Part 32
PRUNE PUDDING.--Heat two and one half cups of milk to boiling, then stir in gradually a heaping tablespoonful of cornstarch which has been rubbed smooth in a little cold milk; let this boil and thicken for a minute, then remove from the fire. When cool, add three well-beaten eggs, two tablespoonfuls of sugar, and a cupful of prunes which have been stewed, then drained of all juice, the stones removed, and the prunes chopped fine. Pour into a pudding dish and bake twenty minutes. Serve with or without cream.
PRIME WHIP.--Sift through a colander some stewed sweet California prunes which have been thoroughly drained from juice, and from which the stones have been removed. Beat the whites of three eggs to a stiff froth, and add two cups of the sifted prunes; beat all together thoroughly; turn into a pudding dish, and brown in the oven fifteen minutes. Serve cold, with a little cream or custard for dressing. Almond sauce also makes an excellent dressing.
RICE APPLE CUSTARD PUDDING.--Pare, and remove the cores without dividing from a sufficient number of apples to cover the bottom of a two-quart pudding dish. Fill the cavities of the apples with a little grated lemon rind and sugar, and put them into the oven with a tablespoon of water on the bottom of the dish. Cover, and steam till the apples are tender, but not fallen to pieces. Then pour over them a custard made with two cups of boiled rice, a quart of milk, half a cup of sugar, and two eggs.
RICE CUSTARD PUDDING.--Take one and one half cups of nicely steamed rice, four tablespoonfuls of sugar, and a pint of milk; heat to boiling in a saucepan. Then stir in very carefully the yolk of one egg and one whole egg, previously well beaten together with a few spoonfuls of milk reserved for the purpose. Let the whole boil up till thickened, but not longer, as the custard will whey and separate. When partly cool, flavor with a little vanilla or lemon, turn into a glass dish, and meringue with the white of the second egg beaten to a stiff froth. Cold steamed rice may be used by soaking it in hot milk until every grain is separate.
RICE SNOW.--Into a quart of milk heated to boiling, stir five tablespoonfuls of rice flour previously braided with a very little cold milk; add one half cup of sugar. Let the whole boil up together till well cooked and thickened; then remove from the stove, and stir in lightly the beaten whites of four eggs. Mold, and serve cold with foam sauce.
RICE SNOW WITH JELLY.--Steam or bake a teacupful of best rice in milk until the grains are tender. Pile it up on a dish roughly. When cool, lay over it squares of jelly. Beat the whites of two eggs and one third of a cup of sugar to a stiff froth, and pile like snow over the rice. Serve with cream sauce.
RICE WITH EGGS.--Steam rice as previously directed, and when sufficiently cooked, stir into half of it while hot, the yolks of one or two eggs well beaten with a little sugar. Into the other half, the whites of the eggs, sweetened and beaten to a stiff froth, may be lightly stirred while the rice is still hot enough to set the eggs. Serve with the yellow half in the bottom of the dish, and the white part piled on top covered with whipped cream flavored with lemon or vanilla.
SNOW PUDDING.--Heat one half pint each of water and milk together, to boiling, stir into this a tablespoonful of cornstarch rubbed smooth in a little cold milk, and cook for five minutes. Cool partially and add the whites of two well-beaten eggs. Turn into molds and set in the ice box to cool. Serve with a cream made by stirring into a half pint of boiling milk the yolks of two eggs, a teaspoonful of cornstarch rubbed smooth in a little cold milk, and half a cup of sugar. Cook until well thickened. Cool and flavor with a little lemon or vanilla. Or, if preferred, serve with a dressing of fruit juice.
STEAMED CUSTARD.--Heat a pint of milk, with which has been well beaten two eggs and one third of a cup of sugar, in a double boiler until well thickened. When done, turn into a glass dish, and grate a little of the yellow rind of lemon over the top to flavor. If desired to have the custard in cups, remove from the fire when it begins to thicken, turn into cups, and finish in a steamer over a kettle of boiling water.
