Chapter 53

The lunch basket should contain ample provision for fresh-air-sharpened appetites, but let the food be as simple as possible, and of not too great variety. Good whole-wheat or Graham bread in some form, with well sterilized milk and cream, or a soup previously prepared from grains or legumes, which can be readily heated with the aid of a small alcohol or kerosene stove, and plenty of fruit of seasonable variety, will constitute a very good bill of fare. If cake is desirable, let it be of a very simple kind, like the buns or raised cake for which directions are given in another chapter. Beaten biscuits, rolls, and crisps are also serviceable for picnic dinners. Fruit sandwiches--made by spreading slices of light whole-wheat or Graham bread with a little whipped cream and then with fresh fruit jam lightly sweetened, with fig sauce or steamed figs chopped, steamed prunes or sliced bananas--are most relishable. These should be made on the ground, just before serving, from material previously prepared. An egg sandwich may be prepared in the same manner by substituting for the fruit the hard-boiled yolks of eggs chopped with a very little of the whitest and tenderest celery, and seasoned lightly with salt. Two pleasing and palatable picnic breads may be made as follows:--

_RECIPES._

PICNIC BISCUIT.--Prepare a dough as for Raised Biscuit, page 145, and when thoroughly kneaded the last time, divide, and roll both portions to about one fourth of an inch in thickness. Spread one portion with stoned dates, or figs that have been chopped or cut fine with scissors, cover with the second portion, and cut into fancy shapes. Let the biscuits rise until very light, and bake. Wash the tops with milk to glace before baking.

FIG WAFERS.--Rub together equal quantities of Graham meal, and figs that have been chopped very fine. Make into a dough with cold sweet cream. Roll thin, cut in shape, and bake.

If provision can be made for the reheating of foods, a soup, or grain, macaroni with tomato sauce, or with egg or cream sauce, or some similar article which can be cooked at home, transported in sealed fruit cans, and reheated in a few moments on the grounds, is a desirable addition to the picnic bill of fare.

Recipes for suitable beverages for such occasions will be found in the chapter on Beverages.

SCHOOL LUNCHES.

Mothers whose children are obliged to go long distances to school, are often greatly perplexed to know what to put up for the noonday lunch which shall be both appetizing and wholesome. The conventional school lunch of white bread and butter, sandwiches, pickles, mince or other rich pie, with a variety of cake and cookies, is scarcely better than none at all; since on the one hand there is a deficiency of food material which can be used for the upbuilding of brains, muscles, and nerves; while on the other hand it contains an abundance of material calculated to induce dyspepsia, headache, dullness of intellect, and other morbid conditions. Left in an ante-room, during the school session, until, in cold weather, it becomes nearly frozen, and then partaken of hurriedly, that there may be more time for play, is it to be wondered at that the after-dinner session drags so wearily, and that the pupils feel sleepy, dull, and uninterested? Our brains are nourished by blood made from the food we eat; and if it be formed of improper or unwholesome food, the result will be a disordered organ, incapable of first-class work.

Again, the extra work imposed upon the digestive organs and the liver in getting rid of the excess of fats and sugar in rich, unwholesome foods, continually overtaxes these organs.

It can hardly be doubted that a large majority of the cases of so-called overwork from which school children suffer, are caused by violation of hygienic laws regarding food and diet rather than by an excess of brain work; or in other words, had the brain been properly nourished by an abundance of good, wholesome food, the same amount of work could have been easily accomplished with no detriment whatever.

Whenever practicable, children should return to their homes for the midday lunch, since under the oversight of a wise mother there will be fewer violations of hygienic laws, and the walk back to the school room will be far more conducive to good digestion than the violent exercise or the sports so often indulged in directly after eating. When this is impracticable, let the lunch be as simple as possible, and not so ample as to tempt the child to overeat. Good whole-wheat or Graham bread of some kind, rolls, crisps, beaten biscuit, sticks, fruit rolls, and wafers, with a cup of canned fruit or a bottle of rich milk as an accompaniment, with plenty of nice, fresh fruits or almonds or a few stalks of celery, is as tempting a lunch as any child need desire. It would be a good plan to arrange for the heating of a portion of the milk to be sipped as a hot drink. In many school rooms the ordinary heating stove will furnish means for this, or a little alcohol stove or a heating lamp may be used for the purpose, under the supervision of the teacher.

