Chapter 2

2 cups rolled oats 2 cups boiling water 1/3 cup molasses 1 yeast cake 3/4 cup lukewarm water 1 tablespoon salt 2 tablespoons fat (melted) About 6 cups bread flour

Scald the rolled oats with the boiling water and let stand until cool. Dissolve the yeast in the lukewarm water and add to the first mixture when cool. Add the molasses, salt and melted fat. Stir in enough bread flour to knead. Turn on a floured board. Knead lightly. Return to bowl and let rise until double in bulk. Knead and shape in loaves and let rise until double again. Bake in a moderate oven 45 minutes.

OATMEAL NUT BREAD

1 cake compressed yeast 2 cups boiling water 1/2 cup lukewarm water 2 cups rolled oats 1 teaspoon salt 1/4 cup brown sugar or 2 tablespoons corn syrup 2 tablespoons fat 4 cups flour 1/2 cup chopped nuts.

Pour two cups of boiling water over oatmeal, cover and let stand until lukewarm. Dissolve yeast and sugar in one-half cup lukewarm water, add shortening and add this to the oatmeal and water. Add one cup of flour, or enough to make an ordinary sponge. Beat well. Cover and set aside in a moderately warm place to rise for one hour.

Add enough flour to make a dough--about three cups, add nuts and the salt. Knead well. Place in greased bowl, cover and let rise in a moderately warm place until double in bulk--about one and one-half hour. Mould into loaves, fill well-greased pans half full, cover and let rise again one hour. Bake forty-five minutes in a moderate oven.

OATMEAL SCONES

1 cup cold porridge (stiff) 1 cup boiling water 1 tablespoon fat 1/2 teaspoon baking powder or 1/4 teaspoon soda 1 teaspoon corn syrup 1/2 teaspoon salt

Mix soda, boiling water and fat. Mix all. Turn on board. Mould flat--cut 1/4-inch thick and bake on griddle.

OATMEAL MUFFINS

1-1/3 cups flour 2 tablespoons molasses 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons fat 3 teaspoons baking powder 1 egg beaten 1/2 cup milk 1 cup cooked oatmeal

Sift dry ingredients. Add egg and milk. Add fat and cereal. Beat well. Bake in greased tins 20 minutes.

ROLLED OATS RAGGED ROBINS

1-1/2 cups rolled oats 1 cup bread flour 1-1/3 teaspoons salt 1-1/3 cups milk 2-1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar 4 tablespoons fat 1-1/4 teaspoons soda

Sift dry ingredients. Cut in the fat. Add liquid and drop by spoonfuls on greased baking sheet. Bake in hot oven 12 to 15 minutes. These may be rolled and cut same as baking powder biscuits. (If uncooked rolled oats are used, allow to stand in the milk for 30 minutes before making recipe.)

THE USE OF RYE

RYE YEAST BREAD

1 cup milk and water, or water 1 tablespoon fat 2 tablespoons corn syrup 1 teaspoon salt 2-1/2 cups rye flour 2-1/2 cups wheat flour 1/2 cake compressed yeast 2 tablespoons water

Combine ingredients. Mix into dough and knead. Let rise until double original bulk. Knead again. When double bulk, bake about

RYE ROLLS

4 cups rye flour 1-1/2 teaspoons salt 6 teaspoons baking powder 1-1/2 cups milk 2 tablespoons fat 1 cup chopped nuts

Mix dry ingredients thoroughly. Add milk, nuts and melted shortening. Knead. Shape into rolls. Put into greased pans. Let stand one-half hour. Bake in moderate oven 30 minutes.

WAR BREAD

2 cups boiling water 2 tablespoons sugar 1-1/2 teaspoons salt 1/4 cup lukewarm water 2 tablespoons fat 6 cups rye flour 1-1/2 cups whole wheat flour 1 cake yeast

To the boiling water, add the sugar, fat and salt. When lukewarm, add the yeast which has been dissolved in the lukewarm water. Add the rye and whole wheat flour. Cover and let rise until twice its bulk, shape into loaves; let rise until double and bake about 40 minutes, in a moderately hot oven.

