Part 16

Most of my readers have received great benefit from eating wholemeal bread instead of white, and they may all gain further good it they will use Allinson wholemeal flour in place of white for all cooking purposes. Those who are at all constipated, or who suffer from piles, varicose veins, varicocele, back pain, &c., should never use white flour in cooking. Those who are inclined to stoutness should use wholemeal flour rather than white. Hygienists and health-reformers should not permit white flour to enter their houses, unless it is to make bill-stickers' paste or some like stuff. Toothless children must not be given any food but milk and water until they cut at least two teeth.

Every kind of cookery can be done with wholemeal flour. In making ordinary white sauce or vegetable sauce, this is how we make it; Chop fine some onion or parsley; boil in a small quantity of water, stir in wholemeal flour and milk, add a little pepper and salt, thin with hot water, and thus produce a sauce that helps down vegetables and potatoes. In making a brown sauce we put a little butter or olive oil in the frying-pan; let it bubble and sputter, dredge in Allinson wholemeal flour, stir it round with a knife until browned, add boiling water, pepper, salt, a little ketchup, and you then have a nice brown sauce for many dishes. If we wish to make it very tasty we fry a finely chopped onion first and add that to it. White sweet sauce is made from wholemeal flour, milk, sugar, and a little cinnamon, cloves, lemon juice, vanilla, or other flavouring. Yorkshire puddings, Norfolk dumplings, batter puddings, and such puddings can all be made with wholemeal flour, and are more nourishing and healthy, and do not lie so heavy as those made from white flour. Pancakes can be made from wholemeal flour just as well as from white.

All kinds of pastry, pie-crusts, under crusts, &c., are best made from Allinson wholemeal, and if much butter, lard, or dripping is used they will lie just as heavy, and cause heartburn just as much as those made with white flour. There is a substitute for pie-crusts that is very tasty, and not at all harmful. We call it "batter," and it can be used for savoury dishes as well as sweet ones.

SAVOURY DISHES MADE WITH BATTER.

Fry some potatoes, then some onions, put them in layers in a pie-dish; next make a batter of Allinson wholemeal flour, 1 or 2 eggs, milk, and a little pepper with salt; pour over the fried vegetables as they lie in the dish, bake in the oven from 1/2 an hour to 1 hour, until, in fact, the batter has formed a crust; eat with the usual vegetables. Or chop fine cold vegetables of any kind, fry onions and add to them, put in a pie-dish, pour some of the batter as above over them, and bake. All kinds of cold vegetables, cold soup, porridge, &c., can go into this, and tinned or fresh tomatoes will make it more savoury. Tomatoes may be wiped, put in a pie-dish, batter poured over, and then baked, and are very tasty this way. Butter adds to the flavour of these dishes, but does not make them more wholesome or more nourishing.

STEWED FRUIT PUDDING.

Cut Allinson wholemeal bread into slices a little over a 1/4 of an inch thick, line a pie-dish with these, having first cut off the hard crusts. Then fill the dish with hot stewed fruit of any kind, and at once cover it with a layer of bread, gently pressed on the hot fruit. Turn out when cold on to a flat dish, pour over it a white sauce, and serve.

SUBSTANTIAL BREAD PUDDINGS.

Soak crusts or slices of Allinson bread in hot water, then break fine in a pie-dish, add to this soaked currants, raisins, chopped nuts or almonds, a beaten-up egg, and milk, with sugar and spice, and bake in the oven. Or tie the whole up in a pudding-cloth and boil. Serve with white sauce or eat with stewed fresh fruit. These puddings can be eaten hot or cold; labourers can take them to their work for dinner, and their children cannot have a better meal to take to school.

SWEET BATTER.

Mix Allinson wholemeal flour, milk, 1 or 2 eggs together, and a little sugar and cinnamon, and it is ready for use. Stew ripe cherries, gooseberries, currants, raspberries, plums, damsons, or other ripe fruit in a jar, pour into a pie-dish; pour into the batter named above, bake, and this is a good substitute for a fruit pie. Prunes can be treated the same way, or the batter can be cooked in the saucepan, poured into a mould, allowed to go cold and set; then it forms wholemeal blancmange, and may be eaten with stewed fresh fruit. Rusks, cheesecakes, buns, biscuits, and other like articles as Madeira cake, pound cake, wedding cake, &c., can all be made of wholemeal flour.

