VII.—GRAVIES AND SAUCES.
1. BROWN GRAVY.
Fry a chopped onion in a very little nutter until a dark brown. (Do not burn, or the flavour of the gravy will be spoilt.) Drain off the fat and add 1/2 pint water. Boil until the water is brown. Strain. Return to saucepan and add flavouring to taste. A teaspoon of lemon juice and a tomato, skinned and cooked to pulp, are good additions. Or any vegetable stock may be used instead of the water.
THICK.—If thick gravy be desired, mix a dessertspoonful wholemeal flour with a little cold water. Add the boiling stock to this. Return to saucepan and boil for 3 minutes. Add a small piece of butter just before serving.
Another method.—Add a little "browning" (see recipe) to any vegetable stock. Thicken.
2. EGG SAUCE.
Make a white sauce (see recipe). Boil an egg for 20 minutes, shell, chop finely, and add to the sauce.
3. PARSLEY SAUCE.
Make a white sauce (see recipe). But if the use of milk be objected to, make the sauce of water and wholemeal flour. Allow 1 tablespoon finely-chopped parsley to each 1/2 pint of sauce. Add to the sauce, and boil up. Add a small piece of butter or nut-butter just before serving.
4. SWEET LEMON SAUCE.
2 ozs. lump sugar, 1 large lemon.
Rub the lemon rind well with the sugar. Put the sugar into a saucepan with as much water as it will just absorb. Boil to a clear syrup. Add the lemon juice. Make hot, but do not boil.
5. TOMATO SAUCE.
Pour boiling water on the tomatoes, allow to stand for 1 minute, after which the skins may be easily removed. Break the tomatoes (do not cut) and put into a closely-covered saucepan. Put on one side of the range, or an asbestos mat over a very low gas ring, and allow to cook slowly to pulp. Serve.
This simple recipe makes the most delicious sauce for those who appreciate the undiluted flavour of the tomato. But a good sauce may be made by allowing 1 teacup water or carrot stock to each teacup of pulp, boiling up and thickening with wholemeal flour. A little butter may be added just before serving.
6. WHITE SAUCE.
Allow 1 level dessertspoon cornflour to 1/2 pint milk. Mix the cornflour with a very little cold water in a basin. Pour the boiling milk into this, stirring all the time. Return to saucepan and boil 5 minutes. Add a small piece of butter just before serving.
7. BROWNING, FOR GRAVIES AND SAUCES.
Put 2 ozs. lump sugar in saucepan with as much water as it will just absorb. Boil to a clear syrup, and then simmer very gently, stirring all the time, until it is a very dark brown, almost black. It must not burn or the flavour will be spoilt. Then add a pint of water, boil for a few minutes. Put into a tightly-corked bottle and use as required.
VIII.—EGG COOKERY.
Many vegetarians discard the use of eggs and milk for principle's sake, but the majority still find them necessary as a half-way house. But no eggs at all are infinitely to be preferred to any but real new-laid eggs. The commercial "cooking-egg" is an unwholesome abomination.
1. BOILED EGGS FOR INVALIDS.
Put the egg on in cold water. As soon as it boils take the saucepan off the fire and stand on one side for 5 minutes. At the end of this time the egg will be found to be very lightly, but thoroughly, cooked.
2. BUTTERED EGGS.
3 eggs, 1 tablespoon milk, 1/2 oz. fresh butter.
Beat up the eggs and add the milk. Melt the butter in a small stew-pan. When hot, pour in the eggs and stir until they begin to set. Have ready some buttered toast. Pile on eggs and serve.
3. EGG ON TOMATO.
1 egg, 2 medium tomatoes, butter.
Skin the tomatoes. Break into halves and put them, with a very small piece of butter, into a small stew-pan. Close tightly, and cook slowly until reduced to a pulp. Break the egg into a cup and slide gently on to the tomato. Put on the stew-pan lid. The egg will poach in the steam arising from the tomato.
4. DEVILLED EGGS.
Boil eggs for 20 minutes. Remove shells. Cut in halves and take out the yolks. Well mash yolks with a very little fresh butter, melted, and curry powder to taste. Stuff the whites with the mixture, join halves together, and arrange in a dish of watercress.
5. SCRAMBLED EGG AND TOMATO.
Skin the tomatoes and cook to pulp as in the preceding recipe. Beat the egg and stir it in to the hot tomato. Cook until just beginning to set.
6. OMELET, PLAIN.
Whisk the egg or eggs lightly to a froth. Put enough butter in the frying-pan to just cover when melted. When this is hot, pour the eggs into it, and stir gently with a wooden spoon until it begins to set. Fold over and serve.
7. SAVOURY OMELET.
2 eggs, 2 tablespoons milk, 1/2 teaspoon finely-chopped parsley or mixed herbs, 1/2 a very small onion (finely minced), 1 teaspoon fresh butter.
Put butter in the omelet pan. Beat the eggs to a fine froth, stir in the milk and parsley, and pour into the hot pan. Stir quickly to prevent sticking. As soon as it sets, fold over and serve.
8. SWEET OMELET.
Proceed as in recipe for Savoury Omelet, but substitute a dessertspoon castor sugar for the onion and parsley. When set, put warm jam in the middle. Fold over and serve.
9. SOUFFLÉ OMELET.
2 eggs, 1 dessertspoon castor sugar, grated yellow part of rind of 1/2 lemon, butter.
Separate the yolks from the whites of the eggs. Beat the yolks and add sugar and lemon. Whisk the whites to a stiff froth. Mix very gently with the yolks. Pour into hot buttered pan. Fold over and serve when set. Put jam in middle or not, as preferred.
IX.—PASTRY, SWEET PUDDINGS, &c.
1. PASTRY.
Pastry should usually be made with a very fine wholemeal flour, such as the "Nu-Era." There are times, however, when concessions to guests, etc., demand the use of white flour. In such an event, use a good brand of household flour. The more refined the kind, the less nutriment it contains. Never add baking-powders of any kind.
The secret of making good pastry lies in lightly mixing with a cool hand. If a spoon must be used, let it be a wooden one. Roll in one direction only, away from the person. If you must give a backward roll, let it be only once. Above all, roll lightly and little. The quicker the pastry is made the better.
2. PUFF PASTE.
1/2 lb. fresh-butter or 6 ozs. Mapleton's nutter, 1 yolk of egg or 1 teaspoon lemon juice, 1/2 lb. flour.
If butter is used, wrap it in a clean cloth and squeeze well to get rid of water. Beat the yolk of egg slightly. Put the flour on the paste board in a heap. Make a hole in the centre and put in the yolk of egg or lemon juice, and about 1 tablespoon of water. The amount of water will vary slightly according to the kind of flour, and less will be required if egg is used instead of lemon juice, but add enough to make a rather stiff paste. Mix lightly with the fingers and knead until the paste is nice and workable. But do it quickly!
