Tray Arranged for Welsh RarebitTray Arranged for Welsh Rarebit
MILK TOAST
Put on in a double boiler two cups of milk, one tablespoonful of butter, salt to your own taste, and allow to come to a boil. Have ready four squares of nicely browned toast, put in a hot vegetable dish, pour over the milk, clap on thecover, and serve at once. Some people like the milk thickened with a teaspoonful of flour that has first been moistened with a little cold milk, but I prefer it without.
Every housekeeper should impress on her young daughter the importance of keeping on hand a small quantity of canned goods to provide for the unexpected guest, and this should include sardines, salmon, shrimps, lobster, French peas, olives and orange marmalade. These things will all keep for months in a cool place, yet are indispensable in an emergency. The can of shrimps, opened and placed in cold water for a little while, will taste as good as the fresh, and the salmon, with the skin and bones removed, will be ready on short notice to be served in a number of ways.
CANNED FISH SALADS
For salad, take either shrimps, lobster or salmon, and after breaking in small pieces, add an equal amount of celery, season with salt and moisten with salad dressing. Serve on lettuce.
CREAMED CANNED FISH
If our small cook wishes to serve a hot dish, however, in a hurry for company, she can maketo use with her canned fish, the favorite white sauce. For this she must first melt one tablespoonful of butter and add to it one tablespoonful of flour, a quarter teaspoonful of salt, a dash of pepper, and lastly, after mixing well, one cupful of milk, stirring all the time until thick. After boiling two minutes put in the can of lobster, shrimps or salmon, broken in small pieces, and allow to boil gently for three minutes more. Then serve on rounds of buttered toast, garnished with parsley.
SARDINE CANAPES
If only sardines happen to be left in the reserve stock and yet something hot is needed, let the mother show the child how to make that rather unusual dish, sardine canapés. After removing the bones and tails, the sardines should be rubbed to a paste and mixed with an equal quantity of chopped hard-boiled eggs, seasoned with salt and pepper, a teaspoonful of lemon juice and half a teaspoonful of Worcestershire sauce. Then she must cut circles of bread, toast or fry them brown in butter, and spread on the sardine paste. Send to the table immediately, garnished with circles of the hard-boiled white of egg.
Rice and Macaroni
BOILED RICE
Rice is one of our most nutritious foods, and it can be served in such a variety of ways it is one of the first things a child should be shown how to prepare. The very easiest (and cheapest) way is to wash and drain a cup of rice and then sprinkle it slowly into two quarts of boiling salted water. Without stirring, set it where it will simmer slowly, and by the time it has boiled down thick it should be tender enough to crush with the tongue. If not, add a little more boiling water and allow to cook a while longer, but if it is not stirred the grains will be whole and the rice will not stick to the pan as long as there is water enough to keep from burning. If it is to be served plain, with only cream and sugar, add a teaspoonful of butter and stir through lightly just before turning out in the dish for the table and sprinkle a little ground cinnamon over the top. This makes an easy and generally very acceptable dessert. It is particularlynice if turned first into cups to mold, and then served on a small dish with a spoonful of jelly or some preserve over the top.
CASSEROLE OF RICE
Rice cups are made by lining small well-greased baking-cups with the rice half an inch thick and filling with any kind of cold meat, chopped fine and seasoned. A thin layer of the rice is then spread over the top and the cups baked in a moderate oven for twenty minutes. By running a knife around the edge when done they can be turned out when cooked, and may be served on hot toast with either warmed-over gravy or tomato sauce.
RICE CUPS, (DESSERT)
The rice cups will be delicious for dessert, if instead of using cold meat they are filled with mince meat or raisins that have lain in cold water until they have swelled. When baked they are to be turned out on sauce dishes and served with a sauce made by creaming one-third cupful of butter with one cupful of brown sugar, flavoring with half-teaspoonful vanilla and heating in a double boiler until hot and creamy.
Compote of RiceCompote of Rice
COMPOTE OF RICE
Take plain boiled rice, pack lightly in small cups, and put in a warm place for an hour to set. Turn out molded, and send to the table garnished with any kind of rich preserves,—preferably such large fruits as peaches, pears or plums.
Rice nicely cooked is often served in place of a vegetable and eaten with a fork from the dinner plate like mashed potatoes. It is a good thing for the little cook to learn all the different ways of cooking it, as often a small quantity left from one meal would prove most acceptable for another, if prepared differently.
FRIED RICE
The plain boiled rice intended to be served likea vegetable or for a simple dessert might not all be used. If a cupful were left it could be cut in thin slices and browned in butter for breakfast, or it could be stirred into the soup made from the left-overs, as described in one of our former lessons. The little maid must learn to use all her odds and ends, and a good way to teach her would be to ask her what she thought could be prepared from the small quantity of food left from a meal. While often there might not be enough for the whole family, there might be plenty for the few that happened to be home for the noon luncheon, or perhaps only enough for the school lunch that after a while gets to be such a hard thing for mother to fix up "in a different way."
