Rub an eggspoonful of mustard, salt and sugar in a teaspoonful of olive oil and cream, until the mixture is quite smooth. Then rub the yolk of a hard-boiled egg in the paste, and keep it free from lumps. Pour in a dessertspoonful of vinegar, stirring slowly all the time. Add a teacupful of rich milk or some cream. Serve.

GRAVIES AND SAUCES.

A great variety of savoury and nutritious gravies can be made from vegetable stock, with the usual thickening, (arrowroot is best), a pinch of salt and pepper, seasoning, and a lump of butter. Brown haricot broth is the best stock (Recipe 5). The addition of Nutril, Wintox, Mapleton's Gravy Essence, or Marmite gives flavour and increases the nourishing quality.

It is very desirable that the gravy or sauce served with certain vegetarian dishes should be piquante in taste and of a nice flavour. It is worth while to take some trouble to achieve this result, because many dishes that are plain and perhaps somewhat tasteless in themselves are made quite savoury and enjoyable by the addition of a piquante dressing. Brand's A1 sauce is a good example of such piquancy, and is also useful in making sauces in the home, as a few teaspoons of it will often give an unique flavour to a simple gravy that is lacking in this respect.

157. Walnut Gravy.

Take about 4-ozs. of shelled walnuts, put them through the nut mill, and place in a small pan in which you have previously made hot 1-oz. of butter. Fry until the walnut is dark brown, stirring well all the time to prevent burning. Pour on a pint of stock, or water if no stock is at hand, and let it simmer slowly until just before serving. Then add 1-oz. of flour to thicken, some seasoning, and a few drops of onion or some tomato sauce. This makes a most rich and savoury gravy—especially if a little nut butter is added.

158. Curry Gravy.

In the cold weather, dishes which contain curry are seasonable and are generally appreciated. The following recipe for a curry gravy will prove useful to many readers, as it makes a capital addition to plain boiled rice or many other dishes. Fry 2 onions, minced in some butter until they are quite brown. Then sift in some flour and let it brown also. Add slowly some vegetable stock or water, two minced apples, a teaspoonful of curry paste (Stembridge's is good), a teaspoonful of vinegar, and a dessertspoonful each of tomato sauce and chutney. Stir and serve.

159. Gravy Piquante.

Stew a dozen shallots in some butter until soft. Stir in some flour and let it brown; add the juice of a lemon, ¼-pint of water, a clove, a teaspoonful of sugar, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Boil gently for a few minutes and stir in a little more flour; add ½-pt. of clear stock or water, boil for 15 minutes and strain.

160. Plain Brown Gravy.

Melt some butter until brown, add flour (previously mixed well in a little water), and some vegetable stock, dilute if necessary and strain. A fried onion and tomato, and a teaspoonful of Nutter adds to the flavour and richness. The addition of Vegeton, Nutril or Marmite improves this.

161. Sauce Piquante.

Take equal quantities of vegetable stock and Tomate à la Vatel (Dandicolle and Gaudin), fry a chopped onion brown, add the above, thicken with arrowroot, boil and strain.

162. Rich Brown Gravy.

Melt 1 oz. butter or nutter in a small saucepan, then add nearly a tablespoonful of flour, and keep stirring until you get a rich dark brown, being careful not to burn; now add slowly some stock made by stewing brown haricot beans, and simmer slowly for about 20 minutes. At serving time, add a good teaspoonful of Nutril, Wintox or Marmite.

163. Tarragon Sauce.

Melt 1-oz. of butter, stir in ½-oz. of flour until free from lumps, add ¼-pt. of milk and stir until it boils. Finally add 20 or 30 drops of Tarragon vinegar. This sauce is an excellent addition to cauliflower, and the flavour is unique.

164. Parsley Sauce.

Make in same way as in the above recipe, but substitute a large teaspoonful of finely chopped parsley for the vinegar.

165. Tomato Sauce.

Fry a sliced onion in butter until brown, add 6 sliced tomatoes, a clove of garlic and ½-oz. more butter. Heat until quite soft, add ½-pt. of clear vegetable stock or water, strain and serve. Thicken with arrowroot if desired.

166. Sauce Hollandaise.

Take 3-ozs. of butter, the juice of a lemon, the yolks of 3 eggs, and a teaspoonful of flour. Heat in a double saucepan while being stirred, until it begins to thicken. This is a good sauce to serve with cauliflower, asparagus, artichokes, etc.

167. White Sauce.

Make in the same manner as Tarragon Sauce, but omit the vinegar and add ¼-pt. of water.

168. Mayonnaise Sauce.

Mix a teaspoonful of mustard with the yolk of an egg, add 4 tablespoons of pure olive oil, a few drops at a time, beating it with a fork; add 2-ozs. of castor sugar, some pepper and salt, the juice of a large lemon and 2 teaspoons of Tarragon vinegar. Whisk the white of the egg with ¼-pint of cream, and beat all together.

169. Tomato Chutney.

One and a half pounds of tomatoes, 1-¾-lb. apples, 1½-lb. sultanas, 1½-lb. brown sugar, 2-ozs. onions, 4-ozs. salt, ¾-oz. cayenne pepper, 3-pts. vinegar. The whole to be boiled for 3 hours. Pour into stoppered bottles. This makes a most excellent chutney.

170. Coconut Sauce.

Melt 1-oz. of butter in a pan, stir in 1-oz. of flour smoothly, then add ½-pt. of cold water and ½-pt. of milk, half at a time; stir in ½-oz. of desiccated coconut and ½-oz. of sugar, and bring to the boil. Mapleton's Coconut Cream is superior to butter.