WHOLEMEAL SOUP.

Chop fine any kinds of greens or vegetables, stew in a little water until thoroughly done, then add plenty of hot water, with pepper and salt to taste, and a 1/4 of an hour before serving, pour in a cupful of the "Sweet Batter," and you get a thick, nourishing soup. To make it more savoury, fry your vegetables before making into soup.

_A MONTH'S MENUS FOR ONE PERSON_.

No. 1.

CAULIFLOWER SOUP.

1/2 small cauliflower, 1/2 pint milk and water, small piece of butter, 1 teaspoonful of fine wholemeal, pepper and salt to taste. Wash and cut up the cauliflower, cook till tender with the milk and water, add butter and seasoning; smooth the meal with a little water, thicken the soup with it, boil up for a minute and serve.

WHOLEMEAL BATTER.

2 oz. wholemeal, 1 gill of milk, 1 egg, seasoning to taste. Make a batter of the ingredients, butter a flat tin or a small pie-dish, turn the batter into it, and bake it from 20 to 30 minutes. Eat with vegetables.

BLANCMANGE.

1 even dessertspoonful of wheatmeal, 1 ditto cornflour, 1/4 pint milk, sugar and vanilla to taste. Smooth the meal and cornflour with a little of the milk, bring the rest to the boil, stir in the mixture, add flavouring, let it all simmer for 5 to 8 minutes, stirring all the time. Pour into a wetted mould, and turn out when cold.

No. 2.

ARTICHOKE SOUP.

1/4 lb. artichokes, 1/4 lb. potatoes, 3/4 pint milk and water (equal parts), 1/4 oz. butter, pepper and salt to taste. Peel, wash, and cut up small the vegetables, and cook them in the milk and water, until tender. Rub them through a sieve, return to saucepan, add butter and seasoning, boil up and serve.

FLAGOLETS.

3 oz. of flagolets, 1/4 pint parsley sauce. Cook the flagolets till tender, season with pepper and salt, and serve with the sauce. Make it as follows; 1 gill of milk, 1 teaspoonful of cornflour, 1 teaspoonful of finely chopped parsley, pepper and salt, and a small bit of butter. Boil up the milk, thicken with the cornflour, previously smoothed with a spoonful of water; boil up, season, and mix with the parsley before serving.

WHEATMEAL PUDDING.

2 oz. of fine wheatmeal, 1 egg, 1/2 gill of milk, 1 tablespoonful sultanas washed and picked, 1/2 oz. of oiled butter, a little grated lemon peel, sugar to taste. Beat up the egg and mix well all ingredients; butter a small pie-dish, and bake the pudding about 1/2 hour.

No. 3.

CARROT SOUP.

1 carrot, 1 potato, and 1 small onion cut up small, 1 pint of water, a little butter, and pepper and salt to taste. Cook the vegetables in the water till quite tender, rub them through a sieve, adding a little water if necessary; return to saucepan, add seasoning and butter, boil up and serve.

LENTIL CAKES.

2 oz. of picked and washed Egyptian lentils, 1 small finely chopped and fried onion, 1 dessertspoonful of cold boiled vermicelli, 1 egg, some breadcrumbs, seasoning to taste. Stew the lentils with the onion in just enough water to cover them; when cooked, they should be a thick purée. Season to taste, add the vermicelli, and form into 1 or 2 cakes, dip in egg and breadcrumb, and fry in vege-butter, or butter. Serve with potatoes and green vegetables.

TAPIOCA PUDDING.

1 oz. small tapioca, 1/2 pint of milk, sugar to taste. Put the tapioca into a small pie-dish, let it soak in a very little water for half an hour, pour off any which has not been absorbed. Pour the milk over the soaked tapioca, and bake it in the oven until thoroughly cooked. Eat with or without stewed fruit.

No. 4.

CLEAR SOUP (Julienne).

3/4 pint vegetable stock, 1 tablespoonful dried Julienne (vegetables), a little butter, pepper and salt to taste. Cook the Julienne in the stock until tender, add butter and seasoning and serve.

