Part 2

Total oxen killed 22,308 Diseased 7,885 Total calves killed 3,330 Diseased 705 Total sheep killed 41,556 Diseased 13,019

According to this very nearly one-third of all the meat sold to Christian families is tainted by parasitical disease. If an animal dies of cancer, tuberculosis, etc., our laws protect us from the carcass, but, if slaughtered, the diseased portion is cut away and the remainder is sold as fit for food. Such blood is squeezed from beef and poured by the gallon by loving hands into the willing lips of consumptives and anæmics!

The true Vegetarian will not be seen adorned (?) by any of the reapings from a dead body, whether they be feathers or furs, for these have no beauty in the sight of those who see them in thought, dripping with the blood from which they can never be truly cleansed.

Those who would "strain at gnats" while swallowing camels, criticise the Vegetarian for his kid gloves and his leather shoes; but perfect conditions do not yet prevail for the absolutely consistent carrying out of his principles; his effort is to help to bring these to pass, and he does not refrain from beginning for the reason that he cannot yet do all. An adequate substitute for leather has been made which experiments have proven of value, but, as yet, there is no demand which justifies its manufacture.

Many express the fear that, were wholesale slaughter abolished, the earth would be overrun by the lower animals; but were artificial and unnatural breeding discontinued we can safely trust that the animal creation would find its proper place in the world, as everything does, under the guidance of the controlling Mind which is Creator.

Stop and think for a moment what the world would be like to-day if it were Vegetarian. If the world were Vegetarian, the endless caravans of doomed creatures would not be ambling to the shambles; not a man would be brutalised by the daily slaughter of hundreds of gentle creatures; not a woman would be engaged in sorting edible parts from the dissected carcasses, making all red around her; not a child would be standing deep in offal, seeking useful bits of dead bodies; "where sympathy is, cruelty is impossible," therefore, not a dog would be maltreated, not a cat selfishly deserted to starve, not a horse cruelly beaten, and not a vivisectionist could be found on the face of the earth! Those who had learned to be just to the lower animals would not fail in their duties to man, and in this millennium, prophesied in Isaiah xi: 9, slaughter-houses, transport cars, and cattle-ships would be empty, and the fields and meadows would be filled with labourers under the clear sky, tilling the ground to provide the food of man.

M. R. L. S.

Providence House, Chestnut Hill, Mass.

I do not see how it is possible that so many good people remain meat-eaters.

Count Leo Tolstoi.

THE KITCHEN

There is no room in the house which requires such careful furnishing as the kitchen, and much time may be saved there if the right thing is in the right place, for just as truly as "the means to do ill deeds make ill deeds done," do the means to do things well tend toward their being done.

To house-builders I would urge that it pays to have a white enamelled sink, and to insist that no sand-soap or scouring soap be used on it, as this removes the finish and makes it less easy to keep it spotless. See that a package of one of the cleaning powders is placed near the sink, convenient for use the first time the maid looks about for materials, and over the sink on small hooks have hung two or three different shaped sink brushes. An enamelled soap-dish should be fastened above the sink, and on the left of it a grooved, slightly slanting draining board for washed dishes; hanging under this on a large hook should be the enamelled dishpan and back of it a wire drainer, both hanging free from the wall.

Any kitchen can have a chair-rail put around it, and this four-inch wide board should be arranged with small hooks placed at a distance of ten or twelve inches apart, and on these should hang the enamelled spoons, strainers, egg-beater, small jugs, and the saucepans, the bottoms of these being always in evidence and not out of sight in cupboards. The Europeans have always had their cooking utensils displayed as a part of the kitchen furnishing, and when this is done there is less temptation to neglect their absolute cleanliness.

One of the comforts of my kitchen is a holder for saucepan covers; I was about to invent such a holder when I found that the wire ones made to display half a dozen handsome plates were perfectly suitable. One of these hangs beside the stove and the covers are conveniently at hand when required.

A cupboard built in the kitchen, sixteen inches deep and six feet across, will hold all the casseroles, baking-pans, tins for spices, etc., which the usual family requires. Mine was built with this conviction, and if it becomes overcrowded, I know it has things in it which do not belong there, and a few moments given to overseeing its rearrangement always leave it with all the space required.