171. Marmite Savoury Gravy.

Chop an onion, and put it into 1-pt. of boiling water with a teaspoon of butter and a dessertspoon of dried sage; boil until the onion is soft; add two teaspoons of Marmite, season with pepper and salt, and thicken with a small teacupful of arrowroot or cornflour. Strain and serve.

172. Marmite Glaze.

Dissolve two teaspoons of Marmite in ½-pt. of boiling water, strain through a fine hair sieve or a piece of muslin into an enamel saucepan, put in 2-ozs. of gelatine, place on the fire and dissolve.

173. Quick Lunch Gravy.

Put a teaspoon of Marmite into a pint of boiling water, season with pepper and salt, thicken with a little browned flour.

174. Thick Brown Sauce.

Fry 1 onion, 1 lump of sugar, and a little butter until quite brown, add 2 teaspoons of brown flour and ½-pt. vegetable stock, pepper and salt to taste, boil well, and strain.

175. Carnos Sauce.

A Sauce can be quickly made with a spoonful of Carnos, thickened with flour, and flavoured to taste, with onion, tomato, or celery, etc.

176. Cheese Sauce.

Place ½-pt. of milk in a pan, and add a teaspoon of cornflour. Boil up and beat in 3-ozs. of grated cheese after removing from fire.

177. Fruit Sauce.

Take 1-oz. of cornflour, mix with a little water, adding ½-pt. of cherry, pineapple, or other fruit syrup, and boil until it thickens.

PUDDINGS AND SWEETS.

178. Christmas Pudding.

Mix 1-lb. breadcrumbs, 1-lb. flour, 1-lb. sultanas or currants, 2-lbs. raisins, ¼-lb. mixed peel, ½-lb. sugar, ½-lb. Nutter ((or Vegsu), flaked in the nut mill), ½-lb. chopped pine kernels. Add nutmeg to taste, and five or six eggs. Boil for 12 hours, and serve with sauce as usual. This pudding wins approbation from all who try it.

N.B.—All boiled puddings should be allowed ample room to swell during cooking. If too closely confined they are sometimes prevented from being light.

179. A Simple Plum Pudding.

Mix ½-lb. flour, 1-lb. raisins or sultanas, 6-ozs. Nutter and 1-oz. mixed peel. Add 1 teaspoonful of mixed spice, 2 eggs, and a little milk if required. Boil for at least 6 hours, serve with sweet sauce.

180. A Fruit Salad.

By the Chef of the Canton Hotel.

Peaches, apricots, cherries, grapes, black and red currants, pineapples, bananas. The peaches and apricots are peeled and quartered, the cherries stoned, the bananas and pineapples cut in slices or dice. Mix, cover with powdered sugar, a glass of kirsch, and a glass of maraschino, and lay on ice until required.

181. Rich Plum Pudding.

Take ½-lb. stoned raisins, ½-lb. sultanas, 2-ozs. mixed peel, ¼-lb. sugar, 4-ozs. breadcrumbs, ½-lb. chopped apples, 2-ozs. Nutter, 2-ozs. pine kernels, 6 sweet almonds, 6 Brazil nuts, ½ nutmeg, 2 teaspoons of mixed spice, 1 teaspoon of ginger, a few drops of ratafia flavouring essence, and 3 eggs. Finely chop all the fruit and the pine kernels, and put the nuts and peel through the mill. Rub the Nutter into the breadcrumbs and mix in the other ingredients and finally the eggs, one at a time (stirring well). Put into basins and boil 12 hours, then set aside till wanted. Boil them again for 2 or 3 hours before serving.

182. Sultana and Ginger Pudding.

Thoroughly mix 7-ozs. breadcrumbs, 1 oz. of flour, 8-ozs. sultanas, 3-ozs. sugar, and one good teaspoonful of ground ginger. Rub in 1-oz. butter and then stir in gradually 3 gills of milk and water (mixed), and lastly put in a small teaspoonful of carbonate of soda. Stir well, pour into a buttered mould and steam for three hours.

Chopped figs, French plums or dates can be substituted for the sultanas, and thus the pudding can be made in various ways.

183. Plain Sultana Pudding.

Mix in a basin 7-ozs. breadcrumbs, 1-oz. flour, 6-ozs. sultanas, 3-ozs. sugar, and 1-oz. butter. Moisten with ¾-pint of milk and water, to which has been added 1 small teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda. Steam for 3 hours, and serve with sweet sauce. This pudding is much appreciated by children.

184. Jellied Figs.

Stew ½-lb. of figs in 1-pt. of water for 2 or 3 hours till quite tender. Dissolve ½-oz. of gelatine in ½-pt. of water over a gentle heat and strain it on to the figs after they have been cut into small pieces and the juice of half a lemon added; stir well and turn into a wetted mould. Turn out when cold and sprinkle a little ground almond or coconut over it. Serve plain or with cream.

185. Creamed Rice Moulds.

Put 3-ozs. of rice into a saucepan with 1½-pts. of cold milk, bring to the boil, then stand over a gentle heat till quite tender, stirring occasionally to keep it from burning. Add vanilla, 1-oz. of sugar and ¼-pt. of cream, mix well and pour into wetted moulds. Serve garnished with raspberry or other jam.

186. Ambrosia.

Pare 5 oranges, removing all the tough white skin, cut through twice and slice them. Take a cup of grated coconut and moisten with cream. Fill a glass bowl with alternate layers of orange and coconut, finish with orange and cover with a thick layer of whipped cream, sprinkle with ground almonds, and decorate with candied fruit.

187. Bread Pudding.

Any piece of stale bread or cake, 3-ozs. sultanas, 3-ozs. currants, a little peel and spice, 1 egg, and sugar to taste. Soak the bread by pouring some boiling milk over it, beat it up very well, then add the fruit, etc., and bake or boil for 2 hours.

