Part 2

Remove the pulp from lemons for pies and other uses by cutting them lengthwise in the middle of the sections and scraping each side of the membrane, or by cutting the lemon in halves crosswise and taking the pulp out with a spoon.

To keep lemons and oranges from molding, spread them on a shelf in a dry place so that they will not touch each other. They may be covered with glass tumblers if in a cool as well as dry place.

To core apples, insert a steel fork at the blossom end and turn it round and round, then repeat from the stem end.

The half shell of an egg will remove bits of shell from broken eggs much better than a spoon.

My mother taught me to use too little rather than too much salt in foods, saying it was easier to add it than to take it out.

Salt varies so much in saltness that it is impossible to give definite rules for its use.

Have a shelf over the stove for zwieback, crackers and toasted cereals to keep them crisp.

Keep a dish of oil on or near your work table.

Have a small tin of pastry flour on the table to use for thickening sauces; also a small bowl or tin of sugar, and one of corn starch if using it frequently, and a box of salt, of course.

If a thickened mixture is allowed to any more than boil up well, after lemon juice is added, it will become thin.

Finely-sliced, tender, raw celery is much to be preferred to cooked, in timbales, croquettes, batters and sauces.

Never chop celery; slice it fine instead.

The word “meat” as used in this book refers to true meats, not flesh meats, but is confined to such foods as are rich in proteids, not being taken in its broadest sense.

Use soft butter for oiling molds to be decorated, as that holds the decorations better than oil.

To unmold, dip the mold in hot water a moment.

Both oil and crumb molds for delicate fillings.

Dip molds in cold water, invert and turn quickly right side up without draining, for gelatine and other fillings to be served cold.

Many foods gain in richness of flavor by being reheated; and for that reason, left overs often make more appetizing dishes than fresh cooked foods.

Reheat foods, legumes, vegetables, cereals, or fruits, to preserve them, before they begin to show signs of spoiling.

Only a small quantity of sugar, proportionately, should be added to yolks of eggs, or they will gather in small, hard particles and become useless.

Ice water crisps and freshens such vegetables as lettuce, parsley, cabbage and cucumbers as that just a little warmer will not.

In multiplying a recipe to make a larger quantity of soup or other liquid food, use a smaller proportion of liquid; or in dishes containing thickening take a larger proportion of flour, as the evaporation is not so great in proportion to the quantity.

The alcohol of yeast or of flavoring extracts goes off in the steam in cooking.

When eggs are used in cakes, breads, puddings or other dishes, fewer nuts, nut foods, legumes or other proteid foods will be required.

Bake soufflés and dishes made light with eggs, slowly, as when baked rapidly they puff up quickly and fall just as quickly; while if baked slowly, they retain their lightness.

Timbales, puddings and all molds to be served hot should stand 5 or 10 m. in a warm place after removing from the fire, before unmolding.

Place a cold wet towel over pudding molds to loosen, if inclined to stick.

Do not chop nut meats fine for roasts, cakes or puddings. Sometimes leave them whole, or just break them a little.

To try vegetables for tenderness, use a sharp pointed knife rather than a fork.

Batter and plum puddings and brown bread may be steamed in the oven by setting the mold containing them into a vessel of water with a tight fitting cover.

To steam in glass, set dishes or jars first into cold water and bring to boiling, then set into steamer.

Honey attracts moisture, consequently it should be kept in a warm dry place.

In discarding unwholesome foods be sure to put something wholesome in their place; in other words, employ a system of substitution rather than one of subtraction.

For instance, for this book we have taken pains to search out a variety of harmless flavorings to be used in place of the irritating condiments, such as mustard, pepper, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves; and instead of the acetic acid of vinegar, we use lemon juice--citric acid.

“Vinegar--acetic acid, is about ten times as strong as alcohol and makes more trouble in the stomach than any of the other acids except oxalic.”--_Dr. Rand._

“Do not eat largely of salt.”

“Very hot food ought not to be taken into the stomach. Soups, puddings and other articles of the kind are often eaten too hot, and as a consequence the stomach is debilitated.”

Many people can digest cream better when accompanied by an acid fruit.