Next, roll out the paste to about 1/4 inch thickness. Put all the butter or nutter in the centre of this paste and wrap it up neatly therein. Stand in a cool place for 15 minutes. Next, roll it out once, and fold it over, roll it out again and fold it over. Do this lightly. Put it away again for 15 minutes. Repeat this seven times! (I do not think many food-reformers will have the time or inclination to repeat the above performance often. Speaking for myself, I have only done it once. But as no instructions about pastry are supposed to be complete without a recipe for puff-paste, I include it.) It is now ready for use.
Do not forget to keep the board and pin well floured, or the pastry will stick. If wholemeal flour is used, it is well to have white flour for the board and pin. See also that the nutter is the same consistency as ordinary butter when kept in a medium temperature. If too hard, it must be cut up and slightly warmed. If oily, it must be cooled by standing tin in very cold water.
3. SHORT CRUST.
1/2 lb. flour, 3 ozs. nutter or butter.
Rub the nutter or butter lightly into the flour. Add enough cold water to make a fairly stiff paste. Roll it out to a 1/4 inch thickness. It is now ready for use.
4. APPLE CHARLOTTE.
Apples, castor sugar, grated lemon rind, butter or nutter, bread-crumbs or
Granose flakes.
Bread-crumbs make the more substantial, granose flakes the more dainty, charlotte. Use juicy apples. "Mealy" apples make a bad charlotte. If they must be used, a tablespoon or more, according to size, of water must be poured over the charlotte. Peel, core, and slice apples. Grease a pie-dish. Put in a thin layer of crumbs. On this dot a few small pieces nutter. Over this put a generous layer of chopped apple. Sprinkle with sugar and grated lemon rind. Repeat the process until the dish is full. Top with crumbs. Bake from 20 minutes to half an hour. When done, turn out on to dish, being careful not to break. Sprinkle a little castor sugar over. Serve hot or cold. Boiled custard may be served with it.
5. APPLE DUMPLINGS.
Peel and core some good cooking apples, but keep them whole. If you have no apple-corer, take out as much of the core as possible with a pointed knife-blade. Fill the hole with sugar and a clove. Make short paste and cut into squares. Fold neatly round and over apple. Bake from 30 to 45 minutes. If preferred boiled, tie each dumpling loosely in a cloth, put into boiling water and cook from 45 minutes to 1 hour.
6. APPLE AND TAPIOCA.
1/4 pint tapioca, 1 lb. apples, 1 pint water, sugar, lemon peel.
Soak the tapioca in the water overnight. Peel and core the apples, cut into quarters, stew, and put in a pie-dish. Sprinkle with sugar to taste, and the grated yellow part of a fresh lemon rind. Mix in the soaked tapioca and water. Bake about 1 hour. Serve cold, with or without boiled custard.
7. BATTER PUDDING.
2 eggs, 1 teacup flour, milk.
Well whisk the eggs. Sprinkle in the flour a spoonful at a time. Stir gently. When the batter becomes too thick to stir, thin it with a little milk. Then add more flour until it is again too thick, and again thin with the milk. Proceed in this way until all the flour is added, and then add sufficient milk to bring the batter to the consistency of rather thick cream. Have ready a very hot greased tin, pour in and bake in a hot oven until golden brown. By mixing in the way indicated above, a batter perfectly free from lumps is easily obtained.
8. BOMBAY PUDDING.
Cook a heaped tablespoon of semolina in 1/2 pint of milk to a stiff paste. Spread it on a plate to cool. (Smooth it neatly with a knife). When quite cold, cut it into four. Dip in a beaten egg and fry brown. Serve hot with lemon sauce. This may also be served as a savoury dish with parsley sauce. The quantity given above is sufficient for two people.
9. BREAD AND FRUIT PUDDING.
Line a pudding-basin with slices of bread from which the crust has been removed. Take care to fit the slices together as closely and neatly as possible. Stew any juicy fruit in season with sugar to taste. Do not add water. (Blackcurrants or raspberries and redcurrants are best for this dish.) When done, fill up the basin with the boiling fruit. Top with slices of bread fitted well in. Leave until cold. Turn out and serve.
10. BLANC MANGE, AGAR-AGAR.
1/4 oz. prepared agar-agar, 1-1/2 pints milk, sugar, flavouring.
Soak a vanilla pod, cinnamon stick, or strip of fresh lemon rind in the cold milk until flavoured to taste. Add sugar to taste. Put in a saucepan with the agar-agar, and simmer until dissolved (about 30 minutes). Pour through a hot strainer into wet mould. Turn out when cold.
11. CHOCOLATE JELLY.
1/4 oz. prepared agar-agar, 2 sticks chocolate, 1-1/2 pints milk, 1 tablespoon sugar, vanilla flavouring.
Soak a vanilla pod in the cold milk for 2 hours. Soak the agar-agar in cold water for half an hour. Squeeze water out and pull to pieces. Put it into saucepan with 1 gill milk and 1/2 gill water. Stand on one side of stove and let simmer very gently until quite dissolved. Meanwhile, dissolve chocolate in rest of milk, adding the sugar. Pour the agar-agar into the boiling chocolate through a hot strainer. This is necessary as there is generally a little tough scum on the liquid. (If put through a cold strainer, the agar-agar will set as it goes through.) When jelly is quite cold, turn out and serve.
12. CORNFLOUR SHAPE.
Stew some juicy plums or apples slowly to a pulp with sugar to taste. If apples are used, add cloves or a little grated lemon rind for flavouring. To every pint of fruit pulp allow a level tablespoon of cornflour. Dissolve the cornflour in a little cold water and stir into the boiling apple. Boil for 5 minutes, stirring all the time. Pour into a wet mould. Turn out and serve when cold.
13. CUSTARD, BOILED.
1 pint milk, 2 eggs, 1 tablespoon castor sugar, flavouring.
Put some thin strips of the yellow part of a lemon rind, or a vanilla pod, in the cold milk. Allow to stand 1 hour or more. Then take out the peel, add the sugar, and put over the fire in a double saucepan, if possible. Bring to the boil. Beat the eggs. Take the milk off the fire, let it stop boiling, and pour it slowly into the eggs, beating all the time. Put back into the saucepan over a slow fire and stir until the mixture thickens (about 20 minutes).
14. CUSTARD, HOGAN.
1 qt. milk, 8 eggs, 12 lumps sugar, 1 large tablespoon cornflour.
Flavour milk as in Boiled Custard. Put nearly all the milk and all the sugar into a 3-pint jug and stand in a saucepan of boiling water. While this is heating beat the eggs in one basin, and mix the cornflour with the remainder of the milk in another. Add the eggs to hot milk, stirring all the time, and finally add the cornflour. Stir until the mixture thickens (about 20 minutes).