188. Semolina Moulds.

Cook 3-ozs. of semolina in 1½-pts of milk for three-quarters of an hour, stirring well, flavour with sugar and vanilla or lemon essence, and pour into wetted moulds. Serve with preserve garnishing.

189. Castle Puddings.

The weight of 2 eggs in butter and sugar, the weight of 3 eggs in flour and a little grated lemon rind. Cream the butter and sugar together, add the eggs well beaten and lemon rind. Mix well and stir in the flour, half fill the pudding moulds with the mixture and bake for 20 minutes. Serve with a jam sauce.

190. Strawberry Cream.

Half-pound strawberries, 3-ozs. castor sugar, 1 gill cream, ½-oz. gelatine, 2 eggs. Mash the strawberries to a pulp with the sugar, then add the cream, the yolks of eggs, and gelatine (dissolved in a little water) and cook over a saucepan of boiling water for 15 minutes, stirring all the time. Whip the whites of egg to a stiff froth and add to the mixture and cook for a few minutes more, then pour into a buttered mould, and turn out when stiff.

191. Marmalade Pudding.

Three-ozs. nut-margarine, 3-ozs. castor sugar, 2 tablespoons marmalade, 2 eggs, 6-ozs. flour. Beat the butter and sugar to a cream, then add the eggs and marmalade and beat well for 10 minutes, then stir in the flour very lightly, and put in a greased basin, cover with a greased paper and steam for 2 hours. Serve with sweet sauce.

192. Small Cakes.

Three-ozs. nut-margarine, 3-ozs. castor sugar, 2 eggs, 5-ozs. flour. Cream the butter and sugar together and add the eggs well beaten and stir the flour in lightly, mix well and put in a shallow tin and bake for 20 minutes. When cold cut in small shapes and ice.

193. Stewed Prunes à la Francaise.

Put the prunes in a basin of water and leave to soak for 12 hours, then stew gently in a double saucepan in the same water (with a slice of lemon peel) until it forms into a thick juice. Serve with whipped cream or boiled rice, etc.

194. Custard Moulds.

Boil 1-pt. milk with 1 tablespoonful sugar and 1 bay leaf; add ½-oz. gelatine. Stir till dissolved, and remove from the fire for a minute or two. Strain this on to 1 egg well beaten, return to pan, and stir over the fire until it thickens, but do not let it boil. Whisk well occasionally while cooling, and just before it sets pour into wetted moulds.

195. Bakewell Pudding.

Line a pie dish with puff paste, and spread on it a layer of apricot jam. Put the yolks of 2 eggs into a basin with the white of 1 and beat well together. Then add 3-ozs. of sugar, 2-ozs. butter dissolved, and ½-oz. of ground almonds. Mix all well together and pour over the jam; bake half-an-hour.

196. Vanilla Creams.

Dissolve ½-oz. of gelatine in 3 gills of milk, and flavour with 1-oz. of sugar and 1 teaspoonful of vanilla essence. Strain it on to ¼-pt. of cream, and when just beginning to set, whisk well and stir in lightly the white of an egg beaten till quite stiff. Turn into wetted moulds and leave till set.

197. Lemon Creams.

Dissolve ½-oz. of gelatine in ½-pt. of water, with 2-ozs. of sugar and the grated rind and juice of a lemon. When nearly cold strain this on to 1 gill of milk and 1 gill of cream, whisk well and stir in lightly the stiff-beaten white of an egg. Pour into moulds and leave till set.

198. Lemon Semolina Pudding.

Put three tablespoonfuls semolina in a saucepan with 1½-pts. milk. Bring to the boil, then simmer slowly till quite swollen. Set aside to cool a little, then add 2-ozs. sugar, the grated rind and half the juice of a lemon, also a well-beaten egg. Stir well and pour into a buttered pie-dish, and bake slowly till set. Turn out and garnish with jam.

199. Raspberry Pudding.

Stew 1-lb. of raspberries (or more) with some sugar. Line a basin with some slices of bread (without crust). Pour in half the fruit, cover with a layer of bread, then add the remainder of the raspberries and another layer of bread. Press down with a saucer and place a weight on it. Turn out and serve when cold with cream or Plasmon snow-cream.

200. Rice à la Reine.

Cook 3-ozs. rice in 1-qt. milk for 2 or 3 hours, sweeten and flavour to taste. When cooled a little add ½-oz. gelatine dissolved in ½-a-teacup of milk and strained, and 1 gill of cream; stir well and pour into a wetted mould.

201. Apple Custard.

Place some biscuit crumbs in a buttered pie dish. Nearly fill it with stewed apples. Beat an egg with ¼-pt. of milk and pour over the apples. Place some small ratafia biscuits on the top and some grated nutmeg. Bake in a moderate oven.

202. Sultana Custard Pudding.

To 2-ozs. of Robinson's Patent Barley, add 1-oz. of sifted sugar, ½-oz. of butter, a pinch of salt, and nearly 1-pt. of milk; mix thoroughly and stir it over the fire till it boils; then add a yolks of eggs, 3-ozs. sultanas, and bake the pudding in a buttered pie-dish.

203. Swiss Roll.

Take 3-ozs. castor sugar and 1 teacupful flour, and add to them 1 teaspoonful of baking powder. Separate the yolks from the whites of 2 eggs, and beat the latter till stiff. Add 1 tablespoon of milk to the yolks, and work into the flour and sugar, then add the stiffly beaten whites. Beat all well with a wooden spoon. Pour on to a greased Yorkshire pudding tin, and bake in a very hot oven for seven minutes. Then turn on to a piece of kitchen paper dredged with castor sugar. Spread quickly with jam (which has been thoroughly beaten) and roll with the paper. Place on a sieve till cool.

