UC-NRLF TX 3 /V-f GIFT OF unv'Si? Hints to Housewives on How to Buy How to Care for Food Meats Drippings and Butter Substitutes Substitutes for Meat Fish Cereals Bread How to Use Left- Overs How to Make Soap Fireless Cooker Canning Fruits and Vegetables How to Preserve Eggs "Every housewife can 'DO HER BIT' towards solv- ing the food problem by simplifying the meals she serves and by seeing to it that not one bit of food is wasted." Is'sued by Mayor Mitchel's Food Supply Committee 71 Broadway, New York City June 1917 A PATRIOTIC CALL TO HOUSEWIVES VARIOUS reasons have been advanced for the present high cost of living, among them being the amount of food that we shipped to Europe last year and the shortage we had in certain crops, due to the unfavorable climatic and soil conditions that existed last year. As we will likely have to send to Europe this year as much or even more food than we did last year, we must, each and every one of us, do everything we can to economize and save the waste in order to avoid a shortage among our own people and keep down the cost of food as much as possible. The entire country has been aroused to the necessity for larger crops ; and greater quantities of food are being planted in the hope of raising enough to meet the pressing needs of Europe as well as to supply our own people. Not only 'are the farmers trying to meet the patriotic call that has been made on them for larger crops, but people all over the City and State are lending a hand toward solving the country's food problem by utilizing yards and vacant lots for vegetable gardens, in the hope of raising at least enough for their own use, thus releasing that much food for the use of others who have no land that they can cultivate. Every housewife can "do her bit" towards solving the food problem by simplifying the meals she serves and by seeing to it that not one bit of food is wasted. We have prepared this little book with the object of offering some practical hints as to the various ways in which economies can be effected and the waste saved. If every housewife will carefully read, study, and put into every- day use at once, the suggestions made in the following pages, she will not only be helping to reduce the high cost of living for her family and her neighbors, but will be rendering a distinct patriotic service to her country at this critical time. It costs about 10 cents to print and distribute this pamphlet. This Committee feels that the poorer people of New York City should have this pamphlet free of charge, and it plans to distribute as many in this way as its funds will permit. To this end it asks for contributions from those who believe this pamphlet will be helpful and who can afford to contribute to the fund that is being raised for the above purpose. Checks or post office money orders should be made payable to Mayor Mitchel's Food Supply Committee. Those ordering this pamphlet by mail "will please enclose 10 cents in cash for each copy ordered. Do not send stamps. MAYOR MITCHEL'S FOOD SUPPLY COMMITTEE, Room 2012, 71 Broadway, New York City. INDEX Page A Patriotic Call to Housewives 1 How to Buy o.oo 3 How to Care for Food 6 Beef 8 The Use of Drippings and Butter Substitutes 10 Sauces 12 Salad Dressings 14 Substitutes for Meat 16 Substitutes for Meat Recipes 18 Fish 36 Fish Recipes 37 Vegetables 49 Vegetable Recipes 50 Cereals 70 Cereal Recipes 72 Bread 76 Bread Recipes 77 How to Use Left-Overs 80 Left-Over Recipes 82 How to Make Soap 99 Fireless Cooker 100 Directions for Making Fireless Cooker at Home 101 Fireless Cooker Recipes 102 Canning Fruits With and Without Sugar 105 Canning Vegetables 109 How to Preserve Eggs Ill The Problem of the World. . i 112 (V' HOW TO BUY Go to the store yourself. Select for yourself the article you desire to purchase. Inquire its price. If quality and price please you, be sure that you get in weight or measure the amount you buy. Watch the scale. Watch the measure. If the meat you purchase is weighed in a piece of paper or anything else, be sure you are not charged for the weight of the paper. You are entitled to all the bone and the trimmings of the piece of meat that you buy. You should take home and make use of such bone and trimmings. The fat can be rendered and used for cooking purposes; the bone and trimmings used for soup or stew. When the trimmings are not taken home the butcher throws them into a box under the coun- ter and sells them to someone else. They belong to you and you should have them. In buying meat, don't go in and ask for 25c. worth of meat and leave the butcher to decide how much meat you should have for a quarter. Select your piece of meat, ask the price per pound ; say how many pounds you want ; have it weighed ; see that you get your weight and that the butcher's calculation as to how much meat you have, at a certain price per pound, is correct. Many a penny is lost to the customer by neglecting the above simple precautions. In marketing, the pennies count up very fast. Don't allow your dealer to weigh in the wooden butter dish in weighing your butter unless he deducts the weight. Don't buy in small quantities if you can possibly avoid it. Make every effort to get together two or three dollars. This will enable you to buy for cash ; buy in larger quantities ; buy where you can do the best. In this way you can save two or three dollars in a very short time. Under the laws and regulations of the City you have definite rights in the matter of getting full measure and full weight for everything you buy, and the City's Bureau of Weights and Measures stands ready to help you get your rights. This is a protection that is due the honest dealer as well as yourself. Cheapness does not always mean quality or full weight. Be sure you get quality and quantity. Wherever possible buy in bulk and not in package. Have you ever stopped to figure out how much more you would get for your money if you bought certain articles of food by the pound instead of by the package? Food that is wrapped and sold in attractive-looking packages must of necessity cost more than the same food sold in bulk, which means sold by the pound. In the first place, the box or jar containing the food costs money. 365860 HOW TO BUY The wax paper used costs money. The wrapper costs money. The printing on the wrapper costs money. And it also costs money to fill the packages and seal them. It follows, therefore, that you cannot pos- sibly get as much food for your money when so large a part of your money has to pay for the box, wrapper, printing, etc. There are several reasons why so many foods are put up in packages. First: The package looks pretty, appeals to the eye, and makes the food seem more appetizing. Second: Most of the packages are air-tight and dustproof, and for sanitary reasons a great many people prefer food that is done up in packages. As a matter of fact, it is possible for your grocer to keep on hand, in bulk, exactly the same foods as the packages contain, and it is also possible for him to keep them in bulk in a perfectly sanitary manner, so that dust and dirt cannot reach them. STEAM-COOKED CEREALS Steam-cooked cereals are not eco- nomical. Many cereal preparations, including most of those sold in packages, have been partially steam-cooked at the factory. This short- ens the time required to prepare them for the table, but, en the other hand, it injures their flavor and adds to them a large quantity of water, for the weight of which the purchaser pays. One cup of raw oatmeal will absorb four cups of water. One cup of steam-cooked oatmeal will absorb only two cups of water. Therefore, one cup of raw oatmeal, when cooked, will make twice as much as one cup of steam-cooked oat- meal, when cooked. An argument in favor of steam-cooked cereals is that they save time and fuel, but the raw cereals not only are more economical but far more nourishing, and you can shorten the time of cooking by soaking them overnight. All cereals require long, slow cooking. You can save both time and fuel, therefore, by using a fireless cooker for cereals. Cook the cereal on the stove for about 15 minutes; then put in fireless cooker and leave overnight. You will find it all cooked and ready to be eaten when you get up in the morning. For information as to how to make a fireless cooker at home and what can best be cooked in it, see the chapter in this book entitled "Fireless Cooker." If you will buy your Tapioca, Tea, Soda Crackers, Graham Crackers, Ginger Snaps, Macaroni and Starch in bulk instead of in package, you will get a great deal more for the money you spend. You will find it cheaper to buy your Vinegar loose rather than by the bottle. You will get a great deal more Bacon for less money if you will buy it in bulk instead of by the jar. PEACHES and APRICOTS A can of peaches or apricots contains very little fruit. A pound of evaporated peaches or apricots costs less than a can and contains at least three times as much fruit. If properly cooked, ted peaches and apricots are just as good as, if not better, than the -ja ~ed fruit and, in addition, you get a great deal more for your money 4 HOW TO BUY You can get twice as much Shredded Codfish if you buy it loose rather than by the package. PEAS AND LIMA BEANS By buying dried peas and lima beans instead of canned ones you can get twice the amount for one-half the money. Dried peas and lima beans can be used in place of canned peas or beans for creamed soups and purees, and one cup of dried peas or beans will go as far as two cups of canned peas or beans. BEANS Canned baked beans are expensive. Even counting in the cost of fuel you can bake the same amount of beans for one-half the money. TOMATOES Instead of using whole canned tomatoes for soups, sauces, etc., buy canned tomato pulp, which costs one-half the price. WHY SHOULD YOU BUY THINGS IN PACKAGES WHEN YOU CAN GET ALMOST TWICE AS MUCH OF THE SAME ARTICLE FOR THE SAME AMOUNT OF MONEY IF YOU BUY IT IN BULK? Sit down and make a list of the various foods that you have been in the habit of buying in packages. Think of the money you might have saved had you bought them in bulk. Make up your mind to buy them in bulk in the future, if it is pos- sible for you to get them. It will pay you to break yourself of the package habit. There are many foods sold now in packages only that your grocer will be glad to carry in bulk as soon as he knows that you and his other customers want them. The manufacturer, the wholesale dealer and the retail dealer keep on the watch all the time to find out what the public wants. Of late years the public has seemed to want food in attractive packages at a high cost. As soon as people learn that by demanding it they can get exactly the same food in bulk, kept in a perfectly sanitary manner, for about one-half to two-thirds the cost of package food, the manufacturer, the wholesaler and the retailer will meet the demand. BUY IN BULK AND SAVE MONEY. HOW TO CARE FOR FOOD V Save money avoid waste keep well by taking proper care of the food you buy. A food may contain sufficient nourishment to give it high value as a food and yet if proper care is not taken of it the food may become poisonous. Food is often exposed to impure air and to dust and filth from un- clean streets and surroundings. This contaminates it, and such food, when eaten, will often produce disease. In order to keep food in the most wholesome condition special care should be taken that all its sur- roundings are sanitary. There are many things that influence the whole- someness of food, among them being the air, the dishes in which the food is placed, the ice-box, the cellar or closet where it is stored, and the other food with which it comes in contact. Foods may be divided into three classes: First Those that spoil easily; Second Those that do not spoil so easily; Third Those that may be kept a long time with proper care. FIRST The foods that spoil easily are milk, cream, uncooked meat, uncooked fish, certain fruits, such as peaches and plums, and vegetables that wilt easily, such as lettuce and spinach. MILK AND CREAM Milk and cream bottles are usually dirty on the outside when delivered to you. Wash them carefully, particularly the top of the bottle, before opening, so that no dirt can possibly get into the milk or cream. If the bottles are not washed out well when empty, the particles that are left may decay and when new fresh milk or cream is poured into the bottles, these particles will cause it to become sour. Never leave milk or cream uncovered. If you do it will take up the odors and flavors from other food and become spoiled for table use. UNCOOKED MEAT Do not keep your meat in the paper in which it is wrapped when bought ; the wrapping paper will absorb the juices. Unwrap it as soon as you get it home and wipe it off with a clean cloth that has been wrung out of cold water. The meat will keep better and the juices will remain in it longer if you will wrap it in wax paper until you are ready to use it. UNCOOKED FISH Never put uncooked fish into the ice-box un- less the fish is closely covered. You will find a tin lard pail useful for this purpose. If the fish is not covered other food in the ice-box will absorb the strong odors from it and be made unfit for use. Odors always rise ; strongly-flavored food, therefore, should be put on the upper shelf of the ice-box, so that the odors from it will not affect other things in the ice-box quite so much. Perishable foods should always be kept at a low temperature ; in other words, they should be kept where it is cool. FRUITS^All fruits should be kept in a cool, dry place and spread out, if possible. It is not necessary to put them in the ice-box. Fruits are handled a great deal before they reach you and should never be used without first being washed off. As ripe fruit spoils easily only a small quantity shot: ':', 1 bought at a time. VEGETABLES -Vegetables that are to be eaten in a raw state should be dipped : uiirdy in boiling water to destroy any germs, and then 6 HOW TO CARE FOR FOOD put in cheese cloth and placed directly on the ice to preserve their crisp- ness. Lettuce should be carefully picked over and washed at once. If put in clean cheese cloth and placed directly on the ice it will be much more crisp than if allowed to remain in water, and will also keep longer. SECOND The foods that do not spoil so easily are eggs, butter, fruits such as apples, oranges and lemons, cooked meat, and cooked, salted and smoked fish. EGGS Care is necessary in the handling of eggs, as the spoiling is partly due to uncleanly handling, the shells being more or less porous. It is best to wash them as soon as you get them home. When only the yolk of the egg is used, the white may be kept in a cup or glass, covered with a damp cloth fastened with an elastic band ; or, if only the white is used, the yolk can be kept in the same way. BUTTER Butter should be kept well covered and in a cool place. If it is not well covered it will take up the odors of the other food in the ice-box, and this spoils it for table use. COOKED MEAT AND FISH will keep much better if they are well covered before being placed in the ice-box. Cooked meat and fish attract flies and should never be allowed to stand uncovered. Do not put warm meat or warm food of any kind in the ice-box. If you do, it will materially change the temperature of the box and rapidly melt the ice. Keep the food covered while it is cooling, and put it in the ice-box when it has become cool. THIRD The foods that can be kept a long time with proper care are flour, sugar, salt, coffee, tea, spices and chocolate. All these should be kept closely covered to keep out dust and dirt. Coffee, tea and spices will lose their flavor if left uncovered. CANNED GOODS may also be kept a long time. Never allow the contents of a can to remain in it once the can is opened. If the food is allowed to stay in the can after it is opened sickness may come from eating it. You will also find that all canned goods will taste much better if the contents of the can are emptied and allowed to stand for an hour to get the air before being cooked. In the case of canned peas, beans and asparagus the liquid should be drained off as soon as the can is opened and cold water poured over them. It is not only safer to do this but the vegetables will taste much better. CEREALS It is best not to buy cereals in very large quantities because, if they are kept too long, insects are apt to develop in them. Cereals should always be kept in covered glass jars. THE BREAD BOX needs special care, particularly in Summer when mould forms quickly. Bread that has become mouldy is unfit to eat. The bread box should be scalded with hot water frequently and then dried and aired well before the bread is returned to the box. CHEESE should be kept in a cool, dry place. It should be wrapped in a clean cloth moistened with vinegar. This will prevent the forma- tion of mould. AVOID WASTE BY TAKING CARE OF THE FOOD YOU BUY. 7 BEEF The numbers on this picture show the location of the various cuts of beef. No. 1 Porterhouse No. 2 Sirloin No. 3 Round No. A Top Sirloin No. 5 Rib Roast No. 6 Rump No. 7 Cross Rib No. 8 Flank No. 9 Chuck No. 10 Blade No. 11 Shoulder No. 12 Neck No. 13 Brisket No. 14 Plate No. 15 Navel No. 16 Shin Do you know that the less tender cuts are more nourishing than the more expensive cuts? Do you know that the less expensive cuts, if properly cooked and seasoned, are mighty good eating? Flank steak costs much less than top sirloin or round steak, and makes an excellent roast. It can also be pot roasted or used as chopped meat. Try it. Chuck or round steak costs much less than porterhouse or sirloin and can be broiled in the same manner. Try it. Chuck roast costs much less than rib roast and will make just as appetizing a dish if the bone is removed, the meat rolled and then roasted. Try it. The beef ncci I* juicy and well flavored. It makes a good pot roast and excellent strw .d soups. Try it. 8 BEEF The cross rib makes an excellent pot roast and there is no waste. Try it. Shin of beef makes a good "beef a la mode." Cut it up the same as for stew; brown the pieces in hot fat; then add water; cook in a pot the same as pot roast, and serve with the gravy. By browning the meat in hot fat you retain its juices and this adds greatly to the flavor of the dish. Try it. Shin of beef makes a most nourishing soup and the meat can be taken from the pot afterwards and served with horseradish sauce. Try it. In broiling or roasting the less tender cuts, if you are afraid that they will not be as tender as you would like, they can be made tender if treated in the following simple manner : Mix two tablespoons of oil; one tablespoon of vinegar; brush this over the meat and let the meat stand for half an hour before cooking it. If you buy a rib roast of beef have your butcher cut the rib end off so that you can use it for making soup. If it is left on and roasted with the rest of the meat it is largely wasted. In corned beef, the flank piece, the naval piece, the plate piece and the brisket piece cost the least. These cuts are much more juicy and palatable than the rump piece, and the left-over portions can be used to make a splendid hash. Try it. Be sure that the beef you buy has a red rosy color; that it is well streaked with fat; that the fat is yellow white; that the lean is firm and elastic and scarcely moist when touched with the finger. Do not buy beef that is wet or flabby or that looks pink or purple as it lies on the counter. IT WILL PAY YOU TO TRY THE LESS EXPENSIVE CUTS. THE USE OF DRIPPINGS AND BUTTER SUBSTITUTES The average American housewife has no conception of the value of fats as food, and as a result much fat is wasted that should be used as food. Fats are one of the principal sources of energy. We buy fat in the form of butter and spread it on our bread. We use lard as shortening in bread and pastry and as a medium in which to fry other foods. The grease which melts out of ham and bacon is sometimes made into gravies; but more often it is thrown away, because the housewife does not realize its value as a food. Beef fat is less appreciated as a food even than lard, and yet pound for pound it is as valuable as butter or lard or any other animal fat. When we buy a beefsteak the butcher carefully trims off the fat and throws it into a box under the counter with bones and other waste which goes to the soapmaker. This fat has both a food value and a money value. It belongs to you and you should have it. You can render it and use it in cooking. The fine lumps of sweet beef fat or suet which adhere to the roast are used in roasting to give flavor, but most of the fat melts away and is not served at the table. Beef suet is occasionally used in cooking, but rendered beef fat is rarely used as a table fat in this country, although in Europe it is often eaten on bread in the place of butter. Beef suet has a rather pronounced flavor and a comparatively high melting point. These are probably the reasons why it is not more commonly used as a table fat. Much of the objectionable taste may be readily removed. One household method which may successfully be followed is to mix milk with the suet when it is rendered, using one-half cupful of milk to a pound of suet. When strained and cooled the flavor of the milk is ab- sorbed by the beef fat and changes the characteristic flavor. We must not longer allow beef fat to be sold for soap stock. To-day butter is about fifty cents a pound and lard about thirty cents. Beef fat, which pound for pound is as valuable as either lard or butter, is fifteen cents a pound in most markets. Indeed, in some places butchers sell it for less than that. If housewives would use beef fat instead of butter in every process of cooking in which they could possibly introduce it, their families would get the fat they need at one-third the cost of butter. Get into the habit of using beef drippings as food. Every pound of beef drippings you save takes the place of a pound of expensive butter. DRIPPINGS. As a substitute for butter in cooking certain foods, and also in seasoning vegetables there is nothing better than sweet, savory drippings. The following fats make savory drippings and can be employed alone or ; i combination. The fat from fried sausages, ham, bacon and pork anH r- Ib. of butter substitute for >4 the price of butter by using the above recipe. 11 SAUCES WHITE SAUCE. 2 tablespoons flour ^2 teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons butter ^8 teaspoon white pepper 1 cup milk Mix flour and butter together until no flour can be seen. Add milk- slowly and stir over moderate fire until it thickens. Remove from the fire and add salt and pepper. TOMATO SAUCE. Y-2. can tomatoes or canned 1 bay leaf tomato pulp 1 clove 1 slice onion 2 tablespoons flour 2 tablespoons butter or drippings Cook tomatoes, onion, bay leaf and clove together for ten minutes; strain. Rub flour and butter or drippings together until smooth and add strained tomatoes. Cook over moderate fire until the sauce thickens. BROWN SAUCE. 2 tablespoons butter or drippings 1 cup brown stock YT. slice onion ^4 teaspoon salt 3 tablespoons flour y% teaspoon pepper Cook onion in butter or drippings until slightly browned ; remove onion and stir butter or drippings constantly until well browned ; add flour mixed with seasoning, and brown the butter or drippings and flour ; then add stock gradually. BECHAMEL SAUCE. Make a white sauce according to directions given. Add a cup of stock or half stock and half milk. A slice of onion, carrot and turnip should be fried in the butter before the flour is added. DRAWN BUTTER. Beat one cup of butter or butter substitute and two spoons of flour to a cream ; pour over this one pint of boil- ing water; set on fire and let it come to a boil, but do not boil. Serve immediately. EGG SAUCE. To a pint, or two cups, of white sauce, add three hard-boiled eggs cut into slices or small dice, and, if liked, a tablespoon of chopped parsley. MAITRE D'HOTEL SAUCE. Two tablespoons of butter or butter substitute, one tablespoon of chopped parsley, one tablespoon of lemon juice, half teaspoon of salt, half teaspoon of pepper. Rub the butter or butter substitute to a cream ; add salt, pepper and parsley chopped very fine; then the lemon-juice slowly. Spread it on broiled meat or fish ; let the heat of the meat melt the sauce. The dish must not be put in the oven after the sauce is spread, or the parsley will lose its freshness and color. This sauce, which greatly improves as well as garnishes broiled meat, can be mixed and kept for some time in a 12 SAUCES cool place. Soften a little before using, so it will spread evenly, and be quickly melted by the hot meat or fish. TARTARE SAUCE. To a cup of Mayonnaise made with mus- tard, add one tablespoon of capers, three olives, and two gherkins, all chopped very fine. A good Tartare sauce can be made by using Tar- ragon vinegar and a little onion-juice when mixing the Mayonnaise, and adding parsley and capers, both chopped very fine, just before serving it. SUGAR SYRUP. Put two cups of sugar and a half cup of water into a saucepan on the fire. Stir until the sugar is dissolved, then let it cook slowly without touching it for about 10 minutes, or until it is a clear syrup. LEMON SAUCE. 2 teaspoons arrowroot or 1 cup sugar corn-starch Grated rind and juice of 1 lemon 2 cups water \ T / 2 tablespoons butter Mix arrowroot or corn-starch with sugar. Add boiling water and cook twenty minutes. Add flavoring and butter. Serve hot. *>s B, \ UNIVERSITV V OF THE SALAD DRESSINGS MAYONNAISE DRESSING. Success in making a mayonnaise dressing generally depends upon all the ingredients being of the same temperature. 1 egg 1 tablespoon vinegar 1 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon lemon juice J /4 teaspoon cayenne 1 cup olive oil 1 teaspoon mustard l /^ teaspoon paprika Mix salt, cayenne, mustard and paprika. Beat yolk well, and add to seasonings ; beat until mixture is thick, adding olive oil, drop by drop, for the first four tablespoons, then more rapidly until oil is used, thin- ning as needed with lemon juice and vinegar. Beat up the white of the egg until perfectly stiff and dry, add to the above and mix thoroughly. FRENCH DRESSING. 4 tablespoons olive oil *4 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon vinegar J/6 teaspoon pepper Put the salt and pepper in the salad bowl, or in a small bowl if the sauce is to be served separately. Add a little oil and stir well, then gradually add the remainder of the oil, stirring all the while. Last of all stir in the vinegar, which should be diluted with water if very strong. This sauce may be modified to suit different vegetables. As it is given it is right for lettuce, chicory, cooked asparagus, cauliflower, arti- choke, etc. Cream may be substituted for the oil, but the salad is not so rich. COOKED SALAD DRESSING. 2 eggs 1 teaspoon salt l /2 cup vinegar 1 teaspoon mustard 1 cup milk Y$ teaspoon pepper 1 tablespoon oil or butter Put the oil and dry ingredients into a bowl and mix well. Add the eggs and beat for five minutes, then add the vinegar and beat one minute. Now add the milk, place the bowl in a pan of boiling water, and cook until the sauce thickens like thin cream. It will take about ten minutes. Stir the sauce constantly while cooking. Cool and bottle what you do not require for immediate use. This sauce is good for nearly all kinds of cooked vegetables. If butter is substituted for the oil, add it just before taking the sauce from the fire. SOUR CREAM DRESSING. Y> pint sour cream 1 teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons lemon juice 54 teaspoon pepper 2 tablespoons vinegar 1 teaspoon or more mixed 1 scant tablespoon sugar mustard Beat the cream with an egg beater until smooth, thick, and light. 14 SALAD DRESSINGS Mix the other ingredients together and gradually add to the cream, beating all the while. This dressing may be modified to suit different vegetables. Hav- ing beaten sour cream for a foundation the seasoning may be anything desired, as, for example, the mustard and lemon may be omitted and the dressing be seasoned highly with any kind of catsup. A sweet cream may be substituted for the sour; it should be quite thick. CREAM SALAD DRESSING. 1 cup cream (sweet or sour) 2 tablespoons vinegar */2 cup tomato catsup 2 tablespoons sugar 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 teaspoon salt Mix the oil, salt, sugar, and vinegar together, then beat in the catsup and finally add the cream, beating it in gradually. This dressing is very good for vegetables, or for fish salads. 15 SUBSTITUTES FOR MEAT You eat in order to keep yourself alive. The work you do, the exercise you take, the thoughts you think, each breath you draw all these use up a certain proportion of your body each day. If you want to live and keep well, this used-up portion must be replaced, and this is done through the food you eat. Part of your food furnishes you with' new blood ; part of it goes to make bone ; part of it builds up new tissue or flesh, etc. Meat has always been considered the best tissue or flesh-building food, and for this reason people have always eaten it a great deal. Most of our meat has come from the Western states, but the tremendously large ranches of twenty years ago are gradually being cut up into small farms and cattle are not being raised in such large numbers any more. This is one reason why meat costs so much. Another reason is the great demand there is for it on the part of our people who do not know that there are other foods that will supply the needs of the body in just the same way that meat does and which in ordinary times do not cost as much as meat. For instance, we can use fish in place of meat much more than we do. Other foods that can be used in place of meat are eggs, milk, creamed soups, macaroni, cheese, cereals, peas, beans, lentils, nuts and bananas. EGGS contain all the elements, in the right proportion, necessary for the support of the body. They are rich in the same flesh-building elements as the lean of meat, and, therefore, make an excellent substi- tute for meat. They should be eaten with foods that are rich in starch, such as bread and potatoes. If so eaten, they will take care of your body just as completely as meat would. MILK contains heat-giving, energy-giving and tissue-building prop- erties. Cream soups and purees made with milk and the pulp of vege- tables can take the place of meat. MACARONI, SPAGHETTI and NOODLES contain so much starch and flesh-building material that they are equal to meat as a food if combined with cheese. The fat that they lack is supplied by the cheese, and when so combined they make a perfect food. CHEESE contains in a condensed form the same flesh-building material as meat and can be used in place of it. If combined with macaroni, rice, etc., it will supply all the needs of the body. CEREALS contain in varying proportion all the elements necessary to support life. They contain a great deal of starch, which is valuable as an energy giver. Oatmeal and corn-meal contain more fat than the other cereals, and, therefore, make a good winter food, especially for hard-working people. Cereals with cooked fruits are particularly appetizing. 16 SUBSTITUTES FOR MEAT PEAS, BEANS and LENTILS are richer in flesh-building mate- rial than any other vegetable and can be used in place of meat. Lentils are more easily digested than either peas or beans. If properly pre- pared, all these make very appetizing dishes. A dish of baked beans, costing about 20 cents, will furnish a family of six with more nourish- ment than two pounds of beef costing 50 cents. NUTS contain in a condensed form the same flesh-building mate- rial as meat. Some of them contain a great deal of fat as well. They should not be eaten between meals, but, either raw or cooked, they can be used in place of meat. A pound of shelled almonds is equal in food value to three pounds of steak. Hickory-nuts and pecans added to muffins or yeast breads may be used as a substitute for meat. Peanuts are also rich in fat and flesh-building material. BANANAS contain most of the nourishment that meat does, and if eaten with bread and butter make an excellent lunch without the addi- tion of meat. Most children prefer banana sandwiches to meat sand- wiches, and they cost much less. In stating that these dishes can be used in place of meat it is not our purpose to urge you to give up eating meat altogether. It is a fact, however, that as a people we eat too much meat, and you would un- doubtedly find yourself much benefited physically if you would cut down on the amount of meat you eat and vary your diet more than you do. You do not have to eat meat in order to keep well and strong. A great many people never eat meat at all, but find in other foods aH^ffce strength and life-giving properties they require. If our meat supply continues to dwindle in the future as it has in the past, meat will some day be very scarce, and sooner or later you will have to learn to use other foods in place of meat. BEGIN TO LEARN RIGHT NOW. 17 SUBSTITUTES FOR MEAT RECIPES EGGS EGGS WITH CHEESE Pepper j/2 cup milk Salt 1 tablespoon butter or drippings Cayenne 2 tablespoons grated cheese Heat a small omelet pan, put in butter or drippings, and, when melted, add milk. Slip in the eggs one at a time ; sprinkle with salt, pepper and a few grains of cayenne. When whites are nearly firm sprinkle with cheese. Finish cooking, and serve on buttered toast. Pour sauce from the pan over the eggs. SCRAMBLED EGGS WITH TOMATOES 4 eggs y\. teaspoon paprika J^2 cup stewed and strained tomatoes 2 tablespoons butter or or canned tomato pulp drippings Y-2. teaspoon salt Beat eggs slightly and add tomatoes, salt and paprika. Melt butter or drippings in a frying-pan, add seasoned eggs, and cook same as scrambled eggs. Butter slices of toasted bread. Pour eggs over the toast and sprinkle with parsley. EGGS BAKED IN TOMATOES. Eggs may be baked in small tomatoes. Cut a slice from stem end of tomato, scoop out the pulp, slip in an egg, sprinkle with salt and pepper, cover with buttered crumbs and bake. POACHED EGGS WITH CHEESE. Arrange poached eggs on a shallow buttered dish. Sprinkle with grated cheese. Pour over eggs one pint white sauce. Cover with stale bread crumbs and sprinkle with grated cheese. Brown in oven. Tomato sauce may be used instead of white sauce. CHEESE OMELET. 