Simple Dishes For The Sick.
Diet cures more than doctors.—Scotch Proverb.
A merry heart doeth good like a medicine.—Solomon.
Health is not quoted in the markets, because it is without price.—Selected.
The best physicians are Dr. Diet, Dr. Quiet, and Dr. Merryman.—Selected.
The less the attention is called to the stomach the better. If you are in constant fear that your food will hurt you, it most assuredly will. Forget your troubles; think of something cheerful.—“Christian Temperance.”
Food for the sick should generally be of a very simple character. It should be such as will furnish the most nourishment with the least tax upon the digestive organs. It should be prepared with care and scrupulous cleanliness, well cooked, and served in the most inviting manner. Cover the tray with clean white linen, and use the daintiest dishes the house affords.
Other dishes suitable for the sick may be found among the Toasts, Breads, Fruits, Wholesome Drinks, etc.
GLUTEN GRUEL
For each cupful of boiling milk stir in one tablespoonful of gluten meal; add a little salt, let boil a moment, and serve.
ARROWROOT GRUEL
Rub one teaspoonful of arrowroot smooth in a tablespoonful of cold water; pour over it two cups of boiling water, stirring continually; set the saucepan in hot water till the arrowroot is thoroughly cooked; turn into a pitcher, add a little sugar to sweeten, and flavor with a little lemon peel.
GRAHAM GRUEL
Into three cups of actively boiling water, stir one small cup of sifted Graham flour mixed to a paste with a cup of cold water or milk. Add a little salt, and cook until done. Add a small quantity of cream or rich milk, and serve. An excellent breakfast dish for well people also, especially for children.
CREAMED GRUEL
Cook one tablespoonful of rolled oats in a scant pint of water until tender; then strain through a sieve. Add one-half cup of thin cream, and salt to taste; let just come to a boil, remove from the fire, then stir in the whites of two eggs beaten to a stiff froth. Add a little sugar if desired.
RICE GRUEL
Wet one teaspoonful of rice flour in a little cold milk, and stir into one pint of boiling water; salt slightly, and boil until transparent. Flavor with lemon peel.
MILK GRUEL
Heat one cup of milk to boiling, and stir in one tablespoonful of fine oatmeal; add a cup of boiling water, and cook until the meal is thoroughly done. Season with a little salt.
ONION GRUEL
Boil a few sliced onions until tender in a pint of fresh milk, adding a little oatmeal; season with salt. Good for colds.
LEMONADE, HOT AND COLD
Make as indicated on page 92.
APPLE WATER
Take three ripe, tart, juicy apples, wash and wipe, but do not pare; slice into a quart of hot water; let stand until cool, pour off the water, and sweeten it to taste.
RICE WATER
Put into a saucepan one-half cup of well-washed rice; add three cups of cold water, and boil for thirty minutes. Strain, season with salt, and serve.
BARLEY WATER
Put two tablespoonfuls of pearl barley into a cupful of boiling water, and let simmer a few minutes; drain, and add two quarts of boiling water with a few figs and seeded raisins chopped fine. Cook slowly until reduced one-half; strain; add sugar to taste, and a little of the juice and rind of a lemon if desired.
BAKED APPLE
Bake a nice, tart apple, as directed on page 37; serve with cream, or, when done, cover with a meringue made of the beaten white of an egg and a teaspoonful of powdered sugar, and lightly brown in the oven.
CUP CUSTARD
To one well-beaten egg add a tablespoonful of sugar, turn into a cup, and fill up the cup with milk, stirring all together. Set the cup in a basin of hot water, and bake in the oven until just set. Serve from the cup in which it was baked. The custard may be flavored with lemon or vanilla, if desired.
BEAN BROTH
Look over and wash one cupful of beans, and put to cook in plenty of water, replenishing with hot water occasionally, if necessary. Cook slowly until tender, when there should be but little more than a cupful of broth remaining. Drain this off, season with a spoonful of cream, a little salt, and serve hot.
WHITE OF EGG AND MILK
Beat the white of an egg to a stiff froth, and stir briskly into a glass of cold milk. Good for persons with weak digestion.
STEAMED EGG
Break an egg into an egg-cup or patty-pan, sprinkle slightly with salt, and steam over boiling water until the white is set.
SCRAMBLED EGG
Heat two tablespoonfuls of water in a saucepan, break into it a fresh egg, and stir lightly until set, but not stiff. Add salt, and serve on toast.
BAKED MILK
Put the milk into an earthen jar, cover the opening with a white paper, and bake in a moderate oven until thick as cream. May be taken by the most delicate stomach.
TAPIOCA CUP CUSTARD
Soak one tablespoonful of tapioca in a small cup of milk for two hours; then stir in the beaten yolk of a fresh egg, a teaspoonful of sugar, and a very little salt; turn into a cup, and bake in the oven for twelve or fifteen minutes.
Food For Infants
OATMEAL WATER AND MILK
For an infant under three months, put one tablespoonful of fine oatmeal into a pint of boiling water, boil for an hour, replenishing with boiling water to keep the quantity good; strain, and add one cup of sterilized milk. Feed in bottle. For infants from three to six months, use equal portions of milk and oatmeal water, and after six months, two-thirds milk.
SUBSTITUTE FOR MOTHER’S MILK, NO. 1
Take one ounce cow’s milk, two ounces cream, three drams milk sugar, one grain bicarbonate of soda, and one ounce of water. Increase the quantity of milk and cream as the child gets older.
SUBSTITUTE FOR MOTHER’S MILK, NO. 2
Take one tablespoonful of cream, four of milk, two of limewater, and four of sweetened water. Sugar of milk, two ounces to a pint of water, is preferable to ordinary sugar for preparing the sweetened water. This will generally agree with the most delicate stomach.
WHITE OF EGG AND WATER
Stir well the white of an egg into a cupful of as warm water as can be used without coagulating the egg. Good for infants suffering with extremely weak digestion, and unable to take milk.