204. Gateau aux Fruits.

Take half a tinned pineapple, 3 bananas, ¼-lb. grapes, 4 Tangarine oranges, and the juice of a lemon. Cut up the fruit into dice, sprinkle with sugar and pour over them half the pineapple syrup, the lemon juice, and a tablespoonful of maraschino, and leave for an hour to soak. Split five stale sponge cakes open, cut each half into three fingers and spread each rather thickly with apricot jam. Place four of these strips on a glass dish so as to form a square, and put four more across the corners so as to form a diamond in it, and so on, square and diamond alternately. Fill the middle of the tower thus formed with the macedoine of fruits, piling them high above the top, and pour the rest of the pineapple syrup over the cake. Whip half a pint of cream stiffly, and put it (or Coconut Cream, 224) on in rough spoonfuls all over the tower.

205. Poached Apricots.

Upon some slices of sponge cake, place half an apricot (round side uppermost). Whip some white of egg to a snow frost with castor sugar. Place this round the apricot so as to make it resemble a poached egg. Whipped cream is preferable to many persons if obtainable. The sponge should be slightly moistened with the apricot juice.

206. Lemon Sponge.

Dissolve ½-oz. of leaf gelatine in ½-pt. of water and add the rind of a lemon and 1-oz. castor sugar. Strain the juice of a lemon on to the white of an egg, then strain the dissolved gelatine on to it. Whisk all together till it makes quite a stiff froth. Turn into a mould, and take out when set.

207. Plasmon Snow-Cream.

Put 3 heaped teaspoonfuls (1-¾-ozs.) of Plasmon into a bowl. From ½-pt. of tepid water take 4 tablespoons and mix it with the powder, rubbing it into a paste. Slowly add the remainder of the water; stir thoroughly, then place in a saucepan and bring to the boil, stirring all the time. Stand aside to get quite cold. When required for use, whisk it into a thick snow-cream. This makes a splendid addition to stewed fruit (peaches, &c.), cocoa, coffee, or puddings. It is most nutritious also. The proportions must be correct to get the cream firm as well as light. If it is frothy there is too much water; if sticky and heavy there is not sufficient water.

208. Rice and Sultana Padding.

To an ordinary rice pudding add 4-ozs. of sultanas. Bake in a slow oven for several hours, with plenty of milk. When cooked it should be brown in colour and quite moist. It is easily digested and makes a good supper dish.

209. Plain Boiled Pudding.

Take 2-ozs. of Nutter, 4-ozs. each of white and brown flour, and 4-ozs. of breadcrumbs. Add water gradually, mixing into a dry dough, and boil in a cloth for an hour and a half.

210. Apple Fritters.

Peel and quarter, or finely mince, some good cooking apples, dip in batter made as follows:—1 tablespoonful flour, 1 egg well beaten, enough milk to make it the consistency of cream. Fry crisp, and serve.

211. Empress Pudding.

Take 1-pt. of breadcrumbs, 1-qt. of new milk, the yolks of 4 eggs (well beaten), the grated rind of a lemon, and 3-ozs. of butter; mix and bake about half an hour. When cold, spread some raspberry or plum jam over the pudding, then whip the whites of the eggs with a teacup of sifted sugar and the juice of a lemon, and lay this over the jam. Make slightly brown in the oven.

212. Orange Jelly.

Wipe and thickly peel 5 oranges and 2 lemons, take 1-pt. of cold water, ½-lb. white sugar, and 1½-ozs. cornflour. Place the peel and water in a pan and simmer for 20 minutes with the sugar; strain the resulting juice. Place the cornflour in a basin and squeeze the juice of the fruit through a strainer on to it, then pour the boiling syrup on to this mixture; stir well, return to saucepan, and boil for 6 minutes. Pour out into cold wet mould. Garnish with orange.

213. Ginger Pudding.

Take 6-ozs. of brown breadcrumbs (finely grated), 3-ozs. of butter, a saltspoonful of ground ginger, the juice of a lemon, and 4-ozs. of castor sugar. Stir these in a stewpan until the butter is melted. Chop 4-ozs. of preserved ginger and add to the mixture with the yolks of 2 eggs. Beat well together and set aside to cool. Whisk the whites of the eggs and stir into the pudding quickly. Fill a buttered basin with it, cover with a saucer (leaving room to swell) and steam for 3 hours. Serve with cream or fruit sauce (177).

214. Baked Coconut Custard.

Beat 3 eggs and mix with 1½-pts. of milk, add 2 tablespoons of desiccated coconut, and a tablespoonful of sugar. Bake in a slow oven, and add some grated nutmeg.

215. Semolina Pudding.

Boil a teacupful of semolina for 15 minutes in 2½ pts. of milk, stirring all the time. Flavour with vanilla. Turn out into a buttered pie dish, garnish with ratafia biscuits and bake in a moderate oven.

216. Strawberry Cream Ice.

Take 1½-lbs. of ripe strawberries, 6-ozs. of castor sugar, ½-lb. of cream and a teacupful of milk. Put the strawberries through a sieve or strainer, mix the whole well together, and freeze.

Raspberry ice can be made in a simpler form by reducing the cream by one-half and by adding another teacupful of milk in which a dessertspoonful of cornflour has been boiled.

217. Vanilla Ice.

Take 1 pint of milk, 1 gill of cream, the yolks of 3 eggs, and 3-ozs. of castor sugar. After heating the milk, mix ½-oz. of ground rice with a little cold milk and put it in the saucepan. Pour in the beaten yolks and cream, and the sugar; stir and simmer until the custard thickens, strain and set aside to cool; add vanilla to taste, and stir well; place in the freezing machine. To make this ice taste richer and more delicate, reduce the milk and increase the cream.