Furnish the children with apples, oranges, bananas, pears, grapes, filberts, and almonds in place of rich pie and cake. They are just as cheap as the material used for making the less wholesome sweets, and far easier of digestion. An occasional plain fruit or grain pudding, cup custard, or molded dessert may be substituted for variety. Fruit sandwiches, or a slice of Stewed Fruit Pudding prepared as directed on page 308 are also suitable for this purpose.

Rice prepared as directed below makes a wholesome and appetizing article for the lunch basket:--

CREAMY RICE.--Put a pint of milk, one quarter of a cup of best Carolina rice, a tablespoonful of sugar, and a handful of raisins into an earthen-ware dish, and place on the top of the range where it will heat very slowly to boiling temperature. Stir frequently, so that the rice will not adhere to the bottom of the dish. When boiling, place in the oven, and bake till the rice is tender, which can be ascertained by dipping a spoon into one side and taking out a few grains. Twenty minutes will generally be sufficient.

Much care should be used in putting up the lunch to have it as neat and dainty as possible. A basket of suitable size covered with a clean white napkin is better for use than the conventional dinner pail, in which air-tight receptacle each food is apt to savor of all the others, making the entire contents unappetizing, if not unwholesome.

SABBATH DINNERS.

One of the most needed reforms in domestic life is a change to more simple meals on the Sabbath. In many households the Sabbath is the only day in the week when all the members of the family can dine together, and with an aim to making it the most enjoyable day of all, the good housewife provides the most elaborate dinner of the week, for the preparation of which she must either spend an unusual amount of time and labor the day previous or must encroach upon the sacred rest day to perform the work.

Real enjoyment ought not to be dependent upon feasting and gustatory pleasures. Plain living and high thinking should be the rule at all times, and especially upon the Sabbath day. Nothing could be more conducive to indigestion and dyspepsia than this general custom of feasting on the Sabbath. The extra dishes and especial luxuries tempt to over-indulgence of appetite; while the lack of customary exercise and the gorged condition of the stomach incident upon such hearty meals, fosters headaches and indigestion and renders brain and mind so inactive that the participants feel too dull for meditation and study, too sleepy to keep awake during service, too languid for anything but dozing and lounging, and the day that should have fostered spiritual growth is worse than thrown away. Nor is this all; the evil effects of the indigestion occasioned are apt to be felt for several succeeding days, making the children irritable and cross, and the older members of the family nervous and impatient,--most certainly an opposite result from that which ought to follow a sacred day of rest.

Physiologically such feasting is wrong. The wear and consequent repair incident upon hard labor, calls for an equivalent in food; but when no labor is performed, a very moderate allowance--is all that is necessary, and it should be of easy digestibility. Let the Sabbath meals be simple, and served with abundant good cheer and intelligent thought as an accompaniment.

Let as much as possible of the food be prepared and the necessary work be done the day previous, so that the cook may have ample opportunity with the other members of the family to enjoy all Sabbath privileges. This need by no means necessitate the use of cold food nor entail a great amount of added work in preparation. To illustrate, take the following--

SABBATH BILL OF FARE.

BREAKFAST

Fresh Fruit Rolled Wheat with Cream Prune Toast Whole-Wheat Bread Toasted Waters Buns Fresh Strawberries

DINNER

Canned Green Corn Soup Creamed Potato Green Peas Tomato and Macaroni Rice Toasted Wafers Beaten Biscuit Buns Canned Peaches Fruit and Nuts

Both the rolled wheat and rice may be prepared the day previous, as may also the prune sauce for the toast, the buns, bread, and nearly all the other foods. The potatoes can be boiled and sliced, the corn for the soup rubbed through the colander and placed in the ice chest, the green peas boiled but not seasoned, and the macaroni cooked and added to the tomato but not seasoned. The berries may be hulled, the nuts cracked, and the canned fruit opened. If the table is laid over night and covered with a spread to keep off dust, a very short time will suffice for getting the Sabbath breakfast. Heat the rolled wheat in the inner dish of a double boiler. Meanwhile moisten the toast; and heat the prune sauce.