The table shown in the illustration is becoming well-known in American kitchens; the deep drawers for flour, etc., are a convenience not easy to estimate, but the fact that two sizes of pastry boards slide snugly into their places under the top is its best feature.

A ball of string in a holder hung up with small scissors attached, a neat calendar, a washable tablet for orders, a burnt-match holder, a match-box holder fastened near the stove, a small mirror on a door or in an inconspicuous corner, and a wall clock are things which I advise the young housekeeper to see securely placed in her kitchen before the pictures are hung in the drawing-room.

A plate-rack is not only always quaint and decorative, but is most useful and labour-saving. A pestle and mortar should be among the utensils of every kitchen, as well as a vegetable mill, and a small hard-wood board, used exclusively for the cutting of fruit, vegetables, etc., which are to be sliced, saves many a cut finger, as the plate usually used is not the proper shape or texture for such a slippery process.

A piece of thick glass measuring about 7×9 inches, and bound about the edges with heavy gummed paper or linen, is useful to lay upon the open pages of the cook-book, and serves the double purpose of holding it open at the required page and of protecting it from floured or buttered fingers.

A plentiful supply of the small earthenware dishes, called casseroles, marmites, ramekins, and gratin dishes, is especially useful in the Vegetarian's kitchen.

Those building homes should see that the place on which the stove is to stand is covered with suitable tiling, and this should extend for two feet or more around the stove. The floor itself is best covered with linoleum, and if a colour scheme is carried out in this room, as it may well be in these days of many-coloured enamelled ware, it can be accented by the linoleum chosen and the kitchen thus made as beautiful for its purpose as any room in the house.

I have not partaken of a fellow creature for fifteen years.

Bernard Shaw.

THE DINING ROOM

If a breakfast room is not used, a small winged table set in a sunny corner, or bay-window recess of the dining room, and used as a breakfast table, is an improvement upon breakfast at the large dining table, and can be arranged in almost any dining room.

If pictures are hung in this room nothing less appropriate than those usually chosen as fit subjects for its walls can be imagined. Engravings showing the gentle deer hunted to his death, with the dog's fangs already buried in his flesh, stuffed heads of the same animal, and paintings of dead fish, ducks or grouse, hanging by their feet, should not give pleasure to or improve the appetites of humane people. If pictures are used let us have those which depict life, joy, kindness, and beauty rather than cruelty, bloodshed, and death.

Among the noblest in the land, Though he may count himself the least, That man I honor and revere Who without favor, without fear, In the great city dares to stand The friend of every friendless beast.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS

SEASONING

The subject of seasoning is indeed holy ground in culinary matters, and after much thought and experiment I have decided that the phrase so deplored by young housekeepers, "season to taste," is after all not the worst one to use. No such inaccurate directions were to appear in this cook-book when planned, but I have finally decided with the army of wiser cooks who have preceded me that accurate measurements in seasoning are dangerous to success. Not only do tastes vary, but much depends on the time the seasoning is added, on the rapidity with which the food is cooking, etc. With this in mind, and very long prejudice against the old phrase above mentioned, I have compromised and frequently been tempted to state quantities of salt and pepper, usually regretting when I have. The truth is, unless one can "season to taste" one cannot cook palatable dishes, and my final word on the subject is that it is well to always use a little more salt and pepper than seems advisable, and then just before serving add a little more!

MEASURING

Weights as a means of measuring quantities have been avoided in these recipes, as I can see no advantage to the system which uses them, and I have been able to show even English cooks that the scales are not the most necessary part of the kitchen furnishing, and they have become devoted to our simple method of using the kitchen cup as the standard. It holds 1/2 pint, and 2 cups, therefore, hold 1 pint; 4 cups hold 1 quart; and I find no fault with the old couplet,--

"A pint's a pound The world around."

It usually is, and one cannot go far wrong in acting as if it always were.

THICKENING

In thickening sauces and soups, ordinary flour can always be used and cornstarch also, and as a rule I have said "flour" only in these recipes, but have only refrained from always advising potato-flour because it would have confused many who cannot obtain it in America. In Germany it is always used, and when it can be had is far nicer for thickening all vegetable sauces and soups than any other sort of flour.