218. Lemon Cheese-Cakes.

Put in a saucepan ¼-lb. butter, 1-lb. lump sugar, 6 eggs (leaving out 2 whites), 2 grated lemon rinds, and the juice of 3 lemons. Simmer until all is dissolved (gently stirring), and add a few dry biscuit crumbs. Serve on crisp pastry.

219. Lemon Jelly.

Dissolve 1-oz. of isinglass in 1-¼-pts. of water. Add the grated peel of 2 lemons and ½-lb. of lump sugar. Boil for 10 minutes, stirring continually. Take off fire and add the juice of 1½ lemons. Strain and cool. Whisk well before turning into moulds.

220. Fruitarian Mincemeat.

Take 7-ozs. Nutter, 12-ozs. raisins, 6-ozs. sultanas, 6-ozs. currants, ¼-lb. Demerara sugar, 1½-lbs. apples, ¼-lb. mixed candied peel, the rind and juice of 1 lemon, 6 almonds, 6 Brazil nuts, a few drops ratafia flavouring essence, and 3 teaspoons of mixed spice. Stone the rasins, finely chop all the fruit, and put the nuts and almonds through the nut mill. Now melt the Nutter in a saucepan, and gradually add all the other ingredients, stirring well, leave standing over night, and put in pots next morning. Cover closely, and this will keep a long time.

221. Short Pastry.

Rub ½-lb. Nutter into 1-lb. flour and 2-ozs. Artox wholemeal, mix as dry as possible with water, and it is ready to make excellent biscuits, short cakes, or tart crusts. If whiter pastry is required use white flour.

222. Puff Pastry.

Ingredients:—1-lb. flour, ¾-lb. Nutter, cold water. Method:—Rub ¼-lb. Nutter into the flour, mix to a rough dough with cold water, stand in a cool place for ten minutes. Roll out and "spot" over with ¼-lb. Nutter broken in small pieces; fold over, roll out and stand 10 minutes. Roll out again and spot over with the remaining ¼-lb. Nutter; fold over and roll out, and after standing 10 minutes it is ready for use.

223. Chestnut Cream.

Take from 20 to 30 chestnuts, remove the shells and skins. Put the chestnuts in a saucepan with 2 teacups full of water, sugar to taste, the juice of 1 lemon, and simmer slowly until they are quite soft. Pass through a sieve or potato masher, and when cold pile in a dish, and cover with whipped cream.

224. Coconut Cream.

A nice addition to Trifles, Fruit Salads, etc., can be made by using Mapleton's Coconut Cream. Mix 2 ozs. of the cream with 1/8-pt. of boiling water; when softened beat for a minute or so with the egg-beater, then pour on a dish. In 2 hours it will have set and can be used to fill sponge sandwiches, or eaten with stewed fruit. To form a thick cream (less solid) beat up 2½ to 3 ozs. Coconut Cream with ¼-pt. of hot water.

THE BREAD PROBLEM.

Pure wholemeal bread, so made as to be light and well baked, is a virtual necessity for every abstainer from flesh-food. Food-Reform presents many difficulties, and every dietetic reformer has to grapple with them. Insufficient knowledge, defective sources of provision, digestive troubles, inherited organic weakness, and unfavourable environment, are only a few of these. I want, therefore to emphasize the importance of a perfect bread supply, which I am convinced is the key to the problem so far as many are concerned.

It is not sufficient merely to pray for "our daily bread," and then to leave its provision entirely to Providence. We need also to think and to take some personal trouble about it—remembering that Heaven helps those who help themselves. Yet this is what very few people do. One may safely affirm that four persons out of every five are content to use defective and innutritious bread every day of their lives. Yet this should be made a real staff of life.

The whole grain of wheat, if of good quality, contains nearly all that is needful for the perfect nutrition of the body. With the addition of a small amount of fat (easily found in nut or dairy butter, cheese or oil), and of grape sugar and purifying acids (obtainable in fruits), pure wheatmeal, if properly ground in stone mills, and well made into delicious home-baked bread, enables one to be almost independent of other foods, and therefore almost ensures one against a breakdown in health if there is difficulty in obtaining a varied and well proportioned dietary from other sources.

Instead of securing and using bread such as this, the majority of the community complacently eat white bread—emasculated, robbed of its gluten (which is equivalent to albumen) and of the phosphates and mineral salts that are stored in the inner part of the husk of the grain. It is composed almost entirely of starch, with the addition of such adulterants as the baker or miller feels inclined to introduce for commercial reasons, and is not conducive to the proper operation of the digestive and eliminative organs.

It is difficult for bakers or the public to buy really good wholemeal. The meal that is on the markets often consists of cheap roller-milled flour with some sweepings of bran or seconds thrown in. And even if the entire grain is supplied, the outer cuticle of the wheat, when rolled (in the modern steel-roller mills that for reasons of economy have superseded the good old-fashioned stone grinding mills), instead of being so reduced as to be capable of complete digestion, is left with rough edges called spiculae, which irritate the digestive tract, cause relaxation, and arouse prejudice against the 'brown' loaf. Such wholemeal cannot be perfectly assimilated because the bran is not properly broken up, and, in addition to this fact, the cerealine, which acts like diastase in the conversion of starch into sugar, is not liberated and rendered available as an aid to digestion.