15. DATE PUDDING.
This recipe is inserted especially for those who object to the use of manufactured sugar.
1/2 lb. "Ixion" plain wholemeal biscuits, 1/2 lb. dates, 2 ozs. nutter, 1 heaped tablespoon wholemeal flour, grated rind of 2 lemons, water.
Grind the biscuits to flour in the food-chopper. Wash, stone, and chop the dates. Grate off the yellow part of the lemon rinds. Rub the nutter into the biscuit-powder. Add dates, lemon peel, and flour. Mix with enough water to make a paste stiff enough for the spoon to just stand up in alone. Be very particular about this, as the tendency is to add rather too little than too much water, owing to the biscuit-powder absorbing it more slowly. Put into a greased pudding-basin or mould. Steam or boil for 5 hours. "Ixion Kornules" may be used instead of the biscuits, if preferred. They save the labour of grinding, but they need soaking for an hour in cold water before using. Well squeeze, add the other ingredients, and moisten with the water squeezed from the kornules.
Another method.—Use the recipe for Plum Pudding, leaving out all the dried fruit, almonds and sugar, substituting in their place 1 lb. dates or figs.
16. FIG PUDDING.
Use the recipe for Date Pudding, substituting for the dates washed chopped figs.
17. JAM ROLL, BOILED.
Make a short crust, roll out, spread with home-made jam, roll up, carefully fastening ends, and tie loosely in a floured pudding-cloth. Put into fast-boiling water and boil for 1 hour.
18. JAM ROLL, BAKED.
Mix the paste for the crust just a little stiffer than for the boiled pudding. Spread with jam and roll up. Bake on a greased tin for half-an-hour.
19. MILK PUDDINGS.
Nearly every housewife makes milk puddings, but only one in a hundred can make them properly. When cooked, the grains should be quite soft and encased with a rich thick cream. Failure to produce this result simply indicates that the pudding has been cooked too quickly, or that the proportion of grain to milk is too large.
Allow 2 level tablespoons, not a grain more, of cereal (rice, sago, semolina, tapioca) and 1 level tablespoon sugar to every pint of milk. Put in a pie-dish with a vanilla pod or some strips of lemon rind, and stand for an hour in a warm place, on the hob for example. Then take out the pod or peel and put into a fairly hot oven. As soon as the pudding boils, stir it well, and move to a cooler part of the oven. It should now cook very slowly for 2 hours.
20. JELLY, ORANGE.
7 juicy oranges, 1 lemon, 6 ozs. lump sugar, water, 1/4 oz. prepared agar-agar.
Rub the skins of the oranges and lemons well with some of the lumps of sugar, and squeeze the juice from the oranges and lemon. Soak the agar-agar in cold water for half an hour and then thoroughly squeeze. Warm in 1 gill of water until dissolved. Put the fruit juice, agar-agar, and enough water to make the liquid up to 1-1/2 pints, into a saucepan. Bring to the boil.
Pour through a hot strainer into a wet mould. Turn out when cold. If difficult to turn out, stand the mould in a basin of warm water for 2 or 3 seconds.
21. JELLY, RASPBERRY & CURRANT.
1 lb. raspberries, 1/2 lb. currants, 6 ozs. sugar, 1/4 oz. prepared agar-agar, 3/4 pint water.
Soak agar-agar as for Orange Jelly. Cook fruit with 1/2 pint water until well done. Strain through muslin. Warm the agar-agar until dissolved in 1 gill of water. Put the fruit juice, sugar, and agar-agar into a saucepan. If liquid measures less than 1-1/2 pints, add enough water to make up quantity. Bring to the boil, pour through a hot strainer into wet mould. Turn out when cold and serve.
22. MINCEMEAT.
1/2 lb. raisins, 1/2 lb. sultanas, 1/2 lb. currants, 1/2 lb. castor sugar, 1/4 lb. nutter, 1/2 a nutmeg, grated rind of 2 lemons, 1-1/2 lb. apples.
Well wash all the dried fruit in warm water, and allow to dry thoroughly before using. Stone the raisins, pick the sultanas, and rub the currants in a cloth to remove stalks. Wash and core the apples, but do not peel them. Put all the fruit and apple through a fine food-chopper. Add the sugar, grated lemon rind, and nutmeg. Lastly, melt the nutter and add. Stir the mixture well, put it into clean jars, and tie down with parchment covers until needed for mince pies.
23. NUT PASTRY.
Flake brazil nuts or pine-kernels in a nut mill, or chop very finely by hand. Do not put them through the food-chopper, as this pulps them together, and the pudding will be heavy. Allow 1 heaped cup of flaked nuts to 2 level cups of flour. Mix to a paste with cold water. Roll out very lightly. Cover with chopped apple and sugar, or apples and sultanas, or jam. Roll up. Tie loosely in a floured pudding-cloth. Put into fast-boiling water and boil for 1 hour.
24. PLAIN PUDDING.
1 lb. flour, 3 ozs. nutter, a full 1/2 pint water.
Rub the nutter very lightly into the flour, or chop like suet and mix in. Add the water gradually, and mix well. Put into a pudding-basin, and boil or steam for 3 hours. Turn out and serve with golden syrup, lemon sauce or jam.
25. PLUM PUDDING, CHRISTMAS.
1/2 lb. raisins, 1/2 lb. sultanas, 1/2 lb. currants, 1/2 lb. cane sugar, 1/2 lb. flour, 1/4 lb. sweet almonds, 1/4 lb. grated carrot, 1/4 lb. grated apple, 1/4 lb. nutter, grated rind of 2 lemons, 1/2 a nutmeg.
Well wash the raisins, sultanas and currants in hot water. Don't imagine that this will deprive them of their goodness. The latter is all inside the skin. What comes off from the outside is dirt, and a mixture of syrup and water through which they have been passed to improve their appearance. Rub the currants in a cloth to get off the stalks, pick the stalks from the sultanas, and stone the raisins. Put the currants and sultanas in a basin, just barely cover them with water, cover them with a plate, and put into a warm oven—until they have fully swollen, when the water should be all absorbed. (Currants treated in this way will not disagree with the most delicate child. They are abominations if not so treated.) Rub the nutter into the flour, or chop it as you would suet. Blanch the almonds by steeping them in boiling water for a few minutes: the skins may then be easily removed; chop very finely, or put through a mincer. Wash, core, and mince (but do not peel) the apples. Grate off the yellow part of the lemon rind. Mince or grate the carrots.
Mix together the flour, nutter, sugar, lemon rind, almonds and nutmeg. Then add the raisins, sultanas and currants. Lastly, add the grated carrot and apple, taking care not to lose any of the juice. Don't add any other moisture. If the directions have been exactly followed, it will be moist enough. Put it into pudding-basins or tin moulds greased with nutter, and boil or steam for 8 hours.