2 eggs y 2 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon melted butter or Few grains cayenne drippings 1 tablespoon grated cheese Beat eggs slightly; add one-half teaspoonful of melted butter or drippings, salt, cayenne and cheese. Melt remaining butter or drip- pings in frying-pan, add mixture and cook until firm without stirr- ing. Roll and sprinkle with grated cheese. BREAD OMELET. 3 eggs y> cup of bread crumbs % teaspoon salt y 2 cup of milk 1 dash of black pepper Piece of butter or butter substitute, size of walnut 18 SUBSTITUTES FOR MEAT RECIPES Beat the eggs separately. Add to the yolks the milk, salt, pepper and the bread crumbs. Now stir into this carefully the beaten whites ; mix very lightly. Put the butter or butter substitute in a very smooth frying-pan ; as soon as hot turn in the mixture gently, and set it over a clear fire, being very careful not to burn ; shake occasionally to see that the omelet does not stick. Now stand your frying-pan in the oven for a moment to set the middle of the omelet. When done, toss it over on a warm platter to bring the brown side of the omelet uppermost; or, it may be folded in half and then turned out in the center of the platter. Serve immediately or it will fall. CREAMED CHEESE AND EGGS. 3 hard boiled eggs 1 tablespoon flour y 2 teaspoon salt Few grains cayenne 4 slices toast 1 cup milk Y cup grated cheese Make a thin white sauce with flour, milk and seasoning. Add cheese, stir till melted. Chop egg whites and add to sauce. Pour over toast. Force yolks through a strainer. Sprinkle over the toast. SOUPS Soup is thought to be an expensive luxury by some people, but it is really a means of economy; for a tempting and nutritious soup can be made of the cheapest materials, including remnants of food that cannot be used in any other way. Barley is very nourishing and can be used instead of flour to thicken any soup. Directions : Wash barley and soak overnight. Next day add water to the barley and boil it for three or four hours. Then press it through a sieve and add it to the soup. This thickening can be used in any cream soup in place of flour. CREAM OF POTATO SOUP. 1 qt. milk or milk and water \y 2 tablespoons flour 1J4 cups potatoes mashed 1 teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons butter or butter Few grains pepper substitute 1 sliced onion 1 bay leaf Put the onion and bay leaf into the milk and heat to the scalding point. Remove the onion and bay leaf and add the mashed potatoes. Stir until smooth; then add the flour and butter or butter substitute rubbed together. Cook until it thickens slightly. Add seasoning and sprinkle over with finely chopped parsley. CREAM OF PEA SOUP. 1 can peas 1 slice onion 2 teaspoons sugar 2 tablespoons butter or drippings 1 pint water 2 tablespoons flour 1 pint milk 1 teaspoon salt y% teaspoon pepper Drain peas from their liquor, add sugar and cold water and simmer 19 c'7 SUBSTITUTES FOR MEAT RECIPES twenty minutes. Rub through a sieve, reheat and thicken with butter or v drippings and flour cooked together. Scald milk with onion, remove onion and add milk to pea mixture. Left-over peas can be used in place of canned peas. CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP. Small can of tomatoes or 1 quart milk canned tomato pulp 1 slice onion 2 tablespoons butter or 1 slice green pepper drippings Salt and pepper to taste 2 tablespoons flour Few grains cayenne *4 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda Put tomatoes, onion and green pepper into a saucepan and cook slowly for about ten minutes ; then put through a strainer. Rub flour and butter or drippings together unitil smooth. Add this to the milk and stir over moderate fire until it thickens slightly. Add soda to the tomato juice and pour the milk into the tomato juice. Do not com- bine tomato and milk until ready to serve. CREAM OF CAULIFLOWER SOUP. 4 cups hot stock or water y 2 bay leaf 1 cauliflower *4 CU P flour 2 tablespoons butter or drippings 2 cups milk 1 slice onion Salt 1 stalk celery cut in inch pieces, Pepper or */ teaspoon celery salt Soak cauliflower, head down, one hour in enough cold water to cover; cook in boiling salted water twenty minutes, Reserve one-half flowerets, and rub remaining cauliflower through sieve. Cook onion, celery, and bay leaf in butter or drippings five minutes. Remove bay leaf, then add flour and stir into hot stock or water; add cauliflower and milk. Season with salt and pepper; then strain, add flowerets, and reheat. CREAM OF CARROT SOUP. Carrots \ l / 2 teaspoons salt 2 slices onion Few grains cayenne Sprig parsley 2 cups water *4 cup rice 2 cups scalded milk 2 tablespoons butter or 2 tablespoons flour drippings Chop enough carrots to make two cups. Cook in water until tender. Press through sieve, keeping the water the carrots were cooked in. Cook rice in milk in double boiler. Cook onion in butter or drippings ; add flour and seasonings. Mix carrots with rice and milk, and add butter or drippings, flour and the water the carrots were cooked in ; bring to the boiling point, strain and serve. Garnish with chopped parsley. If this soup seems too tnick thin with milk. 20 SUBSTITUTES FOR MEAT RECIPES CREAM OF CABBAGE SOUP. 1 small cabbage 2 tablespoons butter or drippings 2 cups water 1 teaspoon salt 2 cups milk Yz teaspoon pepper 3 slices onion Few grains cayenne 2 tablespoons flour Chop cabbage, add water, and cook until tender; press through a sieve. Melt butter or drippings, add chopped onion, cook slowly five minutes, add flour, scalded milk and cabbage mixture ; cook five minutes. Add seasonings, strain and serve. CREAM OF RICE SOUP. 1 cup rice 1 cup milk 6 cups cold water 2 tablespoons butter or drippings 1 small onion 2 tablespoons flour 1 teaspoon chopped parsley Salt and pepper Cook rice and onion in cold water until rice is tender. Press through a sieve. Melt butter or drippings, add flour, milk, and season- ings ; boil five minutes. Combine mixtures. Add parsley and serve. (The parsley can be left out if not wanted.) CREAM OF ASPARAGUS; CREAM OF GREEN PEAS; CREAM OF STRING BEANS; CREAM OF SPINACH; CREAM OF CORN; CREAM OF CELERY. These soups are very delicate, and are much esteemed. They are all made in the same way. The vegetable is boiled until soft, and is then pressed through a sieve. A pint of the vegetable pulp is diluted with a quart of stock or water (the stock may be veal, beef or chicken broth). It is thickened with one tablespoon of butter or drippings, and two tablespoons of flour rubbed together until smooth, and seasoned with pepper and salt. Re- move from the stove and add one cup of milk; then strain again, so it will be perfectly smoth. POTATO CHOWDER. 6 good-sized potatoes 1 tablespoon flour J4 lb. salt pork 1 pint milk 1 onion 1 tablespoon chopped parsley 1 tablespoon butter or 1 teaspoon salt drippings l / 2 teaspoon pepper Cut the potatoes into dice ; then cut the pork into small pieces, and put the pork with the sliced onion into a frying-pan, and fry until a light brown. Put into a kettle a layer of potatoes, then a layer of onions and pork, and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and chopped parsley. Repeat this until all the potatoes, pork, onions, and parsley are in. Pour over them the grease from the pan in which the pork and onions were fried. Add one pint of water, cover, and let simmer twenty minutes. Scald the milk in a double, boiler, and add the flour and butter or drippings, rubbed together until smooth. Add this to the pot when the potatoes are tender, and stir carefully together, so as not to break the potatoes. Taste to se'e if the seasoning is right. Serve very hot. 21 SUBSTITUTES FOR MEAT RECIPES CORN CHOWDER. * 1 can corn 3 cups water 1 cup salt pork cut in cubes 2 cups milk 1 cup potatoes 1 tablespoon butter or drippings */2 cup onion 1 tablespoon flour Salt and pepper y 2 cup cracker crumbs Cook salt pork in frying-pan five minutes ; add onion and cook until yellow. Parboil potatoes five minutes; add to onion with corn and water; cook twenty minutes. Thicken milk with butter or drippings and flour cooked together. Combine mixtures; add cracker crumbs and seasonings, and serve. Succotash may be substituted for corn. CHESTNUT SOUP. 2 cups chestnuts shelled and Cayenne blanched Nutmeg 3 cups cold water 2 tablespoons onion 2 cups scalded milk 2 tablespoons butter or drippings y% teaspoon celery salt 2 tablespoons flour Salt 1 cup milk Cook chestnuts in cold water until tender, press through a sieve, and add scalded milk. Cook onion in butter or drippings five minutes, add flour, seasonings and chestnut mixture. Cook five minutes, add milk, strain and serve. Note To shell chestnuts, make a cross on either side of the nut with a sharp knife. Put one teaspoon melted butter or drippings in dripping-pan; add chestnuts and cook in oven until shells come off easily. EGG SOUP (Four Persons). 4 cups of milk 4 eggs 4 level teaspoons of flour y 2 teaspoon of salt Pinch of pepper Boil two of the eggs hard ; put the milk into the double boiler, and when heated stir in thoroughly the flour, wet in cold milk. Cook from fifteen to twenty minutes, stirring frequently, and stir in two of the eggs, which have been beaten very light, stirring constantly over the fire for two minutes. Add the seasoning; chop the hard-boiled egg very fine, sprinkle over the top of soup, and serve. CHEESE SOUP. 2 tablespoons of cheese *4 teaspoon of pepper 1 quart of hot milk ^2 teaspoon of salt 2 well-beaten eggs 1 cupful boiled rice or spaghetti In a large saucepan melt the cheese with a little milk. When the cheese is melted, slowly add one quart of hot milk (do not let the milk come to a boil, keep stirring constantly). Then stir in the two well- beaten eggs, adding them very slowly to prevent curdling. Cook for five minutes, adding the seasoning and one cupful of boiled rice or spaghetti, but d-.- >, " let the mixture boil at any time. 22 SUBSTITUTES FOR MEAT RECIPES SPLIT-PEA OR BEAN SOUP. 1 cup of split peas, or 2 quarts of water 1 cup of dried beans 1 tablespoon of flour 1 tablespoon of butter or Salt and pepper to taste drippings Let the peas or beans soak overnight in three quarts of cold water. Drain off water and put the soaked peas or beans into a saucepan with two quarts of water and a ham-bone, if you have it, otherwise it may be omitted. Let simmer for four or five hours, or until the peas or beans are perfectly soft. (Add more water from time to time, if necessary.) Press through a sieve; adding enough stock or water to make a soup of the consistency of cream. Put it again into a saucepan on the fire ; season, and add one tablespoon of butter or drippings and one table-spoon of flour rubbed together until smooth. An onion may be boiled with the peas or beans if desired. Serve croutons with the soup. (Croutons are small pieces of bread fried in butter or drippings.) BAKED BEAN SOUP. 3 cups cold baked beans 2 tablespoons butter or drip- 3 pints water pings 2 slices onion 2 tablespoons flour l l /2 cups stewed and strained toma- Salt toes or canned tomato pulp Pepper Put beans, water, and onion in saucepan ; bring to boiling point and simmer thirty minutes. Rub through a sieve, add tomato, season to taste with salt and pepper, and mix with the butter or drippings and flour cooked together. Serve with crisp crackers. LENTIL SOUP. To the contents of a can of lentils add some broth or water, chopped parsley and onions, brown sauce or butter or drippings and flour. Also, if desired, a few pieces of Frankfurt sausage. Boil five minutes and serve. CREAM OF LENTIL SOUP. Two cups of canned lentils, eight cups water, three tablespoons chopped onions, two tablespoons butter or drippings, two tablespoons flour, two cups milk. Cook the onions ten minutes, add to the lentils and press through a sieve. Melt butter or drippings, add flour and milk and cook five minutes. Combine the mixtures, season to taste and serve with small pieces of bread fried in butter or drippings. MACARONI, SPAGHETTI and NOODLES BAKED MACARONI. l /4 pound of macaroni l / 2 cup of milk *4 pound of grated cheese 1 tablespoon of butter or butter substitute Salt and pepper Break the macaroni in convenient lengths, put it in a two-quart kettle and nearly fill the kettle with boiling water; add a teaspoon of salt 23 SUBSTITUTES FOR MEAT RECIPES and boil rapidly twenty-five minutes (the rapid boiling prevents the macaroni from sticking together) ; drain in a colander, then throw into cold water to blanch for ten minutes ; then drain again in the colander. Put a layer of macaroni in the bottom of a baking-dish, then a layer of cheese, then a sprinkling of salt and pepper, then another layer of mac- aroni, and so continue until all is used, having the last layer macaroni. Cut the butter or butter substitute in small bits ; distribute them evenly over the top ; add the milk and bake until a golden brown (about twenty minutes) in a moderately quick oven. Serve in the dish in which it was baked. MACARONI BAKED WITH TOMATOES. Arrange in a baking- dish layers of cooked macaroni, stewed and seasoned tomato or canned tomato pulp, and chopped green pepper. Dot each layer with butter or butter substitute. Cover all with cracker crumbs. Bake in hot oven. ITALIAN MACARONI. J4 pound of macaroni *X pint of milk Y^ pound of grated cheese 1 tablespoon of butter or drippings Salt and white pepper to taste Break the macaroni in convenient lengths. Put in a two-quart kettle and nearly fill the kettle with boiling water ; add a teaspoonful of salt and boil rapidly twenty-five minutes; then drain. Put the milk into a double boiler; add to it the butter or drippings, then the macaroni and cheese ; stir until thoroughly heated, add the salt and pepper, and serve. MACARONI WITH BROWN SAUCE. J4 pound of macaroni 2 tablespoons of cheese 1 quart of stock or water Salt and pepper to taste Break the macaroni in pieces two inches long. Put the stock or water on to boil. When boiling, add the macaroni and boil rapidly for thirty minutes. When done, put it in a colander to drain, saving the liquid. Put one tablespoon of butter or drippings in a frying-pan ; add one tablespoon of flour, mix until smooth ; then add a half-pint of the stock or water in which macaroni was boiled and stir continually until it boils; add the cheese, then the macaroni, and let it boil up once. Season to taste, and serve. BOILED MACARONI WITH CHEESE. Put the macaroni into salted boiling water, and cook it twelve to fifteen minutes, or until it is tender. When it is cooked, drain ofif all the water and cover the hot macaroni ""with grated cheese. With two forks mix lightly the cheese with the macaroni. Turn it into the hot serving-dish, and pour over it the sauce given below. Serve at once. SAUCE FOR MACARONI. Put into a saucepan one and a half tablespoons of butter or drippings. Add a small onion chopped fine. Cook until all are browned ; then add three tablespoons of the water in which the macaroni was boiled and a teaspoonful of beef extract. Add, also, three or four soaked mushrooms and let it simmer for five minutes. This amount of uce is enough for a pound of macaroni. 24 SUBSTITUTES FOR MEAT RECIPES The mushrooms given in this recipe are the dried cepes, which can be bought by the pound at Italian groceries. They are the best, after the fresh mushrooms, to use for sauces. They should not be cooked longer than five minutes to give their best flavor. The beef extract and the mushrooms can both be left out, if desired. MACARONI OR SPAGHETTI WITH TOMATO SAUCE. Boil macaroni or spaghetti in water for thirty minutes; drain off the water and serve the macaroni with tomato sauce and cheese. MACARONI CROQUETTES. 6 ounces of macaroni J^ pint of milk 1 tablespoon of butter or drip- 2 tablespoons of flour pings Salt and pepper to taste 2 tablespoons of grated cheese Break the macaroni in pieces about two inches long. Put it in a kettle nearly full of boiling water, and boil rapidly twenty-five minutes. When done, put it in a colander to drain ; then cut it in pieces a half- inch long. Scald the milk. Rub the butter or drippings and flour to- gether until smooth ; stir into the milk when boiling, and stir continually until it thickens ; then add the cheese and macaroni, salt and pepper, cook one minute longer; then turn out on a plate to cool. When cold, form into croquettes ; roll first in egg and then in bread crumbs, and fry in deep hot fat. Serve with cream sauce. MACARONI TIMBALE. 6 ounces of left-over meat or 1 teaspoon of tomato catsup vegetables 2 ounces of macaroni boiled and 4 tablespoons of bread crumbs cut in pieces one inch long 1 tablespoon of stock or gravy Mix the crumbs and meat or vegetables well together; then add the stock or gravy, seasoning and catsup. Grease a plain pudding mould, and line it with the boiled macaroni ; fill with the mixture, and press in compactly. Put the lid on the mould and fasten it. Then stand the mould in a kettle, with sufficient boiling water to cover it about two- thirds. Now put the lid on the kettle, and boil for one hour. When done, turn it from the mould, pour cream sauce around it, and serve. NOODLES. Throw a few noodles at a time into boiling, salted water; boil them until they are done, separating them carefully with a fork to prevent their matting together. Skim them out when done, and keep them on a warm dish in a warm oven until enough are cooked. Season with butter. Put them in the dish in which they are to be served, and sprinkle over them bread crumbs browned in hot drippings to a golden color. This dish may be served with fish, with meat, or as a course by itself. Noodles may also be cooked like macaroni, with cheese. 25 SUBSTITUTES FOR MEAT RECIPES CHEESE in small CHEESE RELISH. 1 cup bread broken pieces y 2 cup cheese 1 teaspoon salt % teaspoon pepper Mix ingredients well, place in greased baking-dish and bake 25 1 cup milk 1 egg 1 tablespoon butter or drip- pings mnutes. CHEESE FONDUE. 1 cup scalded milk 1 cup stale bread crumbs y^ lb. mild cheese (in small pieces) 1 tablespoon butter or butter substitute 1/2 teaspoon salt 3 eggs Mix first five ingredients ; add yolks of eggs beaten until stiff. Fold in whites of eggs beaten until stiff. Pour into greased baking-dish and bake twenty minutes in moderate oven. CREAM TOAST WITH CHEESE. Make toast; make white sauce. To white sauce, just before taking from the fire, add y>. cup of grated cheese. When this is melted, pour over the toast. CEREALS OATMEAL MUFFINS. (See page 94.) RAISED OATMEAL MUFFINS. cup scalded milk cup sugar teaspoon salt l /4 yeast cake dissolved in *4 cup lukewarm milk 1 cup cold cooked oatmeal 2 l / 2 cups flour Add sugar and salt to scalded milk; when lukewarm, add dissolved yeast cake. Work oatmeal into flour with tips of fingers, and add to first mixture; beat thoroughly, cover, and let rise overnight. In morn- ing, fill greased iron gem pans two-thirds full, let rise on back of range that pan may gradually heat and mixture rise to fill pan. Bake in moderate oven twenty-five to thirty minutes. RAISED HOMINY MUFFINS. 1 cup warm cooked hominy l / 2 teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons butter or any fat y\. yeast cake 1 cup scalded milk 54 cup lukewarm water 3 tablespoons sugar 3*4 cups flour Mix first five ingredients ; when lukewarm add yeast cake, dis- solved in lukewarm water, and flour. Cover, and let rise overnight. In the morning, fill hot greased gem pans two-thirds full, let rise one hour, and bake in a moderate oven. Unless cooked hominy is rather stiff, more flour will be needed. 26 SUBSTITUTES FOR MEAT RECIPES POLENTA. 2 cups boiling water 1 teaspoon salt 1 cup yellow corn-meal 2 tablespoons of butter 2 cups cold water 4 tablespoons grated cheese Mix the corn-flour with the cold water and stir into the boiling water, to which the salt has been added ; stir constantly until the mix- ture boils; then occasionally for at least an hour. When about half cooked add the butter and the cheese. Serve hot ; or, when cold, cut in squares and fry. SAVORY RICE. 2 tablespoons butter or 3 tablespoons grated cheese drippings 1 chopped hard-boiled egg C, tablespoons boiled rice Milk 4 tablespoons chopped cooked carrots Melt the butter or drippings and add the rice, carrots, cheese and egg. Moisten with milk and season well. Heap on a dish and brown in the oven. (The hard-boiled egg can be left out, if not wanted.) In food value this dish takes the place of both meat and potatoes. RICE BALLS WITH CHEESE AND TOMATO SAUCE. Make balls of cooked rice and dip them in grated cheese. Bake in a hot oven until cheese is brown. Serve with tomato sauce. CHEESED RICE. 1 can tomatoes or canned y 2 Ib. cheese tomato pulp Salt 1 cup cooked rice Paprika Spread in a baking-dish in layers with cheese on top. Bake in moderate oven until cheese is brown. RICE WITH CHEESE. 2 cups cooked rice y 2 cup grated cheese 2 tablespoons butter or Few grains pepper drippings Milk YT. teaspoon salt Arrange rice and cheese in alternate layers in buttered baking-dish, add remaining ingredients, adding sufficient milk to moisten. Cover with bread crumbs. Bake until crumbs are brown. In food value this dish will take the place of both meat and potatoes. RICE WITH TOMATOES. Wash and drain one-half cup rice, cook in one tablespoon b'utter or dripping until brown, add one cup boiling water, and steam until water is absorbed. Add one and three-fourths cups hot stewed tomatoes or .canned tomato pulp, cook until rice is soft, and season with salt and pepper. RICE AND CHEESE CROQUETTES. 1 cup rice Salt and pepper 4 cups milk 1 egg 1 cup cheese 1 cup thick white sauce 27 SUBSTITUTES FOR MEAT RECIPES Cook rice in milk; when milk is absorbed add cheese, seasoning and egg and enough sauce to make of the consistency to shape. Shape, dip in crumbs, then egg and crumbs, and fry in deep fat. BAKED RICE AND CHEESE. 3 cups boiled rice 1 cup milk y-2. pound cheese *X teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons flour Make sauce by thickening milk with flour. Add cheese, stirring until it is melted. Arrange layers of rice and sauce in baking-dish, cover with crumbs and bake until brown. In food value this dish takes the place of both meat and potatoes. RICE MUFFINS. 2% cups flour 1 egg 94 cup hot cooked rice 2 tablespoons melted butter or 5 teaspoons baking-powder any fat 2 tablespoons sugar y 2 teaspoon salt 1 cup milk Mix and sift flour, sugar, salt and baking-powder ; add one-half milk, egg well beaten, the remainder of the milk mixed with rice, and beat thoroughly ; then add butter or fat. Bake in greased muffin rings placed in greased pan or bake in greased gem pans. PEAS PEA TIMBALES. Drain and rinse one can peas, and rub through a sieve. To one cup pea pulp add two beaten eggs, two tablespoons melted butter or drippings, two-thirds teaspoon salt, one-eighth teaspoon pepper, few grains cayenne, and a few drops onion juice. Turn into greased moulds, set in pan of hot water, cover with greased paper, and bake until firm. Serve with one cup white sauce to which is added one-third cup canned peas drained, rinsed and cooked slowly for fifteen- minutes. CREAMED PEAS. 2 cups of boiled peas % C11 P white sauce Cook the peas; add them to the white sauce and then cook gently for about two minutes. If left-over peas are used, heat slightly before adding to the white sauce. SPRING SALAD. Cold cooked green peas Cold boiled potatoes Cut potatoes into dice. Mix peas and potatoes together with may- onnaise dressing, then serve on lettuce leaves. BEANS BAKED BEANS. Soak beans overnight in cold water. In the morning drain off the water and cover with fresh water. Cook beans gently until skin<* begin to break. Place a layer of beans in a bean pot or deep earthen ( hsh and on this layer in the center of the dish place a piece of salt pork . s- ireak of fat and streak of lean), have rind side up. 28 SUBSTITUTES FOR MEAT RECIPES For each quart of beans use one-half pound pork; score the rind. Fill dish with beans, add seasoning and water to cover. (One tablespoon salt and one-half teaspoon pepper to one quart beans.) Mix seasoning with the water. One tablespoon mustard may be added ; also one-half tablespoon molasses and one onion. Instead of pork, a piece of salt or fat beef or mutton may be used, or the fat trimmed from a cooked piece of corned beef. In this case use one and one-half to two pounds meat to one quart of beans. If fresh meat is used, add more salt. If all meat is used, one teaspoon salt is sufficient. When mutton is used, trim off every particle of skin. Bake the beans in a very moderate oven eight to ten hours. Add a little boiling water from time to time, but never enough to bring the water above the beans. Do not cover beans while baking. BEAN POLENTA. 1 pint of small white beans 1 tablespoon of butter or drip- \y 2 tablespoons of molasses pings ]/2 teaspoon mustard 1 tablespoon of vinegar Salt and pepper to taste Wash the beans and soak them overnight in cold water. In the morning, drain off this water, cover with fresh, cold water, bring slowly to a boil, and boil slowly one hour; drain again, cover with one quart of fresh boiling water, and boil slowly another hour. When done, press through a colander, return to the kettle, add the butter or drip- pings, molasses, mustard, salt, pepper and vinegar; stir, and boil ten minutes. BEAN CROQUETTES. 1 pint of white beans 1 tablespoon of butter or drip- 1 tablespoon of vinegar pings 1 tablespoon of molasses Salt and pepper to taste Boil the beans as directed in preceding recipe. When done, drain and press the beans through a colander, then add the other ingredients, mix well and stand away to cool. When cold, form into small balls, dip first in egg and then in bread crumbs, and fry in deep hot fat. PUREE OF BEANS. See Puree of Dried Beans, page 57. BOSTON ROAST. 1-pound can kidney beans, or */ 2 pound grated cheese same quantity cooked beans. Bread crumbs Salt Mash beans or put through a meat grinder. Add cheese and enough bread crumbs to make a stiff roll. Bake in a moderate oven, basting occasionally with butter and water. Serve with tomato sauce. The dish may be flavored with onions chopped and cooked in drippings. KIDNEY BEANS WITH BROWN SAUCE. Put one table- spoon of 'butter or dripping in a saucepan and brown until dark, but do not burn it. Add one tablespoon flour ; stir and brown again. Add cup good stock (beef is best) ; season with salt and pepper. 29 SUBSTITUTES FOR MEAT RECIPES Cook one pint fresh shelled beans in salted water until tender. Add the sauce, and cook one minute longer. LENTILS BAKED LENTILS. 1 quart lentils ^2 teaspoon pepper 1 quart water 6 ounces salt pork 1 teaspoon salt 1 small onion Pick over and wash lentils. Soak in water overnight. In morning, pour water off. Put lentils in stew-pan with two quarts cold water and heat slowly. As water boils, the lentils will rise to the top. Remove them with a skimmer and place in a deep earthen dish with pork and onion in the center. Mix salt and pepper with one quart boiling water and add. Cook slowly in moderate oven four to five hours, adding a little water from time to time. If pork is not very salt, more salt should be added. STEWED LENTILS are prepared in the same way, but using more water. Instead of pork, fat corned beef or the shank of a ham may be used. CURRIED LENTILS. 1 cup lentils 3 tablespoons butter or drip- 1 pint vegetable stock or water pings 1 teaspoon salt 2 onions 1 tablespoon curry-powder Wash the lentils and soak them. Drain and cook in the stock or water one hour. When done they should be a dry mass. Melt the butter or drippings, add sliced onions and curry powder. Fry until the onions are brown. Add lentils. Season and heat. Serve with boiled rice. LENTILS AND RICE. Boil the lentils as directed in the pre- ceding recipe. Wash and boil one cup of rice. Put two tablespoons of butter or drippings in a frying-pan ; when melted add one onion cut in slices, then the lentils and rice, and stir over the fire fifteen minutes ; add salt and pepper to taste and serve. LENTIL CROQUETTES. Thoroughly soak one cup of lentils and one-half cup beans. Drain and add two cups of water, half an onion, a stalk of celery or one-half teaspoon celery salt, one small carrot sliced and three sprigs of parsley. Cook until a pulp, strain through a sieve and add one cup grated bread crumbs, one beaten egg, pepper and salt to taste. Make a sauce by creaming two tablespoons of butter and pouring on gradually two-thirds of a cup of milk. Bring to the boiling point and add lentil mixture. Mix thoroughly. When cool form in balls, dip in egg and crumbs and fry in deep hot fat. LENTILS AND RICE CROQUETTES. Rub one cup of canned lentils through a colander. Mix with one cup of cooked rice, one-half cup of miik, un** beaten egg, sage and salt to taste. Form into cro- quettes, roll in beat ^ egg and then in bread crumbs. Spread a little milk on top and b: .\.v 10 a nice brown. 30 SUBSTITUTES FOR MEAT RECIPES LOUISIANA LENTILS. 1 cup lentils 2 tablespoons butter or drip- 1 onion pings 2 cups tomatoes or canned to- 3 red peppers mato pulp Soak the lentils about eight hours. Drain, cover with fresh water and cook very slowly for half hour. Bring to boiling point, drain, cover with hot water and simmer until they become tender; melt the butter or drippings in a baking-dish. Add the onion and red peppers chopped fine. Stir and cook until the butter or drippings is browned. Put in the tomatoes and salt and pepper to taste. Drain the lentils and add them. Cook uncovered for thirty minutes. LENTIL PANCAKES. Mash two cups of canned lentils, and press through a sieve. Season with salt, pepper and drippings, cool, and add two eggs beaten with a cup of milk. Add a cup of flour sifted with half a teaspoon baking-powder, mix thoroughly, and fry on greased griddle. NUTS NUT LOAF. 2 cups soft bread crumbs 1 egg 1 cup milk 1 teaspoon Kitchen Bouquet 2 cups chopped nuts % teaspoon pepper y-2 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon butter or drippings Soak the crumbs in milk until soft, add remaining ingredients. Pour into bread-pan, baste with water or drippings, and bake one hour. Serve hot or cold with tomato sauce. NUT AND CHEESE ROAST. 1 cup grated cheese 1 tablespoon butter or drip- 1 cup bread crumbs pings Juice y-2 lemon 2 tablespoons onion 1 cup chopped nuts Salt Pepper Cook chopped onion in the butter or drippings and a little water until tender. Mix other ingredients, moisten with water, using that in which onion was cooked. Pour into a shallow baking-dish and brown in the oven. NUT SCRAPPLE. 2 quarts boiling water 1 cup hominy 2 cups corn meal 1 tablespoon salt 2 cups nut meats Cook the corn-meal and hominy together in the boiling water in a double boiler. When it has been cooking 20 minutes, add the salt, and cook until the corn-meal and hominy have taken up all the water. Add chopped nuts and pour in a greased dish. Keep in a cold place. Cut in slices and fry. Serve with or without syrup. NUT AND CELERY SALAD. Mix equal parts of nut meats cut in pieces and celery cut in small pieces. Mix with French dressing. Serve with lettuce. 31 SUBSTITUTES FOR MEAT RECIPES v NUT MUFFINS (Without Eggs). 2 cups flour 1 cup milk (scant) y^ cup sugar J/ cup nut meat 4 teaspoons baking-powder J^ teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons butter or butter substitute Mix and sift dry ingredients; work in butter or butter substitute with tips of fingers ; add milk and nuts. Bake in muffin-pans for twenty to twenty-five minutes. BANANAS MOULDED CEREAL WITH BANANA. Turn any left-over breakfast cereal, while still hot, into cups rinsed in cold water, half filling the cups. When cold, scoop out the centers, and fill the open spaces with sliced bananas ; turn from the cups on to a buttered agate pan, fruit downward, and set into a hot oven to become very hot. Remove with a broad bladed knife to cereal dishes. Serve at once with sugar and milk. BAKED BANANAS. Arrange bananas in a shallow pan, cover, and bake until skins become very dark in color. Remove from skins, and serve hot sprinkled with sugar. BANANA FRITTERS. Remove skins from four bananas. Cut each one in four equal parts. Sprinkle with four tablespoons sugar, four tablespoons lemon juice, and let stand one hour. Dip in batter; fry in deep fat; drain on brown paper. Serve. BANANA FRIED IN CRUMBS. Remove skin from six bana- nas, cut in halves lengthwise and crosswise. