. ! f They nre so surprised to come out of the , B treetops at our feet and find people. For I fin Aqua Rock is built on a ledge of rock - ' 144X.7S feet above the Hudson, with the ! fcfc Crotop aqueduct at the rear. It com- ' ' BH mniids an ever changing view of the Pali- ' , H sndes and the Hudson for twenty miles ' flffl north, with the Highlands and Tappaa j H ice in the foreground." 1 KM Mrs. Dressier tells of an Incident that Raj is typical of their experiences while build- HI in ' 'HI "A tramp appeared at our kitchen door ! 2 one morning shortly after the houe was E$ completed," she snys Inughingly. "He ijl j ftjf asked me for a cup of coffee, nnd erldcnt- MB ly liked jt, for he confided to me that "he ' fi had a partner up tho road 'a piece.' An ' IB invitation was extended .to the partner to Wt partake of our hospitality also, and that W K9 was the beginning of an unnsual experi- ( ' Sf ence. They stayed seven months, and I8j during this time they were invaluable " jH helpers. Walls were hewn from solid ' M granite; staircaes and walks wore laid . WjgM out; hedges were planted and a fountain j fjftl was built. The latter waB a rather re- j wl inarkable achievement, as a huge pear KfJI shaped bo wider was used for the fountain proper, a coping of stone and cement j mM nlone being added. As good luck wonld ' Ml have it, a spring was discovered a sho i fall distance up the hillside." wfl Everywhere arc bird nouses for the ac- H comraodation of the feathered songsters V that gladden the hearts of the Aqua Rock ' , dwellers day and night. Most pretentious I :Vfl is the "Schwab Mnnsion," a house with a lll gray stone front, which surmcninta a Tir- bV ginia climber wreathed telephone pole. To i NH this retreat each year come the same birds jfBJ at nesting time, and a few weeks later the IKj faint twitter of starlings is heard. Then ', there iB the "bread line," where the birds t'll and squirrels line up in the early morning jl hours and throughout the day for the tl 'bread-crumbs, and it is a goodly sight to Vfl watch them taking their meals together, wt "Tho free lunch counter" is a little lit ebouized table which stands on the sill of ! Bfl tho front dining room window, and is a IIH favorite trysting place of birds and squlr- ' fl rcls. Should a hungry furry creature j 91 find the lunch counter empty, a rare oc- j 11 cureuce, it Is amusing to observe bis antics ' W as he makes his wants known. He stands ' V on his haunches and waves bis forepaws l! beseechingly, nor is he disappointed, for W the master and mistress of Aqua Rock are m great lovers of bird and tquirrel. Even m the chipmunks come in for their share of ' f attention, and one particular pet has made j a well worn path from thcatono wall on ,( L the aqueduct to the cocoanut shell on the , jft front plnzza which serves as a receptacle llfl for nuts, Aa to "the Barroom," it is not fH so bibulous as it sounds, being merely a Mm atone bnsin on a pedestal always filled j with water. I It is hecausc the non-essentials are elim- , t H inated from their lives that the Aqua B Rock family has time for these things. i U |