26. RAILWAY PUDDING.
2 eggs, 1 oz. butter, 3 ozs. flour, 2 ozs. castor sugar, 2 tablespoons milk.
Beat the butter and sugar to a cream. Separate the whites and yolks of the eggs. Beat the yolks, and add to sugar and butter. Add the flour, and lastly, stir in the whites, whisked to a froth, very gently. Have ready a hot, greased tin, pour in the mixture quickly, and bake in a very hot oven from 6 to 8 minutes. Warm some jam in a small saucepan. Slip the pudding out of the tin on to a paper sprinkled with castor sugar. Spread with jam quickly and roll up. Serve hot or cold.
27. SAGO SHAPE.
5 ozs. small sago, sugar to taste, 1-1/2 pints water, or water and fruit juice.
Wash the sago. Soak it for 4 hours. Strain off the water. Add to the strainings enough water or the juice from stewed fruit to make 1-1/2 pints liquid. Sweeten if necessary, but if the juice from stewed fruit is used it will probably be sweet enough. This dish is spoiled if made too sweet. Put the sago and 1-1/2 pints liquid into a saucepan and stew for 20 minutes. Now add the stewed fruit which you deprived of its juice, stir well, pour into a wet mould, and serve cold. Made with water only, and flavoured with a very little sugar and lemon peel, it may be served with stewed fruit.
28. SUMMER PUDDING.
Put a layer of sponge cake at the bottom of a glass dish. Cut up a tinned pine-apple (get the pine-apple chunks if possible) and fill dish, first pouring a little of the juice over the cake. Melt a very little agar-agar in the rest of the juice. (Allow half the 1/4 oz. to a pint of juice.) Pour over the mixture. Serve when cold.
29. TREACLE PUDDING.
Line a pudding-basin with short crust. Mix together in another basin some good cane golden syrup, enough bread-crumbs to thicken it, and some grated lemon rind. Put a layer of this mixture at the bottom of the pudding-basin, cover with a layer of pastry, follow with a layer of the mixture, and so on, until the basin is full. Top with a layer of pastry, tie on a floured pudding-cloth, and boil or steam for 3 hours.
30. TRIFLE, SIMPLE.
Put a layer of sponge cake at the bottom of a glass dish. Better still, use sections of good home-made jam sandwich. Pour hot boiled custard on to this until the cake is barely covered. Blanch some sweet almonds, and cut into strips. Stick these into the top of the cake until it somewhat resembles the back of a hedgehog! Serve when cold.
X.—CAKES AND BISCUITS.
Cakes need a hot oven for the first half-hour.
If possible, they should not be moved from one shelf to another, but the oven should be cooled gradually by opening the ventilators or lowering the gas. A moderate oven is needed to finish the cooking.
All fruit cakes (unless weighing less than 1 lb.) need to be baked from 1-1/2 to 2 hours. The larger the cake the slower should be the baking.
The cake tins should be lined with greased paper.
If a gas oven is used, stand the cake tin on a sand tin (see Cold Water
Bread).
If the cake becomes sufficiently brown on top before it is cooked through, cover with a greased paper to prevent burning.
To test if done, dip a clean knife into hot water. Thrust it gently down the centre of cake. If done, the knife will come out clean and bright.
1. CAKE MIXTURE.
1/4 lb. butter, 1/4 lb. castor sugar, 6 ozs. flour, 2 eggs.
Half butter and half nutter gives just as good results and is more economical.
Beat together the butter and sugar to a cream. Whisk the eggs to a stiff froth and add. Stir in the flour gently. Mix well. Add a little milk if mixture is too stiff. This makes a Madeira Cake.
For other varieties, mix with the flour 1 dessertspoon caraway seeds for Seed Cake; 2 tablespoons desiccated cocoanut for Cocoanut Cake; 6 ozs. candied cherries chopped in halves for Cherry Cake; 6 ozs. sultanas and the grated rind of 1 lemon for Sultana Cake; the grated yellow part of 2 lemon rinds for Lemon Cake.
2. SMALL CAKES.
Take 2 small eggs and half quantities of the ingredients given for the cake mixture. Add the grated rind of half a lemon for flavouring. Grease a tin for small cakes with 9 depressions. Put a spoonful of the mixture in each depression. Bake for 20 minutes in a hot oven.
3. COCOANUT BISCUITS.
1/2 lb. desiccated cocoanut, 1/4 lb. sugar, 2 small eggs.
Proceed as for Macaroons, but make the cakes smaller. Bake in a moderate oven for half an hour.
4. "CORN WINE AND OIL" CAKES.
1 lb. wholemeal flour, 3/4 lb. raisins, 4 tablespoons walnut oil, 1/4 pint water.
This recipe was especially concocted for non-users of milk and eggs. Stir the oil well into the flour. Add the washed and stoned raisins (or seedless raisins, or sultanas). Mix to a dough with the water. Divide dough into two portions. Roll out, form into rounds, and cut each round into 6 small scones. Bake in a hot oven for half an hour.
5. CURRANT SANDWICH.
8 ozs. butter, 1 lb. flour, 1/4 lb. cane sugar, currants.
Mix flour and sugar, and rub in the butter. Mix with water to plastic dough. Divide dough into two cakes, 1 inch in thickness. Cover one evenly with currants, lay the other on top, and roll out to the thickness of one-third of an inch. Cut into sections, and bake in a hot oven for about 30 minutes.
6. APPLE SANDWICH.
Make a short crust (see recipe). Well grease some shallow jam sandwich tins. Roll out the paste very thin and line with it the tins. Peel, core, and finely chop some good, juicy apples. Spread well all over the paste. Sprinkle with castor sugar and grated lemon rind. Cover with another layer of thin paste. Bake for about 20 minutes in a hot oven. When done, take carefully out of the tin to cool. Cut into wedges, sprinkle with castor sugar, and pile on a plate.
7. FANCY BISCUITS.
8 ozs. flour, 4 ozs. butter, or 3 ozs. butter and 1 egg, 4 ozs. cane sugar, flavouring.
Flavouring may consist of lemon rind, desiccated cocoanut, cooked currants, carraway seed, mace, ginger, etc. Beat the butter and sugar to a cream, add flavouring and flour. Mix with the beaten egg, if used; it not, treat like the Lemon Short Cake. Roll out, cut into shapes, and bake about 10 minutes.
8. GINGER NUTS.
1/2 lb. nutter, 1/2 lb. sugar, 1 pint molasses or golden syrup, 1/2 oz. ground cloves and all-spice mixed, 2 tablespoons cinnamon, flour to form dough.
Beat the nutter and sugar together; add the molasses, spice, etc., and just enough flour to form a plastic dough. Knead well, roll out, cut into small biscuits, and bake on oiled or floured tins in a very moderate oven.