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and lemon juice, dip in flour, egg and crumbs, and fry in deep fat. Drain on brown paper. Serve with or without lemon sauce. BANANA SANDWICH. Slice the bananas and lay between slices of buttered bread. Salt lightly. BANANA AND NUT SALAD. Cut bananas in half lengthwise ; sprinkle with finely chopped nuts and serve on lettuce with mayonnaise dressing. POTATOES POTATOES AU GRATIN. 6 cold boiled potatoes 3 tablespoons of flour 2 cups of milk 4 heaping tablespoons grated 2 tablespoons of butter or butter cheese substitute Salt and pepper to taste Put the butter or butter substitute in a frying-pan to melt; when melted, add the flour, mix until smooth; then add the milk, and stir continually until it boils. Take from the fire, add the cheese, salt, and pepper. Put a layer of this sauce in the bottom of a baking-dish, then a layer of the cold potatoes, sliced, and so on, having the last layer sauce ; sprinkle brc ,; crumbs over the top, and put it in a quick oven ten minutes, to brown. Serve in the dish in which it was baked. 32 SUBSTITUTES FOR MEAT RECIPES POTATO CROQUETTES. To two cups of well-seasoned mashed potatoes add the beaten yolks of two eggs, a tablespoon of chopped parsley, one and a half tablespoons of butter or butter substi- tute (if none has been used in seasoning), a dash of cayenne and nut- meg; stir over the fire until the potato leaves the sides of the pan. When cold, form it into small croquettes, roll them in egg and bread crumbs and fry them in hot deep fat to an amber color. GERMAN POTATO SALAD (Six Persons). 10 medium potatoes 4 tablespoons good olive oil 1 onion 5 tablespoons of vinegar 1 teaspoon of salt Chopped parsley y 2 teaspoon of pepper 1 yolk of egg Boil and peel the potatoes and slice them while still hot. Spread over the potatoes the onion, sliced fine, and then sprinkle on the salt and pepper. In a bowl mix the yolk of egg, the oil and vinegar, and then pour it over the potatoes. Now pour over all three-quarters of a teacup of boiling water. This is the great point in order not to have the salad have the common fault of being too dry. After thoroughly mixing, cover the salad, and let it stand for a few hours. Garnish with parsley. POTATO AND NUT SALAD. Mix two cups cold boiled sliced potatoes and one cup nut meats broken in pieces. Mix with French dressing, and arrange on a bed of watercress or lettuce. POTATO AND EGG SALAD. Hard boil three eggs thirty min- utes, shell and cut fine with a silver knife. Boil three or four potatoes. Dice while hot, mix with cut eggs and add French dressing. Let stand till cold. Serve on bed of watercress or lettuce with more French dress- ing or boiled dressing thinned with vinegar. CABBAGE CABBAGE WITH CHEESE (Very Good). Boil the cabbage as directed on page 51. Press out all the water and chop it. Make a white sauce of one tablespoon each of butter and flour, one cup of milk, one-half teaspoon of salt and a dash of cayenne. Spread a layer of cabbage on the bottom of a pudding-dish ; cover it with white sauce ; then add a layer of grated cheese. Make a second layer of cabbage, sauce and cheese ; cover the top with a layer of crumbs, and place it in the oven. When the sauce bubbles through the crumbs it is done. Serve in same dish. STUFFED CABBAGE. For this select a nice head of Savoy cabbage. Pour over it boiling water, let stand fifteen minutes, drain, scald again and let stand thirty minutes. Drain and shake until dry. Make the stuffing as follows : Wash two heaping tablespoons of rice in cold water, then mix it with a half-pound of sausage meat, add a tablespoon of onion and a tablespoon of chopped parsley ; mix all well together. Open the cabbage carefully to the very center; put in a half-teaspoon of the mixture, fold over two or three of the little leaves; now cover these with a layer of the mixture, fold over this the 33 SUBSTITUTES FOR MEAT RECIPES ne*xt layer of leaves, and so on until each layer is stuffed. Press all firmly together, tie in a piece of cheese-cloth, put it into a kettle of salted boiling water, and boil two hours. When done, carefully remove the cloth, stand the cabbage in a deep round dish, pour over it cream sauce, and serve very hot. CABBAGE ROLLS. One head cabbage Stuffing made from : 1 cup boiled rice 1 small onion grated l /2 pound chopped raw meat Enough milk to moisten Salt and pepper to taste Separate the leaves of the cabbage. Wash them and boil them in water for about ten minutes. Then drain off the water. Mix the stuffing in the order given. Take one tablespoon of the stuffing and roll it in each cabbage leaf and tie securely, forming rolls. Brown the cabbage rolls in hot drippings in a pot and then add a little water and cook slowly for about an hour ; then take out the cabbage rolls. To the drippings in the pan add two level tablespoons flour and stir until it browns. Then add about one cup of boiling water and one-half teaspoon kitchen bouquet, and pour this sauce over the cab- bage rolls. TOMATOES STUFFED TOMATOES. 1 cup cooked cereal 1 tablespoon chopped parsley ]/2 teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons melted butter or A little pepper . drippings 1 teaspoon onion juice Remove the inside of the tomato ; fill with the dressing, and brown in the oven. CURRIED TOMATOES. 1 qt. stewed tomatoes or 1 cup boiled rice 1 qt.-can of tomatoes or canned 1 teaspoon curry-powder tomato pulp Salt to taste Wash the rice through several cold waters. Add the curry-powder and salt to the tomatoes; mix well. Put a layer of the tomatoes in the bottom of a baking-dish, then a layer of the rice, then a layer of toma- toes, and so on until all is used, having the last layer tomatoes; sprinkle the top over with bread crumbs, place a few bits of butter here and there over the crumbs, and bake in a moderate oven for a half-hour. Serve in the dish in which it was baked. SCALLOPED TOMATOES. See Scalloped Tomatoes, page 65. CORN CORN PUDDING 4 cups corn 3 eggs 2 cups }/2 cup butter or butter substi- Salt tute Pepper 34 SUBSTITUTES FOR MEAT RECIPES Beat yolks ; add corn, milk, butter or butter substitute, salt and pepper. Pour into a greased baking-dish ; add beaten whites and bake in moderate oven one hour. CORN, TOMATO AND CHEESE. 6 tablespoons of drippings 1 clove garlic 3/4 cup canned or fresh grated 2 cups grated cheese corn 1 teaspoon salt ^2 cup tomato puree or canned ^> teaspoon paprika tomato pulp 4 slices bread Melt drippings ; add cheese, and stir until it melts. Add corn ; stir for a moment, then add tomato, salt and paprika. Toast bread on one side, rub lightly on the other with garlic cut in half. Pour mixture over untoasted side and serve at once. A poached egg is sometimes placed on top of each portion, making a very nutritious combination. CORN FRITTERS. 1 cup canned or fresh grated T / 2 cup of milk corn ^2 cup of flour 1 egg YI teaspoon of salt 1 teaspoon baking-powder 2 dashes of black pepper To the corn add the milk, the yolk of the egg, salt, pepper and flour; beat well. Beat the white of the egg to a stiff froth, and stir it and the baking-powder carefully into the mixture. Put lard or drip- pings into a saucepan ; when hot, drop the mixture by spoonfuls into the deep fat. When brown on one side, turn and brown the other. Take out with a skimmer (do not pierce them with a fork, as it makes them heavy), drain on brown paper, and serve very hot. PEPPERS ' STUFFED PEPPERS. Use green sweet peppers of uniform size. Cut a piece off the stem end, or cut them in two lengthwise, and remove the seeds and partitions. Put them in boiling water for five minutes to parboil. Fill each one with a stuffing made of equal parts of softened bread crumbs and minced meat (any left-over meat) well seasoned with salt, butter, or drippings, and a few drops of onion juice. Place them in a baking-dish with water or stock half an inch deep, and bake in a mod- erate oven for half an hour. Serve them in the same dish or remove them carefully to another dish. Any left-over vegetable can be used in place of meat. VEGETABLE HASH. See Vegetable Hash, page 66. FISH FISH IS A MOST EXCELLENT AND APPETIZING SUB- STITUTE FOR MEAT. FOR RECIPES, ETC., SEE PAGES 36 TO 48 OF THIS BOOK. 35 FISH People have got more or less into the habit of eating fish on Fridays only. Fish are just as appetizing and nourishing on Tuesdays and Thursdays as on Fridays, and if you and your neighbors will buy fish any day in the week you will get cheaper fish and better fish. Hundreds of car-loads of fish are sent from New York to other cities because the people living here do not appreciate the value of fish as a food and do not buy it as often as they should. Every day is fish day. Vary your diet as much as you can. You will be more healthy if you do. Don't use meat so much. Use fish more. Fish is just as nourishing as lean meat, and if eaten with bread, potatoes, etc., will supply all the needs of the body. When you buy fish, see that you get the trimmings. You are just as much entitled to them as you are to the trimmings of your meat. . The meat part of almost any fish may be cooked separately. If you ask your fish dealer to remove the meat part of the fish for you, the trimmings will consist of the head, the skeleton and the fins, and these can be used for fish stock, out of which can be made excellent fish soups and fish sauces. Halibut costs from 25 cents to 30 cents a pound. Market cod, Tile fish, Hake and Pollock cost about 15 cents less a pound and can be cooked in the same way as Halibut. They can be cut up into steaks; they can be boiled ; the tail can be split and broiled in the same way that you would broil Mackerel or Bluefish, and they cost about 15 cents less a pound than either Mackerel or Bluefish. Scrod can be obtained the year around at about 10 cents a pound. (Scrod is a young cod split down the back and the backbone removed, except a small portion near the tail.) Haddock costs about 10 cents less a pound than Halibut and can be cooked in the same way. Cod, Tile fish and Haddock are in season all the year and, if properly cooked, are extremely appetizing. When you buy Bluefish, get a large-size fish. If you buy a large one you will have enough left over for another meal. Any fish left over can be used to make fish cakes, or it can be creamed and put in a dish and baked. Many people go to a fish store and buy the filets of a fish instead of buying the whole fish. A filet of fish is nothing more or less than the meat of the fish stripped from the skeleton. Some fish dealers have these filets all ready on a platter for sale, but if you buy them that way you will pay about 15 cents more a pound for them than if you bought the entire fish and asked your fish dealer to strip the fish off for you and give you the trimmings. You will find on the next page a list of the fish that can be bought in New York at different seasons of the year ; also directions as to how to cook them, how to make various fish stews, fish chowders, fish pud- dings, etc IT WILT. PAY YOU TO TRY THESE RECIPES AND BUY FISH OFTEN 36 FISH RECIPES HOW TO TELL WHEN FISH IS FRESH. In fresh fish the eyes are bright, the gills red, and the flesh firm and odorless. Put fish in water, and if it sinks you will know it is fresh. If it floats, it is a sign that it is not fresh, and it should not be used. Serious illness is apt to follow the eating of fish that is not fresh. CLEANING FISH. Be sure that the fish is thoroughly cleaned before cooking it. It should be cleaned as soon as it is bought. FISH IN SEASON. When buying fish, buy the variety that is most plentiful at the time. Do not try to buy a variety that is scarce or out of season. Cod, Scrod, Haddock, Tile fish and Halibut can be obtained prac- tically all the year. (Scrod is a young cod split down the back and the backbone removed, except a small portion near the tail.) From about the middle of April to the 1st of November the fish in season are Weak fish. Butter fish, Porgies, Sea Bass, Fluke, Flounder, Whiting, Mackerel, Shad, Salmon and Bluefish. Nearly all of these are very abundant in the spring of the year. Bluefish have been very scarce of late and are practically out of the market. During the winter the fish in season are Spanish Mackerel, Red Snapper, Sea Trout, small Bluefish and Smelts. FROZEN FISH. At stated periods during the year, when certain fish are very plentiful, they are caught in such large numbers that it is impossible to dispose of all of them immediately because of the com- paratively small demand for fish on the part of our housewives. This surplus fish is sent to cold storage in order that it may be preserved and eaten when the same variety of fish cannot be freshly caught. In this way you usually can get, at any time of the year, any kind of fish you particularly like. Fish that has been properly frozen and kept in cold storage is just as good as fresh fish; it is just as palatable, just as nutritious. Many housewives do not know this, and as a result they always insist upon buying fresh fish.. Unscrupulous dealers frequently take advantage of the housewives' demand for fresh fish and thaw out frozen fish and sell it as fresh fish. As frozen fish costs about one-third less than fresh fish, the housewife pays just that much more than she should for the fish that is sold her in this way. Ask your dealer if he keeps frozen fish (cold-storage fish). Tell him you want to make a practice of buying frozen fish in place of fresh fish. See that he sells it to you for one-third less than the price of fresh fish. Frozen fish spoils quickly if it is kept for hours after being thawed out. This is why you should not buy fish that has been thawed out by your dealer. You should buy it while it is still in its frozen state, and take it home and thaw it out yourself. It is a very simple matter to thaw it out : just lay the fish in cold water and the ice will gradually melt. 37 FISH RECIPES The fish should be cooked as soon as it is thawed out. Frozen fish is cooked in exactly the same way as fresh fish, and not only tastes just as good but is just as nourishing. IN THESE DAYS EVERY PENNY COUNTS. Here is one way in which you can save one-third of the money you usually spend for fish. GENERAL DIRECTIONS FOR COOKING FISH BOILED FISH. Small fish, such as small Cod and Haddock, should be cooked whole in enough boiling water to cover, to which is added salt, lemon juice or vinegar. Sew the fish in a piece of muslin to keep it from breaking to pieces. Large fish should be cut in thick pieces. BROILED FISH. Small Cod, Haddock and Mackerel should be split down the back and broiled whole. Salmon and Halibut should be cut in slices for broiling. Smelts and other small fish should be broiled whole without splitting. ' BAKED FISH. Bake on a greased fish sheet, or if you have not a fish sheet, two strips of muslin placed under the fish will answer the purpose. This will enable you to lift the fish from the pan when baked without breaking it. FRIED FISH. Wipe the fish dry, sprinkle with salt, then dip in flour or crumbs, then dip in egg, and again in flour or crumbs, and fry in deep fat. PANNED FISH. This method of cooking is suitable for any small fish or such as can be cut in slices. Have the fish well cleaned, seasoned with pepper and salt and dried with a little flour, or, better still, very fine bread crumbs. Have a large frying-pan smoking hot with as little grease in it as will keep the fish from sticking. Drippings from good, sweet salt pork is the best, but any sweet dripping will do. When the fat begins to smoke blue lay in the fish and brown quickly on both sides, then cover closely and set back to cook more slowly, from ten to twenty minutes, according to the size of the fish. Bass in all its varieties is suitable to cook in this way; so are Butterfish, Cisco (Lake Herring), Herring, Perch, Porgies, Trout, Weakfish, etc. SAUTE FISH. Prepare your fish as for frying and cook in frying- pan with small amount of fat. Cod steaks and Smelts should be cooked in this way. SALT FISH. Very salt fish should be soaked several hours in three or four changes of warm water. Place the skin side up, so that salt crystals may fall away from the under or meat side. Wipe care- fully and clean, then soak for an hour in very cold \vater. BAKED FISH STUFFING VOR BAKED FISH. Put a large tablespoon of butter or drippings into a saucepan. When melted stir into it 1 cup of cracker or dry bread crumbs, 1 teaspoon of chopped onion, 1 tea- 38 FISH RECIPES ;poon chopped capers, % teaspoon salt, T /4 teaspoon pepper, 1 teaspoon chopped parsley. If a moist stuffing is preferred, add one-quarter cup of milk, stock or water. BREAD STUFFING (for baked fish). Fry a tablespoon 01 chopped onion in a tablespoon of butter or drippings. Add a cup or more of stale bread, which has been soaked in hot water, then pressed dry ; then add a tablespoon each of chopped parsley, suet and celery, one-quarter teaspoon each of salt and pepper, and a dash of powdered thyme (if liked). BAKED BASS. Wash and clean a fresh Bass for baking, leaving on the head. Stuff the fish with the following mixture : two and one- half cups of fine bread crumbs moistened well with any left-over drip- pings, the rind of a quarter of a lemon chopped very fine, and two or three sprigs of parsley chopped fine. Season to taste with salt and white pepper. When the fish is well stuffed, sew up the opening. Score it on each side and in the spaces place very thin slices of salt pork. Place the fish in a pan with a little stock, and bake in a moderate oven. When thoroughly cooked, carefully place it on a hot dish. To the gravy which is left in the pan, add a little tomato sauce. Stir on the top of the range until it comes to a boil. Strain and serve in a separate dish. BAKED BLUEFISH. Select a nice large Bluefish, clean, and prepare it for baking. Wash it in salted water, and after drying it thor- oughly, fill with stuffing. Sew up the opening and rub the fish all over with salt. Then having put small pieces of butter over it, place it in a large pan with enough water to cover the bottom, and bake in a hot oven for forty-five or fifty minutes. After it begins to bake, sprinkle it with a little salt and pepper. Baste it often with the liquid in the pan. When it is cooked and a nice color, remove carefully to a hot plate. Do not break it. Serve with a brown sauce. BAKED COD. Select a fresh Cod, cut off the head and fins, draw, wash, and split it down the belly. Remove the bone from the thick part only, and make small lengthwise incisions in the skin in order to prevent the fish from curling while it is cooking. Put it to soak for three hours in a dressing made as follows: Salt, white pepper, a little Worcestershire sauce, and some sweet oil. Drain and place in a pan. Baste it with the dressing and sprinkle with fine bread crumbs. Bake in a slow oven. Add some lemon juice and finely chopped parsley. BAKED EELS. Prepare as for frying; then put into a baking- pan with a little water, flour, pepper, and salt. Bake twenty minutes. Make a gravy of the liquor in which they were baked, adding a little butter or drippings. BAKED FLUKE (large Flounders). Prepare and cook the same as baked Bluefish. FISH 'LOAF. Three pounds Haddock. Have head, tail, skin and backbone removed, so you have two slices of solid fish. You can use Cod, but Haddock is better. On the bottom of your baking-pan put three slices fat pork. On this place one layer of the fish, sprinkle with salt 39 FISH RECIPES and pepper. Mix one cup soft bread crumbs, little salt, pepper and one- quarter cup of drippings, melted, and spread over the fish slice. Cover with the other slice of fish, sprinkle with salt and pepper and place three or four slices of fat pork on top. Bake about thirty minutes. Just before it is done remove pork, scatter one-half cup cracker crumbs over fish, replace pork and brown in oven. Serve with a white sauce. BAKED HADDOCK. Clean a four-pound Haddock. Sprinkle with salt inside and stuff and sew. Cut gashes on each side of backbone and insert narrow strips of salt pork. Place on a greased fish sheet or something to raise it from the bottom. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, dredge with flour, and place around fish small pieces of salt pork. Bake one hour in a hot oven, basting often. Serve with egg sauce. BAKED HALIBUT. Arrange six thin slices of fat salt pork (about two and one-half inches square) in a baking-pan. Wipe a two- pound (or as much as you happen to have) piece of Halibut with a damp cloth and place it in the pan. Cover the fish with three tablespoons of melted drippings mixed with three tablespoons of flour ; then cover the top with three-quarters of a cup of cracker crumbs and arrange five thin strips of fat salt pork over the crumbs. Cover with greased paper and bake fifty minutes in a moderate oven, removing the paper during the last fifteen minutes to brown the crumbs and pork. Sprinkle with finely chopped parsley. Serve with egg sauce. BAKED TILE FISH. Follow directions given for Baked Cod or Halibut. BAKED MACKEREL. Stuff with dressing, dredge with salt and flour. Bake thirty minutes, basting often with water, butter or drip- pings and flour. Make a gravy with the water in the pan in which the fish is baked. Always make the gravy quite salt. The best way to cook Mackerel is to broil it. BAKED SALMON. Clean the fish, rinse it, wipe it dry; rub it well outside and in with a mixture of pepper and salt, and fill it with stuffing ; tie a thread around the fish, so as to keep the stuffing in (take off the thread before serving) ; lay bits of butter or butter substitutes over the fish, dredge flour over it, and put in a dripping-pan ; put a pint of hot water in the pan to baste with; bake one hour, if a large fish, in a quick oven ; baste frequently. BAKED SHAD. Stuff it with bread crumbs, salt, pepper, and parsley moistened well with any left-over drippings ; sew it up or fasten a string around it. Pour over it a little water and some fat, and bake as you would a fowl. A shad will require from an hour to an hour and a quarter to bake. BAKED WEAKFISH. Prepare and cook the same as Baked Cod. COURT BOUILLON Fresh-water fish or others which are without much flavor can be boiled in court bouillon to give them flavor. Court bouillon is made as follows : 40 FISH RECIPES Fry in one tablespoon of fat, one chopped carrot, one chopped onion, one stalk of celery. Then add two quarts of hot water, one cup of vinegar, three peppercorns, three cloves, one bay-leaf, one teaspoon of salt. BOILED FISH BOILED COD. Take the head and shoulders of a good-sized Cod. Scrape and wash clean ; rub a handful of salt into it ; flour a cloth and pin the fish in it. Put into boiling water, and boil half an hour. Take the fish carefully from the cloth, and serve with egg sauce. BOILED HALIBUT. Take a small Halibut, or what you require from a large fish. Put it into the fish kettle, with the back of the fish undermost; cover it with cold water, in which a handful of salt has been dissolved. When it begins to boil skim it carefully, and then let it just simmer till it is done. Four pounds of fish will require nearly half an hour to boil it. Drain it, garnish with parsley. Egg sauce, or plain melted butter or butter substitute are served with it. BOILED TILE FISH. Follow recipe for Boiled Halibut. BOILED FRESH MACKEREL. If not cleaned, open them at the gills, take out the insides, wash clean, and pin in a fish-cloth. (Do not use the cloth that you use to boil Mackerel for any other fish.) Drop into boiling water, and boil fifteen minutes. Serve with drawn butter or drawn butter made with butter substitute. SALMON, BOILED PLAIN. Rub the fish with salt. Have ready a fish kettle with enough boiling water to cover the fish ; let it come rather slowly to the boil. Simmer very gently till done, allowing about fifteen minutes to each pound. Throw in one tablespoon salt just before it is done. Serve with plain drawn butter sauce, which may be made with butter substitute. BROILED FISH BROILED COD. Split, wash, and wipe dry a small Cod. Rub the gridiron with a piece of fat, and lay the fish upon it, being careful to have the inside downward. If the fish is very thick cook thirty min- utes ; but for an ordinary one, twenty minutes will be sufficient. Have the dish in which you intend serving it warm; place it upon the fish and turn the dish and gridiron over together. If the fish sticks to the gridiron loosen it gently with a knife. Have some butter or butter sub- stitute warm, but not melted, with which to season it. Shake on a little pepper and salt and send to the table. BROILED HALIBUT. Season the slices with salt and pepper. Rub with fat on both sides. Roll in flour and broil for ten minutes over a clear fire. Serve on a hot dish, garnishing- with parsley. The slices of Halibut should be about an inch thick. BROILED TILE FISH. Follow directions given for Broiled Halibut. BROILED MACKEREL. Split down the back and clean. Be careful to scrape all the thin black skin from the inside. Wipe dry and 41 FISH RECIPES lay on the gridiron ; broil on one side a nice brown, then turn and brown the other side; it will not take so long to brown the side on which the skin is. (All fish should have the side on w r hich the skin is turned to the fire last, as the skin burns easily and coals are not so hot after you have used them ten minutes.) Season with butter or butter substitute, pep- per and salt. BROILED SCROD. Scrod is young cod, and one may weigh from two and a half to five pounds; the best weigh four or five pounds. When thoroughly broiled it should be rich, flaky, and delicious. Rub the gridiron with fat and broil the inside of the fish first. Twenty minutes is usually sufficient to broil a fish of ordinary size. Season with warmed butter or butter substitute, pepper and salt. BROILED SALMON. The steaks from the center of the fish are best. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, spread on a little butter or butter substitute, and broil over a clear but slow fire. BROILED SHAD. Scrape, split, wash, and dry the Shad on a cloth ; season with pepper and salt ; grease the gridiron well ; as soon as it is hot lay the shad on to broil with the inside downward. One side being well browned, turn it. It should broil a quarter of an hour or more, according .to the thickness. Butter well and send to table hot. BROILED SMELTS. Split the Smelts down the back and remove the bone. Lay them on a hot broiler, which has been rubbed with fat, to prevent sticking. Broil over hot coals for two minutes on each side. Put into a dish some Bechamel sauce, and lay the broiled fish on the sauce, or they may be spread with maitre d'hotel sauce. Serve at once while very hot. FRIED FISH FRIED COD. Remove the skin (ask the fish dealer to remove it for you) ; cut in square pieces and remove the backbone. Scrape all the fish from the bones, and press it with a knife into the larger pieces. Season with salt and pepper and roll in fine white corn-meal. Lay the fish in hot fat and cook brown on each side. Drain on soft paper and serve hot. Garnish with slices of lemon. Any fish having firm white flesh can be prepared in this manner and it is a vast improvement on the old method of sending all the bones to the table. FRIED EELS. After skinning, cleaning, and washing them, cut them into short pieces, and dry them well with a soft cloth. Season them with salt and pepper, flour them thickly, and fry them in boiling fat; when nicely browned, drain and dry them, and send to the table w r ith plain melted butter or butter substitute and a lemon, or with fish sauce. Eels are sometimes dipped into batter and then fried, or into egg and dried bread crumbs. FRIED HADDOCK. Follow same directions as for fried Cod. FRIED HA.LIBUT. Let the slices lie in cold salted water, to which has been added one cup of vinegar, for ten or fifteen minutes. Dry them 42 FISH RECIPES afterwards thoroughly by wiping with a towel, and dusting cracker meal on both sides. Lay them in smoking hot fat, and they will be well cooked and of a pale brown in three or five minutes, according to thick- ness of the slices. FRIED TILE FISH. Follow directions given for Fried Halibut. FRIED MACKEREL. Prepare the Mackerel as for broiling. Sprinkle a little salt over the mackerel, then fry a nice brown in hot fat. FRIED PERCH. Scale and clean them perfectly; dry them well, flour and fry them in .hot fat. Serve with parsley. FRIED SHAD ROE. Wash and wipe ; fry twenty minutes in hot fat in a frying-pan, turning at the end of fifteen minutes. Season, dish on a hot platter. FRIED SMELTS. The best way to cook Smelts is to fry them, although they are sometimes baked. Open them at the gills. Draw each Smelt separately between your finger and thumb, beginning at the tail ; this will press the insides out. (Some persons never take out the insides, but it should be done as much as in any other fish.) Wash them clean, and let them drain in a colander; then salt and roll in a mixture half flour and half corn-meal. Have about two inches deep of hot fat in the frying-pan (drippings if you have them) ; into this drop the Smelts, and fry brown. Do not put so many in that they will be crowded ; if you do, they will not be crisp and brown. FILLET OF SOLE OR FLOUNDERS. Take two Soles or Flounders ; divide them from the backbone, remove the heads, fins, and tails. Sprinkle the inside with pepper, salt, and the juice of half a lemon. Roll in the shape of a corkscrew, then roll them in egg, then bread crumbs, then in egg, and bread crumbs again. Fry in hot fat and serve with Tartare or any other sauce. SALT FISH BLOATERS. Take off head and split open and clean. Put fish into frying-pan, cover with cold water and bring to boiling point. Pour off water and fry. CREAMED SALT CODFISH. Pick in small pieces one cup Salt Codfish ; cover with lukewarm water and let stand on back of range until softened. Melt one tablespoon butter or butter substitute, add one tablespoon flour, and pour on gradually one cup hot milk. Add fish, and serve on a hot platter. SALT CODFISH BALLS. Trim and soak a piece of Salt Codfish in cold water for six or seven hours, and during that time change the water two or three times. Shred it. Should it be too salt after shred- ding, freshen it by frequent changes of cold water. There should be one quart of the shredded fish. Cover it with water and let it simmer gently until tender. It will not take very long. Should you boil it too much, you might harden it. Have ready six good-sized, fresh-boiled potatoes, and mash them while hot, or use two cups of boiled rice. Have "he fish drained, pounded, and rubbed through a sieve, and mix with the 43 FISH RECIPES potatoes or rice three well-beaten eggs. Season to taste with salt if necessary and white pepper, also a small lump of butter or drippings. Drop by the tablespoonful into a pan of boiling hot fat and fry until a delicate brown. Drain on brown paper and serve very hot. BAKED SALT CODFISH. Take one teacup of Salt Codfish picked up fine, two teacups of mashed potatoes or rice, one pint of milk. Mix them well together and then add two eggs well beaten. Stir them in thoroughly and then add four tablespoons of drippings, melted, and salt and pepper to taste. Put in a baking-dish and bake twenty or thirty minutes. FISH HASH. Follow same direction as for fish hash made with left-over fish (see Fish Hash, page 45), but salt fish must be soaked for several hours. BAKED FINNAN-HADDIE. Place fish in cold water, then place on fire and let it come to a boil ; then remove skin and place in a pan with two tablespoons of fat ; bake in a moderate oven tweny-five or thirty minutes. BOILED FINNAN-HADDIE. Place fish in boiling water and boil for twenty minutes; serve with egg sauce or drawn butter. BROILED FINNAN-HADDIE. First heat broiler and grease well to keep from sticking; then place fish on broiler, meat side to the fire, and cook slowly fifteen minutes, being careful not to burn. Butter and pepper to suit taste. Butter substitute may be used in place of butter. CREAMED FINNAN-HADDIE. Tear Haddies into small strips ; wash clean and place in saucepan with quart of water; let it simmer half an hour ; then pour off water and add one pint of fresh milk. When this comes to boil, thicken with one tablespoon of flour; let it boil five minutes and add butter or butter substitute (size of a walnut) and a little pepper, and serve. KIPPERED HERRING. Remove fish from can and arrange on a platter that may be put in the oven. Sprinkle with pepper, brush over with lemon juice and melted butter or drippings, and pour over the liquor left in the can. Heat thoroughly and garnish with parsley and slices of lemon. CREAMED SALT MACKEREL. Soak the Mackerel for twelve hours or more, with the skin side up, and change the water several times. Simmer it for fifteen or twenty minutes; and, if convenient, have in the water one teaspoon of vinegar, one bay-leaf, one slice of onion, and a sprig of parsley. Place carefully on a hot dish, and pour over it a cream sauce. BOILED SALT MACKEREL. Wash the Mackerel, and soak over night in clear cold water. Put them on to boil in cold water, and boil gently thirty minutes. Serve with drawn butter or sauce made with butter substitute. BROILED SALT MACKEREL. Soak the Mackerel for twelve hours or more, with the skin side up, and change the water several times. Simmer it for fifteen or twenty minutes ; if convenient, have in the water 44 FISH RECIPES one tablespoon of vinegar, one bay-leaf, one slice of onion, and a sprig of parsley. Then broil and spread with butter or drippings, pepper, lemon juice and chopped parsley. HOW TO USE LEFT-OVER FISH CREAMED FISH. Pick the fish into small pieces and heat in milk. Melt one tablespoon of butter or drippings, add one tablespoon of flour, and pour on gradually one cup hot milk. Stir until it thickens slightly. Add fish and cook gently for one minute. Turn on a hot platter and garnish with slices of hard-boiled eggs. CURRIED COD. Two slices large Cod, or remains of any Codfish, two tablespoons of fat, melted, one onion sliced, a teacup of stock or water, thickening of drippings and flour, one tablespoon of curry powder, one-quarter pint of milk, salt and pepper to taste. Flake the fish, and fry to a nice brown with the fat and onions ; put this in a stew-pan, add the stock and thickening, simmer for ten minutes. Stir the curry- powder into the cream sauce ; put it with the seasoning into the fish mixture, and serve. FISH BALLS. Take any left-over fish, put it in your chopping tray, being careful that there are no bones in it; chop fine. Pare and boil potatoes enough to have twice the quantity of potatoes that you have of fish. When cooked turn them into the tray with the fish, mash fine, and make into balls about the size of an egg. Flour the outside lightly; have the fat hot, and fry a light brown. Rice may be used in place of potatoes. FISH CROQUETTES. 