That the distasteful and often indigestible brown or wholemeal bread (so-called) usually sold by bakers is either defective or adulterated, can easily be proven by anyone. Let any reader procure some stone-milled entire wheatmeal that is guaranteed pure (I use the 'Artox' and 'Ixion' brands myself, because I believe them to be of genuine quality and properly stone-ground); then make some thin loaves as described in the following recipe. The result, if the bread is skilfully made, will be a delicious and nutritive loaf of the farmhouse type with a sweet nutty flavour. Instead of quickly getting 'stale,' such a loaf is enjoyable when four days old, and it only needs to be compared with ordinary bakers' bread to reveal the fact that it is an entirely different article of food. Its sustaining power is wonderful, and it proves an effectual preventive of starved nerves as well as other ailments.

225. How to make Wholemeal Bread.

The yeast must be quite fresh, and the bread should be raised in separate tins in a warm place or cupboard; the oven must be hot at first, but the heat should be much reduced after 10 minutes. Mix 6-lbs. of wholemeal with 1-lb. of household flour. Then mix 3-ozs. of fresh yeast with a tablespoon of treacle, adding 2 tablespoons of olive oil when it is quite dissolved. Put this into the flour with about 2-pts. of lukewarm water. Mix it with a wooden spoon till it does not stick. Knead for 10 minutes, adding more water if necessary but keeping the dough firm and spongy. Put it into flat baking tins (well greased) about 2½ inches deep, covering the tins to the depth of about 1 inch only. Let it rise for 1 hour, or till it reaches the tops of the tins. Then bake first in a quick oven, and afterwards in a slower. A gas oven is most reliable for baking bread, as the heat is more easily regulated. The bread should be a rich dark golden brown when well baked.

226. White Bread.

Make as Recipe 225, but substitute household flour for wholemeal. The shape and size of the loaves should be changed occasionally. Loaves baked in small tins are often lighter than bread made into large loaves.

227. Plain Currant Bread and Buns.

To 2-lbs. of good wholemeal or white flour add a pinch of salt, 1 tablespoonful of sugar, and ½-lb. of currants or sultanas; also rub in 2-ozs. of olive oil or nut-margarine. Mix 1-oz. of yeast with a little golden syrup and add lukewarm water. Stir this into the flour, and add sufficient warm water to make a nice dough. Shape into loaves or little buns, set to rise for 1 hour or longer, then bake in a quick oven and brush with egg and milk.

228. Dinner Rolls.

Delicious dinner rolls can be made as follows:—Take 1-lb. of white flour, 1-lb. of wholemeal, 3-ozs. butter, and 1-oz. of yeast. Mix the yeast with a dessertspoonful of treacle, ¾-pt. of milk and water. Rub the butter into the flour, and put in the yeast to rise. Knead, form into small rolls, raise for half-an-hour, bake in a quick oven.

229. Sultana Cake.

Sift into ½-lb. of flour 1 teaspoonful of baking powder. Grate the rind of a lemon on to an egg and beat it well. Cream together 3-ozs. nut-margarine and 3-ozs. sugar; add the egg, beating still, then stir in lightly the flour and 3-ozs. sultanas; add milk to make a soft dough. Pour into a well-buttered cake tin, put in a hot oven, and bake for about half-an-hour, reducing the temperature considerably.

230. Sultana Rice Cake.

Put 3-ozs. of Nut-margarine in a warm oven. Grate the rind of a lemon on to an egg and 3-ozs. of castor sugar, beat well, then add the warmed Nutter and beat again till it is creamy. Now sift together 5-ozs. of ground rice, 3-ozs. of flour and 1 teaspoonful of baking powder. Beat this gently into the mixture, add 4-ozs. sultanas and enough milk to make a proper consistency. Put in a hot oven, gradually reducing the temperature, and bake for about ¾ of an hour.

231. Cheese Straws.

Mix 6-ozs. flour and 6-ozs. grated cheese well together, then rub in 2-ozs. butter, add a little cayenne pepper and salt, bind with the yolk of an egg, roll out about a quarter of a inch thick, cut into long narrow fingers, and bake in a sharp oven for 10 minutes.

232. Sultana Bun Cakes.

Sift together 8-ozs. of flour, 3-ozs. Paisley flour and 2-ozs. of sugar; rub in 4-ozs. olive oil, and add 4-ozs. of sultanas. Mix all with a well beaten egg and a little milk, roll out, shape with a cutter and bake at once in a quick oven.

SUMMER AND WINTER DRINKS.

The following recipes and suggestions concerning a few beverages which can be used as substitutes for more stimulating drinks may prove useful to many readers:—

233. Barley Water.

Mix a tablespoonful of Pearl Barley with a pint of water and boil for half-an-hour. Flavour with lemon, cinnamon or sugar, according to taste, and allow the mixture to cool. For invalids requiring nutriment a larger quantity of barley should be used.

Barley Water is equally suitable for winter use and can be taken hot.

234. Wheatenade.

Simmer 1-lb. of crushed wheat in 1-qt. of water for about an hour, stirring it occasionally. Strain, add lemon juice and sugar to taste, for use in summer, or milk and sugar if the drink is taken hot in winter. Good and clean bran can be substituted for crushed wheat. This is a capital drink for children with a tendency to rickets, or for persons suffering from nervous prostration caused by malnutrition.

235. Oatenade.

Simmer ¼-lb. of coarse oatmeal in the same manner as described in the previous recipe, then flavour to taste. This drink will be slightly richer in fat than the previous one, and it makes a good winter drink.

236. Gingerade.

Take 1-dr. essence cayenne, 4-drs. essence of ginger, 2-drs. essence of lemon, 1-dr. burnt sugar, ¾-oz. of tartaric acid. Add 3-lbs. lump sugar and 5-qts. boiling water. Bottle ready for use. Dilute to taste.