HAGGIS.

2 oz. of wheatmeal, 1 oz. of rolled oatmeal, 1 egg, 1/4 oz. of oiled butter, 1/2 gill milk, a teaspoonful of grated onion, a pinch of herbs, pepper and salt to taste. Beat up the egg, mix it with the milk, and add the other ingredients. Turn the mixture into a small greased basin, and steam the haggis 1-1/2 hours. Serve with vegetables.

GROUND RICE PUDDING.

1 oz. of ground rice, a scanty 1/2 pint of milk, sugar and flavouring to taste, 1/2 egg. Boil the milk, stir the ground rice into it; let it simmer for 10 minutes, then add sugar and flavouring and the 1/2 egg well beaten; turn the mixture into a small pie-dish, and bake in the oven until a golden colour.

No. 5.

CLEAR TOMATO SOUP.

2 tablespoonfuls of tinned tomatoes, or 1 fair-sized fresh one, 1 small finely chopped and fried onion, a teaspoonful of vermicelli, pepper and salt to taste, 1/2 pint of water. Boil the tomatoes with the onion and water for 5 to 10 minutes, then drain all the liquid; return to the saucepan, season and sprinkle in the vermicelli, let the soup cook until the vermicelli is soft, and serve.

MACARONI WITH CHEESE.

2 oz. of macaroni or Spaghetti, a little grated cheese, pepper and salt to taste. Boil the macaroni in as much water as it will absorb (about 1/2 pint). Season to taste. When tender serve with grated cheese and vegetables.

WHEATMEAL BATTER.

2 oz. of meal, 1 oz. of desiccated cocoanut, 1 gill of milk, 1 egg, sugar to taste, 1/4 oz. of oiled butter. Make a batter of the egg, milk, and meal, add the other ingredients, and bake the batter in a small buttered pie-dish.

No. 6.

LENTIL SOUP.

2 oz. of Egyptian lentils, 2 oz. each of carrots and turnips cut up small, 1/2 oz. of onion chopped fine, 1/2 oz. of butter, seasoning to taste, 1 pint of water. Cook the vegetables and lentils in the water until quite tender, then rub them through a sieve. Return to the saucepan, add butter and seasoning, boil up, and serve with sippets of toast.

RICE AND TOMATOES.

1/4 lb. rice, 1/2 pint water, 1/4 oz. of butter, pepper and salt to taste, 1 large tomato or two small ones. Set the rice over the fire with the water (cold) and the butter and seasoning; let it simmer until the water is absorbed and the rice fairly tender. It will take 20 minutes. Meanwhile place the tomatoes in a small dish, sprinkle with pepper and salt, place a little bit of butter on each, a few spoonfuls of water in the dish, and bake them from 15 to 25 minutes. Spread the rice on a flat dish, place the tomatoes in the middle, pour the juice over, and serve.

WHEATMEAL AND SAGO PUDDING.

1 dessertspoonful of sago, 1 ditto of wheatmeal, 1/2 pint milk, sugar and flavouring to taste. Boil the sago and wheatmeal in the milk until the sago is well swelled out. Flavour to taste, pour the mixture into a little pie-dish, and bake the pudding until a golden colour.

No. 7.

POTATO SOUP.

1/2 lb. of potatoes, 1 pint of water, 1 small onion, a piece of celery, a little piece of butter, a teaspoonful of chopped parsley, pepper and salt to taste. Peel, wash, and cut up small the vegetables, and cook them in the water till quite tender. Rub the mixture through a sieve, add the butter and seasoning, boil up, mix in the parsley, and serve.

CAULIFLOWER AU GRATIN.

1 small cauliflower, 1 oz. of grated cheese, 1 tablespoonful of breadcrumbs, 1/2 oz. of butter, pepper and salt. Boil the cauliflower until tender, cut it up and arrange it in a small pie-dish; sprinkle over the cheese and breadcrumbs, dust with pepper and salt, place the butter in little bits over the top, and bake the cauliflower until golden brown. Serve with white sauce. (See "Sauces.")

APPLE PIE.