2 cups cold cooked fish 1 cup croquette sauce Salt and pepper 'Lemon juice and onion juice 1 tablespoon chopped parsley Mix all ingredients; add more lemon juice if needed. Shape, dip in crumbs, egg and crumbs, fry in smoking hot deep fat. One cup tomato or canned tomato pulp may be substituted for the one cup milk or stock in croquette sauce. SAUCE FOR CROQUETTE MIXTURES. 3 tablespoons butter or drip- Salt and pepper pings Celery salt 5 tablespoons flour Lemon juice 1 cup stock or milk Few drops onion juice Melt butter or drippings ; add flour, seasonings and milk. Cook until thick. This sauce is sufficient to thicken two cups of meat, for all kinds of croquettes. It may be varied by adding two egg yolks or one egg. FISH' HASH. Prepare the fish as for fish balls; chop fine cold potatoes, and mix with the fish or use rice in place of potatoes. Turn the hash into the frying-pan with two tablespoons of hot fat ; add half a cup of boiling water; let this heat slowly, stirring often; then spread 45 FISH RECIPES smoothly, and brown, being careful not to let it burn. When brown fold it as you would an omelet. FISH WITH TOMATO SAUCE. One cup tomatoes or canned tomato pulp, one-half cup water, one-half of an onion sliced. Cook tomatoes, water and onion twenty minutes. Melt one tablespoon of drip- pings and add one tablespoon of flour, stir into hot mixture, add one- half teaspoon salt and one-eighth teaspoon pepper, cook until it thickens ; then strain. Put fish in a baking-dish and pour the tomato sauce around it. Bake from fifteen to twenty minutes in a moderate oven. FISH WITH GREEN PEPPER. One and three-quarters cups cold cooked fish, one cup white sauce, one-half small green pepper, one- half slice onion or flavor to taste with extract of onion, salt and pepper. Cut a slice from stem end of pepper, remove every seed and parboil pepper fifteen minutes. Make a white sauce with one cup milk, two tablespoons butter or drippings, two tablespoons flour, bit of bay-leaf, sprig of parsley, salt and pepper to taste, scalding the milk with the parsley and bay-leaf. Cook the onion finely chopped in the butter or drippings three minutes, or flavor with onion extract to taste; add the flour when well mingled, the milk, salt and pepper ; when thickened and smooth add the fish broken into flakes and the green pepper cut into narrow strips ; heat thoroughly, and serve. FISH PUDDING. 2 cups boiled Halibut, half cup of milk, one and one-half tablespoons of butter or drippings, half tablespoon of flour, one and one-half teaspoons salt, quarter teaspoon pepper, half teaspoon onion juice, two eggs. Pound the fish until it is thoroughly mashed, then rub it through a sieve; season the fish pulp with salt, pepper, and onion juice. Put the butter or drippings into a saucepan ; when melted add the flour and cook for a few minutes ; then add the milk slowly, stirring constantly until well scalded; then add the fish pulp, take from the fire, add the beaten eggs, and mix thoroughly. Grease well a mold holding a pint or a little more ; put in the mixture, pressing it well against the sides to remove any air bubbles. Cover the mold with a greased paper, and set in a pan of warm water covering one-half the mold. Place in moderate oven for thirty minutes, and do not let the water boil. FISH TOAST. One cup flaked cold fish, free from skin and bones. Heat in water sufficient to moisten ; add butter or drippings, pepper and salt. When hot pour on slice of buttered toast; garnish with poached eggs. SALMON LOAF. y 2 cup salmon, fresh or canned ^ cup milk Y-2. cup stale bread crumbs */2 teaspoon lemon juice 1 beaten egg ^ teaspoon onion juice Salt and pepper to taste Mix all the < e together; put in a greased baking-dish or any greased tins or custard-cups and bake in moderate oven for about twenty minutes. 46 FISH RECIPES SALMON AND RICE. Form freshly boiled rice into flat cakes, brown slightly in fat on both sides and place on a warmed platter. Warm Salmon .that has been left over and spread over the rice. Over this pour a white sauce into which has been stirred the whites of two hard-boiled eggs cut in dice. Garnish with the yolks cut into slices. SCALLOPED FISH. Two cups cold fish (Cod, Haddock, Tile fish or Halibut), one and one-half cups milk, one slice onion, blade of mace, bit of bay-leaf, three teaspoons drippings, three tablespoons flour, one- half teaspoon salt, one-eighth teaspoon pepper, one-half cup crumbs fried in drippings. Scald the milk with onion, mace and bay-leaf. Remove seasonings. Melt the drippings, add flour, salt and pepper, then gradually the milk. Boil three minutes. Put one-half the fish in a greased baking-dish, sprinkle with salt and pepper and pour over one-half the sauce. Repeat, cover with crumbs, and bake until the crumbs are brown in a hot oven. FISH SOUPS FISH STOCK. Put all the trimmings from the fish, such as the skeleton, head, fins, etc., into a saucepan, and add enough water to cover. Let simmer for two or three hours. Then add carrot, parsley, onion, and simmer for one hour more. Strain through a coarse strainer. This is a good foundation for fish soups and fish sauce. Left-over fish and fish bones can also be utilized in preparing this stock. FISH SOUP FROM TRIMMINGS. Put into a saucepan a carrot and parsley and fry them until they are reddish in color. Then add two pints of cold water and the bones, head and fins. Simmer for an hour. Take out the bones and put the rest through a coarse strainer. Then thicken with two tablespoons of drippings and two tablespoons of flour rubbed together, season to taste. This fish soup can be varied by adding the pulp of any left-over vegetables. FISH STEW COD, HADDOCK, TILE FISH OR HALIBUT. Remove the meat from the bones. Cut up one-half of the fish and put it into a saucepan with two or three onions and fry in drippings. Add a quart of water and the bones pounded. Let simmer for two or three hours. Then put the mixture through a strainer and return it to the saucepan. Cut the other half of the fish into half-inch pieces. Add them to what is in the sauce- pan and boil gently for ten or fifteen minutes. Then thicken with two tablespoons of flour moistened with a little fish stock if you have it on hand ; if not, use cold water. Season to taste. FISH CHOWDERS FISH CHOWDER, No. 1. Take three or four pounds of fresh Haddock or Cod and cut in pieces of three inches square. Place in the bottom of your kettle five or six slices of salt pork, fry brown, then add 47 FISH RECIPES three onions sliced thin, and fry those brown. Remove the kettle from the fire, and place on the onions and pork a layer of fish. Sprinkle over it a little pepper and salt, then a layer of pared and sliced potatoes, then a layer of fish and potatoes, till the fish is used up. Cover with water, and let it boil for half an hour. Pound six biscuits or crackers fine as meal, and pour into the pot ; and, lastly, add a pint of milk ; let it scald well, and serve. FISH CHOWDER, No. 2. This is the every-day style of fish chowder among the fishermen's families : Wash and cut in chunks two pounds of fresh Cod or Haddock. Pare and thinly slice one quart of potatoes (or as many as you prefer) and place in cold water until you are ready for them. Add one large onion sliced, and fry slowly for a very few minutes in two tablespoons of drippings. Then in your kettle place a layer of fish and one of potatoes, salt and pepper, and continue that way until all is used, potatoes on top. Cover with cold water and let come to boil, then boil slowly or simmer, until potatoes are done. Mix one tablespoon flour with one of drippings, add to chowder with one pint milk. Allow to come to boiling point once more, add a few halved crackers and serve very hot. Cheap and delicious. FISH SALADS HERRING SALAD. Soak over night three Holland Herrings, cut in small pieces. Cook and peel eight medium potatoes and when cold chop with two small cooked red beets, two onions, three hard-boiled eggs; mix with a sauce of sweet-oil, vinegar, stock, pepper and mustard to taste. FISH SALAD. Any cold boiled or baked fish may be made into salad, allowing one head of lettuce and a half-pint of mayonnaise or salad cream to every pint of the picked fish. Any cold left-over vegetables may be added to the salad. SALAD CREAM FOR FISH SALADS. One-half tablespoon salt, one-half tablespoon mustard, three-quarters tablespoon sugar, one egg slightly beaten, two and one-half tablespoons melted butter, three- quarters cup milk, and one-fourth cup vinegar. Mix ingredients in order given, adding vinegar very slowly. Cook over boiling water, stirring constantly until mixture thickens, strain and cool. 48 VEGETABLES In buying vegetables buy those that are in season and not those that are getting scarce and therefore more expensive. In buying vegetables select them yourself and see that they are fresh. This is all-important. There are tricks in all trades, including the vegetable trade. You will find you will get more potatoes if you will buy them by weight and not by measure. Never buy sprouting potatoes. Serious illness has been known to follow their use. To test potatoes, take the two halves and put them together; if they are juicy enough to stick together you have a good potato. In buying cabbage, be sure you get a hard, heavy head, with crisp, white leaves and with the stalk cut close to the head. Many a large head of cabbage looks heavy, but on taking it in your hand you will find it is very light. A light-weight head of cabbage should only be bought at a reduced price. In buying beets, choose those with dirty roots and fresh, green leaves. This shows that they have not been soaked to freshen them. In buying summer squash, choose one light yellow in color. The shell should be tender enough to be broke with the finger nail. In buying winter squash, choose one that has no soft spots. Choose a medium size one ; the larger ones are very seedy. In buying cauliflower, choose a firm, white head with fresh green leaves. Li buying onions, be sure that they are firm and hard. In buying celery, choose a bunch with crisp white leaves. Use the outside pieces for soup and the inside pieces for the table. In buying summer carrots see that the leaves are green and fresh. In buying winter carrots choose the smaller ones. In buying string beans, break a pod ; it should be brittle ; strings should be delicate and bean very small. In buying lima beans, buy green, juicy pods ; the small-veined beans. In buying corn, see that the silk is brown. Tear open the husk and see that the ear is well filled with well developed kernels. Try a kernel with your nail ; sweet milky juice should flow. In buying peas, see that the pods are green and brittle and that the peas are green. Young peas are small. In buying spinach, choose that with leaves fresh and dirty. If clean, they have wilted and been soaked to revive them. In buying tomatoes, choose those that are firm, smooth and evenly red, with no decayed, bruised or green spots. In the chapter of this book entitled "Vegetable Recipes" you will find a great deal of useful information as to how to prepare and cook a great many different vegetables. 49 VEGETABLE RECIPES GENERAL DIRECTIONS All green vegetables, roots, and tubers should be crisp and firm when put on to cook. If for any reason a vegetable has lost its firmness and crispness it should be soaked in very cold water until it becomes plump and crisp. With new vegetables this will be only a matter of minutes, while old roots and tubers often require many hours. All vegetables should be thoroughly cleaned just before being put on to cook. Vegetables that form in heads, such as cabbage, cauliflower, and Brussels sprouts, should be soaked, heads turned down, in salted cold water, to which a few spoonfuls of vinegar may be added. If there are any worms or other forms of animal life in these vegetables, they will crawl out. To secure the best results all vegetables except dried peas, beans, etc., must be put in boiling water, and the water must be made to boil again as soon as possible after the vegetables have been added, and must be kept boiling until the cooking is finished. To secure the most appetizing and palatable dishes, only fresh tender vegetables should be cooked. If, however, green beans, peas, etc., have grown until a little too old, a very small amount of baking-soda added to the water in which they are boiled makes them more tender, it is commonly believed, and helps to retain the color. Too much soda injures the flavor, and an excess must be carefully avoided. A little soda may also be used to advantage if the water is quite hard. Peas may be boiled for fifteen or twenty minutes in the water to which the soda has been added, then cooked the same as peas with pork (page 56). During the cooking of all vegetables the cover must be drawn to one side of the stew-pan. All vegetables should be thoroughly cooked, but the cooking should stop while the vegetable is still firm. This, of course, does not apply to vegetables that are cooked in soups, purees (thick strained soups), etc. The best seasoning for most vegetables is salt and good butter or drippings. Vegetables that are blanched and then cooked with butter or drippings and other seasonings and very little moisture are more savory and nutritious than when all the cooking is done in a good deal of clear water. BLANCHING VEGETABLES AS A COOKING PROCESS Blanching is a cooking process often used with vegetables, since it removes the strong taste and improves the quality. It is also conve- nient, since blanching may be done at any time, and the cooking com- pleted in a very short time when the dish is to be served. Have a large stew-pan half full of rapidly boiling water. Add a tablespoon of salt for every two quarts of water. Have the vege- tables cleaned and well drained. Drop them into the boiling water, and bring the water back to the boiling point as quickly as possible. Boil rapidly, with the cover partially or wholly off tlje stew-pan, five to 50 VEGETABLE RECIPES twenty minutes, depending- upon the vegetable, then drain oft the water. If the cooking of the vegetable is not to be finished at once, pour cold water over the vegetable to cool it quickly, then drain and set aside until needed. If the cooking is to be continued at once, it will not be necessary to rinse the vegetable with cold water. To complete the cooking the vegetable should be put in a small stew-pan with butter or drippings and the other seasonings and cooked gently until done. A few spoonfuls of liquid will be required for every quart of very juicy vegetables, and half a pint of liquid for drier vegetables. The stew-pan should be covered, only a slight opening being left for ventilation. All vegetables cooked in this manner should be cut rather small either before or after the blanching. WASTE IN PREPARING VEGETABLES In preparing vegetables for the table the careful cook will remove all inedible portions and will see to it that the total amount of refuse is as small as is consistent with good quality. Thin paring of potatoes and other vegetables is an economy which it is worth while to prac- tice, and is an easy way of decreasing useless loss. When potatoes are cooked in their skins there is absolutely no waste. A great deal of the potato is wasted in paring or scraping it ; some nourishment is also lost in paring or scraping. TO BOIL CABBAGE Cut a small head of cabbage into four parts, cutting down through the stock. Soak for half an hour in a pan of cold water to which has been added a tablespoon of salt; this is to draw out any insects that may be hidden in the leaves. Take from the water and cut into slices. Have a large stew-pan half full of boiling water ; put in the cabbage, pushing it under the water with a spoon. Add one tablespoon of salt and cook from twenty-five to forty-five minutes, depending upon the age of the cabbage. Turn into a colander and drain for about two min- utes. Put in a chopping-bowl and mince. Season with butter or drip- pings, pepper, and more salt if it requires it. Allow a tablespoon of butter or drippings to a generous pint of the cooked vegetable. Cabbage cooked in this manner will be of delicate flavor and may be generally eaten without distress. Have the kitchen windows open at the top while the cabbage is boiling, and there will be little if any odor of cabbage in the house. CABBAGE COOKED WITH PORK. For a small head of cab- bage use about half a pound of salt pork. Boil the pork gently for three or four hours. Prepare the cabbage as for plain boiled cabbage. Drain well and put on to boil with the pork. Boil rapidly for twenty-five to forty-five minutes. Serve the pork with the cabbage. The cabbage may require a little more salt. Smoked bacon or ham may be substituted for the pork. Cabbage may be cooked in water in which corned beef was boiled. 51 VEGETABLE RECIPES CREAMED CABBAGE. 1 pint boiled and minced cabbage 1 teaspoon flour l /2 pint hot milk V teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon butter or drippings l / 2 teaspoon pepper Put the cabbage, hot milk, salt, and pepper in a stew-pan and on the fire. Beat the butter or drippings and flour together until creamy, then stir into the contents of the stew-pan. Simmer ten minutes, being careful not to scorch the sauce ; serve very hot. CABBAGE WITH SAUSAGE. 6 sausages y 2 teaspoon pepper 1 quart minced cabbage Salt, if necessary Fry the sausages crisp and brown. Take from the frying-pan and pour off all but three tablespoons of the fat. Put the minced cabbage in the frying pan and cook six minutes. Arrange in a hot dish and garnish with the sausages. Serve mashed potatoes with this dish. PUREE OF CABBAGE AND POTAOES. 1 pint boiled finely minced cab- 2 tablespoons butter or drip- bage pings 6 medium-sized potatoes 2 teaspoons salt y 2 teaspoon pepper y 2 pint hot milk Peel the potaoes and put them in a stew-pan with boiling water enough to cover them. Cook just thirty minutes. Pour off the water and mash fine and light. Beat in the hot milk, seasoning, and cabbage. Cook about five minutes longer. CAULIFLOWER Remove all the large green leaves and the greater part of the stalk. Put the head down in a pan of cold water which contains to each quart a teaspoon of salt and a teaspoon of vinegar. Let it soak in this water an hour or more. This is to draw out worms, if any are hidden in the vegetable. When ready to cook the cauliflower put it into a large stew-pan, stem-end down, and cover generously with boiling water. Add a tablespoon of salt and cook with the cover of the sauce- pan partially off, boiling gently all the time. A large, compact head will require a full half hour, small heads from twenty to twenty-five minutes. If the flowers are loose the heat penetrates to all parts quickly. When compact a little extra time should be allowed for the cooking, but the time must never exceed the half-hour. The cauliflower begins to deteri- orate the moment it begins to be overcooked. Overcooking, which is very common, can be told by the strong flavor and dark color. It makes the vegetable not only unpleasant to the eye and palate, but indigestible also. If this vege^- '.!- must be kept warm for any length of time, cover the 'dish with a piece of cheese cloth. It is better to blanch the cauli- flower, chill with cold water, and then heat in salted boiling water when needed. 52 VEGETABLE RECIPES CREAMED CAULIFLOWER. 1 pint cooked cauliflower 1 tablespoon butter or drip- 1 pint milk pings 1 teaspoon salt j^ tablespoon flour Yz teaspoon pepper 3 slices toasted bread Have the cooked cauliflower broken into branches and seasoned with half the salt and pepper. Put the butter or drippings in a saucepan and on the fire. When hot add the flour and stir until smooth, then gradually add the milk, stirring all the time. When the sauce boils add the salt, pepper, and the cauliflower. Cook ten minutes and dish on the slices of toast. Serve very hot. BRUSSELS SPROUTS BLANCHED. Remove the wilted or yel- low leaves from the little heads or "sprouts," cut the stock close to the head, and soak in salted cold water for an hour or more. Drain well and put into plenty of boiling salted water. Allow one teaspoon of salt to two quarts of water. Boil rapidly for fifteen or twenty minutes, the time depending on the size of the heads. When done turn into a colander and pour cold water over the heads ; or the boiling water may be drained from the sprouts, which can then be seasoned with butter, salt, and pepper. BRUSSELS SPROUTS SAUTE. 1 quart Brussels sprouts }/2 teaspoon salt 3 tablespoons butter or drip- % teaspoon pepper pings To saute a food is to cook it quickly in a frying-pan in a little fat. Blanch the sprouts and drain well. Put them into a broad-bottomed saucepan with the butter or drippings and other seasonings. Place over a hot fire and shake frequently. Cook five minutes. Serve hot. KALE There are several varieties of this vegetable. The dwarf, green- curled kale is the best for the table and is a fall and spring vegetable. The leaves are sweeter and more tender after having been touched by the frost. KALE BOILED WITH PORK. Cook the kale the same as cab- bage with pork. MINCED KALE. Remove all the old or tough leaves. Wash the kale thoroughly and drain, then put on to cook in a kettle of boiling water, to which has been added salt in the proportion of 1 tablespoon to 4 quarts of water. Boil rapidly, with the cover off the kettle, until the vegetable is tender. Pour off the water, and chop the kale rather fine ; then put back into the kettle and add 1 tablespoon of butter and 2 of meat broth or water for each pint of the minced vegetable. Add more salt if required. Cook for ten minutes and serve at once. The time re- quired for cooking kale varies from thirty to fifty minutes. If young and fresh from the garden it will cook in thirty minutes. 53 VEGETABLE RECIPES SPINACH To clean the spinach cut off the roots, break the leaves apart and drop them into a large pan of water, rinse them well in this water and put them in a second pan of water. Continue washing in clean waters until there is not a trace of sand on the .bottom of the pan in which the vegetable was washed. If the spinach is at all wilted let it stand in cold water until it becomes fresh and crisp. Drain off the water and blanch. For half a peck of spinach have in a large saucepan 2 quarts of boiling water and 1 tablespoon of salt. Put the drained spinach in the boiling water and let it boil ten minutes, counting from the time it begins to boil. When it begins to boil draw the cover of the saucepan a little to one side to allow the steam to escape. At the end of ten minutes pour the spinach into a colander, and when the hot water has passed off pour cold water over it. Save the water in which the spinach was cooked for cream of spinach soup. Let it drain well and mince coarse or fine, as is suitable for the manner in which it is to be served. One peck of spinach will make about \ l / 2 pints when blanched and minced. SPINACH WITH CREAM. l /2 peck spinach 1 teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons butter or drip- l / 2 teaspoon pepper pings ]/2 pint milk 1 tablespoon flour Blanch and mince the spinach. Put the butter or drippings in a saucepan and on the fire. When hot add the flour and stir until smooth, then add the minced spinach and the salt and pepper. Cook for five minutes, then add the milk, hot, and cook three minutes longer. Serve. SPINACH WITH EGG. YZ. peck spinach y teaspoonful pepper 3 tablespoons butter or drip- 2 eggs pings 3 teaspoons salt Wash and blanch the spinach, using two teaspoons of the salt in the water in which the vegetable is boiled. Drain the blanched spinach and chop rather fine, return it to the saucepan, and add the salt, pepper and butter or drippings. Place on the fire and cook ten minutes. Hean in a mound on a hot dish and garnish with the hard-boiled eggs, cut in slices. SWISS CHARDS This vegetable is a variety of beet in which the leaf stalk and mid- rib have been developed instead of the root. It is cultivated like spinach, and the green, tender leaves are prepared exactly like this vegetable. The midribs of the full-grown leaves may be cooked like celery. BEET GREENS Wash thoroughly in many waters. Put into a stew-pan and cover generously with boiling water. Add a teaspoon of salt for every two 54 VEGETABLE RECIPES quarts of greens. Boil rapidly until tender. This will be about thirty minutes. Drain off the water, chop rather coarse, season with butter or drippings and salt. The vegetable mav be boiled with pork as directed for "Cabbage and Pork." ASPARAGUS This delicious spring vegetable should be treated very simply, yet carefully. Cut off the woody part, scrape the lower part of the stalks. Wash well and tie in bunches. Put into a deep stew-pan with the cut end rest- ing on the bottom of the stew-pan. Pour in boiling water to come up to the tender heads, but not to cover them. Add a teaspoon of salt for each quart of water. Place where the water will boil. Cook until tender, having the cover partially off the stew-pan. This will be from fifteen to thirty minutes, depending upon the freshness and tenderness of the vegetable. Have some slices of well-toasted bread on a platter. Butter them slightly. Arrange the cooked asparagus on the toast, sea- son w r ith butter and a little salt and serve at once. Save the water in which the asparagus was boiled to use in making vegetable soup. Another method of cooking asparagus is to cut all the tender part into short pieces. Add boiling water enough to just cover the vege- table and place where the water will boil. Cook until tender (about fifteen minutes), season with salt and butter, and serve in the greater part of the juice. If preferred, a cream dressing may be served with asparagus. GREEN PEAS This vegetable should be cooked as soon as possible after gather- ing. Some varieties of peas lack sweetness, and in this case a little sugar in the water in which they are cooked improves the flavor. Over- cooking spoils the color and flavor of the vegetable. Peas should always be boiled slowly, and with the cover partially off the stew-pan. It is impossible to give the exact time of cooking this vegetable, since so much depends upon the maturity of the peas, the length of time they have been picked, etc. Young, tender peas will generally cook in twenty or thirty minutes, and the seasoning should be added while they are still firm and crisp. When peas are overgrown and a little hard they should be cooked by the rule "Peas with Pork." When this rule is followed a pinch of delicate, small, white onions may be added to the peas and other ingredients and will give a very savory dish. BOILED PEAS WITH BUTTER OR DRIPPINGS. Put one quart of shelled peas in a stew-pan and add enough boiling water to cover them generously. Place over a hot fire and when they begin to boil draw back where the water will bubble gently. Until the peas are done cook with the cover partially off the stewpan. When the peas 55 VEGETABLE RECIPES are tender add one teaspoon of salt and three tablespoons of butter or drippings. Cook ten minutes longer. If the peas are not the sweet kind add a teaspoon of sugar with the salt and butter or drippings. PEAS WITH PORK. 1 quart peas ^2 cup water 4 ounces pork 2 small white onions 1/8 teaspoonful pepper Cut pork into small bits and put into stew-pan on the fire. Cook gently until a light brown, then add the water, peas, onion, and pepper. This is a good way to cook peas when they are a little old and hard. PUREE OF DRIED OR SPLIT PEAS. Soak one quart of dried peas overnight and follow the directions for puree of dried beans, page 57. GREEN OR STRING -BEANS Formerly it was difficult to find the slender, stringless green beans, but to-day the progressive market gardeners make a point of raising beans of this kind. Unfortunately, not all market gardeners and farmers are progressive, and many still raise a coarse, fibrous bean that is a disappointment to the customer. In the very early stage of the pod almost any kind of bean will be good, if properly cooked, but all except the stringless kind must have their strings carefully removed. The pods should be gathered while small and tender. If for any reason they become wilted, they must be made crisp and fresh by being soaked in cold water. The beans that are brought from the South in cold weather are usually more or less wilted. They should be freed from strings, cut up, and soaked at least twelve hours in cold water. They will then cook like fresh beans. TO BLANCH GREEN BEANS. Green beans should always be blanched. To do this drain them from the cold water and put them into water that is boiling rapidly, allowing a teaspoon of salt to two quarts of water. Boil rapidly, with the cover partially off the saucepan, for twenty minutes. Turn into a colander and let cold water run upon them. They are now ready to be finished in any manner you like. The blanching can be done in the morning while the fire is good and the beans be finished for dinner at the proper time. GREEN BEANS, PLAIN. 1 quart beans 1 generous tablespoon butter or y> pint water drippings 1 level teaspoon salt String the beans if necessary and cut them into two-inch lengths. Blanch them as directed. Drain and put in the saucepan with the water, salt, and butter or drippings. Cook for ten minutes over a hot fire, turn- ing the contents of the saucepan from time to time. Serve very hot. If the beans are not. tender it may take fifteen minutes to cook them, but uncfer all circumstances be careful not to overcook, as this ruins the flavor. If overcooked, green beans become yellow or brown. 