237. Fruit Drink.

Lime juice, if pure, makes a cooling and wholesome drink. The "Montserrat" is one of the purest brands upon the market; some of the liquid sold as lime juice is only a chemical concoction. The weaker the solution the better it tastes. A dessertspoonful to the tumbler is generally enough. Dole's Pineapple juice is also an excellent fruit drink.

238. Rice Water.

Boil some once-milled rice in water, and add lemon juice and sugar to taste. The beverage should not be made too thick. As rice is often used in most households a supply of this nutritious drink is easily provided. It is very good for children.

Tea and Coffee Substitutes.

Those who find tea and coffee undesirable should try "Wallace P. R. Coffee," "Lifebelt Coffee," "Salfon," or "Horlick's Malted Milk." Another good substitute is "Hygiama," which, unlike tea and coffee, is not a stimulant, but a nutrient. On the other hand its effect on the system is distinctly stimulating in a right and healthy sense. That is to say, the valuable nourishment which it contains is very easily and quickly digested and an immediate sense of invigoration is the result. Unlike cocoa, it is not clogging or constipating or heavy.

HOW TO FEED INVALIDS.

In all cases of sickness the patient will have a better chance of recovery if the diet is light and wisely selected.

When inflammation and fever exist, fruit and cooling drinks should be given, and but little nitrogenous food.

An eminent physician writes thus: "The fever patient, like the over worked man, digests badly. He has no appetite; his salivary glands do not secrete, or secrete very imperfectly. The gastric juice formed under bad conditions is almost inert, poor in pepsine and hydrocloric acid. The liver no longer acts if the fever is high and serious; the intestinal secretions are partially exhausted.... The fever patient must then be fed very little."

When the hydrocloric acid is deficient, proteid food should be given very sparingly—one of the best forms being Casumen in solution (see 224) or white of egg. Milk is not advisable in such a condition, unless malted, or in the dried form. Fats are objectionable, and if the salivary secretions are defective, starches should be given in dextrinized (super-cooked) form, or well toasted. Fruit sugars, which are Carbohydrates in a digested form, are better still, and may be given freely to patients of nearly all kinds. They are abundantly provided in figs, dates, stoneless raisins and sultanas, and in other sweet fruits, such as bananas, strawberries and apples.

Ample nourishment can be provided by these, supplemented by egg dishes (chiefly white); flaked and super-cooked cereals, such as Granose Biscuits, Kellogg Wheat Flakes, Wallace P. R. and Flakit Biscuits, Archeva Rusks, Melarvi Crisps, and toasted or wholemeal bread; flaked or malted nuts; legumes soufflé; well-cooked farinaceous puddings; Horlick's Malted Milk and many other proprietary health-foods; and vegetable broths—for which see Recipes 1-23, as well as those which conclude this section on pages 123 and 124.

One of the most important of these latter is 'Haricot Broth,' which is a perfect substitute for "beef tea," being far more nutritious and also free from the toxic elements which are contained in that dangerous and superstitiously venerated compound.

The Beef Tea Delusion. Dr. Milner Fothergill stated that probably more invalids have sunk into their graves through a misplaced confidence in the value of beef tea than Napoleon killed in all his wars. It is, in reality, a strong solution of waste products and of uric acid, consisting largely of excrementitious matter which was in process of elimination from the system of some animal, through the minute drain pipes which form an important cleansing medium or "sewage system" in all animal flesh. To make "beef tea," these poisonous substances are stewed out to form the decoction, while the animal fibrin, the portion of the meat that has some nutritive value, is thrown away.

Beef tea consequently acts as a strong stimulant, tends to increase inflammation and fever, and in all such cases lessens the chance of the patient's recovery, as the system is already battling against toxic elements in the blood. To add to the amount of the latter is obviously unwise and dangerous. These remarks apply also to 'meat essences' and to 'beef extracts,' which are frequently made from diseased flesh which has been condemned in the slaughterhouses.

Meals provided for invalids should be very simple, but served in a very dainty manner. A spotless serviette and tray cloth, bright silver, a bunch of flowers and a ribbon to match them in colour for tying the serviette (the colour of which can be changed from day to day) should not be forgotten. The food should be supplied in small quantities; half a cupful of broth will often be taken when a cupful would be sent away untouched, and the wishes of the patient should be respected so far as it is safe and wise to do so. It is also a good plan to serve two or three small separate courses, rather than to put everything that is provided on a tray together.

Stewed French plums and figs are valuable in the sickroom because of their laxative effects, and dainty sandwiches will be found acceptable by most invalids—made with flaked nuts and honey, dried milk (Lacvitum), potted meat, etc.

Don't Overfeed Invalids.One of the greatest evils to be avoided by those who are nursing the sick is that of over-feeding. When nature is doing her best to meet a crisis, or to rid the body of microbes or impurities, it is a mistake to cause waste of vital energy by necessitating the expulsion of superfluous alimentary matter. Invalids should not be unduly persuaded to take food. The stomach generally requires rest, and is often in such a condition that digestion is impossible.

Much of the suffering and inconvenience endured by sick persons is simply the result of erroneous diet. Judicious feeding will do far more than drugs to alleviate and cure most maladies, in fact drugs and stimulants are seldom required. The great healing agent is the Life-force within—the "Vis medicatrix Naturæ"—and the wise physician will see that this power has a fair chance. He will encourage hopeful mental influence, and advocate pure air, pure food, and pure water, combined with a cessation of any physical transgression which has been the cause of the malady in question.

Care should be exercised lest invalids partake too freely of starch foods, especially if such are insufficiently cooked. Wholemeal bread should be light and well baked, and in most cases it will be more easily assimilated if toasted. Granose and other similar biscuits (which consist of entire wheatmeal in a super-cooked form, so that the starch is already transformed into 'dextrin') will be easily digestible and are slightly laxative in their effect. They are just the right thing to be taken with broth or soup or porridge. The following recipes will be found helpful.