While using oil enough to keep the machinery of the body lubricated, take care not to use too much. People with dilated stomachs can take very little, and that little best in salad dressings or as shortening with flour.

Malt gives flesh but not strength; too much is harmful.

Flesh is more often a sign of disease than of health. Good solid firm muscle is to be cultivated.

Taste is a matter of education. Let us educate ourselves to like the things that are good for us.

“Perseverance in a self-denying course of eating and drinking will soon make plain, wholesome food palatable, and it will be eaten with greater satisfaction than the epicure enjoys over his rich dainties.”

MEASUREMENTS

Flour is always sifted once before measuring and is laid into the measure lightly with a spoon to just level, without being shaken down; when measured otherwise, results will not be correct.

The measurements of tablespoons and teaspoons in this book are for slightly rounded spoons, as granulated sugar would be when the spoon is shaken sidewise. This seems the natural way of measuring. When level spoons are specified, the spoon is leveled off with a spatula or the straight edge of a knife.

The half-pint cup is the standard measuring cup.

A cupful is all the cup will hold without running over.

A speck equals ¼ saltspn. 1 saltspn „ ¼ teaspn. 2 teaspns „ 1 dessert spn. 1½ dessert spn „ 1 tablespn. 3 teaspns „ 1 tablespn. 1 tablespn. sugar or corn starch „ 1½ level tablespn. 3 level tablespns. cracker crumbs „ ¼ cup. 9½ tablespns. granulated sugar „ 1 cup. 15¼ level tablespns. „ „ „ 1 cup. 3 tablespns. liquid „ ¼ cup. 4 tablespns. liquid „ ⅓ cup. 4½ level tablespns. butter „ ⅓ cup. 3 rounded tablespns. butter „ ⅓ cup. 12 tablespns. liquid „ 1 cup. 1 wine glass „ ¼ cup. 1 gill „ ½ cup. 1 cup „ ½ pint. 1 tumbler „ ½ pint. 4 gills--2 cups „ 1 pint. 2 pints „ 1 quart. 4 quarts „ 1 gallon. 2 cups (1 pint) granulated sugar „ 1 pound. 2½ cups powdered sugar „ 1 pound. 3⅔ cups light or medium brown sugar „ 1 pound 2 cups butter „ 1 pound 4 cups good pastry flour „ 1 pound 3½-3⅞ cups good bread flour „ 1 pound 3½ plus, cups rice „ 1 pound 3 cups seeded raisins „ 1 pound 3¼ cups currants „ 1 pound 4 cups desiccated cocoanut „ 1 pound 1 pint milk or water „ 1 pound 1 rounded tablespn. butter „ 1 ounce Butter size of a walnut „ 1 ounce Butter size of an egg „ 2 ounces 2 tablespns. oil „ 1⅛ ounce 1 cup of oil „ 6¾ ounces 2 rounded tablespns. flour „ 1 ounce 1 rounded tablespn. sugar „ 1 ounce 1½ level tablespn. table salt „ 1 ounce 8 eggs in shell „ 1 pound 10 eggs out of shell „ 1 pound 12 ears of corn „ 3 cups grated corn 1 ear of corn „ ¼ cup grated corn 18 roots of oyster plant „ 1¼ qt. sliced 1 bunch of oyster plant „ ⅔ qt. sliced 1 bunch of oyster plant „ 1 pt. after cooking

FLAVORINGS

If we heed the injunction of the wise man to eat for strength and not for drunkenness, we will exclude the burning, irritating condiments from our dietary, since they by causing a feverish state of the system and creating “a thirst which water cannot quench,” are among the greatest causes of inebriety.

When our sense of taste is not benumbed or destroyed by harmful accompaniments we are in a condition to keenly enjoy the thousands of fine, delicate flavors that our loving Father has placed in wholesome foods.

Among the stronger flavors for those who do not at once enjoy the delicate ones, we have sage, savory, thyme, marjoram, rosemary, bay leaf, garlic, onion, chives and leeks.

Then come celery salt and seed, leaves and stalks; lemon thyme, shallots, spearmint, parsley, basil and tarragon.

The flavors of carrots, turnips, cabbage and spinach have their place.

The small leaf buds of sassafras may be dried and ground for soups and stews.