56 VEGETABLE RECIPES GREEN BEANS BOILED WITH PORK. Boil about a quarter of a pound of pork for five hours. Have the beans free from strings and cut about 2 inches long. Cook them with the pork until tender (about half an hour). SHELLED KIDNEY BEANS. All the varieties of this bean, when gathered while the seeds are still tender, may be cooked like the Lima beans. They may also be boiled with pork like green beans. It takes from one to two hours to cook kidney beans. GREEN LIMA BEANS. Cover 1 quart of the shelled beans with boiling water. Place on the fire where they will boil up quickly, then draw back where they will just simmer until done. When tender pour off a part of the water. Season the beans with a teaspoon of salt and one tablespoon of drippings. Or drain the water from the beans. Put the drippings in a saucepan with 1 tablespoon of flour. Stir over the fire until smooth, then add the beans and stir over the fire for five minutes. Draw back and add half a pint of water, meat stock, or milk. Simmer ten minutes. If liked, a teaspoon of fine herbs may be added a few minutes before serving. It will take from forty-five to sixty minutes to boil the beans suffi- ciently. DRIED BEANS All dried beans require the same preliminary treatment, no matter how they are to be finally cooked and served. Look them over care- fully to remove all dirt and pebbles, then wash clean. Soak them over- night in plenty of cold water. In the morning pour off the water and put them in a stew-pan with cold water enough to cover them generously. Let them come to the boiling point in this water, then drain. If the beans are old and hard, for each quart put about % teaspoon of soda in the water in which they are soaked overnight, also in the first water in which they are boiled. The scalded and drained beans should be put back in the stew-pan and covered generously with boiling water. Add 1 tablespoon of salt for 1 quart of beans. They should now cook slowly, with the cover partially off the stew-pan until they have reached the required degree of tenderness. For stewed and baked beans the cooking must stop when the skins begin to crack. For beans served with a sauce they should cook until perfectly tender, but they must not be broken or mushy. For purees and soups they should be cooked until very soft. PUREE OF DRIED BEANS. Cook 1 quart of beans in water until very soft, then drain well (saving the water) and rub through a puree sieve. Put 1 pint of the strained beans in a stew-pan with 2 table- spoons of butter or drippings, 1 teaspoon of sugar, 1 teaspoon of salt, one-fourth of a teaspoon of pepper, and hot milk enough to make the puree like thick mush. About half a pint of milk will be right. Cook in the double boiler for one hour, stirring often and adding more milk if too dry. Heap the puree in the center of a hot platter. This 57 VEGETABLE RECIPES tastes particularly good with fried sausages, pork chops, or any fat meat. The puree may be served as a vegetable, with any kind of meat. A soup may be made with the water in which the beans were cooked and the remainder of the strained beans. DRIED BEANS SAUTE. Cook the beans u'ntil tender, but not broken. Drain off the water and save it for soup. For 1 quart of beans put 3 tablespoons of drippings or butter in a large-bottomed stew-pan. When the fat is hot put in the drained beans, which have been seasoned with a tablespoon of salt and half a teaspoon of pepper. Cook over a hot fire for fifteen minutes, frequently turning the beans over with a fork. Cover and let them cook for half an hour where they will not burn. If the beans are liked moist add a cup of meat broth, milk, or water before putting them to cook for the last half hour. This dish may be made more savory by frying a tablespoon of onion in the butter or fat before adding the beans. A tablespoon of fine herbs may also be added to the beans to make them more savory. BAKED BEANS. See page 28. POTATOES A poisonous substance called solanin is found in or near the skin of potatoes which have grown exposed to the sun or a strong light. Solanin also develops when potatoes are allowed to sprout, and serious illness has been known to follow the eating of exposed and sprouted potatoes. Therefore potatoes should not be exposed to strong light or be allowed to sprout. Potatoes cooked in dry heat, as by baking in the oven, roasting in ashes, frying in deep fat, or steaming in their jackets have a more pro- nounced flavor and are more savory than when cooked in water. But potatoes so cooked must be served just as soon as they are done, or else they will become soggy and bad-flavored. Potatoes, if kept in a closely covered vessel or with the unbroken skins on, will become soggy and dark and have a rank flavor. If the skins are broken and the vessel ventilated, potatoes may be kept warm a long time without spoiling. Potatoes cooked in the skin should be free from any blemish and washed absolutely clean. Old potatoes, that is, potatoes that are kept into the spring and early summer, are better for being soaked in cold water and peeled before cooking BOILED POTATOES. The method and time given for boiling potatoes are the same whether the potato be peeled, partially peeled, or left with the skin intact. If a dozen or two ordinary-sized potatoes are put on the tire in a large stew-pan and are covered generously with boiling water and n cover is immediately put on the stew-pan, they will be cooked to the pr 'per point in thirty minutes from the time the cover was put on the stew-pan. Small potatoes will cook in two minutes less time, and very large potatoes will require about thirty-five minutes 58 VEGETABLE RECIPES cooking. If the potatoes are to be boiled in their skins, wash them until clean and then with a sharp knife cut a narrow band of the skin from the center of the potato. Cut a little bit of the skin from each end of the potato. If the potatoes are to be peeled, use a very sharp knife and remove the thinnest possible layer. The skins may be scraped off, if preferred, and there are special knives for this purpose. Let the pota- toes boil fifteeen minutes, then add 1 tablespoon of salt for every dozen potatoes. When the potatoes have been cooking thirty minutes, drain off every drop of water and let all the steam pass off. They are now ready to serve, though they will not be injured but in fact will be im- proved by being kept hot for an hour or more, if they are well ventilated in such a way that they dry rather than retain their moisture. When boiled or steamed potatoes must be kept warm for any length of time, place the stew-pan on the range on a tripod or iron ring and cover the potatoes with one thickness of cheese cloth. This will protect them from the cold air and allow the moisture to pass off. BAKED POTATOES. Select potatoes having a smooth, un- marred surface. W r ash perfectly clean and let them drain. Put them in an old baking-pan kept for this purpose do not crowd them and put in a hot oven. If the oven is large and hot and the potatoes of medium size, forty minutes will answer for the cooking. On the other hand, if the oven is filled with cold potatoes the temperature of the oven will be reduced quickly and it will require an hour to cook the potatoes. Baked potatoes should be served as soon as they are done. If they must be kept any time after the cooking is completed, break them in order that the moisture may escape. Keep them in a warm oven or covered with cheese cloth in a stew-pan. REHEATING POTATOES. Cold boiled, steamed, or baked pota- toes may all be utilized in savory dishes. In reheating potatoes the fol- lowing things must be kept in mind : The potatoes must be well sea- soned to make them savory, they must be heated to as high a tempera- ture as possible without burning them, and they must be served very hot. The cold potatoes may be sliced or be cut into small pieces, sea- soned with salt and pepper and browned in a little savory drippings, or seasoned as before and heated in the frying-pan with butter or the drippings. A little minced onion or green pepper may be added. A tablespoon of butter and a teaspoon of flour may be stirred over the fire until the mixture is smooth and frothy. Add to this a pint of well seasoned potatoes and stir the mixture with a fork for three minutes, then add half a pint of milk and cook until thoroughly heated, being careful not to burn. A pint and a half of cold potatoes cut-in cubes and seasoned with salt and pepper may be heated in a pint of the white sauce. SCALLOPED POTATOES. This dish may be prepared by mix- ing a pint' and a half of cold potatoes cut in cubes and seasoned with a tablespoon of salt, one-fourth of a teaspoon of pepper, and a pint of cream sauce. Put the mixture in a shallow baking-dish, cover with grated bread crumbs, and dot with butter. Bake half an hour in a mod- erate oven. 59 VEGETABLE RECIPES BAKED SWEET POTATOES. Wash the potatoes and bake the same as white potatoes. Small ones will bake in half an hour, while very large ones will require an hour or more. If the potatoes are liked very moist and sweet, bake from an hour to two hours, depending on size. BROWNED SWEET POTATOES. Boil medium-sized sweet potatoes forty-five minutes. Peel them and cut in halves lengthwise. Put them in a baking-pan and baste with drippings, and season with salt. Cook them in a hot oven for twenty minutes. FRIED SWEET POTATOES. Cut the boiled potatoes in slices and fry brown in drippings. Or the potatoes may be cut in four parts lengthwise, put in a frying-basket and be cooked for ten minutes in smoking hot fat. The fat must be deep enough to cover the potatoes. TURNIPS This vegetable is generally spoiled by overcooking. The flat, white summer turnip, when sliced, will cook in thirty minutes. If the cooking is prolonged beyond this time, the vegetable begins to deteriorate, grow- ing dark in color and strong in flavor. The winter turnips require from forty-five to sixty minutes. BOILED TURNIPS. Have the turnips peeled and sliced. Drop the slices into a stew-pan with boiling water enough to cover generously. Cook until tender, then drain well. They are now ready to mash or chop. If they are to be served mashed, put them back in the stew-pan ; mash with a wooden vegetable masher, as metal is apt to impart an unpleasant taste. Season with salt, butter or drippings, and a little pepper. Serve at once. HASHED TURNIPS. Chop the drained turnips into rather large pieces. Return to the stew-pan, and for a pint and a half of turnips add a teaspoon of salt, one-fourth of a teaspoon of pepper, a tablespoon of butter or drippings and four tablespoons of water. Cook over a very hot fire until the turnips have absorbed all the seasonings. Serve at once. Or the salt, pepper, butter or drippings, and a tablespoon of flour may be added to the hashed turnips; then the stew-pan may be placed over the hot fire and shaken frequently to toss up the turnips. When the turnips have been cooking five minutes in this manner add half a pint of meat stock or of milk and cook ten minutes, CARROTS The carrot is valuable as a vegetable and as a flavorer. When par- tially grown and fresh from the ground they have a delicious flavor, and are so tender that they may be cooked without water. As the carrot grows old the flavor grows stronger, and in the majority of varieties the heart grows hard and woody. When the carrot reaches this stage only the outer layers are desirable for food. > 60 VEGETABLE RECIPES CARROTS WITH WHITE SAUCE. Scrape the carrots lightly; then cut into large dice or slices. Put into a stew-pan with salted boiling water, allowing a teaspoon of salt for a quart of water, and boil until tender. The young carrots will cook in thirty minutes and the old ones in forty-five. Drain, season with a little salt, put them in a vegetable dish, and pour the white sauce over them. Or the carrots may be cut into dice before cooking and boiled and drained as directed ; then put them back in the stew-pan, and for every pint add one tablespoon of butter or drippings, one teaspoon of sugar, half a teaspoon of salt, and one half cup of water or meat stock. Cook over a hot fire until the carrots have absorbed the seasonings and liquid. PARSNIPS This vegetable, because of its pronounced taste, is probably not so generally liked as are most of the other roots. It is at its best in the early spring, when it has been in the ground all winter. The simplest method of cooking the parsnip is to wash it clean, boil it, and then scrape off the skin. Now cut in slices and put in the vege- table dish. Season with salt and butter or drippings When the parsnips are tender and just out of the ground they will cook in thirty-five min- utes ; when old it takes from forty to fifty minutes to cook them. The cooked and peeled parsnips may be chopped rather coarse, seasoned with salt, and put into a stew-pan with hot milk enough to cover them. Place the stew-pan on the range where the heat is moderate. For a pint and a half of parsnips beat together one tablespoon of butter or drippings and one teaspoon of flour. Stir into the parsnips and milk. Simmer for ten minutes. Parsnips are often cut in slices after boiling and fried in butter or drippings. SALSIFY This vegetable is sometimes called oyster plant, because the flavor suggests that of the oyster, particularly when the boiled vegetable is sliced and fried in butter or drippings. Salsify is one of the roots that may be left in the ground over winter, thus making this vegetable avail- able for the late summer, 'fall and spring. To prevent this root from turning dark it must be dropped as soon as it is pared and cut into a mixture of flour and water made slightly acid with vinegar. For 6 good-sized roots mix together 1 tablespoon vinegar, 2 tablespoons of flour, 1 teaspoon of salt, and 3 pints of water. Wash and scrape the roots, then cut into slices about 3 inches long. Drop into the prepared water. Place the stew-pan on the fire and cook the salsify thirty minutes, counting from the time it begins to boil. Drain and serve in a white sauce. Or mix together one tablespoon of butter or drippings, half a teaspoon of salt, one teaspoon of lemon juice, and 1 teaspoon of minced parsley. Add this to the drained salsify and serve at once. 61 VEGETABLE RECIPES BEETS Beets are among our most useful vegetables, since they may be had all through the summer and may also be stored in good condition for winter use. Sometimes beets are cut in small pieces, after boiling, and served with white sauce, but the most common as well as the most palat- able way of serving them is with butter. BEETS WITH BUTTER. Wash the beets, being careful not to break the skin. Put into a stew-pan and cover generously with boiling water and boil until tender. Young beets will cook in one hour. As the beets grow old the time of cooking must be increased. In winter this vegetable becomes so hard it may require four or more hours of steady boiling to soften it. It is then only suitable for pickling in vinegar after being thoroughly boiled. When the young beets are cooked, take them from the boiling water and drop them into cold water. Rub off the skin Cut the beets in thin slices and season with salt and butter. Serve at once. KOHLRABI, OR TURNIP CABBAGE This vegetable is a variety of the cabbage, but instead of the reserve nutritive matter of the plant being stored largely in the leaves or flowers, it is collected in the stem, which forms a turniplike enlargement just above the ground. Kohlrabi is fine flavored and delicate, if cooked when very young and tender. It should be used when it has a diameter of not more than 2 or 3 inches. As it grows large it becomes tough and fibrous. BOILED KOHLRABI. Wash and pare the vegetables, then cut ia thin slices. Put into slightly salted boiling water and boil, with the cover partially off the stew-pan, until the vegetable is tender. This will take from thirty to fifty minutes. Pour off the water and season with butter or drippings, salt, and pepper. Kohlrabi may be boiled with pork in the same way as cabbage. The cold boiled vegetable may be served as a salad. CELERY This vegetable is so generally grown that one can find it in large markets nearly every month of the year. Celery is at its best in the late fall and early winter, when the weather has been cold enough to crisp the blanched stalks. This plant is most useful as a salad and flavorer, but is perhaps most commonly eaten raw, without any dressing except salt, as an accompaniment of fish, meat, etc. Only the tender, inner stalks should be eaten raw. The hard, out- side stalks make a delicious and wholesome dish when properly cooked. When thus used, celery should be blanched and served with a sauce. STEWED CELERY. To blanch celery in cooking, remove all the leaves from the stalks. Scrape off all rusted or dark spots, cut into pieces 62 VEGETABLE RECIPES about 3 inches long, and put in cold water. Have a stew-pan of boiling water on the fire, wa\sh and drain the celery and put in the boiling water. Add one teaspoon of salt for every 2 quarts of water. Boil rapidly for fifteen minutes, having the cover partially off the stew-pan. Pour off the water and rinse with cold water, then drain. The celery is now ready to finish in the following manner: Put the celery in the stew-pan with one tablespoon of butter or drippings, and one teaspoon of salt for each quart of celery. Cover and cook slowly for fifteen minutes. Shake the pan frequently while the celery is cooking. Serve hot. ONION This vegetable is the most useful of all our flavorers, and there is hardly a soup", stew, sauce, etc., that is not improved by the addition of the onion flavor. As a vegetable the onion may be prepared in a variety of ways. The white onions are the most delicate and are there- fore more suitable as a vegetable than the yellow or red variety. The large Spanish onions and the Bermuda onion are also delicate and suit- able for a table vegetable. If the stronger onions are used for this pur- pose they must be thoroughly blanched. BOILED ONIONS IN WHITE SAUCE. Peel the onions and cut off the roots, dropping into cold water as fast as they are peeled. Drain from the cold water and put in a stew-pan with boiling water to cover generously. Add a teaspoon of salt for each quart of water. Boil rapidly for ten minutes, with the cover partially off the saucepan. Drain off the water and cover the onion with hot sweet milk (a quart of onions will require a pint of milk). Simmer for half an hour. Beat together one tablespoon of butter or drippings and one level tablespoon of flour. Add one teaspoon of salt and one-fourth of a teaspoon of white pepper. Gradually beat in about half a cup of the milk in which the onions are cooking. When smooth, stir the mixture into the onions and milk. Let the dish cook ten minutes longer and serve. STEWED ONIONS. Cut the onions in slices and boil in salted water for ten minutes. Drain well and return to the stew-pan. For a quart and a half of onion, measured before it was boiled, add two tablespoons of butter, one teaspoon of salt, and one-fourth of a teaspoon of pepper. Cover the stew-pan and cook over a hot fire for five minutes, shaking the pan to prevent the onion from browning. Set the stew-pan back where the contents will cook slowly for forty minutes. Drippings may be substituted for the butter, but, of course, the dish will not be so delicate in flavor. CUCUMBERS The cucumber is much oftener eaten in the United States as a salad than cooked, yet it is a very palatable vegetable when stewed and served with a white sauce, or seasoned with butter, salt, and pepper, and served 63 VEGETABLE RECIPES > on toast. The pared and quartered cucumber should be cooked until tender in boiling salted water, which will require about fifteen minutes, and then served as directed. Cucumbers may also be cut in slices length- wise and fried like summer squash or eggplant. STEWED CUCUMBERS. Stew pared cucumbers, cut in quar- ters, or in thick slices, for fifteen minutes in a saucepan with a little water and a small minced onion. Pour off the water; stir in a little flour, butter, and salt; heat for two or three minutes and then serve. CUCUMBER SAUTE. Boil pared and quartered cucumbers for three minutes only. Then drain the pieces and season with salt and pepper. Roll in flour and cook in a saucepan with butter for twenty minutes. This dish may be varied by adding minced parsley and a little onion about five minutes before the cooking is finished. TOMATOES The tomato, although not very nutritious, may be classed as one of our most useful vegetables. Raw, it makes an attractive and refresh- ing salad and may be served by itself or in combination with other vegetables, with meat or with fish. As a vegetable the tomato may be prepared in many ways. It makes a good foundation for soups and sauces. Made into catsup or pickles it serves as a relish. The addition of a little tomato gives a pleasant, acid flavor to many soups and sauces, and also to meat, fish, and vegetable dishes. If possible the tomatoes should ripen fully on the vines, as the flavor is much better than when picked green and then allowed to ripen. When properly canned this vegetable keeps well and retains its natural flavor. The housekeeper who has a generous supply of canned tomatoes on hand will find them very valuable at all times of the year, but especially in the winter months when the variety of vegetables is not great. Overcooking spoils the flavor and color of the tomato. TO PEEL TOMATOES. Put the ripe tomatoes into a dish and pour boiling water over them. Let them rest in the water about one minute ; then pour the water off. The thin skin will now peel off readily. When a quantity of tomatoes are to be peeled have a deep stew-pan a little more than half filled with boiling water and on the fire where the water will continue to boil. Put the tomatoes in a frying-basket and lower into the boiling water. Let the basket remain one minute in the water. There must, of course, be water enough to cover the tomatoes. STEWED TOMATOES. Peel the tomatoes and cut into small pieces. Put into a stew-pan and on the fire. Boil gently for twenty min- utes or half an hour, counting from the time it begins to boil. Season five minutes before the cooking is finished. Allow for each quart of tomatoes one generous teaspoon each of salt and sugar and one table- spoon or more of butter or drippings. 64 VEGETABLE RECIPES SCALLOPED TOMATOES. 1 pint peeled and cut tomatoes 1 level teaspoon salt or canned tomatoes 1 tablespoon butter or. drippings 1 pint grated bread crumbs A few grains of pepper Reserve three tablespoons of bread crumbs, and spread the re- mainder on a pan. Brown in the oven, being careful not to burn them. Mix the tomato, browned crumbs, salt, pepper, and half the butter or drippings together, and put in a shallow baking-dish. Spread the un- browned crumbs on top, and dot -with the remainder of the butter or drippings, cut into bits. Bake in a moderately hot oven for half an hour. The top of this dish should be brown and crisp. TOMATO TOAST. Boil one quart of peeled and cut tomatoes or canned tomato pulp for ten minutes, then rub through a strainer. Re- turn to the stew-pan and add two level teaspoons of salt, half a tea- spoon of pepper, and two tablespoons of butter or drippings. Place on the fire and cook five minutes. Have the bottom of a hot platter cov- ered with well-toasted slices of bread and pour the hot tomato over it. Serve at once. A poached egg may be put on each slice of toast. GREEN PEPPER The sweet green pepper, though fairly common in our city markets, is not as widely known as a vegetable as it deserves. Sliced, it makes a very fine salad alone, or mixed with other salad plants like lettuce. Stuffed and baked peppers are very palatable. GREEN PEPPERS STUFFED AND BAKED. See Stuffed Pep- pers, page 35, EGGPLANT BAKED EGGPLANT. For baked eggplant make a dressing as for stuffed peppers, except that a little more salt, pepper, and butter or drippings are used. Cut the eggplant in two lengthwise, scrape out the inside, and mash it fine, then mix with the dressing and return to the shells. Place on a pan and in the oven. Cook forty-five minutes. FRIED EGGPLANT. For fried eggplant cut the vegetable in slices about half an inch thick and pare. Sprinkle the slices with salt and pile them upon one another, put a plate with a weight on top of the slices. Let them rest for an hour, then remove weight and plate. Add one tablespoon of water, half a tablespoon of salt, and half a teaspoon of pepper to an egg. Beat well. Dip the slices of eggplant in the egg, then in dried bread crumbs. Spread on a dish for twenty or more minutes. Fry till brown (in deep fat). SQUASH The various varieties of the summer squash are generally cooked when so small and tender that the thumb nail can pierce the rind easily. 65 VEGETABLE RECIPES V To prepare for the table wash the squash, cut into small pieces, and either cook in boiling water or steam it. Jt will cook in boiling water in half an hour. It takes about an hour to cook it in the steamer. The cooked squash is mashed fine and seasoned with salt, pepper, and butter or butter substitute. This method gives a delicate flavored but rather watery dish. Summer squash is very palatable cut in slices and fried like egg- plant. From the more mature squash remove the thin skin and seeds. Cut the squash in small pieces and put in a stew-pan with boiling water enough to cover. Boil for half an hour. Drain, mash, and season with salt, pepper, and butter or butter substitute. Cook winter squash in the same manner. Squash is one of the vegetables that require a good deal of butter or butter substitute. GREEN CORN Green corn, a typical American food product, is a vegetable which, for most palates, is easily spoiled by overcooking, since the longer the cooking period the less pronounced the delicate corn flavor. BOILED CORN ON THE COB. The most satisfactory way to serve green corn is on the cob. Free the corn from husks and "silk." Have a kettle of water boiling hard, drop the corn into the water and cook ten minutes. If only a few ears of corn are put in a kettle of boil- ing water, the temperature of the water is not lowered greatly and the corn will cook in eight minutes. On the other hand, if a large quantity of corn is crowded into a kettle of boiling water, the temperature is very much lowered and the time of cooking must be increased. When pos- sible, surround the corn with a generous quantity of boiling water. CORN CUT FROM COB. Corn may be cut from the cob and heated with butter or butter substitute, pepper, and a little milk. For this dish cook the ears five minutes in boiling water to set the juice. Then with a sharp knife cut through the center of each row of grains and with the back of a case knife press the grains of corn from the hulls. Put the corn in a saucepan and season with salt, pepper, and. butter or butter substitute. Add enough hot milk to moisten well, and cook ten minutes. Serve at once. The raw corn may be cut from the cob and treated in the same manner. SUCCOTASH. To a pint of corn cooked as above add a pint of cooked and seasoned shelled beans. VEGETABLE HASH Hash may be made with one or many cooked vegetables, the vege- table or vegetables b-^ing used alone or combined with meat or fish. Potato is the most v :'ul vegetable for a hash, as it combines well with the animal food or with other vegetables. 66 VEGETABLE RECIPES The conditions essential to a good hash are that the vegetables shall be cut fairly fine, but not so fine that the pieces shall lose their shape or stick together that is, the particles should drop apart readily when shaken on a fork. Each vegetable must be cut up separately, then all be mixed. The vegetables, or vegetable, and meat or fish must be well seasoned with salt and pepper, and if liked there may be added a little minced onion, parsley, or green pepper finely minced. The hash must be moistened a little with meat broth, milk, or water (not more than half a cup for a quart of hash). When the hash is mixed, seasoned, and moistened, put a tablespoon of butter or drippings in a frying-pan. When this is melted put in the hash, and spread evenly and lightly in the pan. Over this put little dots of butter or drippings, using about one tablespoon in all. Cover the pan and place where the hash will not burn, but where the heat is fairly good, and cook half an hour, then fold and turn on a hot platter. A rich brown crust will have formed on the bottom of the hash if the heat was sufficient. Serve very hot. The plates on which hash is served should be hot. VEGETABLE SOUPS Nearly every vegetable grown may be employed in the preparation of soups, either as the foundation for the soup or as a garnish to any kind of meat stock. Meat, meat broth, or beef extract may be added to any of them if additional flavor is desired. POTATO SOUP. 4 medium-sized potatoes 24 teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons minced onion *4 teaspoon pepper l /2 tablespoon butter or butter 1 teaspoon minced parsley substitute 1 pint milk T /2 tablespoon flour Pare the potatoes and put in a stew-pan with the onion. Cover with boiling water and put over a hot fire. Cook thirty minutes, counting from the time the pan is put over the fire. Reserve half a cup of the milk cold, and put the balance to heat in the double boiler. Mix the flour with the cold milk and stir into the boiling milk. When the potatoes, etc., have been cooking thirty minutes pour off the water, saving it to use later. Mash and beat the vegetables until light and fine, then grad- ually beat in the water in which they were boiled, rub through the puree sieve and then put back on the fire. Add the salt and pepper. Peat with an egg- whisk for three minutes, then gradually beat in the boiling milk. Add the butter or butter substitute and minced parsley and serve at once. TOMATO SOUP. 1 quart peeled and finely cut 2 teaspoons salt tomatoes or canned tomato y 2 teaspoon pepper pulp 2 tablespoons butter or drip- 1 quart cold water pings 1 onion 2 tablespoons flour 1 tablespoon sugar 67 VEGETABLE RECIPES Put into a stew-pan all the ingredients, except the butter or dripping and flour, the onion being left whole. Stir frequently until the soup boils, then cook fifteen minutes, counting from the time it begins to boil. At the end of this time beat the butter or drippings and flour together until light and smooth and stir into the soup. Cook ten minutes longer, then take out the onion and serve the soup with toasted or fried bread. If a smooth soup is desired strain through a fine sieve. This is the simplest kind of tomato soup. It may be varied by the addition of rice, macaroni, beans, peas, and other vegetables. Instead of the fried bread, stale bread may be cut in small pieces and put in the bottom of the soup tureen. ONION CHOWDER. 3 quarts boiling water J^ teaspoon pepper 1 pint minced onion 3 tablespoons butter or drip- 1 quart potatoes cut in dice pings 3 teaspoons salt 1 tablespoon fine herbs Cook the onion and butter or drippings together for half an hour, but slowly, so that the onion will not brown. At the end of this time add the boiling, water, potatoes, salt, and pepper and cook one hour longer, then add the fine herbs and serve. GREEN PEA SOUP. 1 quart shelled peas 2 tablespoons butter or drip- 3 pints water pings 1 quart milk 1 tablespoon flour 1 onion 3 level teaspoons salt ]/2 teaspoon pepper Put the peas in a stew-pan with the boiling water and onion and cook until tender, which will be about half an hour. Pour off the water, saving for use later. Mash the peas fine, then add the water in which they were boiled, and rub through a puree sieve. Return to the sauce- pan, add flour and butter or drippings, beaten together, and the salt and pepper. Now gradually add the milk, which must be boiling hot. Beat well and cook ten minutes, stirring frequently. SPLIT PEA SOUP. See page 23. BEAN SOUP. See page 23. FRIED VEGETABLES FOR SEASONING. Vegetables when used raw as a seasoning give a strong flavor, and only a little of each should be used. For flavoring soups, sauces, stews, etc., fried vegetables are far superior to the raw. To prepare them for use, clean and peel or scrape the vegetables, then cut them into small pieces, and put in a saucepan with butter or drippings, allowing two generous tablespoons of butter or drippings to a pint of vegetables. Place on a hot part of the range and stir until the butter or drippings and vegetables become hot. Partially cover the saucepan and set back, where the vegetables, which should be stirred often, will cook slowly for half an hour. Then add the vegetables to the dish they are to flavor. 68 VEGETABLE RECIPES VEGETABLE SALADS AND DRESSINGS Nearly all vegetables may be served in the form of salad. The salads made with the raw vegetables are more refreshing and perhaps more generally relished than those made with cooked vegetables. The most common green salad plant in the United States is undoubtedly lettuce, and perhaps celery, alone or mixed with other materials, next. Endive, chicory, blanched dandelion, and other plants should also be used, as they give a pleasant variety to the menu. Raw vegetables should be used only when they are young, tender, and fresh. When boiled green vegetables are used for a salad they should not be cooked so long that they lose crispness and flavor. Salad dressings are usually sharp or pungent sauce, with which the salad is moistened and seasoned, or "dressed." The best all-round salad dressing is what is known as French salad dressing (see page 14). This is suitable for any vegetable salad, raw or cooked. CABBAGE SALAD. Either red or white cabbage may be used for salad, and must be firm, crisp, and tender. Remove the outer leaves and cut the tender cabbage into fine shreds. Wash well and let soak in cold water for half an hour. Drain and season with French dressing or cooked salad dressing. Serve at once. CUCUMBER SALAD. This vegetable should always be crisp and fresh when used. There is an old and widespread belief that cucumbers are more wholesome if the slices are soaked in cold water or in salted water before serving. Doubtless the distress which some persons expe- rience after eating cucumbers is due to the fact that they are swallowed without proper mastication. It does not seem probable that there is any unwholesome property in this vegetable when we recall the extent to which it is eaten in some other countries and the good reputation which it bears there. Cucumbers should be pared and sliced thin, and then may be dressed with oil and vinegar, like lettuce, or with a little vinegar, salt, and pep- per. Cucumbers are at their best for salads when fairly young, and should not be used after the seeds have become hard and tough, as most persons consider them objectionable. 