239. Brown Haricot Broth.

(A perfect substitute for 'Beef Tea.')

Take ½-lb. of brown haricot beans. Wash and stew them with 1-qt. of hot water and some small onions for 3 hours, stewing down to 1-pt. Strain, and add pepper, celery-salt and butter when serving. This bean tea or broth, so prepared, will be found to be very savoury and of the same taste and appearance as beef tea, while being much richer in nutriment.

240. Mock Chicken Broth.

A valuable substitute for chicken broth, which is in every way superior to the decoction obtained by stewing the flesh and bones of the bird, can be made by stewing and serving white haricots in the same manner as in the previous recipe.

241. Hygiama Apple Purée.

Select two or three sound ripe apples, wash and rub in hot water, remove core and all bruised or dark parts, but not the peel, cut in small pieces, place in a covered jar or casserole with a cupful of water, or sufficient to prevent burning. Cook gently until apples are soft; then rub all through a fine sieve. Mix a tablespoonful or more of Hygiama with just enough water to form a paste, mix this paste into the apple, with just a touch of cinnamon or nutmeg if liked, and serve with pieces of dry toast, twice-baked bread or rusks.

242. Oat Cream.

A most excellent recipe for invalids and anæmic patients is prescribed by Dr. Oldfield, as follows: Boil 1 pint milk, sift into it a large handful of crushed oats. Simmer until it is thick as raw cream. Strain and serve; the patient to take ½-pint, sucking it through a straw slowly.

243. Linseed Tea.

Few persons realize the good qualities of linseed tea. It is useful for weak, anæmic and delicate persons; it produces flesh, is soothing in bronchial cases, and laxative. If made thin, and flavoured with lemon, it is quite palatable, and many persons get fond of it. The seed should be whole and of best quality, and it only requires stewing until the liquor is of the consistency of thin gruel.

244. proteid Gruel.

A good liquid food can be quickly made by warming a dessertspoonful of "Emprote" or "Malted Nuts" in a glass of milk, and flavouring to taste. A large teaspoonful of "Casumen" (pure milk proteid) dissolved in a breakfastcup of barley water, coffee, or vegetable soup, also readily provides much nutriment in a simple form.

245. Lentil Gruel.

This is a useful and nutritious food for invalids. To make the gruel, take a dessertspoonful of lentil flour, mixed smooth in some cold milk, add nearly 1-pt. of milk which has been brought to the boil. Boil for 15 minutes and flavour with a little cinnamon or vanilla. Serve with toast. This is the same as the much prescribed "Revalenta Arabica" food, but the lentil flour, without a long scientific name, only costs 3d. a pound, instead of half-a-crown.

246. Malted Milk Prune Whip.

One cup of prunes, 2 tablespoonfuls Horlick's Malted Milk, 1 tablespoonful sugar, lemon sufficient to flavour, white of egg. Wash well, and soak the prunes until tender. Boil with small piece of lemon until soft. Add sugar, remove stones, rub through colander; add the Horlick's Malted Milk, beat well; add the white of egg, well beaten. Cool, and serve with whipped cream. Flavour with vanilla if desired.

247. Malted Milk Jelly.

Phosphated gelatine 1 teaspoonful, Horlick's Malted Milk 2 to 4 teaspoonfuls, sugar and flavouring to suit. Soak the gelatine in cold water for 1 hour, then dissolve in just sufficient hot water. Add the Horlick's Malted Milk dissolved in 2 cups of hot water, and sweeten and flavour to taste.

248. Malted Milk with Iced Fruit.

Take of Horlick's Malted Milk 1 heaped teaspoonful, crushed fruit 1 tablespoonful, crushed ice 1 tablespoonful, 1 egg, acid phosphate twenty drops, grated nutmeg to flavour, water to make a cup. Mix the Malted Milk, crushed fruit and egg, beating the same for five minutes. Add the phosphate and crushed ice, stirring all for several minutes. Strain, and add ice-cold water or cold carbonated water, and grated nutmeg to flavour.

249. Effervescent Malted Milk.

Put some finely cracked ice into a glass. Fill it half full of soda, Vichy or Syphon water, and immediately add the desired amount of Horlick's Malted Milk in solution. Drink while effervescing. Brandy may be added if necessary.

WHAT TO DO AT CHRISTMAS.

The Christmas festival—which has degenerated into such a deplorable orgy of massacre and over-feeding in many countries which are called 'Christian'—can be observed and enjoyed without such barbarities and butchery as now take place.

How can we consistently sing and talk of 'Peace on Earth' when we are participating in ruthless warfare against the animal creation?

Is not this wholesale and cruel slaughter altogether discordant with the spirit and doctrine of the gentle and harmless Teacher of Nazareth, whose terrestrial birth is thus celebrated by pagan barbarity? Should not those of us who dare to call ourselves His followers protest against a custom which brings discredit upon His religion and causes humanely disposed Oriental nations to regard it almost with contempt?

The following suggestive Menu will at once show my readers that Christmas can be celebrated with a feast of good things without such butchery. And many are they who have found that its joys can even be enhanced by a sense of freedom from blood-guiltiness and personal responsibility concerning the deeds that are done in the shambles at this time of 'Peace and Goodwill.'

The Menu can be varied as taste and circumstances may dictate.

A Bloodless Menu for Christmas.

From which a selection can be made.

The cost of such a dinner as this will be much less than that of a corresponding one which includes poultry, game, and joints of flesh. The amount saved could be appropriately expended in providing a few comforts for the poor and needy—thus the Christmas festival provides an opportunity for lessening the suffering in this world, and also for increasing the sum of human happiness.