9. JAM SANDWICH.
Mix ingredients and prepare 2 jam sandwich tins as for Sponge Cake (see recipe). Pour mixture in tins and bake for about 10 minutes in a hot oven. Take out, spread one round with warmed jam, place the other on top, and cut when cold.
10. LEMON SHORT CAKE.
1 lb. flour, 7 ozs. nutter, 1/4 lb. sugar, rind of 1 lemon.
Mix together nutter and sugar, add grated lemon rind, work in flour, and knead well. Press into sheets about 1/2 in. thick. Prick all over. Bake in a moderate oven for about 20 minutes.
An easy way of baking for the inexpert cook who may find it difficult to avoid breaking the sheets, is to well grease a shallow jam-sandwich tin, sprinkle it well with castor sugar, as for sponge cakes, and press the short cake into it, well smoothing the top with a knife, and, lastly, pricking it.
II. MACAROONS. 5 ozs. sweet almonds, 5 ozs. castor sugar, 2 eggs.
Blanch the almonds and flake them in a nut mill. Whisk the eggs to a stiff froth adding the sugar a teaspoonful at a time. Add the almonds, and stir lightly. Drop the mixture, a dessertspoon at a time, on to well-oiled paper, or, better still, rice-paper. Shape with a knife into small cakes and put the half of a blanched almond into the centre of each. Bake in a moderate oven.
12. SPONGE CAKE.
Take the weight of two eggs in castor sugar and flour.
For a richer cake take the weight of two eggs in sugar and the weight of one only in flour.
Well grease the cake-tin, and sprinkle with castor sugar until thoroughly covered, and shake out any that remains loose.
Well whisk the eggs with a coiled wire beater. They must be quite stiff when done. Add the sugar, a teaspoon at a time, while whisking. Or separate the yolks and whites, beating the yolks and sugar together and whisking the whites on a plate with a knife before adding to the yolks. Lastly, dredge in the flour. Stir lightly, but do not beat, or the eggs will go down. Pour mixture into tin, and bake about one hour in a moderate oven.
13. SULTANA SCONES.
1 oz. cane sugar, 3 ozs. nutter, 1 lb. flour, 1/4 lb. sultanas, a short 1/2 pint water.
Mix the flour and sugar; rub in the nutter; add sultanas; make it into a dough with the water; roll out about 1/2 in. thick; form into scones; bake in a moderate oven.
14. SUSSEX CAKE.
1 lb. flour, 6 ozs. nutter, 1/4 lb. sultanas, 1/4 lb. castor sugar, grated lemon rind.
This cake is included especially for the non-users of milk and eggs. Of course it does not turn out quite like the orthodox cake; some people might even call it "puddeny," but it is not by any means unlike the substantial household cake if the directions are minutely followed and the baking well done. But if any attempt is made to make it rich, disaster follows, and it becomes as heavy as the proverbial lead. Made as follows, however, I am told it is quite common in some country places:—Beat the nutter and sugar to a cream. Upon the amount of air incorporated during this beating depends the lightness of the cake. Beat the flour into the creamed nutter. Now add enough water to make cake of a consistency to not quite drop off the spoon. Put the mixture into a greased hot qr. qtn. tin. Put in a very hot oven until nicely brown. This will take from 20 minutes to half an hour. Cover top with greased paper, and allow oven to get slightly cooler. The baking will take from 1-1/2 to 2 hours.
XI.—JAM, MARMALADE, &c.
Jam simply consists of fresh fruit boiled with a half to two-thirds its weight of white cane sugar until the mixture jellies.
Nearly every housekeeper has her own recipe for jam. One that I know of uses a whole pound of sugar to a pound of fruit and boils it for nearly two hours. The result is a very stiff, sweet jam, much more like shop jam than home-made jam. Its only recommendation is that it will keep for an unlimited time. Some recipes include water. But unless distilled water can be procured, it is better not to dilute the fruit. The only advantage gained is an increase of bulk. The jam may be made just as liquid by using rather less sugar in proportion to the fruit. A delicious jam is made by allowing 1/2 lb. sugar to every pound of fruit and cooking for half an hour from the time it first begins to boil. But unless this is poured immediately into clean, hot, dry jars, and tied down very tightly with parchment covers, it will not keep. Nevertheless, too much sugar spoils the flavour of the fruit, and too long boiling spoils the quality of the sugar. A copper or thick enamelled iron pan is needed.
The best recipe for ordinary use allows 3/4 lb. sugar to each pound fruit. Put the fruit in the pan with a little of the sugar, and when this boils, add the rest. Boil rather quickly for an hour. Keep well skimmed. Pour into hot, dry jars, and cover.
1. FRUIT NUT FILLING.
For small, open tarts, the following mixture is a good substitute for the lemon curd that goes to make cheese cakes. Peel, core and quarter some juicy apples. Put in a double saucepan (or covered jar) with some strips of lemon peel (yellow part only) and cane sugar to taste. Cook slowly to a pulp and, when cold, remove the lemon rind. Grate finely, or mill some Brazil nuts. Mix apple pulp and ground nut together in such proportions as to make a mixture of the consistency of stiff jam. Fill tarts with mixture and sprinkle top with ground nut. It must be used the same day as made.
2. JAM WITHOUT SUGAR.
To every pound of fresh fruit allow 1/2 lb. dates. Wash the fruit, put it in the preserving pan, and heat slowly, stirring well to draw out the juice. Wash and stone the dates. Add to the fruit, and simmer very gently for 45 minutes. Put immediately into clean, hot, dry jars, and tie on parchment covers at once.
3. LEMON CURD.
1 lb. lump sugar, 3 lemons (the rinds of 2 grated), yolks of 6 eggs, 1/4 lb. butter.
Put the butter into a clean saucepan; melt, but do not let it boil. Add the sugar, and stir until it is dissolved. Then add the beaten yolks, and, lastly, the grated lemon rind and juice. Stir over a slow fire until the mixture looks like honey and becomes thick. Put into jars, cover, and tie down as for jam.
4. MARMALADE.
To 1 large Seville orange (if small, count 3 as 2) allow 3/4 lb. cane sugar and 3/4 pint water. Wash and brush oranges, remove pips, cut peel into fine shreds (better still, put through a mincer). Put all to soak in the water for 24 hours. Boil until rinds are soft. Stand another 24 hours. Add the sugar, and boil until marmalade jellies. If preferred, half sweet and half Seville oranges may be used.
5. VEGETABLE MARROW JAM.
Peel the marrow, remove seeds, and cut into dice. To each pound of marrow allow 1 lb. cane sugar; to every 3 lbs. of marrow allow the juice and grated yellow part of rind of 1 lemon and 1/2 a level teaspoon ground ginger. Put the marrow into the preserving pan, sprinkle well with some of the sugar, and stand for 12 hours. Add the rest of the sugar, and boil slowly for 2 hours. Add the lemon juice, rind, and ginger at the end of 1-1/2 hours.