2 medium-sized cooking apples, sugar and cinnamon or lemon peel to taste. Some paste for short crust. Pare, core, and cut up the apples, and fill a small pie-dish with them; add sugar and cinnamon to taste, and a little water. Cover with paste, and bake in a fairly quick oven until brown, then let cook gently for another 1/4 hour in a cooler part of the oven.

No. 8.

POTATO SOUP (2).

2 medium-sized potatoes, 1 small onion chopped fine, and fried a nice brown in butter or vege-butter, 1/4 pint milk, 3/4 pint water, 1 piece of celery, pepper and salt to taste. Peel, wash, and cut up the potatoes, and cut up the celery. Boil with the water until tender. Rub the vegetables through a sieve, return the soup to the saucepan, add seasoning, milk, and onion; boil up and serve.

SWEET CORN TART.

2 tablespoonfuls of tinned sweet corn, 1/4 oz. of butter, pepper and salt to taste, 1 egg, some paste for crust. Beat up the egg and mix with the sweet corn, season to taste. Roll out the paste and line a plate with it, turn the sweet corn mixture on to the paste, and bake the tart until a light brown. Serve with brown sauce or tomato sauce.

RICE PUDDING.

1 oz. of rice, 1/2 pint of milk, sugar and flavouring to taste. Wash the rice and put it into a pie-dish. Bring the milk to the boil, pour it over the rice, add the sugar and any kind of flavouring, and bake the pudding till the rice is tender.

No. 9.

RICE CHEESE SOUP.

1 dessertspoonful of rice, 3/4 pint water, 1/4 pint milk, 1 oz. grated cheese, 1/4 oz. butter, seasoning to taste. Cook the rice in the milk and water until tender, then add the cheese, butter, and seasoning, and let the soup boil up until the cheese is dissolved.

VEGETABLE PIE.

2 oz. each of potato, carrot, turnip, celery, tomato (or any other vegetable in season), a small onion, 1/2 oz. of butter, pepper and salt to taste, 1 teaspoonful of sago. Chop fine the onion and fry it. Boil all the vegetables, previously washed and cut up, in 1/2 pint of water. When they are quite tender, put all in a pie-dish, adding seasoning to taste. Add enough water for gravy, and sprinkle in the sago. Cover with short crust, and bake in a moderately hot oven.

STEWED PRUNES AND GRATED COCOANUT.

Stew some Californian plums in enough water to cover them well. If possible, they should be soaked over night. Grate some fresh cocoanut, after removing the brown outer skin, and serve separately.

No. 10.

ASPARAGUS SOUP.

1/2 dozen sticks of asparagus, 1/2 pint water, 1/4 pint milk, 1 level dessertspoonful of cornflour, 1/4 oz. of butter, pepper and salt to taste. Boil the asparagus in the water till tender, add the seasoning, and the cornflour smoothed in the milk, boil up and serve.

MACARONI WITH CAPER SAUCE.

2 oz. macaroni, 1/4 pint white sauce (see "Sauces"); 1 teaspoonful capers chopped small, enough of the caper vinegar to taste. Boil the macaroni in 1/2 pint of water until tender. Make the white sauce, then add the capers and vinegar. Serve with vegetables.

PRUNE BATTER.

8 or 10 well-cooked Californian plums, with a little of the juice, 2 oz. of fine wheatmeal, 1/2 oz. of butter, 1 gill of milk, and 1 egg. Make a batter of the milk, meal, and egg, oil the butter, and stir it in. Place the prunes in a little pie-dish, pour the batter over, and bake until a nice brown.

No. 11.

TOMATO SOUP.

1 teacupful of tinned tomatoes, or 6 oz. of fresh ones, 1 teaspoonful of cornflour, 1 small onion, pepper and salt to taste, and a little butter. Chop the onion up fine, and cook the tomatoes and onion in enough water to make 1/2 pint of soup. When cooked 15 minutes rub the vegetables through a sieve; return to the saucepan, boil up, thicken with the cornflour smoothed with a spoonful of water, and add a little piece of butter; serve with sippets of toast.

BREAD STEAK.

One slice of Wholemeal bread, a small finely chopped onion, a little milk, half an egg beaten up, pepper and salt, a little piece of butter. Dip the bread in milk, then in egg; melt the butter in a frying pan, fry the bread and onion a nice brown, sprinkle with seasoning and serve with potato and greens.