Celery leaves dried with gentle heat make excellent flavorings. They may be powdered by rubbing through a wire strainer the same as leaf sage.

Crush stalks of celery and let them stand in the soup or sauce to be flavored for 15 m., then remove them.

For a fresh positive onion flavor, let slices of onion stand in the food for 5 or 10 m.

The flavor of garlic is usually obtained by rubbing the dish in which the food is to be served or the spoon with which it is stirred with the cut surface of one of the cloves or sections. Slice it and crush it with salt when using it in cooked foods. One clove will flavor a large quantity.

Use bay leaf in the proportion of one large leaf to a quart of liquid.

As far as possible raise your own herbs. If in no other way, plant them in pots and boxes in the house. Somewhere I have seen the suggestion of planting parsley in holes in the sides of a barrel which has been sawed in two, and such plants as sage, thyme, mint, basil and tarragon in the top.

Gather herbs before flowering, dry in the shade, tie in paper sacks and hang in a dry place. Powder only a small quantity at a time and keep in close covered small jars. Fresh herbs, especially mint and tarragon, when obtainable, are far superior to dry ones.

The fact that raising any oil to a temperature high enough to brown it, decomposes it and produces a poisonous acid--a powerful irritant--is one of the best known to science.

Flour is rendered more digestible by browning and when combined with cream, oil or butter, gives the browned oil flavor without the poison.

To prepare browned flour, sift _bread_ flour into a broad flat pan, let it stand in a warm oven, stirring occasionally, until thoroughly dry, then gradually increase the heat of the oven, stirring often, until the desired degree of brownness is reached.

A delicate cream color, so light that you would hardly know there was any color except by comparing it with flour that had not been in the oven, gives a delightfully meaty flavor to some gravies and sauces. A light or medium brown is convenient to have at times, but the one most useful is the dark chestnut brown. The darker it is the longer it will last, as less of it will be required for flavoring.

To obtain this color a very high degree of heat will be required at the last, with almost constant stirring. As this dark flour lasts so long (I seldom make it more than once in a year for a large family), it pays to give it the necessary attention at every stage. Do not try to hurry it. If you begin browning it before it is thoroughly dry, it will burn. When done, sift and keep in close covered can or jar.

The lightest shade (which for convenience we call No. 1, and the others No. 2 and 3) should be prepared oftener as it becomes stale by standing. No. 3 will keep indefinitely. It is used for flavoring only as it will not thicken. Where consistency is desired, combine it with unbrowned flour. No. 1 will thicken nearly as much as though it had not been in the oven, and No. 2 a little.

When no number is given in recipes calling for browned flour, No. 3 is understood.

Browned flour, onion and a small quantity of tomato (not enough to give a tomato taste) combined, form the basis of meaty flavors in foods.

To these, add sometimes a bay leaf, a very little sage and a trifle of thyme. Again, add bay leaf, grated or chopped carrot and a very few celery tops, dried or fresh.

Garlic combines well with either of these combinations, and powdered or soaked dried mushrooms are a delightful addition.

Butter (oil or part oil) and a little onion with parsley seem something like chicken.

Juniper berries are thought to give the flavor of game. Not more than a teaspoonful of crushed berries should be used to the quart of stew.

Combine flavors so that no one is prominent but the whole combination pleasing.

Use herbs and all strong flavorings sparingly. One colored cook of experience expressed it when she said, “I put in just a trifle of sage, not enough to make it vulgar.”

Withal, have a variety; do not use the same flavors day after day.

=Brown Onion Flavor=

For sauces, soups and croquettes.

Cook together sliced onions, browned flour and oil with salt and water until onions are tender; strain, keep in cool place.

FOR SWEETS

Steep peach leaves in water for almond flavor.

Finely-ground coriander seed is a delightful and not unwholesome flavoring. It is cheaper to buy the seed by the pound. A half pound will go a long way. Do not grind too much at a time.

Ground anise seed in minute quantities is unequaled for some things, but is disagreeable when used too liberally.

For sweet dishes to be flavored with lemon or orange, score the rind of the fruit lightly with a sharp-tined fork. Drop the scored fruit into the measured sugar and rub it well with the sugar.