XII.—SALADS, BEVERAGES, &c.
1. SALAD.
Lettuce, tomatoes, mustard and cress, cucumber, olive or walnut oil, lemon juice.
Wash the green stuff and finely shred it. Peel the cucumber, skin the tomatoes (if ripe, the skins will come away easily) and cut into thin slices. Place in the bowl in alternate layers. Let the top layer be lettuce with a few slices of tomato for garnishing. Slices of hard-boiled egg may be added if desired.
For the salad dressing, to every tablespoonful of oil allow 1 of lemon juice. Drip the oil slowly into the lemon juice, beating with a fork all the time. Pour over the salad.
2. SALAD.
Beetroot, mustard and cress, olive or walnut oil, lemon juice, cold vegetables.
Chop the cold vegetables. French beans and potatoes make the nicest salad. To every 2 cups of vegetables allow 1 cup of chopped beetroot. Mix well together, and pour over salad dressing as for No. 1. A level teaspoonful of pepper is added to a gill of the dressing by those who do not object to its use.
3. FRUIT SALAD.
Take sweet, ripe oranges, apples, bananas, and grapes. Peel the oranges, quarter them, and remove skin and pips. Peel and core the apples and cut into thin slices. Wash and dry the grapes, and remove from stalks. Skin and slice the bananas.
Put the prepared fruit into a glass dish in alternate layers. Squeeze the juice from 2 sweet oranges and pour over the salad.
Any other fresh fruit in season may be used for this salad. Castor sugar may be sprinkled over if desired, and cream used in place of the juice. Grated nuts are also a welcome addition.
4. LEMON CORDIAL.
12 lemons, 1 lb. lump sugar.
Put the sugar into a clean saucepan. Grate off the yellow part of the rinds of 6 lemons and sprinkle over the sugar. Now moisten the sugar with as much water as it will absorb. Boil gently to a clear syrup. Add the juice from the lemons, stir well, and pour into clean, hot, dry bottles. Cork tightly and cover with sealing-wax or a little plaster-of-Paris mixed with water and laid on quickly. Add any quantity preferred to cold or hot water to prepare beverage, or use neat as sauce for puddings.
5. LIME CORDIAL. The same as for Lemon, but use 13 limes.
6. ORANGE CORDIAL.
The same as for Lemon, but use 3/4 lb. sugar.
A detailed list of Fruit and Herb Teas will be found in the companion volume to this, "Food Remedies."
7. WALLACE CHEESE.
1 qt. milk, 6 tablespoons lemon juice.
Strain the lemon juice and pour it into the boiling milk. Lay a piece of fine, well-scalded muslin over a colander. Pour the curdled milk into this. When it has drained draw the edges of the muslin together and squeeze and press the cheese. Leave it in the muslin in the colander, with a weight on it for 12 hours. It will then be ready to serve.
This cheese is almost tasteless, and many people prefer it so. But if the flavour of lemon is liked, use more lemon juice. The whey squeezed from the cheese is a wholesome drink when quite fresh.
XIII.—EXTRA RECIPES.
1. BARLEY WATER.
1 dessert spoon Robinson's "Patent" Barley, 1/2 a lemon, 3 lumps cane sugar.
Rub the lumps of sugar on the lemon until they are bright yellow in colour and quite wet. (It is the fragrant juice contained in the yellow surface of the lemon rind that gives the delicious lemon flavour without acidity.) Mix the barley to a thin paste with a little cold water. This is poured into a pint of boiling water, well stirred until it comes to the boil again and then left to boil for five minutes, after which it is done. Add the sugar and lemon juice.
2. BOILED HOMINY.
Take one part of Hominy and 2-1/2 parts of water. Have the water boiling; add the hominy and boil for fifteen minutes; keep stirring to keep from burning.
3. BROWN GRAVY.
1 dessert-spoon butter, 1 dessert-spoon white flour, hot water.
Melt the butter in a small iron saucepan or frying pan and sprinkle into it the flour. Keep stirring gently with a wooden spoon until the flour is a rich dark brown, but not burnt, or the flavour will be spoilt. Then add very gently, stirring well all the time, rather less than half-a-pint of hot water. Stir until the mixture boils, when it should be a smooth brown gravy to which any flavouring may be added. Strained tomato pulp is a nice addition, but a teaspoonful of lemon juice will suffice.
4. BUTTERED RICE AND PEAS.
1 cup unpolished rice, 3 cups water, 2 cups fresh-shelled peas, 1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley, 1 teaspoon lemon juice, butter size of walnut.
Put the rice on in the water and bring gradually to the boil. Boil hard for five minutes, stirring once or twice. Draw it to side of stove, where it is comparatively cool, or, if a gas stove is used, put the saucepan on an asbestos mat and turn the gas as low as possible. The water should now gradually steam away, leaving the rice dry and well cooked.
Steam the peas in a separate pan. If young, about 20 minutes should be sufficient; they are spoiled by over-cooking.
Add the cooked peas to the cooked rice, with the butter, parsley, and lemon juice. Stir over the fire until the mixture is thoroughly hot.
Serve with or without tomato sauce and new potatoes.
5. CONVALESCENTS' SOUP.
1 small head celery, 1 large onion, 1 carrot, 1 turnip, 3 tablespoons coarsely chopped parsley, P.R. Barley malt meal, Mapleton's or P.R. almond or pine-kernel cream, 3 pints boiling water.
Well wash the vegetables and slice them, and add them with the parsley to the boiling water. (The water should be distilled, if possible, and the cooking done in a large earthenware jar or casserole. See notes re casseroles in Chap. IV.) Simmer gently for 2 hours, or until quite soft. Then strain through a hair sieve. Do not rub the vegetables through the sieve to make a purée, simply strain and press all the juices out. The vegetable juices are all wanted, but not the fibre. To each pint of this vegetable broth allow 1 heaped tablespoon barley malt meal, 1 tablespoon nut cream, and 1/2 lb. tomatoes. Mix the meal to a thin paste with some of the cooled broth (from the pint). Put the rest of the pint in a saucepan or casserole and bring to the boil. Add the meal and boil for 10 minutes. Break up the tomatoes and cook slowly to a pulp (without water). Rub through a sieve. (The skin and pips are not to be forced through.) Add this pulp to the soup. Lastly mix the nut-cream to a thin cream by dripping slowly a little water or cool broth into it, stirring hard with a teaspoon all the time. Add this to the soup, re-heat, but do not boil, serve.