RYE RAGGED ROBINS

1-1/2 cups rye flour 1 cup bread flour 1-1/2 teaspoons salt 1-1/3 cups milk 2-1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar 4 tablespoons fat 1-1/4 teaspoons soda

Sift dry ingredients. Cut in the fat. Add liquid and drop by spoonfuls on greased baking sheet. Bake in hot oven 12 to 15 minutes. These may be rolled and cut same as baking powder biscuits.

THE USE OF BARLEY

BARLEY YEAST BREAD

1 cup milk and water, or water 2 tablespoons corn syrup 1 tablespoon fat 1-1/2 teaspoons salt 1-1/6 cups barley flour 2-1/3 cups wheat flour 1/2 cake compressed yeast

Soften the yeast in 1/4 cup lukewarm liquid. Combine ingredients. Mix into a dough. Knead and let rise to double original bulk. Knead again. Put in pan; when again double in bulk bake 45 minutes.

BARLEY MUFFINS

1-1/4 cups whole wheat flour 1 cup barley meal 1/2 teaspoon salt 3 teaspoons baking powder 1 egg 1-1/4 cups sour milk 1/2 teaspoon soda 2 tablespoons drippings

Sift flour, barley meal, salt and baking powder. Dissolve soda in a little cold water and add to sour milk. Combine flour mixture and sour milk, add beaten egg and melted fat. Bake in muffin pans in a moderate oven 25 minutes.

BARLEY SPOON BREAD

2 tablespoons pork drippings 3 cups boiling water 1 cup barley meal 2 eggs

Heat drippings in saucepan until slightly brown, add water and when boiling, add barley meal, stirring constantly. Cook in a double boiler one-half hour, cool, and add well-beaten yolks. Fold in whites, beaten. Bake in greased dish in moderate oven one-half hour.

BARLEY PUDDING

5 cups milk 1/2 cup barley meal 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon ginger 3/4 cup molasses

Scald the milk, pour this on the meal and cook in double boiler one-half hour; add molasses, salt and ginger. Pour into greased pudding dish and bake two hours in a slow oven. Serve either hot or cold with syrup.

BARLEY SCONES

1 cup whole wheat flour 1 cup barley meal 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 teaspoons baking powder 3 tablespoons fat 3/4 cup sour milk 1/3 teaspoon soda

Sift flour, barley meal, salt and baking powder together. Add fat. Dissolve soda in one tablespoon cold water and add to sour milk. Combine flour mixture and sour milk to form a soft dough. Turn out on a well-floured board, knead slightly, roll to one-half inch thickness; cut in small pieces and bake in a hot oven 15 minutes.

THE USE OF POTATO

POTATO BISCUIT

1 cup mashed lightly packed potato 2 tablespoons fat 1 cup whole wheat flour 1 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon salt About 1/2 cup milk or water in which potatoes were cooked

Add melted fat to mashed potato. Mix and sift flour, baking powder and salt and add to potato mixture, add enough of the milk to make a soft dough. Roll out 1/2 inch thick, cut with a biscuit cutter and bake in a quick oven for 15 minutes. (If bread flour is used in place of whole wheat, the biscuits are slightly lighter and flakier in texture.)

POTATO BREAD

1-1/2 cups tightly packed mashed potato 2-1/2 cups wheat flour 1 tablespoon warm water 1/2 yeast cake 1/2 teaspoon salt

Make dough as usual. Let rise in warm place for 15 minutes. Mould into loaf, put in pan, let rise until double in bulk in warm place. Bake for 45 minutes in hot oven.

POTATO YEAST BREAD

1/2 cup milk and water or water 2 tablespoons corn syrup 4 tablespoons fat 1-1/2 teaspoons salt 4 cups boiled potatoes 8 cups flour 1/2 cake compressed yeast 1/4 cup warm water

Dissolve yeast in the warm water. Add other ingredients and make same as any bread.