To prepare the dinner, all that is necessary is to add to the material for soup the requisite amount of milk and seasoning, and heat to boiling; heat and season the peas and macaroni; make a cream sauce and add the potatoes; reheat the rice, which should have been cooked by steaming after the recipe given on page 99.

All may be done in half an hour, while the table is being laid, and with very little labor.

TABLE TOPICS.

WATER.

To the days of the aged it addeth length; To the might of the strong it addeth strength; It freshens the heart, it brightens the sight; 'T is like quaffing a goblet of morning light.

--_Sel._

It is said that Worcester sauce was first introduced as a medicine, the original formula having been evolved by a noted physician to disguise the assafetida which it contains, for the benefit of a noble patient whose high living had impaired his digestion.

The turnpike road to people's hearts I find Lies through their mouth, or I mistake mankind.--_Dr. Wolcott._

A good dinner sharpens wit, while it softens the heart.--_Daran._

Small cheer and great welcome make a merry feast.--_Shakespeare._

INDEX.

Absorption 38 Acetic acid 119 Acetic fermentation 119 Acorn coffee 433 A fourteenth century recipe 219 After mealtime 471 Aladdin cooker 66 Albumen 26, 53, 78, 365, 384 Albumenized milk 425 Alcoholic fermentation 119 Almond cornstarch pudding 321 cream 321 paste, to prepare 298 sauce 352 Almonds 212 blanched 212, 215 Alum, how to detect in flour 115 Ancient recipe for cooking barley 95 Animal food 391 Anti-fermentatives 192 Appetite, education of 449 Apple, the 169 and bread custard 321 beverage 433 cake 344 charlotte 321 compote 188 custard 320, 321 custard pie 338 dessert 299 jelly 206 jelly without sugar 207 meringue dessert 300 pudding, baked 302 rose cream 300 sago pudding 311 Apple sandwich 303 shape 314 snow 300 tapioca 309 tart 317 toast 290 toast water 433 Apples, directions for serving 179 in jelly 314 sour, raw, digestion of 39 stewed whole 187 sweet, raw, digestion of 39 with apricots 189 with raisins 189 Apricots 171 Apricot toast 290 Arrowroot blancmange 437 gruel 421 jelly 437 Artificial butter 373 feeding 446 foods, digestibility of 445 human milk 444 Art of dining, the 456 Asparagus 254 and peas 255 on toast 255 points 255 preparation and cooking of 254 recipes for cooking 255 soup 276, 415 stewed 256 toast 290 with cream sauce 255 with egg sauce 256 Assama 135 Avena 91 Avenola 429