STRAWBERRY CHARLOTTE.--Fit slices of nice plain buns (those made according to recipe on page 347 are nice for this) in the bottom of a pudding dish, and cover with a layer of hulled strawberries; add another layer of the buns cut in slices, a second layer of strawberries, and then more slices of buns. Make a custard in the following manner: Heat a scant pint of milk to boiling in the inner cup of a double boiler, and stir into it gradually, beating thoroughly at the same time, an egg which has been previously well beaten with half a cup of sugar, a teaspoonful of cornstarch, and a spoonful or two of milk until perfectly smooth. Cook together in the double boiler until well set. Cool partially, and pour over the buns and strawberries. Place a plate with a weight upon it on the top of the charlotte, and set away to cool.
POP CORN PUDDING.--Take a scant pint of the pop corn which is ground and put up in boxes, or if not available, freshly popped corn, rolled fine, is just as good. Add to it three cups of new milk, one half cup of sugar, two whole eggs and the yolk of another, well beaten. Bake in a pudding dish placed inside another filled with hot water, till the custard is set. Cover with a meringue made of the remaining white of egg, a teaspoonful of sugar, and a sprinkling of the pop corn.
SAGO CUSTARD PUDDING.--Put one half cup of sago and a quart of rich milk into the inner cup of a double boiler, or a basin set inside a pan of boiling water, and let it simmer until the sago has thickened the milk and become perfectly transparent. Allow it to cool, then add a cup of sugar, two well-beaten eggs, and a little of the grated rind of a lemon. Turn into a pudding dish, and bake only till the custard has set.
SAGO AND FRUIT CUSTARD PUDDING.--Soak six table spoonfuls of sago in just enough water to cover it, for twenty minutes. Meanwhile pare and remove the cores from half a dozen or more tart apples, and fill the cavities with a mixture of grated lemon rind and sugar. Place the apples in the bottom of a pudding dish, with a tablespoonful of water; cover, and set in the oven to bake. Put the soaked sago with a quart of milk into a double boiler. Let it cook until the sago is clear and thick; then add three fourths of a cup of sugar and two well-beaten eggs. Pour the sago custard over the apples, which should be baked tender but not mushy. Put the pudding dish in the oven in a pan of hot water, and bake till the custard is well set. Serve cold.
SNOWBALL CUSTARD.--Flavor a pint of milk by sleeping in it three or four slices of the yellow rind of a lemon for twenty minutes or more. Skim out the rind; let the milk come to the boiling point, and drop into it the well-beaten whites of two eggs, in tablespoonfuls, turning each one over carefully, allowing them to remain only long enough to become coagulated but not hardened, and then place the balls upon a wire sieve to drain. Afterward stir into the scalding milk the yolks of the eggs and one whole one well beaten, together with two tablespoonfuls of sugar. Stir until it thickens. Pour this custard into a glass dish, and lay the white balls on top.
TAPIOCA CUSTARD.--Soak a cup of pearl tapioca over night in sufficient water to cover. When ready to prepare the custard, drain off the water if any remain, and add one quart of milk to the tapioca; place in a double boiler and cook until transparent; then add the well-beaten yolks of three eggs or the yolks of two and one whole one, mixed with three fourths of a cup of sugar. Let it cook a few minutes, just long enough for the custard to thicken and no more, or it will whey and be spoiled; flavor with a little vanilla and turn into a glass dish. Cover the top with the whites beaten stiffly with a tablespoonful of sugar, and dot with bits of jelly, or colored sugar prepared by mixing sugar with cranberry or raspberry juice and allowing it to dry. For variety, the custard may be flavored with grated lemon rind and a tablespoonful of lemon juice whipped up with the whites of the eggs, or other flavor may be dispensed with, and the meringue flavored by beating with a tablespoonful of quince jelly with the whites of the eggs.
TAPIOCA PUDDING.--Soak a cupful of tapioca over night in just enough water to cover. In the morning, add to it one quart of milk, and cook in a double boiler until transparent. Add three eggs well beaten, one half cup of sugar, one half cup of chopped raisins, and a very little chopped citron. Bake till the custard is set. Serve warm or cold as preferred.
VERMICELLI PUDDING.--Flavor two and one half cups of milk with lemon as directed on page 229. Drop into it, when boiling, four ounces of vermicelli, crushing it lightly with one hand while sprinkling it in, and stir to keep it from gathering in lumps. Let it cook gently in a double boiler, stirring often until it is tender and very thick. Then pour it into a pudding dish, let it cool, and add a tablespoonful of rather thick sweet cream if you have it (it does very well without), half a cup of sugar, and lastly, two well-beaten eggs. Bake in a moderately hot oven till browned over the top.