POTATO PARKER HOUSE ROLLS

1/2 cake yeast 1 cup milk (scalded) 1 teaspoon fat 3 tablespoons corn syrup (or 1 tablespoon sugar) 3-1/2 cups flour 2 cups potato (mashed and hot) 1 teaspoon salt 1 egg

Dissolve yeast in milk (luke warm). Stir in dry ingredients. Add potato and knead until smooth. Let rise until light. Roll thin, fold over, bake until brown.

THE USE OF MIXED GRAINS

WAR BREAD OR THIRDS BREAD

1 pint milk, or milk and water 2 teaspoons salt 2 tablespoons molasses 1 yeast cake 2 tablespoons fat

Mix as ordinary bread dough. Add 2 cups cornmeal and 2 cups rye meal and enough whole wheat flour to knead. Let rise, knead, shape, let rise again in the pan and bake 45 minutes.

CORN MEAL AND RYE BREAD

2 cups lukewarm water 1 cake yeast 2 teaspoons salt 1/3 cup molasses 1-1/4 cup rye flour 1 cup corn meal 3 cups bread flour

Dissolve yeast cake in water, add remaining ingredients, and mix thoroughly. Let rise, shape, let rise again and bake.

BOSTON BROWN BREAD

1 cup rye meal 1 cup cornmeal 1 cup graham flour 2 cups sour milk 1-3/4 teaspoons soda 1-1/2 teaspoons salt 3/4 cup molasses

Beat well. Put in greased covered molds, steam 2 to 3 hours.

BREAD MUFFINS

2 cups bread crumbs 1/3 cup flour 1 tablespoon fat, melted 1-1/2 cups milk 1 egg 2 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt

Cover crumbs with milk and soak 10 minutes. Beat smooth, add egg yolks, dry ingredients sifted together and fat. Fold in beaten whites of eggs. Bake in muffin tins in moderate oven for 15 minutes.

CORN, RYE AND WHOLE WHEAT FRUIT MUFFINS

1/3 cup boiling water 1 cup cornmeal 1/4 teaspoon soda 1/4 cup molasses 1 cup whole wheat flour 1 cup rye flour 3 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon salt 1 cup milk 1/3 cup raisins cut in halves 1/4 cup chopped nuts 2 tablespoons fat

Scald meal with boiling water, mix soda and molasses. Mix dry ingredients, mix all thoroughly. Bake in muffin pans one-half hour.

SOY BEAN MEAL BISCUIT

1 cup soy bean meal or flour 1 cup whole wheat 1-1/2 teaspoons salt 4 teaspoons baking powder 1 tablespoon corn syrup 2 tablespoons fat 1 cup milk

Sift dry ingredients. Cut in fat. Add liquid to make soft dough. Roll one-half inch thick. Cut and bake 12 to 15 minutes in hot oven.

EMERGENCY BISCUIT

1 cup whole wheat flour 1 cup cornmeal 1 tablespoon fat 1/2 teaspoon soda 1 cup sour milk 1 teaspoon salt

Mix as baking powder biscuit. Drop by spoonfuls on greased baking sheet. Bake 15 minutes in hot oven.

PANCAKES AND WAFFLES

SOUR MILK PANCAKES

1 cup sour milk 1/2 cup cooked cereal or 1 cup bread crumbs 1 tablespoon melted fat 1 egg 3/4 cup whole wheat flour 1 teaspoon soda 1/8 teaspoon salt

Mix bread crumbs, flour, salt; add beaten egg, fat and cereal; mix soda with sour milk and add to other ingredients.

SPLIT PEA PANCAKES

2 cups split peas 2 egg whites 1/3 cup flour 1 cup milk 2 egg yolks 2 tablespoons pork drippings 1/8 teaspoon cayenne 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoonful baking powder

Soak peas over night, cook, and when tender, put through a food chopper and mix the ingredients. Bake on hot greased griddle.