69 CEREALS Cereals rank first among vegetable foods. They contain in varying proportions all the elements necessary to support life. They contain a great deal of starch, which is needed to keep the body warm and to make it do its work. A bowl of oatmeal, eaten for breakfast, will furnish the average man with all the strength, heat and energy he will need. Cereals with cooked fruits are particularly appetizing. It is best not to buy cereals in very large quantities, because, if they are kept too long, insects are apt to develop in them. Cereals should always be kept in glass-covered jars. Cereals are improved by long cooking. Therefore, oatmeal, hominy arid other cereals which are left over can be added next day to the fresh- cooked cereals. Left-over cereal can be molded cold and served with either fresh or cooked fruit, or it can be used in making pancakes, muffins and pud- dings; also to make gruel for sick people. Cold hominy and corn-meal mush can be cut into slices and fried. This makes an excellent vege- table or breakfast dish, with or without syrup. All cereals should be cooked at first for ten minutes directly over the fire and then put into a double boiler. If you haven't a double boiler, place the saucepan containing the cereal in a larger saucepan that con tains hot water. By using a fireless cooker you can prepare your cereal at night, cook it on the stove for about ten minutes, put it in the fireless cooker, and when you get up in the morning you will find it all cooked and ready to be eaten. In this way you save both time and fuel. If you want to save time in the morning, you can soak your hominy, corn-meal or oatmeal overnight. If this is done, it will take only one- half the length of time for cooking. Cereals requiring more than one hour to cook should be cooked the' day before they are to be eaten and reheated in the morning. Cook steam-cooked cereals, as a rule, twice as long as is directed on the package. Only by long cooking are cereals made wholesome and well-flavored. When not cooked enough they often occasion sickness. Stir coarse, flaky cereals as little as possible. Fine, granular cereals may be beaten. To keep these fine cereals from lumping, mix them with cold water instead of sprinkling them dry into boiling water. Cereals should absorb all the water they are cooked in ; if too moist when nearly done, cook uncovered for a time. To improve rice, farina or hominy, stir in one-quarter of a cup of milk about fifteen minutes before taking from fire, and leave the cover off during the rest of the time. Both corn-meal and hominy are made from corn. Rolled oats is 'the entire oat crushed and rolled. Both corn and oats are full of heat, energy and flesh-building material and are a most healthful food for you to eat. Fried corn-meal or hominy is a pleasing and satisfactory substitute for potatoes and costs less than potatoes. 70 CEREALS There is a large hominy, sometimes called Samp, which people in this city do not seem to know and use very little. TRY IT AS A VEGE- TABLE IN PLACE OF POTATOES. It costs less, tastes good and contains more nourishment than potatoes. Rice contains more energy-giving material than potatoes and can be used in place of potatoes. Potatoes are three-quarters water, while rice has practically no w^ater. Potatoes are one-fifth starch, while rice is more than three-quarters starch, and starch gives heat and energy to the body. Rice contains two-thirds more flesh-building material than potatoes. Therefore a given amount of money will buy four times as much food value if spent for rice as it will if spent for potatoes. If used with cheese, peas, beans or lentils, rice will give you practically all the food your body needs. Cheese contains the same flesh-building material as meat and can be used in place of meat, and while the price of cheese has gone up of late, only a very small quantity is needed, if combined with rice or macaroni, to make a dish that will take the place of both meat and pota- toes. Peas, beans and lentils are rich in flesh-building material and when combined with rice in an appetizing way will take the place of both meat and potatoes. Many people do not like rice. This is largely because they do not know how to cook it properly or how to combine it with other foods so as to make it taste well. The eating of rice in place of all other foods is not advised, but the cost of living can be greatly reduced by using rice in place of potatoes, and by using rice combined with cheese, peas, beans or lentils in place of both meat and potatoes. When you buy rice, ask for "Standard Grade Head Rice." TRY THE FOLLOWING CEREAL RECIPES THEY ARE WHOLESOME, PALATABLE AND INEXPENSIVE 71 CEREAL RECIPES OATMEAL PORRIDGE Oatmeal requires to be cooked until very soft, but should not be mushy. ,The ordinary rule is to put a cup of meal into a quart of salted boiling water (a teaspoonful of salt), and let it cook in double boiler the required time. It is well to keep the pan covered until the oatmeal is cooked; then remove the cover and let the moisture evaporate until the oatmeal is of the right consistency. It should be moist enough to drop but not run from the spoon. It should be lightly stirred occasionally to prevent its sticking to the pan, but carefully, so as not to break the grains. If carefully cooked, the sides of the pan will not be covered with burned oatmeal, and so wasted. OATMEAL GRUEL Boil two-thirds of a cup of well-cooked oat- meal in one cup of boiling water fifteen minutes. Add an equal amount of milk, a few grains of salt and a grating of nutmeg. It may be served strained or unstrained. OATMEAL MUSH WITH APPLES Core apples, leaving large cavities ; pare and cook until soft in syrup made by boiling sugar and water together, allowing one-half cup of sugar to one and one-half cups water. Fill cavities with oatmeal mush ; serve with the syrup in which the apples were cooked. CORN-MEAL MUSH Sprinkle with the hand a pint of corn-meal into boiling salted water, a little at a time. Cook for two hours over a slow fire. If the corn-meal is soaked overnight, just add it to boiling salted water the following morning and cook for an hour over a slow fire. This may be eaten cold or hot, with milk or with butter and sugar or with syrup. CORN-MEAL MUFFINS 1 cup corn-meal 6 level teaspoons baking-powder ]/2 cup flour 1 cup "milk YI teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon butter or melted drippings Mix well the corn-meal, flour, salt and baking-powder. Stir in milk and add butter or melted drippings. Bake in hot oven for 20 minutes. You can use greased muffin-pans or bake it in one loaf. FRIED CORN MUSH Pour well-boiled corn-meal mush into a bread-tin or a dish with straight sides. After it is cold cut into even slices and fry so that a crisp crust is formed on both sides. CORN-MEAL MUSH WITH CHEESE Instead of being fried, the slices of mush can be browned in a greased pan in the oven. They can also be made into a savory dish to be eaten with bread, by sprinkling them with grated cheese and a little salt, pepper and finely minced parsley. Place in the oven to melt the cheese. 72 CEREAL RECIPES HOMINY GRITS Add one cup of hominy to 4 cups of boiling water. Cook for ten minutes directly over the fire and then put into a double boiler. Cook for two hours, stir occasionally, very lightly. If hominy is soaked overnight, add it in the morning to the boiling water and cook for an hour. This may be eaten hot or cold, with milk, or with butter and sugar, or with syrup. FRIED HOMINY Cut cold boiled hominy into even slices and fry so that a crisp crust is formed on both sides. LARGE HOMINY (sometimes called Samp) Soak one cup of samp overnight. In the morning add four cups of boiling salted water (1 teaspoon salt). Boil until soft but not mushy. Pour off water, put in dish and place in warm oven for a few minutes to dry off. Plain boiled samp is usually used as a vegetable in place of potatoes. CEREAL MUFFINS- J/2 cup cooked cereal (left-over) 1 tablespoon butter or melted \y 2 cups flour drippings 6 level teaspoons baking-powder 1 cup milk l /> teaspoon salt Mix well the flour, baking-powder and salt. Add milk to the cooked cereal and then stir it into the flour, baking-powder and salt. Then add the melted butter or drippings. Bake in hot oven for 20 to 30 minutes. You can use buttered muffin-pans or bake in one loaf. CEREAL MOLDED WITH FRUIT Take left-over cold cereal. If very stiff, add. a little milk or water and stir into it a few scalded cut-up dates or figs. Prunes or any other cooked fruit can be used in place of dates or figs. Pour into a mold and serve cold with a little sugar and milk. Tf prunes are used serve with the juice of the prunes. CEREAL PANCAKES 1 cup sweet milk 1 cup cooked cereal (left-over) 1 cup flour 1 egg 2 teaspoons baking-powder 1 teaspoon salt Beat the egg and cooked cereal together until light and smooth and stir in the milk. Sift the flour and salt together and add to the cereal mixture. When ready to bake the cakes, stir in the baking-powder and beat the batter vigorously. Cook on hot pan. CEREAL PUDDING- 1 cup cooked cereal (left-over) l / 2 cup molasses 2 cups scalded milk \ l / 2 teaspoon salt \ l /2 tablespoons butter or butter substitute Pour milk on cereal and mix well. Add remaining ingredients, pour into greased pudding-dish and bake one hour in slow oven. CORN-MEAL PUDDING- 5 cups scalded milk 1 teaspoon salt l /2 cup corn-meal 1 teaspoon ginger l /> cup molasses Pour milk slowly on corn-meal, cook in double boiler twenty min- 73 CEREAL RECIPES utes, add molasses, salt and ginger; pour into greased pudding-dish and bake two hours in slow oven. Ginger may be omitted. BOILED RICE 1 cup rice 2 quarts boiling water 1 tablespoon salt Pick over rice ; add slowly to rapidly boiling water, a few grains at a time so as not to check boiling of water. After all rice has been added, stir once only, using a fork to avoid breaking grains. Boil thirty min- utes, or until soft, adding salt when nearly cooked. Drain in coarse strainer, and pour one quart hot water over the rice ; put in dish and place in warm oven to dry off. The water should be boiling all the time you are adding the rice. That is why you should add a few grains at a time. If you put all the rice in at once, the water will stop boiling and the rice grains will all stick together instead of each one being separate and distinct as it should be in properly cooked rice. Plain boiled rice is usually used as a vegetable in place of potatoes. Save water in which rice was cooked and use it for soups and gravies. CREAM OF RICE SOUP. (See page 21.) SAVORY RICE. (See page 27.) RICE BALLS WITH TOMATO SAUCE Make balls of hot cooked rice and serve with hot tomato sauce. RICE WITH CHEESE. (See page 27.) TURKISH RICE Wash and drain one-half cup rice ; cook in one tablespoon butter (or drippings) until brown; add one cup boiling water, and steam until water is absorbed. Add one and three-fourths cups hot stewed tomatoes, cook until rice is soft, and season with salt and pepper. RICE AND CABBAGE- 1 cup stock or boiling water % CU P boiled rice 2 thin slices bacon ^ teaspoon chopped parsley ]/ 2 medium-sized cabbage Salt and pepper to taste Chop the bacon finely ; add cabbage finely chopped and moisten with the boiling water or stock. Cook slowly, uncovered, for 30 min- utes. Add the rice, parsley, salt and pepper and cook 15 minutes longer. BAKED RICE AND CHEESE. (See page 28.) KIDNEY BEANS AND RICE WITH BROWN SAUCE Put two tablespoons of butter or drippings in a saucepan and brown until dark, but do not burn it. Add one tablespoon flour, stir and brown again. Add two cups good stock (beef is best) ; season with salt and pepper. Cook one pint fresh shelled beans in salted water until tender. Add one cup of cooked rice; then add the sauce, and cook one minute longer. Gravy can be used in place of the stock. If gravy is used, but- ter or dripping should be left out. In food value this dish takes the place of both meat and potatoes. LENTILS AND RICE. (See page 30.) 74 CEREAL RECIPES LENTILS AND RICE CROQUETTES. (See page 30.) CURRIED TOMATOES AND RICE 1 cjt. stewed tomatoes or 1 teaspoon curry-powder 1 qt.-can of tomato pulp Salt to taste 1 cup boiled rice Add the curry-powder and salt to the tomatoes ; mix well. Put a layer of the tomatoes in the bottom of a baking-dish, then a layer of the rice, then a layer of tomatoes, and so on until all is used, having the last layer tomatoes; sprinkle the top over with bread crumbs and bake in a moderate oven for a half hour. Serve in the dish in which it was baked. RICE WITH GRAVY Boil rice. (See "Boiled Rice.") Heat any left-over gravy you have and pour over the rice. RICE WITH STEWED PRUNES Wash and pick over prunes. Put in a saucepan, cover with cold water, and soak two hours; then cook until soft in same water. When nearly cooked, add sugar to sweeten. Many prefer the addition of a small quantity of lemon juice. Serve with any left-over cold rice. Any dried fruit may be cooked and used in place of prunes. SIMPLE RICE PUDDING Wash a cup of rice ; then boil it on the stove in a quart of water for about 5 to 10 minutes. Take it off the stove and do not drain ; then add a quart of milk, 24 cup of sugar, l / 2 tea- spoon salt and a little nutmeg. Put it in the oven and bake very slowly for about 1 hour. Stir it frequently while it is baking. COLD RICE Cold rice can be added to any soup, made into cro- quettes, used in a scalloped dish, or it can be mixed with minced meat and egg and fried like an omelet. Cold rice can be mixed with a small quantity of meat, and used for stuffing eggplant ; or it can be reheated or made into pudding. A few spoons of left-over rice mixed with a little chopped meat, or fish, and a few spoons of gravy or white sauce to moisten it, can be put in a baking-dish, covered with bread crumbs, and baked in the oven. .': .. - id ::!v/ u .../i uoY ,w uoY 75 BREAD Freshly baked bread is not as healthy as bread that is a day or more old. In the case of dyspeptics, doctors first of all forbid fresh bread and insist upon the patient eating bread a day or two old. In addition to being better for you physically, yesterday's bread is better for your pocketbook, for it does not cost as much as to-day's bread. Every Penny Saved Is a Penny Earned. Here is one way to improve your health and that of your family and at the same time save money. As a people, we have more or less formed the habit of eating white bread only and do not realize that other breads, such as whole-wheat, rye, and whole-corn-meal bread are extremely palatable and much more nutritious. In fact, by using whole-wheat flour or whole-corn-meal you get 30% more nourishment from the same amount of flour. While it is important that grown people should use whole-wheat, rye, or whole-corn-meal bread instead of white bread, it is still more important for children. White bread is not good for growing children, for white flour does not contain the lime or other mineral salts necessary to build up bones and teeth. In addition to this, whole-wheat flour prevents constipation and adds to the general health. We should use whole-wheat flour and whole-corn-meal instead of white flour, not only because they are more nutritious but because of the waste that can be saved. In milling white flour only 73% of the wheat is used, while in milling whole- wheat flour 85% of the wheat is used. You can see for yourself that if people would use whole wheat bread in place of white bread the wheat that is now wasted would be saved. This would increase the bread supply of this country by nearly 9%. In view of the present food crisis you should resolve to do your share toward saving the waste that now takes place. Here is your opportunity to help correct one of the nation's extremely wasteful habits and, while doing so, help yourself. Because of our large shipments to Europe our supply of wheat is extremely low at the present time and the help of every housewife is required to make our present supply cover the needs of Europe as well as this country. By using whole-wheat bread, rye bread, corn bread, rice bread and rolled-oats bread in place of white bread : You will be giving your family a nourishing bread ; You will be helping your country to correct one of its wasteful habits; You will be helping to feed your own countrymen ; You will be helping to feed Europe ; You will be learning now an economy that you will be obliged to adopt before many years go by. Here is your opportunity to do something FOR YOUR COUNTRY; FOR YOUR FAMILY; FOR YOURSELF. 76 BREAD RECIPES FLOUR. Flour should always be kept in a cool, dry place, away from dust, flies, and vermin, and, since it absorbs flavors easily, away from other foods or other supplies which have strong odors. This ap- plies equally to the home and to the store. YEAST. When in good condition compressed yeast is soft and yet brittle and is the same color throughout, a creamy white. It should have no odor except that of yeast, which is familiar to most people but difficult to describe. FAT. Fat, if used, may be butter, lard, beef fat, cottonseed oil, or any other of the ordinary fats used in cooking. It should, however, be wholesome, of good quality, and in good condition. Bread is so little improved by the addition of fat that it is a mistake to run the slightest risk of injuring its flavor by using fat of questionable quality. KNEADING. Dust a little flour on the dough and on the palms of your hands. Fold the edge of the dough farthest from you toward the center of the mass, immediately pressing the dough down and away from you with a gentle rolling motion of the palms of the hands, twice repeated. Turn the dough so that what was the right-hand part of it shall be farthest away from you ; fold over and knead as before ; continue to do this, turning the dough and flouring your hands, the board, and the dough, to keep the dough from sticking. Should it stick to the board, scrape it free with a dull knife and flour the board anew. Knead the dough until it does not stick to your hands or the board, is smooth on the surface, feels spongy and elastic, and rises quickly after being indented. The use of a bread-mixer saves labor and is more sanitary than kneading by hand. FIRST RISING. Replace the dough-ball in a wet bowl, brush the top with water, cover the bowl with several thicknesses of cloth, and set it near -the stove or in a pan of warm water, turning another pan over it. SECOND RISING. Whejfi the dough has risen to twice its original bulk, lift it on to the board and shape into small loaves, handling lightly and using no additional flour. Put into pans, and let it stand in a warm place, covered with a thick clean cloth, until it has again doubled in bulk. BAKING. When the dough is nearly risen, test the oven ; it should be hot enough to turn a piece of writing paper dark brown in six min- utes. Bake, small loaves thirty-five minutes; brick loaves, four inches thick, fifty to sixty minutes. Turn the pans if the bread does not bake evenly. 77 BREAD RECIPES , WHOLE-WHEAT BREAD (with a sponge). Whole-wheat flour, about 3 Compressed yeast, 1 cake cups Salt, 3 teaspoons Lukewarm water, 1*4 cups Sugar, 2 tablespoons Mix the yeast smoothly with one-fourth of a cup of the water; dissolve salt and sugar in the rest of the water in a bowl ; stir the yeast into this; and then stir in enough flour to make a drop-batter. Beat until the batter is full of bubbles (not less than five minutes), cover the bowl, and let the batter, or sponge, rise until doubled in bulk. Stir in the rest of the flour, beat thoroughly. Turn out on a floured board and knead thoroughly. Turn into pans, and let rise until not quite doubled in bulk, and bake for 45 or 50 minutes. For an overnight rising use half the amount of yeast. CORN-MEAL-AND-WHEAT BREAD. \ l / 2 cups milk, water, or a mix- 1 tablespoon sugar ture of the two 1 tablespoon fat (if used) 1 cake compressed yeast 1 cup corn-meal lJ/2 teaspoons salt 2 cups wheat flour Pour \% cups of the water over the corn-meal, salt, sugar, and fat (if used), and heat the mixture gradually to the boiling point or nearly to it and cook 20 minutes. This cooking can be done best in a double boiler. The water is sufficient only to soften the meal a little. Allow the meal to cool to about the temperature of the room and add the flour and yeast, mixed with the rest of the water. Knead thor- oughly, let rise until it doubles its bulk, make into a loaf, place in a pan, allow to rise until it nearly fills the pan, and bake 45 or 50 minutes. For an overnight rising use half the amount of yeast. RICE BREAD. 1 cup lukewarm water, milk, or 1 tablespoon sugar a mixture of tlie two Butter (if used) or other fat, 1 cup uncooked rice 1 tablespoon or less 1J4 teaspoons salt 1 cake compressed yeast 2 cups wheat flour Steam the rice with one-half of the liquid until it is soft. This is done in a double boiler. Put the sugar, salt, and fat (if used) into the mixing bowl and pour over them the remaining liquid ( l / 2 cup). When the mixture has become lukewarm add the yeagt and l / 2 cup of flour. Allow this sponge to rise until very light. Add the boiled rice, which should have been cooled until lukew r arm, and the rest of the flour. Knead thoroughly. This dough is so thick that some pressure is re- quired to work in the last portions of the flour. Allow the dough to rise until it has doubled its bulk, form into a loaf, place in a pan and allow to rise until it nearly reaches the top of the pan, and bake. For an over- night rising use half the amount of yeast. RYE BREAD. 1 quart milk \ l /> cake compressed yeast 2 tablespoons sugar 1 cup wheat flour 4 tablespoons salt 2 cups rye flour 2 tablespoons fat 78 BREAD RECIPES Scald the milk. Put the sugar and salt (and fat, if used) into a mixing bowl. Pour the hot liquid over it and allow it to become luke- warm. Mix the yeast with a little of the lukewarm liquid arid add it to the rest of the liquid. If convenient, set this aside in a warm place for one hour ; if not convenient to set it aside, add the flour at once, putting in a little at a time. Mix well; turn out on a floured board and knead until the dough is of such consistency that it sticks neither to the bowl nor to the hands. This requires about 10 minutes. Cover, and allow to rise 1^4 hours in a warm place. Cut down the dough from the sides of the bowl ; grease the hands slightly. Knead a little and set aside to rise again for one hour. At this point the dough should be placed in a 6- quart bowl lined with a cloth into which flour has been rubbed. When the dough has risen to the top of the bowl turn out on a hot sheet iron (a dripping pan inverted will do), over which 1 tablespoon of flour has been sprinkled, and put it immediately into a very hot oven. After 10 minutes lower the temperature somewhat and bake for 1 hour. For an overnight rising use half the amout of yeast. ROLLED-OATS BREAD. 2 cups boiling water J^ cup lukewarm water y 2 cup brown sugar \ l / 2 cups rolled oats 2 teaspoons salt 5 cups flour \ l / 2 yeast cake Dissolve the yeast cake in the lukewarm water. Pour the boiling water over the rolled oats, salt, and sugar, and let stand until lukewarm ; add the dissolved yeast and flour. Let rise until very light, beat thor- oughly and then knead thoroughly, and turn into two buttered bread pans. When the loaves have doubled their volume bake them an hour in a moderate oven. For an overnight rising use half the amount of yeast. 79 HOW TO USE LEFT-OVERS European housewives are noted for knowing how to combine left- overs in such a way as to make most savory and nourishing dishes; indeed, it is a common saying that a European family can live on what the average family in this country throws away. Every scrap of food left over from a meal can be used in some way. Learn to save money by avoiding waste. If possible, buy for more than just one meal at a time ; in other words, when buying plan to have something left over for another meal, particularly where the cooking takes a long time or where the food can* be reheated to advantage. This will save you time, labor and money. LEFT-OVER MEAT Left-over beef, lamb, mutton and veal are excellent for hash, scalloped dishes, croquettes, a loaf, and salads. Left- over beef, lamb or mutton make excellent stews, with the addition of any left-over vegetables. Any left-over meat, vegetables and gravy can be used to make a meat pie. A left-over ham-bone will greatly improve the flavor of pea or bean soup. Any kind of cold meat can be chopped and used in an omelet, or combined with rice and tomatoes, used for scalloped dish. LEFT-OVER POULTRY Left-over chicken or turkey makes ex- cellent hash, scalloped dishes, croquettes, creamed dishes, and salads. The carcass of a chicken or a turkey makes a splendid soup. Stuffing left from chicken or turkey can be sliced thin, browned in the oven, and served on toast. LEFT-OVER FISH Any left-over fish can be used for creamed dishes, croquettes, fish pudding, and scalloped dishes. LEFT-OVER VEGETABLES Vegetables are not hurt by re- heating. Left-over vegetables can be used for flavoring soups, for mak- ing cream soups, scalloped dishes, vegetable hash, filling for an omelet, and for salads. The leaves of celery and any left-over parsley are valu- able in the soup pot for flavoring. They can be dried out in a luke- warm oven and kept in a covered jar until needed. The celery roots can be saved for soup stock, and the water in which stewed celery has been cooked can be saved and used for cream of celery soup. The tops of summer beets and turnips, and the outer leaves of lettuce can each be cooked as spinach. They make excellent greens. LEFT-OVER EGGS Any left-over poached or soft-cooked eggs may be returned to the hot water and cooked until hard. They can then be chopped and used with left-over meat or fish dishes. Any left-over fried eggs, pieces of omelet or scrambled eggs will improve a meat hash. When only the yolk of the egg is used, the white can be kept in a cup or glass, covered with a damp cloth fastened with an elastic band ; or, if only the white is used, the yolk can be kept in the same way. 80 HOW TO USE LEFT-OVERS LEFT-OVER CEREALS Cereals are improved by long cooking. Therefore, oatmeal, hominy and other cereals which are left over can be added next day to the fresh-cooked cereal. Left-over cereal may be molded cold with fruit, or it may be used in making pancakes, muffins and puddings, and also to make gruels for invalids. Cold hominy and mush may be cut into squares and fried so that a crisp crust is formed on both sides. This makes an excellent . vegetable or breakfast dish. Cold hominy or farina may be rolled into balls and fried and used in the same way. Cold rice may be added to soup, made into croquettes, used in a scalloped dish, or it may be mixed with minced meat and egg and fried like an omelet. STALE BREAD Small bits of stale bread may be slowly dried in the oven until crisp and brittle, then ground in a meat-chopper or rolled. These bread crumbs should be kept in a covered jar, and can be used for frying croquettes, etc. Larger pieces of stale bread may be eaten with soup in place of crackers, or used to make croutons for soup. (Croutons are little squares of bread fried in fat. They are usually served with pea, bean and cream soups.) Small pieces and broken slices of stale bread may be used for stuffing, for griddle cakes, bread omelet and puddings. CHEESE All the little dried pieces of cheese should be grated and put in a covered glass jar. These cheese-crumbs are excellent for many made-over dishes, and are particularly good with starchy foods, such as potatoes, macaroni, rice, etc. SOUR MILK OR CREAM No sour milk or cream 'should be wasted. Put it into an earthen or glass jar, little by little, until you have half a cup or a cupful. As soon as it thickens, use it for cottage cheese, griddle cakes, biscuits, cornbread or gingerbread. FRUIT Any fresh fruit that has become soft should be cooked at once, with a little sugar added, to make a sauce for puddings, or it can be made into jelly. Any left-over canned fruit may be rubbed through a sieve and used for a sauce. LEARN TO SAVE MONEY BY AVOIDING WASTE. 81 LEFT-OVER MEAT RECIPES Do not reheat left-over cooked meat for -a long time at a great heat, as this will make the meat tough. Left-over cooked meat will be much more palatable if highly seasoned. Left-over beef, lamb, mutton and veal are excellent for hash, scal- loped dishes, croquettes, a loaf, and salads. Left-over beef, lamb or mutton make excellent stews, with the addi- tion of any left-over vegetables. Any left-over meat, vegetables and gravy may be used to make a meat pie. A left-over ham bone will greatly improve the flavor of pea or bean soup. Any kind of cold meat may be chopped and used in an omelet or, combined with rice and tomatoes, used for a scalloped dish. WARMED-OVER BEEF. Melt two tablespoons of drippings, add two tablespoons flour, and pour on, gradually, one-half cup stewed and strained tomatoes or canned tomato pulp and one-fourth cup stock or water. Season with one-half teaspoon salt, one-eighth teaspoon paprika, and a few drops onion juice. Add one cup rare cooked chopped beef; cook one minute, and serve. SCALLOPED BEEF. Chop sufficient cold cooked beef to make one pint; season with a teaspoon of salt, a tablespoon of chopped parsley and a dash of pepper. Put this in the bottom of a baking-dish. Crush six Uneeda biscuits, pour over them a half pint of milk, let them stand a minute or two, add one egg, well beaten, a half teaspoon of salt and a half teaspoon of pepper. Pour this over the beef and bake in a moderate oven twenty minutes to a half hour. Other meats may be substituted for beef. BEEF LOAF (of Cold Beef). Soak one tablespoon of gelatine in one-half cup of cold water ten minutes. Then heat a quarter of a cup of well-seasoned stewed tomatoes or canned tomato pulp to boiling, and pour over gelatine, stirring well until gelative is dissolved. Have ready two cups of chopped and seasoned meat mixed with one tablespoon of lemon juice and one small sour pickle minced fine. Stir tomato into meat mixture and mould in an earthen dish. Let stand in mould until jelly is stiff. Serve cold. (Equally good for Lamb or Mutton.) FIRE ISLAND STEW. Melt two tablespoons of drippings; add one small onion and cook together until very slightly browned. To this add one and one-half, cups of stewed tomatoes or canned tomato pulp and let boil slowly for about 15 minutes or until tomatoes are some- what thickened. Then add one and one-half cups of cooked macaroni and let all cook together, until well thickened. Just before the dinner hour, put into saucepan one and one-half to two cups of remnants of 82 LEFT-OVER RECIPES tender roast beef, cut small, and thoroughly heat. Do not let the stew boil after the meat is added. SCALLOP OF ROAST BEEF WITH COOKED RICE. Season the rice with one teaspoon of drippings 'to each cup of rice used and put a layer in a baking-dish. Cover with cold roast beef chopped not too fine, then a layer of sliced tomatoes, stewed tomatoes or canned tomato pulp seasoned well with salt and pepper and dots of butter. Repeat until the dish is nearly filled, and cover with bread crumbs. Brown lightly in oven. BEEF FRITTERS. Chop sufficient cold cooked beef to make one pint; add to it a teaspoon of salt, and a quarter of a teaspoon of pepper. Beat two eggs until light, add to them a half pint of water or stock ; stir into this one and a half cups of flour, beat until smooth ; then add a teaspoon of baking-powder and the meat. Mix well and drop by spoonfuls into smoking hot, deep fat ; cook about three minutes, drain on brown paper, and serve with tomato sauce. BEEF CROQUETTES. Take cold roast or corned beef. Put it into a wooden bowl and chop it fine. Mix with it about twice the quantity of hot mashed potatoes or boiled rice, well seasoned with butter or drippings and salt. Beat up an egg and work it into the potato or rice and meat, then form the mixture into little cakes the size of fish balls. Flatten them a little ; roll in flour or egg and cracker crumbs, fry in hot fat, browning on both sides. Serve piping hot. Almost any cold meat can be used instead of beef. BEEF CROQUETTES MADE FROM SOUP MEAT. Chop the meat very fine. Season highly with salt, pepper and celery salt. Add a little grated nutmeg if desired. To two cups of the chopped meat add one beaten egg and moisten with enough tomato sauce to shape into croquettes. Roll in egg and crumbs and fry in smoking hot deep fat. Serve with hot tomato sauce. SOUP MEAT SALAD. Cut beef that has been boiled for soup' into half-inch dice; season with onion juice. Mix lightly with some cold boiled potatoes cut into half-inch dice, and some parsley chopped fine. Pour over it a French dressing, or mayonnaise. Garnish with hard- boiled eggs and lettuce. MEAT AND POTATO CROQUETTES. Put in a stew-pan 2 tablespoons of drippings and a slice of onion minced fine; when this simmers add a level teaspoon of sifted flour ; stir the mixture until it becomes smooth ; then add half a cup of milk and season with salt and pepper ; let it come to a boil, stirring it all the while. Now add a cup of cold meat chopped fine, and a cup of cold or hot mashed potato. Mix all thoroughly and spread on a plate to cool. When cool, shape into balls' or rolls. Dip them in beaten egg and roll in cracker or bread crumbs. Drop into, smoking hot deep fat and fry about two minutes until a delicate brown ; take them out with a skimmer and drain on a piece of brown paper. Serve immediately' while hot. Cold rice or hominy may 83 LEFT-OVER RECIPES be used in place of the potato; or a cup of cold fish, minced fine, may be used in place of meat. BAKED HASH. 1 pint of chopped cooked meat y> pint of gravy or water 1 pint of chopped raw pota- 1 tablespoon of melted drippings toes Salt and pepper to taste Mix all the ingredients together, turn into a mould and bake in a moderate oven one hour. FRICANDELLES. 2 cups of left-over meat, 1 tablespoon chopped parsley chopped fine 1 teaspoon onion juice 2 tablespoons bread crumbs 1 raw egg or 1 cup mashed potatoes Salt and pepper to taste Mix ingredients, pat into round flat cakes, and fry in hot fat until brown. Serve with brown gravy, to which has been added a few drops of Worcestershire Sauce. MEAT PIE. Combine any left-over meat and vegetables and put into a baking-dish. Over this pour any gravy you may have. Then make a biscuit crust and place it over the top of the baking-dish. Put in oven and bake until the crust is brown. Biscuit Crust. 