The progress meatless cook book

You will find, by sometimes pleasant experience (sometimes the reverse) that rising before 6.30 o’clock summer mornings, and before 7 in winter, is conducive to a smooth day. Of course, this is under ordinary conditions and environments. You have time to “do” your hair and don a neat shirt waist or dressing jacket and skirt. If a plain tulle veil to match the hair in color is fastened lightly over the head, it does not look unsightly, and may be removed before luncheon, a curl or puff (as the style may be) added, if desired, and the hair found dressed for the day. It is also surprising how such a filmy, almost unseen, cover prevents dust entering the hair.

While breakfast is cooking, a carpet sweeper can be run over rugs in the downstairs rooms; the hardwood floors wiped with a “dustless duster” (which absorbs the dust and polishes at the same time), or with a dust cloth two feet square made by stitching old stockings together.

After breakfast, a few moments will suffice for the dusting of furniture and bric-a-brac, and the first floor is cleaned for the day.

Dusters should be frequently shaken out of doors while dusting.

After the breakfast work is done, the upstairs can be arranged and dusted.

All bath-rooms, wash bowls and toilets should then be left in absolute cleanliness, and hardwood stairs wiped with a dust cloth if necessary. In some houses, twice a week is sufficient to clean stairs and bathroom floors, and once in four weeks for cleaning windows.

If the work in a house is attended to regularly, there is never any need for the old fashioned “House Cleaning.”

Whenever rugs and draperies need cleaning, have them cleaned immediately.

THE KITCHEN SINK

If it is convenient, by all means have a row of brass hooks over the sink, on which to hang the following articles, viz:

A small three-cornered piece of zinc, each corner differing in shape, to use in cleaning corners of pans, etc. Have a hole in one corner to hang by.

A small stiff bristled brush for cleaning vegetables, with a screw-eye in one end to hang by.

A wire dish for holding laundry and toilet soap, and another for sapolio and a small piece of flannel (or cotton cloth).

A perforated dish into which to empty coffee grounds, etc., to prevent stoppage of the sink drain.

A wire soap shaker to hold scraps of soap.

An ordinary granite water dipper.

A medium size sauce pan also utilized for dipping.

Do not omit a wire dish cloth.

A long wire with bristles on one end for cleaning bottles.

A medium size scrubbing brush with pointed ends for cleaning the sink with Dutch Cleanser.

A granite dish pan should hang or be placed near the sink, also a granite basin in which to wash vegetables.

A sink should have boiling water poured in it each day, and if signs of stoppage occur, throw in a handful of copperas and usually the water poured in during the day will dissolve the copperas slowly and clean the pipes.

On a shelf near the sink it is well to keep a can of Dutch Cleanser, a package of borax, if the water is “hard,” and a package of pearline or similar powder.

THE KITCHEN FLOOR

The best linoleum is the most satisfactory and lasting cover for kitchen, pantry and back hall floors. It cleans beautifully with a scrub brush and naphtha soap, rinsing and wiping dry. Ordinarily, once a week is sufficient for scrubbing the kitchen, but the floor should be wiped or carefully mopped with a small mop at least every other day or oftener, if necessary.

For spots and stains difficult to remove from linoleum, Dutch Cleanser is almost a certain remedy.

THE KITCHEN TABLE

If possible, have what is termed a combination table, and have a tinner cover the top with zinc. On this all hot dishes may be set with no ill results, and it is most easy to clean. If you can enjoy the luxury of a kitchen cabinet, select one with a tall cupboard on top, as that uses space otherwise wasted. If not already zinc covered, have it done. The cost is small, and the comfort and time saving enormous. In the upper drawers in the combination table, you can keep whatever articles you wish. But somewhere, manage to keep a bunch of papers, for their use is manifold. When gathering the dishes preparatory to washing them, always crush several pieces of paper and wipe out grease; wipe off the table with paper when grease has been spilled; and wipe off the stove with paper. All this is a great aid to greater comfort in washing these things.

THE GARBAGE

In some cities a garbage collector calls on certain days, and a convenient way is to keep an old coal hod indoors (so as not to attract flies) with a newspaper in it, into which to empty garbage as it accumulates during the day. This can be easily emptied into an outside garbage can each night.

These matters must be governed by existing conditions.

AROUND THE KITCHEN STOVE

Brass hooks are convenient for holding the following, viz: Dust pan, soft brush, and old whisk broom.

Asbestos plates or old shallow baking pans to invert under kettles to prevent burning.