This soup is rather irksome to make, but is intensely nourishing and easy of digestion. The pine-kernel cream is the more digestible of the two creams. Care should be taken not to cook these nut creams. If the soup is for an invalid care should also be taken that, while getting all the valuable vegetable juices, no skin or pips, etc., are included. The vegetable broth may be prepared a day in advance, but it will not keep for three days except in very cold weather. (When it is desired to keep soup it should be brought to the boil with the lid of the stockpot or casserole on, and put away without the lid being removed or the contents stirred.)
6. FINE OATMEAL BISCUITS.
2 ozs. flour, 3-1/2 ozs. Robinson's "Patent" Groats, 2 ozs. castor sugar, 2 ozs. butter, 2 eggs.
Cream the butter and sugar, add the eggs, then the flour and groats, which should be mixed together. Roll out thin and cut out with a cutter. Bake in a moderate oven until a light colour.
7. FINE OATMEAL GRUEL.
1 heaped tablespoon Robinson's "Patent" Groats, 1 pint milk or water.
Mix the groats with a wineglassful of cold water, gradually added, into a smooth paste, pour this into a stew-pan containing nearly a pint of boiling water or milk, stir the gruel on the fire (while it boils) for ten minutes.
8. MACARONI CHEESE.
1/4 lb. macaroni, 1-1/2 ozs. cheese, 1/2 pint milk, 1 teaspoon flour, butter, pepper.
The curled macaroni is the best among the ordinary kinds. Better still, however, is the macaroni made with fine wholemeal flour which is stocked by some food-reform stores. Parmesan cheese is nicest for this dish. Stale cheese spoils it.
Wash the macaroni. Put it into fast-boiling water and keep boiling until very tender. Drain off the water and replace it with the 1/2 pint of milk. Bring to the boil and stir in the flour mixed to a thin paste with cold milk or water. Simmer for 5 minutes. Grate the cheese finely.
Butter a shallow pie-dish. Put the thickened milk and macaroni in alternate layers with the grated cheese. Dust each layer with pepper, if liked. Top with grated cheese. Put some small pieces of butter on top of the grated cheese. Put in a very hot oven until nicely browned.
9. MANHU HEALTH CAKE.
1/4 lb. butter, 1/2 lb. castor sugar, 1/2 lb. Manhu flour, 1 oz. rice flour, 6 ozs. crystallised ginger, 4 eggs.
Cream butter and sugar, adding eggs, two at once, not beaten. Beat each time after adding eggs, add rice flour, ginger, and lastly flour. Bake in moderate oven.
10. MANHU HOMINY PUDDING.
1-1/2 teacupfuls of boiled Hominy (see below), 1 pint or less of sweet milk, 1/2 teacupful of sugar, 2 eggs (well beaten), 1 teacupful of raisins, spice to taste.
Mix together and bake twenty minutes in a moderately hot oven. Serve hot with cream and sugar or sauce.
11. PARKIN.
2 ozs. butter, 2 ozs. moist sugar, 6 ozs. best treacle, 1/2 lb. medium oatmeal, 1/4 lb. flour, 1/2 oz. powdered ginger, grated rind of 1 lemon.
Some people prefer the addition of carraway seeds to lemon rind. If these are used a level teaspoonful will be sufficient for the quantities given above. The old-fashioned black treacle is almost obsolete now, and is replaced commercially by golden syrup, many brands of which are very pale and of little flavour. To make successful Parkin a good brand of pure cane syrup is needed. I always use "Glebe." This is generally only stocked by a few "high-class " grocers or large stores, but it is worth the trouble of getting. Some Food Reform Stores stock molasses, and this was probably used for the original Parkin. It is strongly flavoured and blacker than black treacle, but its taste is not unpleasant. For the sugar, a good brown moist cane sugar, like Barbados, is best. Put the treacle and butter (or nutter) into a jar and put into a warm oven until the butter is dissolved. Then stir in the sugar. Mix together the oatmeal, flour, ginger and seeds or lemon rind. Pour the treacle, etc., into this, and mix to a paste. Roll out lightly on a well-floured board to a 1/4 inch thickness. Bake in a well-greased flat tin for about 50 minutes, in a rather slow oven. To test if done, dip a skewer into boiling water, wipe, and thrust into the Parkin; if it comes out clean the latter is done. Cut into squares, take out of tin, and allow to cool.
12. PROTOSE CUTLETS.
1 lb. minced Protose, 1 lb. plain boiled rice, 1 small grated onion, 1/2 teaspoon sage.
Mix the ingredients with a little milk; shape into cutlets, using uncooked macaroni for the bone, and bake in a moderate oven about 45 minutes.
13. PROTOSE SALAD.
1 breakfast-cupful Protose cubes, 1/3 breakfast cup minced celery, 1 hard-boiled egg, 3 small radishes, juice of 2 lemons.
Cut Protose into cubes, chop the hard-boiled egg, slice the radishes. Add to the minced celery. Pour over these ingredients the lemon juice and allow the mixture to stand for one hour. Serve upon fresh crisp lettuce.
14. RISOTTO.
3/4 lb. rice, 1/2 lb. cheese, 4 large onions.
Slice and fry the onions in a stew-pan in a little fat; when brown, add 1-1/2 pints water and the rice. Let it cook about an hour, and then add the grated cheese.
This dish may be varied with tomatoes when in season.
15. ROYAL NUT ROAST.
1/2 lb. pine kernels, 2 medium-sized tomatoes, 1 medium onion, 2 new-laid eggs.
Wash, dry and pick over the pine kernels and put them through the macerating machine. Skin and well mash the tomatoes. Grate finely the onion. Mix all together and beat to a smooth batter. Whisk the eggs to a stiff froth and add to the mixture. Pour into a greased pie-dish. Bake in a moderate oven until a golden-brown colour. It should "rise" like a cake. It may be eaten warm with brown gravy or tomato sauce, or cold with salad.
16. STEWED NUTTOLENE.
Slice one half-pound nuttolene into a baking dish, adding water enough to cover nicely. Place it in the oven, and let it bake for an hour. A piece of celery may be added to give flavour, or a little mint. When done, thicken the water with a little flour, and serve.
17. WELSH RAREBIT.
Cheese, butter, bread, pepper.
Cut thin slices of cheese and put them with a little butter into a saucepan. When well melted pour over hot well-buttered toast. Dust with pepper. Put into a very hot oven for a few minutes and serve.
18. YEAST BREAD.
7 lbs. flour, salt to taste (about 3/4 ounce), 1 ounce yeast, 1-1/2 quarts of warm water.
Put the flour into a pan or large basin, add salt to taste, and mix it well in. Put the yeast with a lump of sugar into a small basin, and pour a little of the warm water on to if. Cold or hot water kills the yeast. Leave this a little while until the yeast bubbles, then smooth out all lumps and pour into a hole made in the middle of the flour. Pour in the rest of the warm water, and begin to stir in the flour. Now begin kneading the dough, and knead until the whole is smooth and damp, and leaves the hand without sticking, which will take about 15 to 20 minutes. Time spent in kneading is not wasted.