RICE PUDDING
Rice pudding is one of the first desserts a child should learn to make, as it is so little trouble and always a favorite. She should first beat up thoroughly two eggs; add half a cupful of sugar, two cupfuls of milk, a little nutmeg, and stir through two cupfuls of cooked rice. If the rice has been standing long enough to stiffen, then, after washing her hands, she will have to work the rice through the custard with her fingers in order toremove any lumps. A half cupful of raisins or dried currants stirred in after the pudding is in the baking-dish will make it just that much nicer. In baking, leave in the oven until the pudding is firm, which will show when a silver knife stuck in the middle comes out clean. A custard is never baked enough that sticks to the knife and leaves it milky.
BOILED MACARONI
As there are many days, especially in summer, when macaroni can well take the place of meat, it is desirable that the small maid be taught how to prepare it attractively.
The macaroni is first broken in small pieces, washed and then boiled in salted water until tender—about twenty minutes. It can be tested with a fork. It is very good if simply drained when cooked, sprinkled with salt and pepper, dotted with lumps of butter and sent to the table piping hot.
MACARONI WITH CHEESE
Or it can be taken from the boiling water, put in a colander, rinsed with cold water, then arranged in a baking dish in alternate layers withgrated cheese. Over the top pour one cup of hot milk in which has been stirred a teaspoon of butter and a beaten egg. This must be baked a light brown as quickly as possible, and served at once. It is not so good after it has stood.
If preferred, a cupful of white sauce can be used instead of the milk and egg.
MACARONI WITH TOMATO
For baked macaroni with tomato, have the little cook put in her baking dish first a layer of the cooked and rinsed macaroni, then a layer of tomatoes, either fresh or canned, but well seasoned, then another layer of macaroni, then one of tomatoes, and on the top sprinkle rolled bread crumbs. Scatter tiny lumps of butter all around, season again, and bake a light brown in a quick oven.
MACARONI PIE
But if she finds that she has a small quantity of cold meat on hand, beef, veal or chicken, she can put one layer of that through the middle of the macaroni, and she will have a surprise for her family—delicious, too. This is quite nice for wash-day dinner when it can be served with baked potatoes, at little cost of time or trouble.
In a series of cooking lessons of this kind, it is manifestly impossible to include directions for preparing all kinds of food, but I have outlined the work with the idea of teaching the children a great variety of dishes, believing that their success with these will stimulate them to try by themselves recipes found elsewhere.
Baking Cake and Bread
The child who has been assisted in preparing the various dishes given in our previous cooking lessons, and who has learned to follow directions, will now be eager to undertake different kinds of baking. The mother should impress on the little student that the first essential to success is correct measurements, and the second, careful mixing. For cake baking a graduated tin cup, marked in quarters and thirds, is almost a necessity, as different people's ideas vary so as to what constitutes a quarter or a third. If the cup is at hand, however, and is used in taking all the measurements, there can be no mistake. And a cupful means a level cupful, not heaping; a teaspoonful a level spoonful, not a rounded one, unless so specified.
BAKING PREPARATIONS
Before beginning the work, the child should read over her recipe and lay out all ingredientsneeded. She should have the mixing bowl on the table with the mixing spoon, the teaspoon and tablespoon for measurements, and the measuring cup. The cake pan, wiped off, warmed and greased lightly with lard, is next set aside, ready for use.
Then the fire must be in good condition. If a gas stove is used it will take only a few moments to heat the oven properly, but if wood or coal is the fuel, the mother must show the child how to prepare the fire, so as to have the oven the right temperature and on time. The old way of having it as hot as one can stand the hand while counting twenty, is a fair test.
As small cakes bake more evenly and quickly for the inexperienced cook, it is a good idea to let the child put her cake dough in muffin tins. A mixture that might fall and seem a failure if put in a loaf and not properly baked, will often come up very nicely in gem pans; and, besides, the small cakes appeal more to the childish fancy. A nice one-egg cake is made as follows:
Icing the CakeIcing the Cake
TEA CAKES
One-third of a cup of butter, one cup of sugar, one egg, one cup of milk, two cups of sifted flour, two level teaspoonfuls of baking powder, half ateaspoonful of vanilla, and half a cup of currants.
DIRECTIONS FOR MIXING
First the child should measure her flour while her cup is dry, and adding the baking-powder, sift it on to a paper or in an extra bowl, and set it aside, ready for use. Next she can measure the even cupful of sugar into the mixing bowl, add an even one-third cupful of butter, and rub together to a creamy mass. If the butter has been standing a while in the kitchen, it will be warm enough to work up nicely. Then she must separate the egg, beating the white stiff and the yolk until it is foaming. Adding the beaten yolk to the butter and sugar, she again stirs thoroughly, and then begins adding—a little at a time—first the milk and then the sifted flour, stirring evenly all the while. Put in the vanilla, the stiffly beaten white of egg, with the currants, mixing as little as possible, and pour out into the greased gem pans. If the oven is right, the baking will take from fifteen to twenty minutes, but if the oven seems too hot, leave the door slightly open for about five minutes. An old-fashioned way of finding out when the cakes are well bakedis to try with a new wooden toothpick. If it comes out clean and dry the cakes are done.