1 cup flour Enough milk to make a soft 2 teaspoons baking-powder dough (about y\ to y> cup) y 2 teaspoon salt 4 level teaspoons butter or but- ter substitute Mix and sift the dry ingredients. Then rub in the butter or but- ter substitute until the mixture looks like meal. Add milk gradually. When all is moistened, turn out on to a floured board ; roll out to about one-fourth inch in thickness and spread over the top of the dish. COTTAGE PIE. 1 cup chopped meat y 2 cup hot milk 1 cup hot water or gravy 1 tablespoon of drippings 2 cups hot mashed potato Few grains celery salt l /2 teaspoon salt y% teaspoon pepper Put meat in an earthen dish, add salt and pepper to taste, and the hot water. Mix the remaining ingredients with the mashed potato, and spread on top of meat; bake in hot oven until potato is brown. PRESSED MEAT. 1 quart of cold, cooked meat, 1 teaspoon of allspice chopped fine l /4 teaspoon of mace l /2 teaspoon cloves 1 cup of boiling stock l /4 teaspoon of black pepper Salt to taste 1 teaspoon of cinnamon Mix all the ingredients together, then press into a square mould and 84 LEFT-OVER RECIPES stand in a cold place to cool. When cold, turn it from the mould, cut it into slices, and serve. For this you can use any meat left from soups. SOUR HASH. Make a brown gravy; add to it about two teaspoons of vinegar, a few drops of Kitchen Bouquet, and a piece of bay-leaf. Salt and pepper to taste. (The*se proportions will be about right for one and one-half cup gravy.) Cut cold meat in one-half-inch cubes and cook slowly in the gravy for half an hour. If too sour, add a little sugar. BROWNED HASH. Mix with cooked meat, chopped fine, half as much mashed potatoes and any or all of the following "left-over" vegeta- bles : Corn, string-beans, stewed tomatoes, onions, carrots, celery or cabbage all chopped fine. Put some fat into a heavy iron pan, and wher it is smoking hot, spread the mixture over it. Let it heat and brown slowly. Then fold it over and serve on a warm platter with poached eggs on top, cr with tomato sauce, with some green and red sweet pep- pers cooked in it. SHEPHERD'S PIE. 1 pound of cold mutton 1 tablespoon of fat 1 pint of cold boiled potatoes ^ cup of stock of water Salt and pepper to taste. The Crust. 4 good-sized potatoes l /^ cup of milk Salt and pepper to taste. Cut the mutton and boiled potatoes into pieces about one inch square ; put them in a deep pie or baking-dish, add the stock or water, salt, pepper, and half the fat cut into small bits. Then make the crust as follows : Pare and boil the potatoes, then mash them, add the milk, the remainder of the fat, salt and pepper. Beat until light. Now add flour enough to make a soft dough about one cupful. Roll it out into a sheet, make a hole in the center of the crust, to allow the escape of steam. Bake in a moderate oven one hour, serve in the same dish. SCALLOPED MUTTON. 2 cups tomato sauce or canned 1 cup cracker crumbs tomato pulp 2 tablespoons melted fat 1 cup cooked macaroni Salt and pepper 2 cups mutton cut in cubes Arrange the macaroni, mutton, and tomato sauce in layers, sprinkle each layer with salt and pepper, and cover the top with the cracker crumbs which have been mixed with the fat ; bake in a moderate oven until the crumbs are brown. SCRAMBLED MUTTON. 2 cups cold mutton, chopped 1 tablespoon of drippings 2 tablespoons hot w r ater 3 eggs Pepper and salt. 85 LEFT-OVER RECIPES * Add the meat to the hot water and drippings. When the meat is hot, break in the eggs and stir constantly until the eggs begin to stiffen. Season with pepper and salt. CURRY OF MUTTON. 1 pint of finely chopped mutton y 2 cup of rice 1 tablespoon of drippings 1 tablespoon curry-powder 1 tablespoon of Hour 2 quarts boiling water Salt to taste Wash the rice and put it in the boiling water ; let it boil thirty-five minutes. Drain in a colander. Now put the drippings in a frying-pan ; when melted, add the flour and stir until smooth ; add a half-pint of boiling water; let boil up once, then add meat, curry ind salt. Stir ten minutes. Now heap it in the center of a meat dish, and put the rice around, in a border. Brush all over with beaten egg, and place in the oven a few minutes to brown HASHED MUTTON. Cook two tablespoons drippings with one tablespoon finely chopped onion, five minutes. Add two tablespoons flour, and pour on gradually, one cup stock. Add one cup cold chopped, cooked mutton, one-half cup cold boiled potatoes, cut in dice, and one tomato, skinned and cut in small pieces or a little canned tomato pulp. Season with salt, pepper, and celery salt ; cover and cook in double boiler for ten minutes. MUTTON OR LAMB CROQUETTES. 2 cups finely chopped meat 1 cup cooked rice 1 tablespoon chopped capers 1 tablespoon lemon juice 1 cup white saut2 Salt and pepper Mix all together and set away to get cold. When ready to form, take up by full tablespoonfuls and shape into cylinders. Roll gently in finely sifted white bread crumbs, then in egg (slightly beaten with one tablespoon of cold water), being careful that every part of the cro- quette is covered with egg and then again in crumbs. Fry lightly in smoking hot deep fat. ORIENTAL STEW. Simmer gently together 2 cups cold lamb or mutton, cut 1 chopped onion in cubes 2 small cold potatoes sliced 1 cup of water 1 cup of cooked peas 01 cooked 2 tablespoons of butter or drip- string beans chopped pings y?. cup rice Season with salt, pepper and 'a very little curry powder, if liked. While stew is heating boil one-half cup of rice. When tender, put into hot vegetable dish hollow out the center and fill with the stew. Serve at once. LAMB (TURKISH STYLE). Brown a small onion and one-third of a cup of rice in butter ur drippings. Add one cup of stewed tomatoes or canned tomato palp, one cup of lamb or mutton cut in squares, four 86 LEFT-OVER RECIPES tablespoons of minced carrot, one teaspoon of horseradish, salt and pepper to taste. Make quite moist with gravy or hot water. Cover closely and simmer until the rice is soft and the water absorbed. Serve on hot platter. MINCED LAMB. Chop remnants of cold roast lamb ; there should be one cup. Put two tablespoons drippings in hot saucepan, add lamb, sprinkle with salt, pepper and celery salt, and dredge thoroughly with flour; then add enough stock or water to moisten. Serve on small slices of toast. ROAST LAMB OR BEEF REHEATED. In warming up a leg of lamb or standing rib roast of beef, heap up the cavity left after carving with mashed potato. Brush over with melted drippings and brown in oven. VEAL CROQUETTES. Cut one pint cooked veal in small pieces; add one tablespoon salt, one-quarter teaspoon pepper, one tablespoon lemon juice. Melt three tablespoons fat; add two tablespoons finely minced onion, three tablespoons flour, and three-fourths cup milk or veal stock. Boil five minutes. Add two eggs well beaten. Stir constantly until thick. Mix with veal mixture and cool. Shape, allowing a round- ing tablespoonful for each croquette. Dip in crumbs, egg and crumbs, and fry in smoking hot deep fat. Serve with or without White Sauce. HASH BALLS. Chop cold cooked, corned beef from which the skin, gristle, and most of the fat have been removed. Add an equal quantity of cold boiled potatoes, chopped and seasoned with salt, pepper and onion juice. Moisten with milk, make into small flat cakes, and fry in hot fat. Rice can be used in place of potatoes. Brown on one side, turn and brown other side. WARMED-OVER BAKED BEANS. Put into a hot frying-pan some of the pork cooked with the beans. When the fat has melted and is hot, pour in the beans, cover and set pan back on stove, when beans will cook slowly and brown underneath. Fold over like an omelet ; turn out on a hot platter and serve with tomato sauce. CROQUETTES OF ODDS AND ENDS. These are made of any scraps or bits of food left from one or more meals. Any left-over food should be well chopped and creamed, mixed with one raw egg, a little flour and butter or drippings, and boiling water, then made into cakes and fried in smoking hot deep fat. LEFT-OVER POULTRY RECIPES Left-over chicken or turkey makes excellent hash, scalloped dishes, croquettes, ^cream dishes, and salads. The carcass of a chicken or a turkey makes a splendid soup. Stuffing left from chicken or turkey may be sliced thin, browned in the oven, and served on toast. 87 LEFT-OVER RECIPES CREAMED CHICKEN HASH ON TOAST. This is one of the tastiest of all the warmed-over chicken dishes. Chop the chicken fine, and to each pint allow one tablespoonful of butter or drippings, one of flour and a half pint of milk. Rub the butter or drippings and flour together, add the milk, stir over the fire until boiling; season the meat with a teaspoon of salt and a dash of pepper, add to the milk sauce, and cook in double boiler for fifteen minutes. Heap this on squares of nicely toasted bread and serve at once. MINCED CHICKEN WITH GREEN PEPPERS. Boil two green peppers ten minutes, remove seeds, and cut in small strips ; mix with two cups cooked fowl, cut in dice. Melt three tablespoons dripping, add three tablespoons flour, and pour on gradually one and one-third cups chicken stock. Add chicken and peppers. Season with salt and pepper, and serve on pieces of toast. CREAMED CHICKEN AND PEAS. Melt two tablespoons butter or drippings, add three tablespoons flour, mixed with one-fourth teaspoon salt and one-eighth teaspoon pepper. Pour on gradually one and three- fourths cups milk. When sauce thickens, add one and one-half cups cold boiled fowl, cut in dice, and two-thirds cup left-over peas. Cook for about two minutes. CHICKEN WITH TOMATOES. Cook four tablespoons drippings with one-quarter of a small onion, finely chopped, five minutes. Add five tablespoons flour, and stir until slightly browned. Pour on, gradually, three-fourths cup each chicken stock and stewed and strained tomatoes or canned tomato pulp. Add one teaspoon lemon juice, one-half teaspoon salt, and one-eighth teaspoon paprika. Add one and one-half cups cold boiled fowl, cut in cubes. Cook for about two minutes. CHICKEN CROQUETTES. Make a white sauce. Chop chicken fine and season with salt, pepper, and a few drops of onion juice. Put into hot sauce all the seasoned chicken it will take up, about two cups of chicken to one of sauce. Cool. Shape into croquettes ; roll in bread crumbs, then in egg (which has been slightly beaten together with one tablespoon of cold water), then in crumbs again. Fry in smoking hot deep fat, and serve with white sauce. Veal or fresh pork may be used in same way. CHICKEN CUSTARD. When boiling a fowl for salad or other pur- poses, take a pint of the broth. Season as needed with salt and a little pepper. Heat and pour very slowly over two eggs that have been slightly beaten. Cook in a double boiler until the mixture thickens. Pour into small cups that have been rinsed with cold water, and set away to chill. This makes a good relish for invalids. SCALLOP OF CHICKEN OR TURKEY WITH CELERY. Cook one cup of celery, cut in inch pieces, in boiling slightly salted water until tender. Save the water to make sauce. Slice thin two cups of cold chicken, discarding all skin; season with salt and pepper, and moisten with a little left-over gravy. Melt two tablespoons of butter or drip- 88 LEFT-OVER RECIPES pings, stir in two tablespoons of flour, and add slowly one cup of celery water, one-half cup of milk, one-quarter teaspoon of salt, and a little pepper. When thickened and smooth, stir in the cooked celery. Put a few crumbs in a baking-dish and arrange the chicken and sauce in alter- nate layers. Cover with crumbs. Brown in a hot oven. CHICKEN OR TURKEY HASH. \ l / 2 cups cold chopped % cup boiled potato, cut in small chicken pieces, or J4 cup rice /2 to 2 /z cup chicken gravy Mix together, season highly, and moisten with the chicken gravy. Grease a baking-dish ; put in the mixture, covering the top with crumbs. Bake for about fifteen minutes in a hot oven. TURKEY WARMED OVER. Pieces of cold turkey or chicken may be warmed up with a little dripping in a frying-pan. Place it on a warm platter, surround it with pieces of small thick slices of bread, first dipping them in hot salted water ; then place the platter in a warm oven with the door open. Have ready the 'following gravy to pour over all : Into the frying-pan put one or two cups of milk, and any gravy that may be left over. Bring it to a boil ; then add sufficient flour, wet in a little cold milk or water, to make it the consistency of cream. Season with salt, pepper, and add a little of the dark meat chopped fine. Let the sauce cook a few moments ; then pour over the turkey. LEFT-OVER FISH RECIPES Any left-over fish can be used for creamed dishes, croquettes, fish pudding and scalloped dishes. See pages 45, 46, 47. LEFT-OVER VEGETABLE RECIPES Any left-over vegetables may be used for flavoring soup ; also for making creamed soups, scalloped dishes, and hash. A number of vegetables may be mixed together and used for a salad. Peas, tomatoes, or beans may be put in an omelette. Vegetables are not hurt by reheating. The coarse stalks and roots of celery make a good vegetable dish when cut in pieces and boiled and served with a cream sauce. They also make a good cream of celery soup. The leaves of celery are valuable in the soup for flavoring, Any left-over celery leaves can be dried out in a lukewarm oven, put into a glass jar, and kept for flavoring soups, sauces, etc. Any Jeft-over parsley can be dried out in the same manner and used for the same purpose. Limp lettuce leaves may be shredded with a scissors and used in any kind of salad. 89 LEFT-OVER RECIPES * STUFFED POTATOES. Raked potatoes that are left over must be made into stuffed potatoes before they are heavy and cold. At the close of the meal at which they were first served, cut the potatoes directly into halves, scoop out the inside portion, put it through an ordinary vegetable press, or mash it fine ; add a little butter, salt, pepper and suf- ficient milk to make a light mixture ; stand this over hot water and beat until light and smooth. Put it back int the shells, and stand them aside in a cold place. When ready to serve, brush the top with beaten egg and run them into a quick oven until hot and golden brown. SCALLOPED POTATOES. See page 59. POTATO CROQUETTES. Cold mashed potatoes may be made into croquettes by adding to each pint four tablespoons of heated milk, the yolks of two eggs, a tablespoon of chopped parsley, a teaspoon of grated onion, a quarter of a teaspoon of pepper; stir over the fire until the mixture is thoroughly heated ; form into cylinder-shaped croquettes, dip in egg and rolled bread crumbs and fry in smoking hot deep fat. VEGETABLE BROWNED HASH. See page 66. CURRIED VEGETABLES. Have previously prepared one cup boiled potato, cut in dice, one cup boiled carrots, cut in dice, one-half cup boiled turnips, cut in dice, and one-half cup left-over peas. Cook two slices onion in three tablespoons drippings five minutes. Remove onion, and add three tablespoons flour, one teaspoon curry-powder, one teaspoon salt, one-fourth teaspoon celery salt, one-fourth teaspoon pep- per, and one and one-half cups milk. Stir until smooth, then reheat vegetables in sauce. LEFT-OVER TOMATOES. A half cup of stewed tomatoes or canned tomato pulp may be used with stock for brown tomato sauce, or for making a small dish of scalloped tomatoes, helping out at lunch when perhaps the family is less in number. The Italians boil down this half cup of tomatoes until it has the" consistency of dough ; then press through a sieve, add a little salt, pack down into a jelly tumbler and stand in the refrigerator to use as flavoring. A tablespoonful in a soup, or in an ordinary sauce, or mixed with the water for baked beans, or added to the stock sauce for spaghetti or macaroni, adds greatly to the flavor as well as appearance. TOMATO PASTE. When tomatoes are very plentiful and the supply is greater than the immediate need, it is a good plan to make a paste, which will keep for some time in a cool place. Wash and scald tomatoes. Strain through a fine sieve, and boil until thick. Put in glass jars. This will be found very useful in flavoring soups and sauces. SCALLOPED TOMATOES. See page 65. SPINACH WITH BAKED EGGS. Form any cold, well-sea- soned spinach into a neat border on buttered toast. A full tablespoon- ful will answer for each piece of toast. Break an egg in the center of each mound. Season, sprinkle very lightly with buttered crumbs. Bake in the oven until the eggs -are "set." '90 LEFT-OVER RECIPES CARROT CROQUETTES. 1 cup cooked carrots 1 cup white sauce 1 cup cooked peas 1 egg Salt and pepper Press carrots and peas through a sieve. Add seasoning, unbeaten egg, white sauce; set away to chill. Form into croquettes, roll in crumbs and egg, and fry in smoking hot deep fat. BEETS PRINCESS. 1 tablespoon butter y 2 cup water 2 tablespoons vinegar Combine these in the order given and bring to a boil. Then add one teaspoon corn-starch moistened with cold water. Cook until clear. This makes a transparent sauce for warmed-over beets. CREAMED BEETS. Any left-over beets that have been served with butter and no vinegar may be creamed. Chop them coarse, and to each cup of beets allow one cup of white sauce. PARSNIP CAKES. Use left-over boiled buttered parsnips for making these cakes. Mash, and season with salt and pepper, make into flat, round cakes, dip in flour, and fry in hot melted drippings or butter. CELERY TOAST. Take the outer and less tender stalks of celery that are often thrown away, cut them into one-half-inch pieces and cook in slightly salted water until tender. Drain and use one-half cup of this water and one-half cup of milk to make a white sauce. Add the celery to the sauce and pour over slices of nicely browned and but- tered toast. Serve very hot. CREAMED SOUPS FROM LEFT-OVER VEGETABLES. See page 19. LEFT-OVER EGG RECIPES Save your egg shells and use them to clear soups, coffee and jelly. Dry out the egg shells ; then crush them and keep them in a cov- ered glass jar until ready to be used. Any left-over poached or soft-cooked eggs may be returned to the hot water and cooked until hard. They can then be chopped and used with left-over meat or fish dishes. Any left-over fried eggs, pieces of omelet or scrambled eggs will improve a meat hash. When only the yoke of the egg is used, the white can be kept in a cup or glass, covered with a damp cloth, fastened with an elastic band ; or, if only the white is used, the yolk can be kept in the same way. The whites of eggs may be used for apple float and for meringue for pud- dings or pies. The yolks of eggs may be used for scrambled eggs, custard, and omelet. 91 LEFT-OVER RECIPES EGG CROQUETTES. Put five hard-boiled eggs through a vege- table press, or chopper. Put one tablespoon of butter or butter sub- stitute and two of flour into a saucepan, add a half pint of milk, stir until boiling, add a half cup of stale, unbrowned bread crumbs, a teaspoon of salt, a tablespoon of chopped parsley, a dash of pepper and a half tea- spoon of onion juice ; add the eggs, mix and turn out to cool. When cold form into cutlets, dip in egg and then in bread crumbs and fry in smok- ing hot deep fat. Serve with plain cream sauce. These with peas make an exceedingly nice dish. COLD BACON AND EGGS. An economical way of using bacon and eggs that have been left from a previous meal is to put them in a wooden bowl and chop them quite fine, adding a little mashed or cold chopped potato, and a little bacon, if any is left. Mix and mould into little balls, roll in raw egg and cracker or bread crumbs, and fry in a frying-pan; fry a light brown on both sides. Serve hot. This makes a very appetizing dish. FLOATING ISLAND (using up whites of eggs). Beat up whites of eggs until stiff; gradually beat in a very little powdered sugar and drop large spoonfuls in hot milk in frying-pan. Dip milk over egg, that it may cook slightly. Take up in a skimmer and drain. Serve on soft custard with a bit of jelly on top of each spoonful. APPLE FLOAT. To each cup of left-over apple sauce add the well-beaten white of one egg. The whites must be beaten until per- fectly stiff and dry. Then whip apple sauce and egg together with an egg-whisk until thoroughly mixed. Serve ice cold. MERINGUE. One-half tablespoon powdered sugar to each white of egg. Beat the whites till frothy, add the powdered sugar gradually and continue beating. When stiff enough to hold its shape, heap the meringue over the pudding. SCRAMBLED EGGS (using up yolks of eggs). 3 yolks 1 large tablespoon bacon (cut in Dash cayenne bits) Dried bread or toast J/ cup milk J/2 tablespoon butter Prepare crisp dry toast, or use oven-dried slices of bread if on hand. Beat eggs slightly, add milk arid bacon. Melt butter in hot omelet pan; add the egg mixture, and cook lightly, holding pan up from intense heat. Have hot milk ready in saucepan, dip slices of bread or toast quickly in it, put on hot platter, and pour scrambled eggs over all. SOFT CUSTARD (using up yolks of eggs). 1 pint milk 3 tablespoons sugar 3 yolks of eggs J /> teaspoon vanilla or Few grains salt A piece of lemon rind Scald milk with lemon rind, beat yolks, sugar and salt together. Combine by pouring hot milk gradually on yolks and sugar, stirring meanwhile. Strain mixture into double boiler and cook until thickened 92 LEFT-OVER RECIPES slightly. Remove at once from double boiler and cool. Tf vanilla flavoring is preferred, add when custard is cold, and omit the lemon rind. LEFTOVER CEREAL RECIPES Cereals are improved by long cooking. Therefore, oatmeal, hom- iny, and other cereals which are left over can be added next day to the fresh-cooked cereal. Left-over cereal can be moulded cold with fruit or it can be used in making pancakes, muffins and puddings, and also to make gruels for invalids. Cold hominy and mush may be cut into squares and fried so that a crisp crust is formed on both sides. This makes an excellent vege- table or breakfast dish. Cold hominy or farina may be rolled into balls and fried and used in the same way. Cold rice may be added to soup, made into croquettes, used in a scalloped dish, or it may be mixed with minced meat and egg and fried like an omelet. Cold boiled rice left over may be mixed with a small quan- tity of meat, and used for stuffing tomatoes or eggplant or it may be reheated or made into pudding, or added to the muffins for lunch, or added to the corn-bread. A cup of left-over oatmeal or cracked wheat or wheatlet may also be added to the muffins or ordinary yeast or corn-breads. These little additions increase the food value, make the mixture lighter, and save waste. A few spoons of left-over rice, hominy, macaroni, or potato mixed with a little chopped meat or fish and a few spoonfuls of gravy or white sauce to moisten it may be put in a baking-dish, covered with bread crumbs, and baked in the oven. RICE MUFFINS. See page 28. FARINA GEMS. 2 eggs 1 cup of flour 1 cup of milk 4 level teaspoons of baking- 1 cup cold boiled farina powder Y2 teaspoon of salt Separate the eggs, add the milk and stir this, gradually, into the cold farina. When smooth add the salt, baking-powder and flour, mixed. Beat, and then add the well-beaten whites of eggs. Bake in gem pans in a quick oven a half hour. TO FRESHEN UP RICE OR BREAD PUDDINGS. Remove crust from yesterday's pudding and turn the pudding into smaller dish. Add hot milk and (to a bread-pudding) fresh crumbs for top, dotted 93 LEFT-OVER RECIPES over with butter. Bake again. Rice pudding may be reheated with hot milk, or if to be served cold, covered with a meringue flavored with lemon juice and browned. RICE CROQUETTES. To make cold boiled rice into croquettes, the rice must be reheated in a double boiler with }/ 2 cup of milk and the yolk of an egg to each cup ; you may season with sugar and lemon or salt and pepper, and serve as a vegetable. Form into cylinder-shaped croquettes ; dip in egg and bread crumbs, and fry in smoking hot deep fat. SIMPLE RICE PUDDING. See page 75. PLAIN FARINA PUDDING. 2 cups milk 1 cup left-over farina or cream \y 2 cups of sugar of wheat 2 eggs 1 teaspoon of vanilla Put the milk in a double boiler, add the sugar and the cold left-over farina. Stir until thoroughly hot, then add the eggs, well beaten, and the vanilla. Turn into a baking-dish and put in the oven until brown. Serve cold, with milk or cream. APPLE FARINA PUDDING. Pour the left-over breakfast por- ridge into a square mould and stand it aside. At luncheon or dinner time cut this into thin slices, cover the bottom of a baking-dish with these slices, and cover these with sliced apples, and so continue until you have the ingredients used, having the last layer apples. Beat an egg, without separating, until light, add a half cup of milk and a half teaspoon of salt, then stir in a half cup of flour. When smooth pour this over the apples and bake in a quick oven a half hour. Serve with milk or with hard sauce. OATMEAL OR HOMINY MUFFINS. 1 cup cooked oatmeal or cooked 4 teaspoons baking-powder hominy y> teaspoon salt \y 2 cups flour y 2 cup of milk 2 tablespoons sugar 1 egg 2 tablespoons melted butter or drippings Mix and sift flour, sugar, salt and baking-powder; add one-half of the milk, the egg well beaten, the remainder of the milk mixed with oatmeal or hominy, and beat thoroughly; then add butter or drippings. Bake in greased muffin-rings placed in greased pan or bake in greased gem pans. CORN-MEAL MUFFINS. See page 72. CEREAL MOLDED WITH FRUIT. See page 73. CEREAL PANCAKES. See page 73. SHREDDED WHEAT GRUEL. 2 shredded wheat biscuits 1 quart boiling water 2 teaspoons salt 2 cups milk 94 LEFT-OVER RECIPES Cook biscuit, salt and water together for 20 minutes, stirring occa- sionally. Then add the milk and strain. OATMEAL GRUEL. See page 72. STALE-BREAD RECIPES Small bits of stale bread may be slowly dried in the oven until crisp and brittle, then ground in a meat chopper or rolled. These bread crumbs should be kept in a covered glass jar and may be used for fry- ing croquettes, etc. Larger pieces of stale bread may be eaten with soup in place of crackers, or used to make croutons for soup (croutons are little squares of bread fried in fat. They are usually served with pea, bean and creamed soups). Small pieces and broken slices of stale bread may be used for stuff- ing, for griddle cakes, bread omelet and puddings. BREAD MUFFINS. Cover a quart of bits of bread that have been broken apart, with one pint of milk ; soak for fifteen minutes, then with a spoon beat until you have a smooth paste ; add the yolks of three eggs, a tablespoon of melted drippings and one cup of flour that has been sifted with a heaping teaspoon of baking-powder. Mix in carefully the well-beaten whites of the eggs, and bake in muffin-pans in a quick oven about twenty minutes. BREAD CROQUETTES. Rub sufficient stale bread to make one quart of crumbs ; add four tablespoons of sugar, a half cup of cleaned currants, or any fruit that you have left over, and a grating of nutmeg; sprinkle a teaspoon of vanilla over this and add sufficient beaten eggs (about three) to moisten the crumbs. Form into small cylinder-shaped croquettes, dip in egg and roll in bread crumbs and fry in smoking hot deep fat. Serve hot with sugar syrup. BREAD OMELET. See page 18. BREAD CEREAL. Dry bread in the oven until crisp and brown. Roll on board, or put through meat grinder, having crumbs coarse. Serve warm as a breakfast food with milk or cream. BREAD STICKS. Remove crusts from any slices of stale bread and cut in strips about five inches long and one-half inch wide. Fry in smoking hot deep fat. These can be served with cheese instead of crackers. BREAD PUDDING. 3 eggs 2 tablespoons butter 2 cups bread crumbs 1 quart milk J/2 teaspoon cinnamon Y 2 teaspoon salt l /2 cup raisins Little nutmeg Scald milk. Add butter and bread crumbs. Beat eggs light and 95 LEFT-OVER RECIPES add with salt and spice to bread mixture. Bake in moderate oven about an hour. BROWN BETTY. Place alternate layers of. chopped apples and stale bread crumbs in buttered baking-dish, having crumbs on bottom. Add cinnamon and sugar to each layer of apples, using more sugar if apples are sour. The top layer should be buttered bread crumbs. Bake in moderate oven until crumbs are brown. BREAD GRIDDLE CAKES (with sour milk). Use equal quan- tities of sour milk and small broken pieces of bread. Mix and let stand, covered, overnight. When ready to use, put through colander. For each pint of mixture use one egg, one teaspoon of soda, one teaspoon of sugar, y teaspoon salt and about ft of a cup of sifted flour. It is always well to bake a small cake first, that any lack in ingredients may be remedied at once. An extra yolk or small amount of uncooked egg may be added if at hand. Bake on hot griddle. FRIED BREAD. To an egg, well beaten, add one cup of milk, or a little water. Dip pieces of stale bread in this and then fry them in but- ter or drippings. STALE CAKE STALE CAKE WITH CUSTARD. Moisten with lemon juice enough stale cake to cover the bottom of a glass dish holding a quart. Make a soft custard by scalding two cups of milk and pouring it slowly upon two beaten egg yolks, mixed with three tablespoons of sugar, one teaspoon of butter, and a little salt. Cook in a double boiler until thick- ened. Strain and when partly cool add one-half teaspoon of vanilla, and pour over the cake. When ready to serve, beat the whites to a stiff froth, adding one tablespoon of sugar and a little lemon juice while beating. Drop lightly, by spoonfuls, on top of the custard and put a few bits of jelly on the meringue. TRIFLE. Cut stale cake into slices and spread preserves between them. Lay in a deep dish and spread over with meringue or whipped cream. CHEESE All the little dried pieces of cheese should be grated and put in a covered glass jar. These cheese crumbs are excellent for many made-over dishes and are particularly good with starchy foods, such as potatoes, macaroni, etc. Very tasty crackers can be made by spreading this grated cheese on crackers, seasoning them, and then putting them in the oven for a few minutes, 96 LEFT-OVER RECIPES SOUR MILK OR CREAM No sour milk or cream should be wasted. Put it into an earthen or glass jar, little by little, until you have half a cup or a cupful. As soon as it thickens use it for cottage cheese, griddle cakes, biscuits, corn- bread or gingerbread. Sour cream may also be used for filling for cake. COTTAGE CHEESE. Place, a panful of milk which has soured enough to become thick, or clabbered, over a pan of hot water. Let it heat slowly until the whey has separated from the curd ; do not let it boil, or the curd will become tough; then strain it through a cloth and press out all the whey; stir into the curd enough butter, cream, and salt to make it a little moist and of good flavor. Work it well with a spoon until it becomes fine grained and smooth, then mold it into balls of any size desired. SOUR MILK PANCAKES. 1 cup thick sour milk 24 cup flour l / 2 cup cooked cereal 1 teaspoon soda 1 egg % teaspoon salt Beat sour milk, cereal and egg well together. Sift flour and salt and add them. When ready to bake the cakes, add the soda and beat the batter vigorously. It should look like thick cream. If too thin, add a little more flour; if too thick, add more sour milk or a little water. EMERGENCY BISCUITS. 2 cups flour 1 cup thick sour milk 1 tablespoon butter or any fat 1 teaspoon salt teaspoon soda Sift flour, salt and soda well together. Rub in the butter or fat with a spoon. Add the milk and stir lightly. The dough should be soft. Drop by spoonfuls into greased muffin-tins and bake in a hot oven about twenty minutes. SOUR CREAM GINGERBREAD. 2 tablespoons melted butter or y 2 cupful sour milk butter substitute 1 teaspoon baking-soda J4 cupful molasses 2 cupfuls flour 1 egg 1 tablespoon ginger Mix molasses, sour milk and beaten egg well together and add the ginger, salt and flour. Dissolve the soda in a very little hot water and add it. Beat in the melted butter or butter substitute at the last. Bake in a shallow pan or muffin tins in a moderate oven about 25 minutes. SOUR CREAM FILLING FOR CAKES. Sweeten and chill a cup of sour cream. Whip it, keeping it cold while doing so. When stiff add a cup of chopped nuts. If cream does not become stiff, add one teaspoon cf melted gelatine at the last and set on ice. This makes an excellent filling for layer cakes. 97 LEFT-OVER RECIPES % FRUIT Any fresh fruit that has become soft should be cooked at once with a little sugar added, to make a sauce, or it can be made into jelly. Any left-over canned fruit may be rubbed through a sieve and used for a sauce. It may be put into ice cream or molded into a corn-starch or rice mixture. Apple parings and cores should be stewed to a pulp and then strained. This will make a jelly, which, spread on apple tart, will greatly improve it. It can also be used for flavoring tapioca pudding. Orange peel and lemon peel may be used for flavoring sauces and stewed fruits. They can be dried and kept in a glass-covered jar until used. FRUIT SAUCE (made from fresh fruit that is slightly softened). Cook the fruit with a little sugar until the juice flows freely. Then beat some powdered sugar, the fruit juice and pieces of fruit together. Whip the white of an egg very light, and add to the beaten fruit and sugar, or add fruit gradually to the unbeaten egg white and beat for some minutes. APRICOT, PEAR OR PEACH SAUCE (from left-over canned fruit). Beat some powdered sugar, fruit juice and the pieces of left-over canned fruit together. Add fruit gradually to an unbeaten egg white and beat for some minutes ; or whip the white of egg very light and add to beaten fruit and sugar. Sauce made in the first way will last longer. CORN-STARCH PUDDING WITH FRUIT. 