Another way of obtaining the flavor, also of grape fruit, is to pour boiling water over the thinly-pared yellow rind and when cold, strain. For salads, let that thin rind stand in the lemon or other fruit juices for a time and then remove.

When obliged to use lemon or orange extracts, use only a few drops instead of the teaspoonful of the average recipe.

Rose is another of the delightful flavors to be used sparingly.

To flavor with cocoanut, when the fibre is not desired, steep (do not boil) the cocoanut in milk for 15-20 m., then strain it out.

SALAD FLAVORINGS

To flavor lemon juice for cooked or uncooked dressings, take to each three tablespns. of lemon juice and one of water, a slice of onion, a bay leaf, and ¼ teaspn. of celery seed or 1 tablespn. of chopped celery leaves. Boil a moment, then cool and strain. Tarragon and chives may be used for the flavorings. Onion, bay leaf, thyme, a trifle of garlic if liked, and a few thin yellow-slices of orange peel make another combination.

The salad dish is sometimes rubbed with the cut surface of a clove of garlic or a slice of onion, or onion may be chopped or grated. Crushed celery seed is liked by some in salad dressings. Spearmint is very refreshing. Delicate tender sassafras leaves may be used in fruit and nut meat salads.

Shredded fresh mint combines well with orange or grape fruit or with currant juice; tarragon with red raspberries and currants, and basil with peaches.

In closing the subject of flavorings, I quote the words of a lady visitor after sampling some of the dishes prepared by a class in cookery:

“Any one can give a taste to foods by adding condiments and flavorings, but to develop the flavors of the foods themselves is an art.”

GARNISHING

The saying that “some people eat with their eyes” is true to a great extent of all of us. I believe that the veriest savage would better enjoy his dinner, however rude, if somewhere there were tucked into it a bit of green. The busy farmer’s wife as she goes to the wood pile for an armful of wood can quickly pick off a spray of May weed, dropping it into a tin of cold water as she passes the water pail, and her platter of beans for dinner is transformed, in the eyes of those children, into a thing of beauty, and what effect may it not have in the formation of their characters?

Of variety in garnishing there need be no lack with the garden, wayside and woods abounding in beautiful leaves, vines and flowers.

There are foliage plant, geranium, and autumn leaves, ferns in variety, with lettuce, endive, spinach, parsley, chervil and carrot tops. The variegated variety of beet leaves, as also the bright blossoms of nasturtiums make a brilliant garnish.

Put parsley, ferns, and all of the green leaves and vines into very cold water as soon as gathered and leave for some time, then keep in paper sacks in a cold place away from the wind. Repeat the cold water bath at intervals.

Barberries canned, or preserved in brine, candied cranberries or cherries, green grapes in brine, designs cut from orange, lemon grape fruit and tangerine rinds, tomatoes in slices or in lengthwise pieces, and slices of lemon or orange with the skin on are all suitable garnishes at times.

Lemon cups, having a slice cut off from the ends so that they will stand, may be used for mayonnaise or small servings of salad.

Orange and grape fruit halves with tops notched or scalloped or sometimes cut in deep points rolled down, and orange baskets make a change of service. All of these fruit cups should be kept in ice water or chopped ice until serving time, then thoroughly dried with a soft towel.

Blood oranges and gelatine oranges are novelties for garnishing.

Sprays of maidenhair fern are pretty under grape fruit and orange cups.

All cups or glasses containing salads or creams should be served on doilies on small plates.

To prepare fringed celery, cut the stalks into two- or three-in. lengths, then slice very fine from each end to within ¾-1 in. of the center and leave in ice water for a time. Do not lay in ice water before preparing. The short tender stalks may have the leaves left on and be shredded at the opposite end. Celery _leaves_ make a desirable garnish.

Cut carrots, beets and yellow turnips into slices or sticks, or into round pieces with an open-top thimble or a round pastry tube, and into fancy shapes with vegetable cutters, selecting cutters which have not sharp points or slender stems.