BREAD GRIDDLE CAKES

2 cups sour milk 2 cups bread

Let stand until soft

Put through colander. For each one pint use:

1 egg 1 teaspoon soda 2 teaspoons sugar 1/4 teaspoon salt 3/4 cup flour 1 egg beaten

Mix well; bake at once on hot greased griddle.

OATMEAL PANCAKES

2 cups oatmeal 1 tablespoon melted fat 1/8 teaspoon salt

Add:

1 egg beaten into a cupful of milk 1 cupful flour into which has been sifted 1 teaspoonful baking powder.

Beat well. Cook on a griddle. This is an excellent way to use left-over oatmeal.

POTATO PANCAKES

2 cups of chopped potato 1/2 cup milk 1 egg 1 teaspoon salt 2 cups flour 5 teaspoons of baking powder 2 cups of hot water

Parboil potatoes in the skins for fifteen minutes. Pare and chop fine or put through food chopper. Mix potatoes, milk, eggs and salt. Sift the flour and baking powder and stir into a smooth batter. Thin with hot water as necessary. Bake on a greased griddle.

RICE WAFFLES

1 cup cold boiled rice 1-1/2 cups milk 2 eggs 2 cups flour 1/3 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon melted fat 4 teaspoons baking powder

Add milk to rice and stir until smooth. Add salt, egg yolks beaten; add flour sifted with baking powder and salt; add fat; add stiffly beaten whites.

RICE GRIDDLE CAKES

1/2 cup boiled rice 1/2 cup flour 3 tablespoons fat 1 pint milk 2/3 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon soda

Stir rice in milk. Let stand one-half hour. Add other ingredients, having dissolved soda in one tablespoon cold water.

CORNMEAL WAFFLES

1 cup cornmeal 1/2 cup flour 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 teaspoons baking powder 1/4 cup corn syrup 1 egg 1 pint milk 1 tablespoon fat

Cook cornmeal and milk in double boiler 10 minutes. Sift dry ingredients. Add milk, cornmeal; beaten yolks; fat, beaten whites.

CORNMEAL AND RYE WAFFLES

1 cup rye flour 3/4 cup cornmeal 1 teaspoon salt 4 teaspoons baking powder 1 tablespoon melted fat 2 eggs 1-1/4 cups milk

Sift dry ingredients. Add beaten yolks added to milk. Add fat and stiffly beaten whites. If waffles are not crisp add more liquid.

SAVE MEAT

_REASONS WHY OUR GOVERNMENT HAS ASKED US TO SAVE MEAT WITH PRACTICAL RECIPES FOR MEAT CONSERVATION_

As a nation we eat and waste 80 per cent. more meat than we require to maintain health. This statement, recently issued by the United States Food Administration, is appalling when we consider that there is a greater demand for meat in the world to-day than ever before, coupled with a greatly decreased production. The increase in the demand for meat and animal products is due to the stress of the war. Millions of men are on the fighting line doing hard physical labor, and require a larger food allowance than when they were civilians. To meet the demand for meat and to save their grains, our Allies have been compelled to kill upward of thirty-three million head of their stock animals, and they have thus stifled their animal production. This was burning the candle at both ends, and they now face increased demand handicapped by decreased production.

America must fill the breach. Not only must we meet the present increased demand, but we must be prepared as the war advances to meet an even greater demand for this most necessary food. The way out of this serious situation is first to reduce meat consumption to the amount really needed and then to learn to use other foods that will supply the food element which is found in meat. This element is called protein, and we depend upon it to build and repair body tissues.

Although most persons believe that protein can only be obtained from meat, it is found in many other foods, such as milk, skim milk, cheese, cottage cheese, poultry, eggs, fish, dried peas, beans, cow peas, lentils and nuts. For instance, pound for pound, salmon, either fresh or canned, equals round steak in protein content; cream cheese contains one-quarter more protein and three times as much fat; peanuts (hulled) one-quarter more protein and three and a half times as much fat; beans (dried) a little more protein and one-fifth as much fat; eggs (one dozen) about the same in protein and one-half more fat. It is our manifest duty to learn how to make the best use of these foods in order to save beef, pork and mutton, to be shipped across the sea. This means that the housekeeper has before her the task of training the family palate to accept new food preparations. Training the family palate is not easy, because bodies that have grown accustomed to certain food combinations find it difficult to get along without them, and rebel at a change. If these habits of diet are suddenly disturbed we may upset digestion, as well as create a feeling of dissatisfaction which is equally harmful to physical well-being. The wise housekeeper will therefore make her changes gradually.