1 pint of milk 1 well-beaten egg 4 tablespoons corn-starch mixed % teaspoon salt with a little cold water */2 CU P chopped cooked peaches, */2 cup sugar apricots or pears 1 teaspoon vanilla Scald milk; then stir in corn-starch mixed with a little cold water, and cook five minutes in double boiler. Place upper part of double boiler on fire, let corn-starch boil, return boiler to place, add sugar, egg and salt beaten together, and cook two minutes, stirring continually. Flavor with vanilla, add fruit, and pour into mold. Chill and serve with sugar and cream. An excellent way of using up small amounts of canned fruits. 98 SOAP TO MAKE WHITE HARD SOAP. Save every scrap of fat each day; fry out all that has accumulated, however small the quantity. This is done by placing the scraps in a frying-pan on the back of the range. If the heat is low, and the grease is not allowed to get hot enough to smoke or burn, there will be no odor from it. Turn the melted grease into lard pails and keep them covered. When six pounds of fat have been obtained, turn it into a dish-pan ; add a generous amount of hot water, and stand it on the range until the grease is entirely melted. Stir it well together; then stand it aside to cool. This is clarifying the grease. The clean grease will rise to the top, and when it has cooled can be taken off in a cake, and such impurities as have not settled in the water, can be scraped off the bottom of the cake of fat. Put the clean grease into the dish-pan and melt it. Put a can of P>abbit's lye in a pail ; add to it a quart of cold water, and stir it with a stick or wooden spoon until it is dissolved. It will get hot when the water is added; let it stand until it cools. Remove the melted grease from the fire, and pour in the lye slowly, stirring all the time. Add two tablespoons of ammonia. Stir the mixture constantly for twenty min- utes or half an hour, or until the soap begins to set. Let it stand until perfectly hard ; then cut it into square cakes. This makes a very good, white hard soap which will float on water. It is very little trouble to make, and will be found quite an economy in a household. Six pounds of grease make eight and a half pounds of soap. Save all pieces of soap that are too small to handle. Melt them in a little water over a slow fire and then put it into glass-covered jars. This makes a jelly-like substance which can be used for washing dishes, boil- ing clothes or any other purpose for which soap is used. 99 TIRELESS COOKER A fireless cooker is a box so made and lined that when food is heated over a fire for a short time and then placed in the box, the heat will be retained in the box and the food will continue to cook without the use of any additional fire or heat. The fireless cooker is particularly good for cooking the less tender cuts of meat or meat that requires long cooking. It can also be used for cooking soup, pot roast, beef stew, Irish stew, lamb stew, corned beef and cabbage, boiled ham, baked beans, chicken fricassee, vegetables such as turnips, parsnips, carrots and beets, dried vegetables such as peas, beans and lentils, dried fruits such as peaches, apples, apricots and prunes, cereals, and puddings. Most people do not cook cereals long enough. By using a fireless cooker you can prepare your cereal at night, cook it on the stove for about fifteen minutes, put it in the fireless cooker, and when you get up in the morning you will find it all cooked and ready to be eaten. In this way you save both time and fuel. Lots of women who have to be away from their homes all day pre- pare the family dinner in the morning, put it in the fireless cooker, and find it cooked and ready to be eaten on their return at night. This is a great help to the woman who has to work hard all day and who is too tired to prepare and cook a dinner when she gets home at night. There are various makes of fireless cookers that can be bought in stores where household furnishings are sold. They range in price from $5 to $22, according to the size and t.iake of the cooker. It is not necessary, however, for you to buy a fireless cooker. You can easily make one at home. TRY IT YOU WILL FIND IT WILL SAVE NOT ONLY YOUR TIME BUT MANY A DOLLAR ON YOUR COAL AND GAS BILLS. DIRECTIONS for FIRELESS COOKER No. 1 (Single Cooker) MATERIALS NEEDED Galvanized iron can. No. 3, with cover, about $0.78 Sawdust, about 0.10 Two yards denim, about 0.45 Covered agate pail (to be used as cooking-pail), about 0.20 Total $1.53 (It is net necessary to use denim. You can use an old tablecloth, muslin, canton flannel or any old wool material you happen to have on hand.) METHOD Place loose sawdust in the bottom of the can to a depth of about 3 inches. Fold the two yards of den>im or other material 100 FIRELESS COOKER' lengthwise and make a long bag. This bag, when empty, should be about two inches deeper than the cooking-pail. Fill the bag with saw- dust ; lay the bag flat on the table and spread the sawdust evenly. When filled with sawdust the bag should be a little deeper than the cooking- pail. Then roll the bag around the cooking-pail so that a smooth, firm nest is formed when the bag is placed upright in the can on top of the sawdust. From the remaining denim or other material make a round flat bag (material will have to be. pieced for this). Fill the bag with sawdust and use it on top of the cooking-pail. The bags must be made and fitted imo the can in such a way that there will be no open space whatever between the sides of the cooking-pail and the can, or between the top of the cooking-pail and the cover of the can, through which heat can escape. DIRECTIONS for FIRELESS COOKER No. 2 (Double Cooker) MATERIALS NEEDED Three wooden boxes (one long box and two square boxes ; the long box must be large enough to hold the other two and still leave at least two inches of space between all the boxes). Your grocer will doubtless be glad to let you have the boxes without charge or at a very small cost. Sheet asbestos, 5% yards, one yard wide, at about 20c. per yard. . $1.05 Two covered agate pails (to be used as cooking pails), about 0.40 Denim, 1 yard, about 0.22 Total ' 1.67 (Any old muslin, canton flannel or wool goods that you happen to have on hand may be used in place of denim.) METHOD First of all line the bottoms and sides of all three boxes with the sheet asbestos. Then in the bottom of the long box lay news- papers flat to a depth of about one-half an inch. Then put two ir/ches of. sawdust on top of this layer of newspapers. Then place the two square boxes inside the long one, leaving at least two inches of space between the two square boxes. Fill all the spaces between all the boxes with saw r dust. Then tack a strip of denim or other material from the edges of the square boxes to the outside edge of the long box; also across the space betw r een the two square boxes, so that the strip of denim will cover all the spaces that are filled with sawdust. The outside box must have a wooden lid. Line the lid with the sheet asbestos to within a half inch of the edge of the lid. Then put a layer of sawdust one inch deep on top of the asbestos. Then tack a piece of denim or other material over the sawdust, still leaving the edge free and clear so that the cover will fit down tightly. Or the lid may be lined with asbestos and a pillow made of denim or other material and filled with sawdust that will fit tightly down into the top of the box. NOTE THESE FIRELESS COOKERS ARE NOT AN EX- PERIMENT. THEY HAVE BEEN TESTED AND FOUND TO BE MOST PRACTICAL AND USEFUL. 101 - GENERAL DIRECTIONS FOR COOKING WITH A FIRELESS COOKER SOUPS should be cooked on the stove in the cooking-pail for about thirty minutes, then put in the fireless cooker and left for about 12 hours. Reheat before serving. (If the soup were cooked on a coal or gas stove until done you would have to use your fire 3 or 4 hours. By using the fireless cooker you save from 2y 2 to Z l / 2 hours of coal or gas.) POT ROAST Get a 3-pound piece of beef cut from the neck, shoul- der or cross cut. Wipe it oft with a damp cloth, season it, dredge it with flour, and then brown well on all sides in a hot greased frying-pan. Then put the meat in the cooking-pail, with an inverted saucer or something else under it to keep it from sticking. Add boiling water- about two- thirds of the way up the roast. Cover tightly and let simmer on the stove for 20 minutes. Then add */> cup each of diced carrots, turnips, potatoes and onions and 1 teaspoon of salt. Let it come to a boil and then place in fireless cooker and let it stay in for 7 or 8 hours. Then remove meat to a hot platter, put the vegetables around the meat, and make a gravy of 1 tablespoon of butter or drippings, 1 tablespoon of flour and 1 cup of the liquid strained from the roast. Season the gravy and serve with meat and vegetables. (It would take about 3 hours to cook this on your stove. By using the fireless cooker you save about 2}A hours of coal or gas.) BEEF STEW (For making stews use ends of ribs, neck, knuckle or hind shin.) Cut beef into small pieces; add one onion cut in small pieces. Put meat in cooking-pail with an inverted saucer or something else under it to keep it from sticking. Add enough cold water to cover meat. Bring to simmering point. Let it simmer 20 minutes. Then add halved or quartered potatoes, a few pieces of carrot and turnip, salt and pepper to taste. Let it come to a boil and then place the pail in the fireless cooker and leave for 7 or 8 hours. Before potatoes are added to the stew boil them for five minutes on the stove. (It would take about 3 hours to cook this on your stove. By using the fireless cooker you save 2jX hours of coal or gas.) MUTTON OR IRISH STEW Follow directions given for beef stew 7 , leaving it in fireless cooker for 5 or 6 hours. LAMB STEW 1^ Ibs. breast of lamb, 1 pint boiling- water, 4 medium-sized potatoes quartered and parboiled, 1 sliced onion, 2 table- spoons rice, 1 cup strained tomatoes, salt and pepper. Brown the onions in a little fat in the cooking-pail ; then add the meat cut roughly into cube-shaped pieces ; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover with boiling water. Let it simmer on the stove for 20 minutes. Then add potatoes, rice and tomatoes. Let it come to a boil and then place in fireless cooker for 4 or 5 hours. (By using the fireless cooker 7 ou save \y 2 hours of coal or gas.) CORNED BEEF AND CABBAGE Prepare in your usual way and cook the corned beef on the stove in the cooking-pail for about 30 102 FIRELESS COOKER RECIPES minutes. Then put the corned beef in fireless cooker and leave for about 6 hours. Then add the cabbage and leave in fireless cooker for 2 hours more. (If cooked entirely on your stove corned beef would take about 3 hours. By using the fireless cooker you save 2y 2 hours of coal or gas.) BOILED HAM Cook on the stove in the cooking-pail for about 30 minutes. Then put in the fireless cooker and leave for 8 or 10 hours, or overnight. (By using the fireless cooker you save at least 3 hours of coal or gas.) BAKED BEANS 1 quart of white beans, 1 teaspoon of baking soda, y$ pound salt pork, 2 tablespoons of molasses, 1 teaspoon of mus- tard. Wash beans and then soak them in cold water for one hour. Then pour off the water and put beans into cooking-pail. Cover with cold water, add the soda and cook gently on the stove until beans are slightly softened. Pour off water; mix molasses and mustard with a pint of water and pour this over the beans, adding more water if the beans are not covered. Place the pork upon the beans, bring to boiling, and cover the pail. Then put in fireless cooker and leave for ten or twelve hours. (Baked beans would require 6 to 8 hours if baked in a gas or coal oven. By using the fireless cooker the coal or gas is only used for 30 minutes, making a wonderful saving.) CHICKEN FRICASSEE Cut up chicken and roll each piece in flour; brown pieces in fat ; as each piece is browned, pack in cooking-pail. Make some gravy in pan in which browning is done. Pour gravy into the cooking-pail and add enough water to cover chicken. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Boil 20 minutes on stove ; then put in cooker for overnight. Reheat it when you want to use it. (By using the fireless cooker you save about 2 hours of coal and gas.) TURNIPS, PARSNIPS, CARROTS AND BEATS Prepare in your usual way and boil on the stove in the cooking-pail for not more than five minutes. Then put in the fireless cooker. Leave turnips, parsnips and carrots in fireless cooker for lj/j to 2 hours; beets 5 or 6 hours. (By using the fireless cooker you save a great deal of coal or gas.) DRIED PEAS, BEANS AND LENTILS Prepare in your usual way and cook on the stove in the cooking-pail for ten minutes. Then put in the fireless cooker and leave for 8 to 10 hours. (By using the fireless cooker you save at least 3 hours of coal or gas.) DRIED FRUITS, SUCH AS PEACHES, APPLES, APRICOTS AND PRJJNES These require long slow cooking and little sugar. Dried prunes do not require any sugar at all, as the long slow cooking develops the natural sweetness in the fruit. Wash all dried fruit carefully. Put in cooking-pail and cover with cold water, using one pint of fruit to l l / 2 pints of water. Bring to the 103 FIRELESS COOKER RECIPES simmering point on the stove and simmer for about 15 minutes. Then place in fireless cooker and leave for 6 or 8 hours or overnight. (You save at least 3 hours of coal or gas by using the fireless cooker for these.) CEREALS Put in cooking-pail and cook on the stove for about 15 minutes and then put in the fireless cooker and leave for 12 to 15 hours or overnight. Cereals require long slow cooking, and by using a fireless cooker you save a great many hours of coal or gas. CREAMY RICE PUDDING 1 cup rice, 1 pint milk, 4 tablespoons sugar, ^ teaspoon salt, some nutmeg or cinnamon. Boil rice for about five minutes. Add milk without pouring off the water ; then add sugar and salt. Pour into a buttered pail, cover tightly, and place in cooking-pail half full of boiling water. Boil over fire for five minutes. Then put in fireless cooker and leave for about 6 to 8 hours. When finished grate nutmeg over the top or sprinkle with cinna- mon, or a stick of cinnamon may be boiled with the rice. (You sa.ve more than \V 2 hours of coal or gas by using the fireless cooker.) (It is well to place an inverted saucer in the bottom of the pail of hot water so that the pudding will not get too hot while cooking on the stove.) STEAMED COSTARD 1 quart milk, 4 eggs, ]/ 2 teaspoon salt, V 2 cup sugar, nutmeg. Scald the milk in a double boiler ; beat the eggs slightly and add the sugar and salt ; then gradually add the scalded milk. Pour into buttered pail, cover tightly, and place in cooking-pail half full of boiling water. Boil over fire for 5 minutes; then place in fireless cooker for 1% hours to 2 hours. When finished grate a little nutmeg over the top of the pudding. (It is well to place an inverted saucer in the bottom of the pail of hot water so that custard will not get too hot while cooking on the stove.) APPLES IN SYRUP Pare and core sour apples and then cut in half. Make a syrup of 1 cup sugar and 1 cup water. Cook over fire in cooking-pail until clear. Add apples and boil five minutes. Then put in fireless cooker for 4 or 5 hours. NOTE Bear in mind that all the food must first be cooked on the stove in the cooking-pail for the length of time given. Then the cooking- pail, with the food in it, must be taken directly from the stove and put into the cooker without delay. This is absolutely necessary in order to retain in the pail and in the food the heat that is needed to continue the cooking. 104 CANNING FRUITS AND VEGETABLES One secret of success in canning is cleanliness. For this reason, keep the room as free as possible from dust ; keep the table, your hands, and your clothes clean while you work; and wash all the utensils just before beginning work ; rinse them with boiling water, and let them dry without wiping. TO STERILIZE JARS: Put the jars in a pan or pail, cover with cold water, let it come to a boil and boil for ten minutes. This is an extra precaution, not necessary except when fruit is cooked before being put into jars. When it is done, covers and rings should be sterilized in a smaller vessel in the same way. TO TEST A JAR: Fill a jar with water, fasten on ring and cover, and invert. If it leaks, either the jar is imperfect or the rubber poor. Use no jar that cannot be made absolutely tight. WHEN BREAKAGE OF JARS OCCURS IT IS DUE TO SUCH CAUSES AS : 1. Overpacking the jars. Corn, peas and lima beans swell or expand in canning. Do not fill the jars quite full of these products. 2. Placing the cold jars in hot water or vice versa. As soon as the jars are filled with hot syrup or hot water, place them immediately in the boiler. 3. Having the wire fastener of glass-top jars too tight, thus breaking the jars when the lever is forced down. 4. Allowing a cold draft to strike the jars when they are removed from the boiler. THE RIGHT SORT OF FRUIT TO CAN: Can each 'fruit in its season when it is best and cheapest. It is best for canning just before it is quite ripe. The better the condition of the fruit the easier it is to sterilize. So use only fresh, clean, sound fruit, and see that no soft berries or spoiled bits get into the cans. TO COOK FRUIT IN JARS IN A CLOSED VESSEL THE FOLLOWING OUTFIT IS NECESSARY: A wash boiler, pail, or any vessel with a tight-fitting cover, large enough to hold several jars; a rack to fit the bottom of the boiler and keep the jars from bumping and breaking when the water boils (this may be a piece of heavy wire netting or it may be made at home of strips of wood) ; quart or pint glass jars (the jars with glass covers and metal springs are best); a new rubber ring for each jar (old rubber may not be air-tight); large bowl or enamelled pan for fruit; plated knife and fork; plated or enamelled spoon; quart measure ;" half-pint measure; scales; saucepan for syrup. Avoid iron and tinware in canning. CAN BOTH FRUIT AND VEGETABLES AS SOON AS YOU GET THEM HOME. 105 GENERAL DIRECTIONS FOR CANNING FRUITS WITH SUGAR Pack fruit compactly in jars. It will pack better if put in a strainer or piece of cheese-cloth and lowered into boiling water for about one minute. This is called "blanching.'' Blanch fruit in small lots, that the water may not be cooled much. Press fruit gently down in jars with spoon or small wooden spatula. Fill jars with syrup. Release any air-bubbles by slipping knife or spatula down between fruit and jar. Put on rings and cover without fastening them down. Place jars on rack in boiler. Pour warm water in boiler, enough to come about half-way up the jars. Put cover on boiler. Bring water to a boil and boil gently as long as required. Remove boiler from the stove, fasten down covers, take jars out and let them cool. If, when jars are taken from the boiler, there is more than half an inch of space between fruit and cover, the contents of one jar may be used to fill the rest before the covers are fastened down. Put jars again in boiler and boil 5 minutes more. These directions apply to fruit bought in towns and cities. Less time is required for fruit freshly picked. Ten minutes for quart jars, five minutes for pint jar of freshly picked berries is sufficient. The shorter the time of cooking, the better the berries retain their flavor, shape and color. CANNING FRUITS WITH SUGAR Fruits can be classified into three distinct groups, or classes, such as soft fruits, sour berry fruits and hard fruits. 1. SOFT FRUITS, SUCH AS STRAWBERRIES, BLACK- BERRIES, SWEET CHERRIES, BLUEBERRIES, PEACHES, APRICOTS, ETC. RECIPE FOR CANNING SOFT FRUITS Make a syrup in the proportion of 1 cup of sugar to 3 cups of water. Put on stove and bring to the boiling point. For a thin syrup, boil one minute. For a medium-thin syrup, boil until slightly sticky when cooled. The amount of syrup required will depend upon the quantity of fruit to be canned. Rinse the fruit by pouring water over it through a strainer. Cull, seed, stem, and remove skins if necessary. Pack immediately in glass jars. Add boiling hot syrup. Fill jars to overflowing. Place rubbers and tops in place. Partially tighten. Place jars in kettle and boil gently for 10 to 20 minutes. Remove jars from kettle. Tighten covers. Invert to cool 106 CANNING FRUITS WITH SUGAR and test for leakage. Wrap glass jars in paper to prevent bleaching. Then store. 2. SOUR BERRY FRUITS, SUCH AS CURRANTS, GOOSE- BERRIES, CRANBERRIES AND SOUR CHERRIES. RECIPE FOR CANNING SOUR BERRY FRUITS Stem, hull and clean. Dip quickly in hot water. Remove and dip quickly in cold water. Pack berries closely in jars. Add a boiling hot syrup made in the proportion of l l /> cups of sugar to 3 cups of water. Place rubbers and caps in place. Partially tighten. Place jars in kettle and boil gently for 10 to 20 minutes. Remove jars. Tighten covers and invert to cool and test for leakage. Wrap in paper and store. 3. HARD FRUITS, SUCH AS APPLES, PEARS, QUINCES, ETC. RECIPE FOR CANNING HARD FRUIT Dip quickly in hot \vater for I*/? minutes, and then plunge quickly in cold water. Core, pit, or remove skins if necessary. Pack whole, quartered, or sliced as desired. Add a boiling hot syrup made in the proportion of 1 cup of sugar to 3 cups of water. Place rubbers and tops in position. Partially tighten. Place jars in kettle and boil gently for 15 to 25 minutes. Remove jars. Tighten covers and invert to cool and test for leakage. Wrap glass jars in paper to prevent bleaching, and store. 107 CANNING FRUITS WITHOUT SUGAR Fruits Can Be Canned Without Sugar THIS IS THE WAY TO DO IT Wash fruit; cull, seed, stem, and remove skins if necessary. Can whole or cut in halves. Pack fruit in jars and fill the jars to the top with cold water. Put rubbers and caps in place and partially tighten. Put jars in kettle and pour cold water into kettle, enough to come very near the top of the jars. Cover the kettle and bring slowly to boiling. Boil soft fruits from 30 to 45 Ininutes, until fruit is cooked through. Hard fruits will require an hour and a half. Have only enough fire to keep the water boiling gently. More than this is a waste of either coal or gas, and the rapid boiling is likely to crack the jars. When done, remove jars from the boiling water and fasten covers tightly at once, without having taken covers off. This is important, for no air should enter jars after boiling begins. Invert to cool and test for leakage. Wrap in paper and store. 108 GENERAL DIRECTIONS FOR CANNING VEGETABLES Pack vegetables compactly in jars. Add boiling water and salt. Re- lease any air bubbles by slipping a knife or spatula down between vege- tables and jar. Put on rings and cover without fastening them down. Place jars on rack in boiler. Pour warm water in boiler, enough to come about half way up the jars. Put cover on the boiler. Bring water to a boil and boil gently as long as required. Remove boiler from the stove, fasten down covers, take jars out and let them cool. If when jars are taken from the boiler there is more than half an inch of space between vegetables and cover, the contents of one jar can be used to fill the rest before the covers are fastened down. Put jars again in boiler and boil 5 minutes more. Most vegetables are injured in flavor and quality by an excessive use of salt for seasoning in the canning process. A little salt is very palatable, and its use should be encouraged, but it is better to add no salt in canning than to use too much. It can be added to suit the taste when canned goods are served. CANNING VEGETABLES The vegetables most commonly used for canning can be divided into four classes : 1. VEGETABLE GREENS, SUCH AS SWISS CHARDS, KALE, TURNIP TOPS, ASPARAGUS, SPINACH, BEET TOPS, CULTI- VATED DANDELION, MUSTARD PLANT. RECIPE FOR CANNING VEGETABLE GREENS Prepare and can as soon as you get them home. Sort and clean. Put in a colander; set colander over boiling water, and steam for 15 or 20 minutes. Re- move. Plunge quickly into cold water. Cut in convenient lengths. Pack tight in jars and season to taste. Add hot water to fill crevices and a level teaspoon of salt to each quart jar. Place rubbers and tops in position and partially tighten. Place jars in kettle and boil gently for 2 hours. Remove from kettle. Tighten covers. Invert to cool and test for leakage. Wrap in paper to prevent bleaching, and store. RECIPE FOR CANNING CABBAGE, BRUSSELS SPROUTS AND CAULIFLOWER: The recipe for canning these vegetables is practically the same as for the above-named vegetable greens, and the same instructions may be followed. Experience alone will teach the slight variations necessary in amount of time required for blanching, amount of seasoning necessary for the various vegetable greens, etc. 2. ROOT AND TUBER VEGETABLES, SUCH AS CARROTS, PARSNIPS, BEETS, TURNIPS, ETC. JECIPE FOR CANNING ROOT AND TUBER VEGETABLES Wash thoroughly. Use vegetable brush. Scald hi boiling hot water 109 CANNING VEGETABLES V sufficiently to loosen the skin. Plunge quickly in cold water. Scrape or pare to remove skin. Pack whole or cut in sections or cubes. Add boiling hot water and one level teaspoon of salt to each quart jar. Place rubbers and tops in position. Partially seal, but not tight. Place jars in kettle and boil gently for 2 hours. Remove from kettle. Tighten covers. Invert to cool and test for leakage. Wrap in paper to prevent bleaching, and store. 3. SPECIAL VEGETABLES. TOMATOES AND CORN. RECIPE FOR CANNING TOMATOES Scald in hot water enough to loosen skins. Plunge quickly in cold water. Remove. Core and skin. Pack whole. Fill jar with whole tomatoes only. Add one level teaspoon of salt to each quart jar. Place rubbers and caps in position. Partially seal, but not tight. Boil gently for 22 minutes. Remove jars. Tighten covers. Invert to cool and test for leakage. Wrap jars in paper and store. An acidity that is disagreeable to the taste is sometimes noted in canned tomatoes. This may be corrected by adding % teaspoonful of baking-soda to a quart of the canned toma- toes when cooking them for table use. RECIPE FOR CANNING SWEET CORN ON THE COB Remove husks and silks. Place cobs in boiling water for 5 to 10 minutes. Plunge quickly in cold water. Pack ears, alternating butts and tips, in half-gallon glass jars. Pour over boiling hot water and add 1 level tea- spoon of salt to each half-gallon jar. Place rubbers and tops in position, Seal partially but not tight. Boil gently for 3 hours. Remove jars. Tighten covers. Invert to cool and test for leakage. Wrap jars with paper and store. Note When sweet corn is taken from jar for table use, remove ears as soon as jar is opened. Heat corn, slightly buttered, in steamer. Do not allow ears to stand in water or to be boiled in water the second time. RECIPE FOR CANNING SWEET CORN CUT FROM COB-Remove husks and silks. Place cobs in boiling hot water for 5 to 15 min- utes. Plunge quickly in cold water. Cut the corn from the cob with a thin, sharp-bladed knife. Pack corn in jar. Add one level teaspoon of salt to each quart jar and sufficient hot water to fill. Place rubbers and tops in position ; seal partially, but not tight. Boil gently for 3 hours ; set aside until the next day ; then boil for 1 hour more. Remove jars. Tighten covers. Invert to cool and test for leakage. Wrap with paper and store. 4. OTHER VEGETABLES, SUCH AS LIMA BEANS, STRING- BEANS, PEAS, ETC. RECIPE FOR CANNING Put in boiling hot water for 2 to 5 minutes. Remove and plunge quickly in cold water. Pack in jars until full. Add boiling water to fill crevices. Add one level teaspoon of salt to each quart jar. Place rubbers and tops in position. Par- tially seal, but not tight. Boil gently for 1 hour; set aside until the next day then boil for 1 hour more. Remove jars. Tighten covers and invert to cool. Wrap jars in paper and store. 110 HOW TO PRESERVE EGGS AT HOME As the shells of eggs are porous, air and germs ean get into the eggs through the shell and make them unfit to eat. No eggs are per- fectly clean when bought ; therefore it is best to wipe them with a clean, damp cloth as soon as you get them home. Clean eggs, kept cool, re- main for a week or more practically as good as when laid. As hens lay best in spring and early summer, it is necessary to preserve the eggs that are needed for winter use. Dealers use the cold-storage method, but housewives can preserve eggs at home by using either of the fol- lowing methods : 1. BY COATING THEM WITH WATER GLASS. Water glass does not cost much. You can buy it at almost any drug or department store. Directions : Mix water glass with water, using 9 parts of water to 1 part water glass. Put eggs in a stone jar and pour water glass over them, being careful to see that they are well covered. Keep the jar of eggs in a cool place. If you want to boil eggs that have been preserved in water glass it will be necessary to make a tiny pin-hole in the small end of each egg before putting them into the boiling water; otherwise they will explode. 2. BY GREASING THEM. They can be greased with butter, any butter substitute, lard or in fact any clean fat. Directions: The grease must be soft enough to be applied with a brush. Be careful to see that the entire egg is greased. Then pack the eggs, small end down, in any wooden box, putting a strip of card- board between each egg so that the eggs do not touch each other. Keep the box of eggs in a cool place. 3. BY PACKING THEM IN SAWDUST. Directions: Pack eggs in sawdust, small end down. Be sure that each egg is entirely covered with the sawdust. You can use any wooden box to pack them in. Keep the box of eggs in a cool place. Ill THE PROBLEM OF THE WORLD At the present moment food is the problem of practically the entire world. Because of the European war many countries have been unable to raise as much food as they did in previous years. Over forty million men are in the armies that are fighting. These men are no longer pro- ducing; they are consuming. Where they have been taken from fac- tories, farm men have taken their places in the factories, and as a result labor on the farms is very scarce. Our country is called upon to make good a large part of this food shortage. We must do this largely through saving the waste that has heretofore existed in our methods of using food. As a people we have lived most extravagantly in this country. Sooner or later we will have to learn various economies. Why not learn some of them now when, by so doing, we can benefit the entire world? Our country as a whole can do nothing on this important question without the help of every housewife everywhere. We have prepared this little pamphlet in order to help the housewife help her country. Study the suggestions it contains and put them into use at once. THE SOLUTION OF THE FOOD PROBLEM LIES IN THE HANDS OF THE WOMEN OF THE WORLD. YOU ARE ONE OF THOSE WOMEN. Respond gladly and at once to the call that is being made on you. Learn economy in food matters; Learn what foods are the most nourishing, so that you will know what food to buy ; Learn how to cook it; Learn how not to waste a bit of it. HERE IS YOUR OPPORTUNITY TO BE OF TREMENDOUS SERVICE NOT ONLY TO YOUR COUNTRY BUT TO THE WORLD. It costs about 10 cents to print and distribute this pamphlet. This Committee feels that the poorer people of New York City should have this pamphlet free of charge, and it plans to distribute as many in this way as its funds will permit. To this end it asks for contributions from those who believe this pamphlet will be helpful and who can afford to contribute to the fund that is being raised for the above purpose. Checks or post office money orders should be made payable to Mayor Mitchel's Food Supply Committee. Those ordering this pamphlet by mail will please enclose 10 cents in cash for each copy ordered. Do not send stamps. MAYOR MITCHEL'S FOOD SUPPLY COMMITTEE Room 2012 71 Broadway, New York City Hints to Housewives PREPARED BY EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF MAYOR MITCHELLS FOOD SUPPLY COMMITTEE GEORGE W. PERKINS, Chairman JOHN BUCKLE CARL A. KOELSCH WM. H. CHILDS L. J. LIPPMANN GEORGE DRESSLER CYRUS C. MILLER M. MAURICE ECKSTEIN W. C. MUSCHENHEIM in collaboration with THE DOMESTIC SCIENCE DEPARTMENT of the Board of Education, of the City of New York WM. G. WILLCOX, President It costs about 10 cents to print and distribute this pamphlet. This Committee feels that the poorer people of New York City should have this pamphlet free of charge, and it plans distribute as many in this way as its funds will permit. To this end it asks for contribute from those who believe this pamphlet will be helpful and who can afford to contribute to fund that is being raised for the above purpose. Checks or post office money orders shoulc be made payable to Mayor Mitchel's Food Supply Committee and mailed to Room 2012^: 71 Broadway, New York City. Those ordering this pamphlet by mail will please enclose 10 cents in cash for each copy-: ordered. Do not send stamps. Isaac Goldmann Company, Printers, New York Gaylord Bros. Makers Syracuse, N Y '.Mr.KW.jf .IMS 93833 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY BERKELEY Return to desk from which borrowed. This book is DUE on the last date stamped below. MAR 2$ 1948 260ct57Mf