AN HERB GARDEN

No one thing pays better for the little trouble expended than a small herb garden. Buy two or three tarragon plants, cover them in the winter, and in the autumn pick the leaves to make vinegar and to dry. Plant chervil, parsley, thyme, chives, and a plant of rosemary.

A window-box will keep parsley and chives on hand, and a clump of chives from the market will grow for weeks if set in a bowl and watered occasionally.

GELATINE

Instead of the usual gelatine use must be made of arrowroot or a gelatine advertised to be purely vegetable. One tablespoon is usually allowed to 1 pint of liquid, but experiments must be made and there will usually be directions found with the package.

FAT FOR FRYING

The Vegetarian can well afford to do away with that doubtful economy, cooking butter. For ordinary frying use good butter; for deep fat use a good brand of cooking-oil, or cocoanut butter.

CANNED GOODS

It seems to be a habit with many people to decry the use of canned vegetables, although I believe there are few households which subsist without them. My experience is that the best grades of canned vegetables are often far sweeter and better, fresher in fact, than vegetables that can be bought in city markets. The housekeeper should make it a point to know which brands she prefers and to trade where she can get them; and where no retailer carries them she can usually obtain cases containing two dozen each from the preservers themselves. A little trouble taken in the autumn to stock the store-room, instead of ordering "a can of peas" now and then at random, saves time and trouble in the end. Among the canned vegetables which are put up and sealed the day they are picked by the best firms are beets, peas, corn, spinach, hard-shelled beans, tomatoes, stringless beans, wax beans, mushrooms, pimentos, okra, okra-tomato, asparagus, etc.; and the saving of time and labour in the preparation of beans, spinach, and beets especially, is worth consideration. People make the mistake of merely warming up canned goods and then serving them, whereas when the can is opened the vegetables are only ready to be seasoned and finished as they would be had they been boiled at home. Good canned vegetables are not easy to improve upon, and I serve them constantly to people who will not easily credit my statement that they are not so-called "fresh" vegetables.

I will not kill or hurt any living creature needlessly, nor destroy any beautiful thing, but will strive to save and comfort all gentle life and guard and perfect all natural beauty upon the earth.

John Ruskin.

SOUPS

Most clear soups can be greatly improved in colour by using a small quantity of vegetable soup browning, or caramel. Do not overdo it, however, as the flavour is not pleasant when too pronounced. All cream soups should be cooked in a double boiler.

VEGETABLE STOCK

Few meat stocks have of themselves more flavour than vegetable stock, that is, the water in which vegetables have cooked. The water in which rice, onions, leeks, celery, beans, cabbage, etc., have boiled is valuable in Vegetarian cookery, and the wise cook will use it in many ways to enhance the flavours of soups and sauces.

A SIMPLE CONSOMMÉ OR STOCK

A simple way of preparing a rich, clear consommé is to wash well 1/2 cup of German lentils, drain them and toss them for ten minutes in a saucepan in which 1 tablespoon of butter has been melted. Then pour on them 5 cups of cold water, set them over a hot fire, and let them boil rapidly about half an hour only. Drain, and strain through a fine cloth, and return to a clean saucepan with 1 bay leaf, 1 slice of onion, 2 cloves, and 1/2 teaspoon of celery seed; simmer slowly for fifteen minutes, season with salt and pepper, and add a little sherry if liked.

If the lentils are cooked longer, it will make a cloudy soup, which will be stronger but not clear.

CLEAR BOUILLON OR CONSOMMÉ

There are various vegetable extracts in the market which, when diluted, make delicious stock, or clear soup. If these are not available, a clear vegetable broth may be made as follows:

Wash 3 cups of any dried beans or lentils, and put them to soak in a covered earthenware dish with 10 cups of water for twelve hours or so. Then empty with that same water into a kettle, and let come slowly to the boiling point, skim frequently, and do not let it actually boil. When clear, and there seems no further need of skimming, add 1 cup each of cut onions, carrots, turnips, 1 tablespoon of parsley, 1 tablespoon of salt, 1 clove of garlic, and 1 teaspoon of thyme, etc., 1 tablespoon of celery seed, and 1 bay leaf.