=Radish Lilies=

Get either the turnip or olive shaped radishes, wash them well, trim off just the slender tips and all but one or two of the smallest leaves. With a thin, sharp knife cut them into halves from the tip end almost to the stem, and the same way into quarters and eighths. Then carefully loosen the rind of each section as far down as it is cut and throw the radishes into ice water, leaving them there for several hours or overnight, when they will have bloomed into beautiful lilies. Pure white or yellow lilies may be made from yellow or white radishes. Serve directly from the ice water, and the radishes will be crisp and sweet and easily digested.

Just one radish sometimes, in a spray or two of parsley or chervil is better than a more elaborate garnish; a red radish sliced or cut into quarters or sixths is pretty in a little green.

Roll up imperfect leaves of lettuce and slice in thin slices, then pick up lightly and use for borders or nests or beds.

Dry parsley thoroughly in a towel before chopping. For rolling, spread the particles out, a little distance apart, so as to just fleck whatever is rolled in it.

Use nuts chopped or in halves or broken pieces for borders or nests of fruit or vegetable salads; never put them into the dressing.

=Potato Balls=

Potatoes may be cut into balls with a vegetable scoop, boiled until just tender, not broken, drained, sprinkled with chopped parsley and used for garnishing a true meat dish.

=Egg Daisies=

Cut the hard boiled yolks of eggs into round pieces and the whites into petal shapes for daisies for decorating the tops of small spinach or other timbales or molds.

The whites and yolks are better poached separately for garnishing. Cut whites with vegetable cutters sometimes.

=Oxeye Daisies=

Use the end of a small black olive for the center of daisies, and carrots for the leaves.

Toast points or croutons of different shapes are suitable garnishes for timbales, eggs, broiled mushrooms and true meat or vegetable stews, or we may use pieces of bread of different shapes that have been dipped in egg yolks and milk and baked. Breaded triangles, squares or circles, of corn meal porridge may be used to garnish the edge of a platter for a stew.

Serve some creamed dishes or stews in shells of pastry.

Turk’s head and border molds may be decorated with truffles or other decorations, and used for meat dishes for variety.

Button mushrooms may be used for garnishing individual timbales.

Cut left overs of pie crust or cracker dough into fancy shapes, for scalloped dishes, salads and some desserts, and into squares, diamonds or strips for peas and other vegetables.

For legumes or other meat dishes, sometimes use carrots in dice or slices, sprinkled with chopped parsley or interspersed with sprigs of parsley.

Lemon Points.--Cut slices of lemon into four or six parts.

=Pastry Bag=

The pastry bag gives variety in garnishing and decorating. The bag itself may be of rubber, paper or cloth. Cloth for all purposes is the most practical. To make, take “Indian Head” or other heavy cloth, cut it into any sized square desired; fold and sew together in cornucopia shape (the seam is better felled), trim the top evenly and hem; then cut off a very little from the point and hem that, leaving the opening just large enough to insert the tubes one-third to one-half their length.

Paper bags may be used in an emergency, and rubber for some purposes, but not for anything containing oil.

Mashed peas and potatoes should not be too dry for decorating.

Mayonnaise dressing and whipped cream should be stiff, as also meringues.

COLORINGS

=Pokeberry--Carmine=

Cover berries with water, boil till the skins break, strain, add 1 cup of sugar to each pint of juice; boil, bottle, seal.

_For Red_, cook strained tomato to a thick pulp; or slice a bright red raw beet into cold water and let it stand on the stove where it will heat slowly to a little below the boiling point and strain.

_For Green_, bruise parsley, spinach, chervil, onion tops, chives, tarragon or lettuce, with or without lemon, and press out the juice for coloring.

_For Yellow_, steep saffron in boiling water for ½-1 hour and strain when cold.

When these colorings are not suitable, the so-called “fruit colors” for sale at the groceries may be used. Use only enough for delicate shades.

ARRANGEMENT AND GARNISHING OF SALADS

The arrangement and garnishing of salads depends largely upon individual taste and skill in the use of things at hand, and is a matter of importance.

The garnish should be a suitable one and should harmonize with the ingredients of the salad. For example, a dainty flower or vine with a delicate fruit salad, and slices or fancy shapes of vegetables with true meat salads.

Red apple, or tomato cups may be used for light colored salads, and yellow tomato, or green and white apple cups for bright ones.