Baccate fruits or berries 168 Bacteria in gelatine 313 Bad cookery, evils of 46 Bad cooking the ally of intemperance 46 Bain marie 232, 464 Baked apples 186, 189 apple loaf 319 apple pudding 302 apple sauce 187 apples with cream 300 bananas 301 barley 97 bean soup 276 beets 247 cabbage 250 corn 265 egg plant 262 fish 410 milk 433 parsnips 244 peaches 190 pears 189 potatoes 235 quinces 187 sweet apple dessert 300 sweet potatoes 239 turnips 242 vegetables 231 Baking 49 powders 150 Banana custard 322 dessert 310 dessert with gelatine 315 pie 338 shortcake 318 toast 290 Bananas 177 directions for serving 179 in syrup 301 Barley 95 and fruit drink 434 antiquity of 95 bread 110 description of 95 digestibility of 96 digestion of 39 fig pudding 302 fruit pudding 302 general suggestions for cooking 96 grain, structure of 96 gruel 422 lemonade 433 meal in the time of Charles I 96 milk 434 milk for infants 443 nutritive value of 96 patent 96 pearl 96 pot 96 recipes for cooking 97 Scotch milled 96 soup 415 used for bread making 96 Batter for bread, test for lightness of 129 pudding 332 Beans 222 boiled in a bag 223 green, description of 264 green, recipes for cooking 267 Lima 267 pod, digestion of 39 preparation and cooking of 222 recipes for cooking 223 shelled 267 string 267 time required for cooking 223 time required for digestion 222 Bean and corn soup 276 and hominy soup 276 and potato soup 276 and tomato soup 277 Bean gems 160 Beaten biscuit 161 Beating 55 Beaumont's experiments 29 Beef, broiled 399 broth and oatmeal comparative food value of 392 digestion of 39 economy and adaptability in selection of 398 jerked 394 juice 427 liver of 392 recipes for cooking 399 selection of 393 smothered 400 soups 411 stewed 400 tea 43, 426, 427 tea and egg 427 tea in bottles 427 tea, nutritive value of 426 Beet coffee 360 greens 247 hash 247 salad or chopped beets 248 sugar 26 Beets 246 baked 247 preparation and cooking of 246 recipes for cooking 247 stewed 248 with potatoes 247 Berries 189 Berry shortcake 318 toast 291 Beverages 357 cold, recipes for 361 for the sick, recipes for 433 from fruit juices for the sick 432 recipes for 360 Bile 36 Bills of fare for 52 weeks 487-538 Bills of fare 440 Birds baked in sweet potatoes 406 Black bean soup 277 Blackberry, the 176 beverage 361 cornstarch pudding 303 mush 293 syrup 210 tapioca 310 Blackberries, directions for serving 181 Boiled apples with syrup 188 Boiled beans 223 beets 248 cabbage 250 carrots 246 cauliflower 251 custard 322 custard bread pudding 322 leg of mutton 401 macaroni 106 parsnips 244 potatoes in jackets 235 potatoes without skins 235 potato yeast 141 rice 99 rice, digestion of 98 sweet potatoes 239 turnips 241 wheat 87 Boiling 51, 395 of vegetables 231 violent, result of 51 Bottled beef tea 427 Bran stock 277 Brass utensils 58 Bray 109 Brazil nuts 213 Bread and apricot pudding 323 and fig pudding 323 and fruit custard 332 articles from which prepared 110 care after baking 136 corn 146 corn, digestion of 39 custard, steamed 333 custard pudding 332 dryness of 133 early forms of 109 entire wheat 112, 138 for the sick 436 Graham 138 heavy, cause of 155 how to knead 132 keeping of 137 perfectly risen 130 to detect alum in 116 to detect whiting in 116 in desserts 297 fermented 118 flour, amount of required 126 made light with air 152 making, chemistry of 116 materials, how to combine 125 milk 142 moldy 297 necessary qualities of 111 of mulberries 110 overfermentation of 120 pans 134 pie 338 pulled 143 rye 144 sour 130, 297 stale 138 stale, use of 453 steamed 140 test of 140 the rising of 129 unfermented, general directions for making 152 unfermented, time required for baking 155 unleavened 117 Vienna 142 water 142 white, injurious effects of 111 whole-wheat 138, 143 whole-wheat, proportion of phosphates in 112 Breads, fermented 142 Breadstuffs and bread-making 109 Breakfast dishes 287 miscellaneous 293 Breakfast, grains for 84 rolls 160 Breakfasts and dinners, a year's 481 the ideal 288 use of fruits for 288 Breaking bread 110 Brewis 293 Broccoli 251 recipes 251 Broiled beef 399 Broiled birds 406 fish 410 mutton chop 401 potato 238 steak 430 Broiling 49, 397 Brose 93 Broth panada 428 vegetable 428 Brown Betty 305 bread 146 sauce 351 soup 277 Browned cauliflower 252 flour in soups 274 mush 103 parsnips 244 rice 100 sweet potatoes 240 Budrum 93 Buns, plain 343 Butter 364, 370 absorbent properties of 376 artificial 373 digestion of 39 emulsified 378 French 378 good, test for 372 in ancient times 373 in bread 127 keeping qualities of 375 making 374 Butterine 373 Buttermilk, composition of 370 Butternut 214 Butter-oil 373