SEMOLINA PUDDING.

1 oz. of semolina, 1/2 pint of milk, sugar and vanilla to taste. Boil the semolina in the milk until well thickened, add sugar and flavouring, pour the mixture into a little pie-dish, and bake until a golden colour.

No. 12.

BREAD SOUP.

1 slice of Allinson bread, 1 small finely chopped onion fried brown, a pinch of nutmeg, pepper and salt to taste. Boil the bread in 3/4 pint of water and milk in equal parts, adding the onion and seasoning. When the bread is quite tender, rub all through a sieve, return soup to the saucepan, boil up, and serve.

RICE AND MUSHROOMS.

1/4 lb. of rice, 1/4 lb. of mushrooms, a little butter and seasoning. Cook the rice in 1/2 pint of water, as directed in recipe for "Rice." Peel and wash the mushrooms, place them in a flat tin with a few spoonfuls of water, a dusting of pepper and salt and a bit of butter on each. Bake them from 15 to 20 minutes, spread the rice on a flat dish, place the mushrooms in the middle, pour over the gravy, and serve.

BREAD PUDDING.

3 oz. of bread, 1 oz. sultanas, 1/2 doz. sweet almonds chopped fine, 1 well-beaten egg, cinnamon and sugar to taste, 1/2 oz. of butter, a little milk. Soak the bread in milk, and squeeze the surplus out with a spoon. Mix all the ingredients together, add the butter oiled, pour the mixture into a buttered pie-dish, and bake the pudding from 30 to 45 minutes.

No. 13.

ONION SOUP.

1 small Spanish onion, 1 medium-sized potato, 1/4 oz. of butter, pepper and salt and a pinch of mixed herbs, a little milk. Cut up the vegetables and cook them in 1/2 pint of water, adding a little herbs. When tender, rub the vegetables through a sieve, return the soup to the saucepan, add the butter and seasoning, and serve.

MACARONI AND TOMATOES.

2 oz, of macaroni, 1/2 teacupful tinned tomatoes, 1-1/2 gills of water, a little grated cheese. Cook the rice in the water and tomatoes until tender, add seasoning, and serve with grated cheese and vegetables.

STEAMED PUDDING.

2 oz. wheatmeal, 1 oz. of sago, 1 egg, 1/2 oz. of oiled butter, 1 oz. sultanas, 1/2 saltspoonful of cinnamon, sugar to taste. Soak the sago over the fire in a little water; when almost tender drain off any water that is not absorbed, mix it with the other ingredients, pour the mixture into a soup-or small basin, tie with a cloth, and steam the pudding for an hour. Serve with white sauce.

No. 14.

GREEN PEA SOUP.

1/2 teacupful green peas, 1/4 oz. of butter, 1 spray of mint, a teaspoonful of fine meal, a little milk, pepper and salt to taste. Boil the green peas in 1/2 pint of water, adding seasoning and the mint. When the peas are tender, take out the mint, add the butter, smooth the meal with a little milk, and thicken the soup. Let it cook for 2 to 3 minutes, and serve.

VERMICELLI RISSOLES.

2 ozs. of vermicelli, 1 oz. of grated cheese, 1 egg well beaten, a few breadcrumbs, seasoning to taste, 1 gill of water, a little butter, or vege-butter. Boil the vermicelli in the water until tender and all the water absorbed. Then add seasoning, the egg, the cheese, and a few breadcrumbs, if the mixture is too moist. Form into 2 or 3 little cakes, place little bits of butter on each, and bake them a golden brown.

TRIFLE.

2 sponge cakes, 1 gill of custard, a little jam, a few ratafias, 1/2 oz. of chopped almond. Cut the sponge cakes in half, spread them with jam, arranging them in a little pie-dish, sprinkling crumbled ratafias and the almonds between the pieces of cake. Pour the custard over, let it all soak for half an hour, and serve.

No. 15.

SPLIT PEA SOUP.

2 oz. of split peas cooked overnight, 3 oz. of potatoes cut into pieces, a piece of celery, a slice of Spanish onion chopped up, seasoning to taste. Soak the peas in water overnight, after picking them over and washing them. Set them over the fire in the morning, and cook them with the vegetables till quite tender. Then rub all through a sieve. Return to the saucepan, add pepper and salt, and a little water if necessary; boil up, and serve with sippets of toast.