Set the pan in a warm place, covered with a clean cloth. Be careful not to put the pan where it can get too hot. The fender is a good place, but to the side of the fire rather than in front. Let it rise at least an hour, but should it not have risen very much—say double the size—let it stand longer, as the bread cannot be light if the dough has not risen sufficiently.
Now have a baking-board well floured, and turn all the dough on to it. Have tins or earthenware pans, or even pie-dishes well greased. Divide the dough, putting enough to half fill the pans or tins. Put these on the fender to rise again for 20 to 30 minutes, then bake in a hot oven, about 350 degrees (a little hotter than for pastry).
Bake (for a loaf about 2 lbs. in a moderate oven) from 30 to 40 minutes. Of course the time depends greatly on the size of the loaves and the heat of the oven.
The above recipe produces the ordinary white loaf. Better bread would, in my opinion, result from the use of a very fine wholemeal flour such as the "Nu-Era," and the omission of salt.
XIV.—UNFIRED FOOD.
The true unfired feeder is an ideal, i.e., he exists only in idea, at least so far as my experience goes! To be truly consistent the unfired feeder should live entirely on raw foods—fruit, nuts and salads. But most unfired feeders utilise heat to a slight extent, although they do not actually cook the food. In addition, most of them use various breadstuffs and biscuits which, of course, are cooked food. "Unfired" bread is sold by some health food stores, and is a preparation of wheat which has been treated and softened by a gentle heat.
Cereals should never be eaten with fruit, but may be eaten with salads and cheese. The mid-day meal of the unfired feeder should consist of nuts or cheese and a large plate of well-chopped salad with some kind of dressing over it; olive oil and lemon-juice or one of the nut-oils and lemon-juice. Orange-juice or raw carrot-juice may be used if preferred. When extra nourishment is desired a well-beaten raw egg may be mixed with the dressing. Fresh cream may also be used as dressing.
Fruit is best taken at the evening meal, from 1-1/2 to 2 lbs. Nothing should be taken with it except a little nut-cream or fresh cream and white of egg.
Distilled water is a great asset to the unfired feeder, because it softens dried fruits so much better than hard water. It can be manufactured at home, or the "Still Salutaris" bought through a chemist or grocer. The "Still Salutaris" water is about 1/3 per gallon jar. If the water is distilled at home, a "Gem" Still will be needed. (The Gem Supplies Co., Ltd., 67, Southwark Street, London S.E.). It is best to use this over a gas ring or "Primus" oil stove. The cost of the water comes out at about one penny per gallon, according to the cost of the fuel used.
Distilled Water should never be put into metal saucepans or kettles, as it is a very powerful solvent. A small enamelled kettle or saucepan should be used for heating it, and it should be stored in glass or earthenware vessels only. It should not be kept for more than a month, and should always be kept carefully covered.
For salads it is not necessary to depend entirely upon the usual salad vegetables, such as lettuce, endive, watercress, mustard and cress. The very finely shredded hearts of raw Brussel sprouts are excellent, and even the heart of a Savoy cabbage. Then the finely chopped inside sticks of a tender head of celery are very good. Also young spinach leaves, dandelion leaves, sorrel and young nasturtium leaves. The root vegetables should also be added in their season, raw carrot, turnip, beet, onion and leek, all finely grated. A taste for all the above-mentioned vegetables, eaten raw, is not acquired all at once. It is best to begin by making the salad of the ingredients usually preferred and mixing in a small quantity of one or two of the new ingredients. For those who find salads very difficult to digest, it is best to begin with French or cabbage lettuce and skinned tomatoes only, or, as an alternative, a saucerful of watercress chopped very finely, as one chops parsley.
1. COTTAGE CHEESE.
Allow the juice of two medium-sized lemons to 1 quart of milk. Put the milk and strained lemon-juice into an enamelled pan or fireproof casserole and place over a gas ring or oil stove with the flame turned very low. Warm the milk, but do not allow it to boil. When the milk has curdled properly the curds are collected together, forming an "island" surrounded by the whey, which should be a clear liquid. Lay a piece of cheese-cloth over a colander and pour into it the curds and whey. Gather together the edges of the cloth and hang up the curds to drain for at least thirty minutes. Then return to the colander (still in cloth) and put a small plate or saucer (with a weight on top) on the cheese. It should be left under pressure for at least one hour. This cheese will keep two days in cold weather, but must be made fresh every day in warm weather. The milk used should be some hours old, as quite new milk will not curdle. The juice from one lemon at a time should be put into the milk, as the staler the milk the less juice will be needed. Too much juice will prevent curdling as effectually as too little.
This cheese is greatly improved by the addition of fresh cream. Allow two tablespoonsful of cream to the cheese from one quart of milk. Mash the cheese with a fork and lightly beat the cream into it.
Note. Cheese-cloth, sometimes known as cream-cloth, may be bought at most large drapers' shops at from 6d. to 8d. per yard. One yard cuts into four cloths large enough for straining the cheese from one quart of milk. Ordinary muslin is not so useful as it is liable to tear. Wash in warm water (no soap or soda), then scald well.
2. DRIED FRUITS.
These should be well washed in lukewarm water and examined for worms' eggs, etc. Then cover with distilled water and let stand for 12 hours or until quite soft and swollen. Prunes, figs, and raisins are all nice treated in this way.
3. EGG CREAM.
2 tablespoons fresh cream, the white of 1 egg.
Put the white of egg on to a plate and beat to a stiff froth with the flat of a knife. (A palette knife is the best.) Then beat the cream into it. This makes a nourishing dressing for either vegetable salad or fruit salad. Especially suitable for invalids and persons of weak digestion.
4. PINE-KERNEL CHEESE.
Wash the kernels and dry well in a clean cloth. Spread out on the cloth and carefully pick over for bad kernels or bits of hard shell. Put through the macerator of the nut-butter mill. Well mix with the beaten pulp of a raw tomato (first plunge it into boiling water for a few minutes, after which the skin is easily removed). Raw carrot juice, or any other vegetable or fruit juice pulp may also be used.
5. RAW CARROT JUICE.
Well scrub a medium sized carrot and grate it to a pulp on an ordinary tinned bread grater. Put the pulp into a cheese cloth and squeeze out the juice into a cup.
6. TWICE BAKED BREAD.
Cut moderately thin slices of white bread. Put into a moderate oven and bake until a golden colour.
Granose biscuits warmed in the oven until crisp serve the same purpose as twice-baked bread, i.e., a cereal food in which the starch has been dextrinised by cooking. But the biscuits being soft and flaky can be enjoyed by those for whom the twice-baked bread would be too hard.