WHITE CUSTARD.--Beat together thoroughly one cup of milk, the whites of two eggs, one tablespoonful of sugar, and one and one half tablespoonfuls of almondine. Turn into cups and steam or bake until the custard is set.
WHITE CUSTARD NO. 2.--Cook a half cup of farina in a quart of milk in a double boiler, for an hour. Remove from the stove, and allow it to become partially cool, then add one half cup of sugar, the whites of two eggs, and one half the yolk of one egg. Turn into a pudding dish, and bake twenty minutes or until the custard is well set.
STEAMED PUDDING.
The following precautions are necessary to be observed in steaming puddings or desserts of any sort:--
1. Have the water boiling rapidly when the pudding is placed in the steamer, and keep it constantly boiling.
2. Replenish, if needed, with boiling water, never with cold.
3. Do not open the steamer and let in the air upon the pudding, until it is done.
_RECIPES._
BATTER PUDDING.--Beat four eggs thoroughly; add to them a pint of milk, and if desired, a little salt. Sift a teacupful of flour and add it gradually to the milk and eggs, beating lightly the while. Then pour the whole mixture through, a fine wire strainer into a small pail with cover, in which it can be steamed. This straining is imperative. The cover of the pail should be tight fitting, as the steam getting into the pudding spoils it. Place the pail in a kettle of boiling water, and do not touch or move it until the pudding is done. It takes exactly an hour to cook. If moved or jarred during the cooking, it will be likely to fall. Slip it out of the pail on a hot dish, and serve with cream sauce. A double boiler with tightly fitting cover is excellent for cooking this pudding.
BREAD AND FRUIT CUSTARD.--Soak a cupful of finely grated bread crumbs in a pint of rich milk heated to scalding. Add two thirds of a cup of sugar, and the grated yellow rind of half a lemon. When cool, add two eggs well beaten. Also two cups of canned apricots or peaches drained of juice, or, if preferred, a mixture of one and one half cups of chopped apples, one half cup of raisins, and a little citron. Turn into a pudding dish, and steam in a steamer over a kettle of boiling water for two hours. The amount of sugar necessary will vary somewhat according to the fruit used.
DATE PUDDING.--Turn a cup of hot milk over two cups of stale bread crumbs, and soak until softened; add one half cup of cream and one cup of chopped and stoned dates. Mix all thoroughly together. Put in a china dish and steam for three hours. Serve hot with lemon sauce.
RICE BALLS.--Steam one cup of rice till tender. Wring pudding cloths about ten inches square out of hot water, and spread the rice one third of an inch over the cloth. Put a stoned peach or apricot from which the skin has been removed, in the center, filling the cavity in each half of the fruit with rice. Draw up the cloth until the rice smoothly envelops the fruit, tie, and steam ten or fifteen minutes. Remove the cloth carefully, turn out into saucers, and serve with sauce made from peach of apricot juice. Easy-cooking tart apples may also be used. Steam them thirty minutes, and serve with sugar and cream.
STEAMED BREAD CUSTARD.--Cut stale bread in slices, removing hard crusts. Oil a deep pudding mold, and sprinkle the bottom and sides with Zante currants; over these place a layer of the slices of bread, sprinkled with currants; add several layers, sprinkling each with the currants in the same manner. Cover with a custard made by beating together three or four eggs, three tablespoonfuls of sugar, and one quart of milk. Put the pudding in a cool place for three hours; at the end of that time, steam one and a quarter hours. Serve with mock cream flavored with vanilla. Apple marmalade may be used to spread between the slices in place of currants, if preferred.
STEAMED FIG PUDDING.--Moisten two cupfuls of finely grated Graham bread crumbs with half a cup of thin sweet cream. Mix into it a heaping cupful of finely chopped fresh figs, and a quarter of a cup of sugar. Add lastly a cup of sweet milk. Turn all into a pudding dish, and steam about two and one half hours. Serve as soon as done, with a little cream for dressing, or with orange or lemon sauce.
PASTRY AND CAKE.