HOT-POT.

1/2 lb. potatoes, 3 oz. Spanish onion peeled and sliced, 1/2 teacupful tomatoes, 1/2 oz. of butter, pepper and salt to taste. Arrange the potatoes, onions, and tomatoes in layers in a small pie-dish, and sprinkle pepper and salt between the vegetables. Cut the butter in little bits, and scatter them over the top. Fill the dish with boiling water, and boil the hot-pot for 1 to 1-1/2 hours, adding a little hot water if needed.

BAKED APPLES AND WHITE SAUCE.

Wash and core a good-sized apple, fill the core with 1 or 2 stoned dates, and bake it in the oven in a dish or tin with a few spoonfuls of water until well done. Serve with sauce.

No. 16.

LEEK SOUP.

1 leek, 1/4 lb. potatoes, 1/2 pint water, 1 gill of milk, 1/4 oz. of butter, pepper and salt to taste. Peel, wash, and cut up the leek and potatoes, and cook them till tender in the water. Then rub the vegetables through a sieve. Return to the saucepan, add the milk, butter, and seasoning, boil up, and serve.

SAVOURY CUSTARD.

1-1/2 gills of milk, 1 egg, 1 oz. of grated cheese, a pinch of nutmeg, pepper and salt to taste. Proceed as in savoury custard, and serve with potatoes and greens.

CHOCOLATE BLANCMANGE.

1/2 pint of milk, 1 teaspoonful N.F. cocoa, 1 oz. of half cornflour and fine wheatmeal, sugar and vanilla essence to taste. Bring the milk to the boil, mix cocoa, flour, and wheatmeal, and smooth them with a little water. Stir the mixture into the boiling milk, sweeten and flavour, keep stirring, and allow to cook 5 minutes. Pour into a wetted mould, and allow to get cold. Turn out, and serve.

No. 17.

TURNIP SOUP.

1/4 lb. turnip, a small onion, and 2 oz. of potato, a little butter and seasoning, 1/2 pint water. Wash, peel, and cut up the vegetables, and cook them in the water until tender. Rub them through a sieve, return the mixture to the saucepan, add butter and seasoning, boil up, and serve.

POTATO BATTER.

1 gill of milk, 1 egg, 2 oz. wheatmeal, 1 oz. of vege-butter, 6 oz. cold boiled potatoes. Fry the potatoes in the butter, make a batter of the milk, meal, and egg, mix it with the potatoes, add seasoning, pour the mixture in a little pie-dish, and bake the savoury for half an hour.

LEMON MOULD.

1 oz. of tapioca, 1/2 pint of water, juice and rind of 1/4 lemon, 1 large tablespoonful of golden syrup. Boil the tapioca until quite tender, with the Lemon rind, in the water. Take out the rind, add the syrup and lemon juice, mix well, pour the mixture into a wetted mould, turn out when cold, and serve.

No. 18.

APPLE SOUP.

1 large cooking apple, 1 small finely chopped onion, seasoning and sugar to taste, a little butter, 1 teaspoonful of cornflour, 1/2 pint of water. Peel and cut up the apple, and cook with the onion in the water till quite tender. Rub the mixture through a sieve, return to the saucepan, add the butter, seasoning and sugar, thicken the soup with the cornflour, and serve.

RICE CHEESECAKES.

2 oz. rice, 1 gill water, 1 oz. of grated cheese, seasoning, a pinch of nutmeg, 1 egg, a little wheatmeal, and some vege-butter, or butter. Cook the rice in the water until quite dry and soft, mix the egg--well beaten--seasoning, and cheese with the rice, and form the mixture into small cakes. Roll in wheatmeal, and fry them a golden brown. Serve with vegetables and brown sauce.

PLUM PIE.

1/2 lb. ripe plums, sugar to taste, some paste. Wash the plums and put them in a small pie-dish, pour 1/2 teacupful of water over them, add sugar, cover the plums with a short crust, and bake the pie a golden brown.

No. 19.

CELERY SOUP.