Cover squares of old shoe leather with ticking or any material suitable for holders, leaving a space about three inches not sewed in one edge of cover through which to slip leather when cover is washed. Sew a brass ring to one corner to hang by.

Hem a square of ticking and attach a brass ring to hang by, to use in handling hot dishes about the stove.

A turkey wing is most handy to brush under low furniture.

Provide a place for drying dish cloths and towels.

For drying glass and silver, make towels of linen, to do away with lint. But nothing seems so satisfactory for drying china, as the soft towels made from flour and sugar bags, the one hundred pound size.

Knitted dish cloths of fine twine can now be purchased in any linen department for a few cents. They are durable and just right to handle.

By all means have a nickle tea kettle.

OTHER HELPS

Have a small dish in refrigerator or other cool place, into which to drop egg shells which are washed before breaking eggs for cooking, and save for settling coffee.

A good can opener and cork screw.

A good, not too heavy broom, and an old one.

Save all worn out flannels and soft cotton underwear for cleaning purposes.

Pieces of medium grade sandpaper tacked over a strip of board 4×10 inches, similar to a razor sharpener, is fine for whetting knives.

Always keep a pair of clean shears convenient for cutting orange and lemon peel, certain vegetables, etc.

A rubber window dryer, used on or off the handle.

Get a good Fireless Cooker.

And a steam cooker, if you can—a copper one, or it will rust out, and get it with two doors.

Three or four empty pound baking powder cans, with covers.

A light weight mop.

Good scrub brush.

Wire basket to keep vegetables from burning to bottom of kettle.

Buy a good clock.

COOKING UTENSILS

A word to the wise: have plenty and proper dishes for cooking, and if you cannot purchase both dishes and bric-a-brac, by all means leave out the bric-a-brac.

Have a good food chopper for grinding nuts, cheese, bread, herbs, etc., etc.

A wooden chopping bowl and sharp chopping knife.

A nutmeg grater, also a large grater having different size punctures.

Quart measure—with other divisions marked.

Measuring cup.

Small sharp vegetable knife.

Large sharp bread knife.

Two steel knives and forks.

A long doughnut fork and doughnut cutter.

A cooky cutter.

Lemon reamer.

Egg beater.

One draining, two mixing, two table, one dessert, three teaspoons.

Pancake turner.

Steamed pudding dish.

Bread pans.

Large baking pans.

Perforated pie tins.

Patent cake tins.

Six granite cups to hold left-overs, etc.

Granite saucers and different sized round basins.

Double boiler.

Small steamer and kettle to fit.

Funnel.

Three different sized stew pans, granite.

Three different sized sheet iron frying pans.

A granite colander.

Three sizes, wire strainers.

Moulding board and glass rolling pin.

Flour sieve.

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES

For convenience in using, measurements in this book are given in both cups and pints.

Have a measuring cup and no difficulty will be experienced.

Granulated sugar is used almost universally.

Soda may be dissolved in either hot or cold water.

When mixing, add ingredients in order given.

Butter is softened, not melted, by placing on small tin in oven.

Flour is never used without being sifted, and measurements given mean after sifting.

All measurements given are even or level.

A yeast cake may be kept fresh for a week by burying it in the flour.

A liberal pinch of soda dissolved in a little warm water and added to slightly soured yeast will sweeten it.

EVERLASTING YEAST

Peel and boil old potatoes, put through a colander, mix with the other ingredients with the yeast dissolved in a little warm water. Add the ginger the first time in starting the yeast, but not again. Let this mixture stand for three days before using. When you make bread, repeat the formula, omitting the yeast and ginger, add the ingredients to the first mixture and let stand over night. In the morning, stir it thoroughly, take out a pint to start your next yeast, sift the flour with the remainder, knead and put into pans. By noon the bread may be baked. This makes three loaves. Keep the yeast in a tight jar, and it will keep for about ten days in warm weather.

MAKING DRY YEAST

After mixing bread at night, the following morning take a large cupful of the light sponge and stir into it dry corn meal. Spread it out thinly to dry, stirring occasionally. When perfectly dry, like coarse powder, it is ready for use, and will keep indefinitely. Use about two tablespoonfuls for a medium size baking.

YEAST

Put the hops in cold water, let boil for five minutes and strain. Add potato, salt and sugar, boiling all together for five minutes. Have a yeast cake dissolved in a little warm water, and when the potato mixture is nearly cold, stir in the yeast cake and let rise.