So much has been said and written about the dietetic evils of these articles that their very names have been almost synonymous with indigestion and dyspepsia. That they are prolific causes of this dire malady cannot be denied, and it is doubtless due to two reasons; first, because they are generally compounded of ingredients which are in themselves unwholesome, and rendered doubly so by their combination; and secondly, because tastes have become so perverted that an excess of these articles is consumed in preference to more simple and nutritious food.
As has been elsewhere remarked, foods containing an excess of fat, as do most pastries and many varieties of cake, are exceedingly difficult of digestion, the fat undergoing in the stomach no changes which answer to the digestion of other elements of food, and its presence interferes with the action of the gastric juice upon other elements. In consequence, digestion proceeds very slowly, if at all, and the delay often occasions fermentative and putrefactive changes in the entire contents of the stomach.
It is the indigestibility of fat, and this property of delaying the digestion of other foods, chiefly that render pastry and cakes so deleterious to health.
We do not wish to be understood as in sympathy with that class of people who maintain that dyspepsia is a disciplinary means of grace, when, after having made the previous statement, we proceed to present recipes for preparing the very articles we have condemned. Pie and cake are not necessarily utterly unwholesome; and if prepared in a simple manner, may be partaken of in moderation by persons with good digestion. Nevertheless, they lack the wholesomeness of more simple foods, and we most fully believe that would women supply their tables with perfectly light, sweet, nutritious bread would cease. However, if pies and cakes must needs be, make them as simple as possible.
GENERAL SUGGESTIONS FOR MAKING PIES.--Always prepare the filling for pies before making the crust, if the filling is to be cooked in the crust. Have all the material for the crust on the table, measured and in readiness, before beginning to put together. Follow some of the simple recipes given in these pages. Have all the material cold, handle the least possible to make it into a mass, and do not knead at all.
When the crust is ready, roll it out quickly to about one half inch in thickness, then fold up like a jelly roll, and cut from the end only sufficient for one crust at a time. Lay this, the flat side upon the board, and roll evenly in every direction, until scarcely more than an eighth of an inch in thickness, and somewhat larger than the baking plate, as it will shrink when lifted from the board.
Turn one edge over the rolling pin, and carefully lift it onto the plate. If there is to be an upper crust, roll that in the same manner, make a cut in the center to allow the steam to escape, fill the pie, slightly rounding it in the center, and lift on the upper crust; press both edges lightly together; then, lifting the pie in the left hand, deftly trim away all overhanging portions of crust with a sharp knife; ornament the edge if desired, and put at once into the oven, which should be in readiness at just the right temperature, a rather moderate oven being best for pies.
The under crust of lemon, pumpkin, custard, and very juicy fruit pies, filled before baking, is apt to become saturated and softened with the liquid mixture, if kept for any length of time after baking. This may be prevented in a measure by glazing the crust, after it is rolled and fitted on the plate, with the beaten white of an egg, and placing in the oven just a moment to harden the egg before filling; or if the pie is one of fruit, sprinkle the crust with a little flour and sugar, brushing the two together with the hand before; adding the filling. During the baking, the flour and melted sugar will adhere together, tending to keep the juice from contact with the crust.
Pies are more wholesome if the crusts are baked separately and filled for use as needed. This is an especially satisfactory way to make pies of juicy fruit, as it does away largely with the saturated under crusts, and the flavor of the fruit can be retained much more perfectly. Pies with one crust can be made by simply fitting the crust to the plate, pricking it lightly with a fork to prevent its blistering while baking, and afterward filling when needed for the table. For pies with two crusts, fit the under crust to the plate, and fill with clean pieces of old white linen laid in lightly to support the upper crust. When baked, slip the pie on a plate, lift off the upper crust, take out the pieces of cloth, and just before serving, fill with fruit, which should be previously prepared.
Canned peaches filled into such a crust make a delicious pie. Strawberries, cherries, gooseberries, and other juicy fruits, that lose so much of their flavor in baking, may be lightly scalded, the juice thickened a little with flour if desired, sweetened to taste, and filled into such a crust. An excellent pie may be made in this manner from apples, stewed carefully so as to keep the slices whole, sweetened to taste, and flavored with lemon, orange, or grated pineapple. One pineapple will be sufficient for four pies. Fresh fruit for filling may be used without cooking, if desired. If desired, several crusts may be baked and put away unfilled. When needed, the crusts may be placed for a few minutes in a hot oven until heated through, then filled with freshly prepared fruit.