In reducing meat in the diet of a family that has been used to having meat twice a day, it will be well to start out with meat once a day and keep up this régime for a couple of weeks. Then drop meat for a whole day, supplying in its stead a meat substitute dish that will furnish the same nutriment. After a while you can use meat substitutes at least twice a week without disturbing the family's mental or physical equilibrium. It would be well also to introduce dishes that extend the meat flavor, such as stews combined with dumplings, hominy, or rice; pot pies or short cakes with a dressing of meat and vegetables; meat loaf, souffle or croquettes in which meat is combined with bread crumbs, potato or rice.

Meat eating is largely a matter of flavor. If flavor is supplied, the reduction of meat in the diet can be made with little annoyance. Nutrition can always be supplied in the other dishes that accompany the meal, as a certain proportion of protein is found in almost every food product. The meat that we use to obtain flavor in sauces and gravies need not be large in quantity, nor expensive in cut. The poor or cheap cuts have generally more flavor than the expensive ones, the difference being entirely in texture and tenderness, freedom from gristle and inedible tissue. There are many cereals, such as rice, hominy, cornmeal, samp and many vegetable dishes, especially dried beans of all kinds, that are greatly improved by the addition of meat sauce and when prepared in this way may be served as the main dish of a meal.

Dr. Harvey W. Wiley has stated that the meat eating of the future will not be regarded as a necessity so much as it has been in the past, and that meat will be used more as a condimental substance. Europe has for years used meat for flavor rather than for nutriment. It would seem that the time has come for Americans to learn the use of meat for flavor and to utilize more skillfully the protein of other foods.

It may be difficult to convince the meat lover that he can radically reduce the proportion of meat in his diet without detriment to health. Many persons adhere to the notion that you are not nourished unless you eat meat; that meat foods are absolutely necessary to maintain the body strength. This idea is entirely without foundation, for the foods mentioned as meat substitutes earlier in this chapter can be made to feed the world, and feed it well--in fact, no nation uses so large a proportion of meat as America.

The first step, therefore, in preparing ourselves to reduce meat consumption is to recognize that only a small quantity of meat is necessary to supply sufficient protein for adult life. The growing child or the youth springing into manhood needs a larger percentage of meat than the adult, and in apportioning the family's meat ration this fact should not be overlooked.

The second step is to reduce the amount purchased, choosing cuts that contain the least waste, and by utilizing with care that which we do purchase. Fat, trimmings, and bones all have their uses and should be saved from the garbage pail.

Careful buying, of course, depends on a knowledge of cuts, a study of the percentage of waste in each cut, and the food value of the different kinds of meat. Make a study of the different cuts, as shown in the charts on pages 36, 37, and armed with this knowledge go forth to the butcher for practical buying.

Then comes the cooking, which can only be properly done when the fundamental principles of the cooking processes, such as boiling, braising, broiling, stewing, roasting and frying are understood. Each cut requires different handling to secure the maximum amount of nutriment and flavor. The waste occasioned by improper cooking is a large factor in both household and national economy.

It has been estimated that a waste of an ounce each day of edible meat or fat in the twenty million American homes amounts to 456,000,000 pounds of valuable animal food a year. At average dressed weights, this amounts to 875,000 steers, or over 3,000,000 hogs. Each housekeeper, therefore, who saves her ounce a day aids in this enormous saving, which will mean so much in the feeding of our men on the fighting line.