Let boil up once, and then place on the back of the stove to barely simmer for two hours; then strain through a fine sieve, and a good broth is made. The beans, etc., can be utilised in a deep pie, or with brown or white sauce in crust cups, in a curry, or many other ways.

To make this into a strong, clear soup put 2 tablespoons of butter in a saucepan, and when melted add 1/2 cup each of chopped onions, carrots, turnips, and celery, 2 cloves, and a bit of parsley; fry until somewhat browned, then cover with 6 cups of the broth, and let simmer very quietly for two hours. Skim often, drain, let cool, remove any grease from the top, and to clarify add to it, when cold, the slightly beaten yolk of 1 egg and the whites of 3, then set over a hot fire and stir vigorously, watching for the first sign of boiling. At this, remove to a place where it cannot even simmer, but will be warm for half an hour, and strain through a fine, clean cloth. A wineglass of sherry may be added if to be served in cups.

CREAM OF ARTICHOKE

Scrape and slice enough Jerusalem artichokes to make 2 cups, and cover them with cold water. Let them stand for fifteen or twenty minutes, and put them in a saucepan with 2 quarts of cold water or milk, or 1 quart of each, and let them cook for an hour or until thoroughly soft. Now rub them through a sieve with 2 cups of the stock in which they cooked, and return to the fire. When boiling add 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 of flour, rubbed together, and 1 teaspoon of salt and 1 saltspoon of pepper, and cook about ten minutes before adding 2 cups of hot milk, or 1 cup of milk and 1 cup of cream. Stir well and let boil up once before serving. A teaspoon of chopped parsley or chives improves the appearance and taste of almost any cream soup.

CREAM OF ARTICHOKE WITH NASTURTIUMS

Make the plain cream of artichoke soup as in preceding recipe, and add before straining 1 handful of nasturtium leaves and blossoms; or, instead, add 1 tablespoon of these, finely minced, to the soup before serving.

ASPARAGUS SOUP

Use 1 can of asparagus, cut off the tips, and lay them aside. Cut up the stalks, cover with 4 cups of cold milk (or use half water and half milk), and let cook slowly in a double boiler for half an hour; then strain, pressing the asparagus well to extract the flavour. Return to the saucepan, add 1 teaspoon of sugar, 1 tablespoon of butter, into which 1 teaspoon of flour has been made smooth, season generously with salt and pepper, add the asparagus tips, 1 cup of milk, and, just before serving, 1 tablespoon of whipped cream. A tablespoon of minced onion fried for ten minutes in butter is sometimes added to the stalks while cooking.

BARLEY AND TOMATO SOUP

Cook 1 can of tomatoes and 1 chopped Spanish onion together for fifteen minutes, then rub through a wire sieve; add 3 tablespoons of pearl barley, 1 tablespoon of butter, some pepper and salt, and cook for one hour, until the barley is soft. Re-season before serving.

BLACK BEAN SOUP

Soak 2 cups of beans for twelve hours or more, and then drain them and put into 8 cups of cold water; add 3 whole cloves, 3 whole allspice, and 3 whole peppers, salt well and boil gently for two hours, rub through sieve, and reheat. Mix 1 tablespoon of thickening flour, and 1 tablespoon of butter and water, and stir into the soup at boiling point; season afresh and pour into a tureen in which are placed, neatly sliced, 1 hard-boiled egg and half a dozen seeded slices of lemon. This soup is improved by adding 1 wineglass of sherry, or one may substitute for it a few drops of Tomato Chutney or Worcestershire sauce.

BELGIAN SOUP

Take 4 cups of diced turnips and put them in a saucepan with 2 tablespoons of butter, and stir for ten minutes over a slow fire; then stir in 2 cups of water, 2 teaspoons of brown sugar, and plenty of pepper and salt, and let simmer for another ten minutes; add 2 cups of milk thickened with 1 tablespoon of flour, let boil up, stirring constantly, and serve with croutons.