Cabbage, description of 248 baked 250 boiled 250 digestion of 39 hash 250 preparation and cooking of 249 recipes for cooking 250 salad 250 with celery 250 with tomatoes 250 Cake, general directions for making 343 heat required for baking 344 icing for 346 made light with yeast 344 recipes for making 344 Calves' brains 392 Candies 449 Cane sugar 26 Canned corn soup 278 green pea soup 278 Canning fruit 193 utensils 197 Caramel coffee 360 custard 323 for coloring soup brown 415 sauce 352 Carrots 245 digestibility of 245 pie 338 pudding 323 recipes for cooking 246 soup 278 Carrots boiled 246 preparation and cooking 245 stewed 246 with egg sauce 246 Casein 26, 78, 365, 372 Cauliflower 251 and broccoli, preparation and cooking 251 recipes for cooking 251 with egg sauce 252 with tomato sauce 252 Celery 253 and potato hash 254 recipes for cooking 253 sauce 352 soup 278 to keep fresh 253 with tomato sauce 254 Cellar 70 floor 70 need of frequent whitewashing 70 ventilation of 70 walls 70 Cereals 78 Charcoal 47 Cheese 376 cottage 377 Chinese 218 Cherry, the 171 jelly 207 tart 318 toast 291 Cherries 189 direction for serving 179 to can 202 Chicken 430 broth 427 jelly 430 panada 428 China closet 67, 457 the care of 477 Chinese soup strainer 273 Chestnut, the 214 bread 110 soup 278 Chestnuts, boiled 215 mashed 215 Chocolate 359 Chopped beets 248 cabbage 250 turnips 242 Cinders, use of 49 Citric acid 165 Citron 173 apples 186 Clams 409 Clear dessert 315 Clearing the table 471 Clear jelly, to make 205 Clotted cream 377 Coal 47 Coarse hominy 104 Cobnut 214 Cocoa 359 Cocoanut, the 213 and cornstarch blancmange 303 cornstarch pudding 323 custard 323 custard cake 345 flavor 298 pie 338 sauce 352 rice custard 324 Coffee 359 Coke 47 Colander, use of in the preparation of soups 273 Combination soup 275, 279 Compartment sink 68, 69 Compote of apples 188 Compound stock 414 Compressed yeast 122 Condiments 29 in cookery 46 Condensed milk 369 Cooked fruit 185 Cookery 45 Cooking of grains 81 utensils 56 Copper utensils 58 Cornaro, experiences of 441 Corn 101 and chicken 406 and tomatoes canned 269 bread, digestion of 39 cake 147 cakes 265 canned 268 digestibility of 101 dodgers 158, 159 dried 266 keeping qualities of 102 lob 102 mush rolls 160 pudding 265 puffs 158 roasted green 265 stewed green 266 Corn meal 102 and fig pudding 324 crust 337 cubes 103 mush 103 mush with fruit 103 pudding 324 recipes for cooking 103 suggestions for cooking 102 Cornstarch blancmange 303 fruit mold 303, 304 meringue 324 pudding, plain 328 with raisins 303 with apples 303 Cottage cheese 377 Cows' milk, analysis of 364 milk, prepared for infants 443 Crab apples, to can 203 Crab apple jelly 207 Cracked potatoes 236 wheat 86, 87 wheat pudding 304, 324 Cranberry, the 175 drink 434 jelly 207 pie 339 Cranberries, to keep 184 and sweet apples 190 with raisins 190 Cream 364, 370 barley soup 279 cake 345 composition of 370 corn cakes 159 crisps 161 digestibility of 370 filling 337 for shortcake 319 Graham rolls 160 or white sauce 351 pea soup 279 pie 339 sauce 352 temperature for raising 368 toast 291 toast with poached eggs 291 use of in soups 274 wholesomeness of 371 Creamed parsnips 244 potatoes 237 turnips 242 Creamery 371 Creamy rice 548 Crescents 145 Crust coffee 434 Crusts 157 Croutons 453 Cucumber, description of 263 the serving of 263 Cupboards 62 Cupboard ventilation 62 Cup custard 320, 325 Currantade 434 Currant jelly 437 puffs 157 Custard, boiled 322 in cups 320 plain 328 puddings 319 pudding, importance of slow cooking of 319 puddings, recipes for cooking 320 sauce 353 snowball 331 steamed 330 tapioca 331 Cut-glass ware 476 Cymling 258 description of 258 preparation and cooking of 258