So the housekeeper who goes to her task of training the family palate to accept meat substitutes and meat economy dishes, who revolutionizes her methods of cooking so as to utilize even "the pig's squeak," will be doing her bit toward making the world safe for democracy.

The following charts, tables of nutritive values and suggested menus have been arranged to help her do this work. The American woman has her share in this great world struggle, and that is the intelligent conservation of food.

SELECTION OF MEAT

BEEF--Dull red as cut, brighter after exposure to air; lean, well mottled with fat; flesh, firm; fat, yellowish in color. Best beef from animal 3 to 5 years old, weighing 900 to 1,200 pounds. Do not buy wet, soft, or pink beef.

VEAL--Flesh pink. (If white, calf was bled before killed or animal too young.) The fat should be white.

MUTTON--Best from animal 3 years old. Flesh dull red, fat firm and white.

LAMB--(Spring Lamb 3 months to 6 months old; season, February to March.) Bones of lamb should be small; end of bone in leg of lamb should be serrated; flesh pink, and fat white.

PORK--The lean should be fine grained and pale pink. The skin should be smooth and clear. If flesh is soft, or fat yellowish, pork is not good.

SELECTION OF TOUGHER CUTS AND THEIR USES

Less expensive cuts of meat have more nourishment than the more expensive, and if properly cooked and seasoned, have as much tenderness. Tough cuts, as chuck or top sirloin, may be boned and rolled and then roasted by the same method as tender cuts, the only difference will be that the tougher cuts require longer cooking. Have the bones from rolled meats sent home to use for soups. Corned beef may be selected from flank, naval, plate or brisket. These cuts are more juicy than rump or round cuts.

1. _For pot roast_ use chuck, crossrib, round, shoulder, rump or top sirloin.

2. _For stew_ use shin, shoulder, top sirloin or neck.

3. _For steaks_ use flank, round or chuck. If these cuts are pounded, or both pounded and rubbed with a mixture of 1 part vinegar and 2 parts oil before cooking, they will be very tender.

4. _Soups_--Buy shin or neck. The meat from these may be utilized by serving with horseradish or mustard sauce, or combined with equal amount of fresh meat for meat loaf, scalloped dish, etc.

DRY METHODS

1. _Roasting or Baking_--Oven roasting or baking is applied to roasts.

Place the roast in a hot oven, or if gas is used, put in the broiling oven to sear the outside quickly, and thus keep in the juices. Salt, pepper and flour. If an open roasting pan is used place a few tablespoonfuls of fat and 1 cup of water in the pan, which should be used to baste the roast frequently. If a covered pan is used basting is unnecessary.

Beef or mutton (5 to 8 lbs.) 10 min. to the lb. 10 min. extra Lamb (5 to 8 lbs.) 12 min. to the lb. 12 min. extra Veal (5 to 8 lbs.) 15 min. to the lb. 15 min. extra Pork (5 to 8 lbs.) 25 min. to the lb. 25 min. extra Turkey 20 min. to the lb. Chicken 30 min. to the lb. Duck 30 min. to the lb. Goose 30 min. to the lb. Game 30 min. to the lb.

2. _Broiling_--Cooking over or under clear fire. This method is used for chops or steaks.

Sear the meat on both sides. Then reduce the heat and turn the meat frequently. Use no fat.

_Time Table_--(Count time after meat is seared). 1/2 inch chops or steaks, 5 minutes 1 inch chops or steaks, 10 minutes 2 inch chops or steaks, 15 to 18 minutes

3. _Pan Broiling_--Cooking in pan with no fat. _Time table same as for broiling_ chops, steaks, etc.

4. _Sautéing_--Cooking in pan in small amount of fat. Commonly termed "frying." Used for steaks, chops, etc. _Time table same as for broiling._

MOIST METHODS

1. Boiling--Cooking in boiling water--especially poultry, salt meats, etc.

2. Steaming--A method of cooking by utilizing steam from boiling water, which retains more food value than any other. Too seldom applied to meats.

3. Frying--Cooking by immersion in hot fat at temperature 400 to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Used for croquettes, etc.