PLAIN BEAN SOUP

Wash 2 cups of any sort of dried beans and soak twelve hours or more in cold water. Before using, strain them and cover with 8 cups of cold water. Put over the fire and let cook gently for four hours, then rub them through a sieve into their own stock, season with 1 tablespoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper and 1 tablespoon of butter, and let them cook ten minutes longer. Serve with half-inch squares of toast in the tureen.

BROWN BEAN SOUP

Take 1 cup of brown beans and 1/2 cup of German lentils, wash well and put in a saucepan with plenty of cold water, 2 or 3 chopped onions, 1 stalk of celery, 1 bay leaf, and simmer together for three hours, then strain. If a thin soup is wanted, do not press any of the pulp through the strainer, but if it is liked somewhat thick, do so. Return the strained soup to the saucepan and thicken with 1 teaspoon of thickening flour. This is now delicious soup stock, and can be served plain, or varied by adding peas, diced carrots, spaghetti, a few drops of sauce, a little sherry, tomato catsup, or curry powder. Season well with salt and pepper before serving.

RED BEAN SOUP

Soak for 8 hours or more 2 cups of red beans, then put them in a large saucepan containing 8 cups of cold water, 1 cup of milk, and 2 onions halved, each having 4 cloves stuck in it. Let cook for two hours, then press through a sieve, reheat, adding just before serving 1 wineglass of claret and fresh seasoning of salt and pepper. 1 hard-boiled egg chopped fine is an improvement to this soup.

LIMA BEAN CREAM SOUP

Soak 2 cups of dried lima beans for several hours and then put them in a saucepan with 1 cup of cold water and 1 cup of milk and let them cook for two hours, adding salt when they have partly cooked. Put 1 tablespoon of butter in a frying pan, and when melted add 1 onion chopped fine. Let cook slowly until browned, then scrape the contents of the frying pan into the saucepan containing the beans, and add 1 tablespoon of tomato catsup or chutney and press all through a sieve, and re-season before serving. If liked a little thick, use 1 tablespoon of flour, made smooth in 1/2 cup of milk or cream, to thicken. A tablespoon of whipped cream in the tureen is always an improvement to a cream soup.

DUTCH CABBAGE SOUP

Make exactly like Cockie-Leekie soup, using the water in which a cabbage has boiled for stock and adding 1/2 cup of finely chopped cabbage instead of using any of the barley to return to the strained soup. Those who like caraway seed will enjoy the addition of 1 teaspoon of these to the soup. If used, add them with the chopped cabbage after the other seasoning has been removed.

CALCUTTA BISQUE

Put 1 cup of tomato pulp in a saucepan and with it 1 bay leaf. When hot add to it 1 saltspoon of soda, and as it foams stir slowly into it 3 or 4 cups of milk, 1 teaspoon of curry powder, 1 teaspoon of butter, and 1 saltspoon of salt. Let boil up once and serve with croutons.

The water in which rice has boiled or any vegetable stock may be substituted for milk and the soda then omitted.

CANTON STEW

Put 2 cups of finely shredded cabbage in enough water to boil and let cook slowly until tender, which should be in about three quarters of an hour. When the cabbage has been cooking half an hour, add a cup of milk, and when it is nearly done put in 2 cups of milk; let boil up once, then season with salt, black pepper, and pour in a hot tureen, in which should be laid 1 teaspoon of butter. Those who like oyster crackers served in or with milk stews can use them with this soup which greatly resembles an oyster stew in flavour.

CARROT BROTH

Scrape and cut 3 or 4 large carrots (or more of the small French sort) in eighths lengthwise and boil them until tender. Put 2 tablespoons of butter in a saucepan, and when melted add 1 scant half cup of oatmeal to it, putting in 1 tablespoon at a time and stirring carefully with a wooden spoon until all the butter is taken up; then put in 1 ladle of stock in which the carrots have been cooked, and continue stirring; then another ladle of stock, and so on until a cup and a half of stock has been added during ten minutes' slow cooking. Now put in another cup of stock and let cook ten minutes; then, as the soup will be getting too thick, add another cup of stock and so on, thinning the soup with additional stock until the oatmeal is thoroughly cooked. If Quaker Oats is used, the soup will only have to cook about forty minutes, and it is best to strain it before serving; fine Scotch meal will take longer, but does not need to be strained and thickens somewhat better.