In preparing material for custard or pumpkin pies, if the milk used be hot, the pies will be improved and the time of baking be considerably shortened.
Tin or granite-ware plates are preferable to earthen ones for pies, as they bake better on the bottom. The perforated pans are superior in some respects. No greasing is needed; simply rub them well with flour. The time required for baking pies varies from one half to three fourths of an hour. The dampers should be so adjusted as to bake the bottom crust first.
After baking, remove at once to heated earthen plates, or set the tins upon small supports, so that the air can circulate underneath them.
_RECIPES._
PASTE FOR PIES.--Sift together equal parts of Graham grits and white flour (Graham flour will do if the grits are not obtainable, but the grits will produce a more crisp and tender crust), and wet with very cold, thin sweet cream. Have the flour also as cold as possible, since the colder the material, the more crisp the paste; mix together very quickly into a rather stiff dough. Do not knead at all, but gather the fragments lightly together, roll out at once, fill and bake quickly, since much of the lightness of the crust depends upon the dispatch with which the pie is gotten into the oven after the materials are thrown together. If for any reason it is necessary to defer the baking, place the crust in the ice-chest till needed.
CORN MEAL CRUST.--Equal parts of sifted white corn meal and flour, mixed together lightly with rather thin sweet cream which has been set in the ice-chest until very cold, makes a very good crust.
GRANOLA CRUST.--For certain pies requiring an under crust only, the prepared granola manufactured by the Sanitarium Food Co. makes a superior crust. To prepare, moisten with thin sweet cream--one half cup of cream for every two thirds cup of granola is about the right proportion, and will make sufficient crust for one pie. Flour the board, and lift the moistened granola onto it, spreading it as much as possible with the hands. Dredge lightly with flour over the top, and roll out gently to the required size without turning. The material, being coarse and granular, will break apart easily, but may be as easily pressed together with the fingers. Change the position of the rolling pin often, in order to shape the crust without moving it. When well roiled, carefully slip a stiff paper under it, first loosening from the board with a knife if necessary, and lift it gently onto the pan. Press together any cracks, trim the edges, fill, and bake at once. Use the least flour possible in preparing this crust, and bake as soon as made, before the moisture has become absorbed. Such a crust is not suited for custard or juicy fruit pies, but filled with prune, peach, or apple marmalade, it makes a most delicious and wholesome pie. A cooked custard may be used in such a crust.
PASTE FOR TART SHELLS.--Take one half cup of rather thin sweet cream, which has been placed on ice until very cold; add to it the stiffly beaten whites of two eggs, and whip all together briskly for ten minutes. Add sufficient white flour to roll. Cut into the required shape, bake quickly, but do not brown. Fill after baking. This paste, rolled thin and cut into shapes with a cookie-cutter, one half of them baked plain for under crusts, the other half ornamented for tops by cutting small holes with a thimble or some fancy mold, put together with a layer of some simple fruit jelly between them, makes a most attractive looking dessert. It is likewise very nice baked in little patty pans, and afterward filled with apple or peach marmalade, or any of the following fillings:--
CREAM FILLING.--One cup of rich milk (part cream if it can be afforded) heated to boiling. Into this stir one scant tablespoonful of flour previously braided smooth with a little cold milk. Add to this the well-beaten yolk of one egg and one tablespoonful of sugar. Turn this mixture into the hot milk and stir until it thickens. Flavor with a little grated lemon rind, vanilla, or, if preferred, flavor the milk with cocoanut before using. Fill the tart shells, and meringue with the white of the egg beaten stiff with a tablespoonful of sugar.
GRAPE TART.--Into one pint of canned or fresh grape juice, when boiling, stir two tablespoonfuls of cornstarch braided with a little water, and cook for five minutes. Sweeten to taste, and fill a baked crust.
LEMON FILLING.--Into one cup of boiling water stir one tablespoonful of cornstarch previously braided smooth with the juice of a large lemon. Cook until it thickens, then add one half cup of sugar and a little grated yellow rind of the lemon.