On removing from the oven, loosen around the bottom edge (the cakes should have shrunk from the sides), and turn on to a bread board. When cold, they can be iced with the following simple icing:
Tea Cakes Baked in Heart ShapeTea Cakes Baked in Heart Shape
WHITE ICING UNCOOKED
Two tablespoonfuls milk or cream, enough confectioner's sugar to make a thick paste and half dozen drops of vanilla. In spreading, if the icing does not go on as smoothly as desired the silver knife used for spreading can occasionally be dipped in a glass of cold water.
COCOA ICING
When the child has followed this recipe several times successfully, she can then try baking it in two cake tins. When done and cool, she can put the layers together with the same icing, to which, by adding two teaspoonfuls of cocoa, she will have a nice chocolate filling. When the cocoa is used, she will need a trifle more milk or cream.
GINGER COOKIES
After the child has fully mastered this recipe, let her next try some ginger cookies. To a half a cupful of molasses, one teaspoonful of soda, half a cupful sour milk, half a cupful of sugar, and one-third cupful of melted butter add one well-beaten egg, three cupfuls of flour, with one tablespoonful of ginger. This will make a thick mass which is to be turned out as soft as can be handled, half at a time, on a well-floured bread board. The child must then flour her rolling-pin to keep it from sticking, and roll as thin as desired. She should thoroughly grease the dripping pan and then cut out her cookies and lift carefully into place, one just touching another. The oven should be quite hot for these as theyought to bake quickly; and on removing from the oven, they should stand a moment in the pan before being lifted on to a plate.
SPICE CAKE
For an inexpensive spice cake, take one-half cup of butter, one cup of sugar, one egg, (white beaten separately), one and one-half cups of flour, two teaspoonfuls of baking powder, half a cup of milk, one-quarter teaspoonful ground cloves, one-quarter teaspoonful nutmeg, one teaspoonful cinnamon, half a teaspoonful vanilla. Cream the butter and sugar, add yolk of egg and beat very light. Sift flour and baking powder, and stir in alternately with the milk. Add spice and flavoring next, then the stiff white, and bake either in gem pans or in a loaf. Half a cupful of seeded raisins or currants will be an improvement.
WARM GINGERBREAD
Stir together half a cup of molasses, half a cup of brown sugar, one teaspoonful of soda, one beaten egg, two tablespoons melted butter, half a cup of milk, two cups of flour, one tablespoonful of ginger, teaspoonful of cinnamon, one-quarter teaspoonful cloves, and a little nutmeg. Mixin the order given, pour in greased shallow pan, and bake from fifteen to twenty minutes.
When the little cook has learned to follow the foregoing recipes so that she understands all the details of mixing and is able to make nice light cakes, let her some time try the following, which by using the whites for a delicate cake and the yolks for a gold cake, will give her two choice cakes without extra expense. After bringing to the table, when ready to begin, the sugar can, the butter jar, the egg dish, the milk, the vanilla and the baking powder, so that everything will be convenient, and having well greased a pan for the gold cake (which will be baked in a loaf) and the two jelly tins for the white cake, she can then separate three eggs, and to the three yolks add one whole egg. On account of the baking it is best to make the white cake first, and then it can be iced and the dishes cleaned away while the loaf cake bakes.
WHITE CAKE
One even half cupful of butter and an even cupful of sugar, creamed until it is light and foamy. To one and one-half cupfuls of flouradd two level teaspoonfuls baking-powder, and sift several times. Then into the creamed butter and sugar pour one-half cupful milk, alternately, a little at a time, with the flour. Before putting in the last of the flour, stir extra well, then put in one teaspoonful vanilla and the stiffly beaten whites of the eggs, mix as little as possible, to stir through, and then add the last of the flour. Bake either in a loaf or in two layer tins. The layers can be put together when cold with either the icing already given or this chocolate frosting:
CHOCOLATE ICING
To one cup of granulated sugar add one-third cup of boiling water, and stir to dissolve until it begins to boil, but no longer. Cook until it hairs from a spoon, then pour slowly on the stiff white of an egg, beating steadily. When the candy is well mixed through the egg, add two squares of chocolate, grated, and continue beating until cool and thick enough to spread. If the candy happens to be taken off too soon, the icing will not get thick, and in that event it can be made the right consistency by the addition of a little confectioner's sugar.
BOILED ICING
For the plain white boiled icing, simply omit the chocolate from the foregoing recipe, and flavor as desired.
After the two white layers have been put into the oven, if she will be very careful not to forget them, our little maid can go at her loaf cake.
GOLD CAKE
To one cupful of sugar, and a rounded tablespoonful of butter rubbed creamy, she can stir in the four yolks and one whole egg beaten together as light as the proverbial feather. Then after sifting one and one-half cupfuls of flour with two level teaspoonfuls baking-powder in a separate bowl, she can add, a little at a time, one-half cupful of milk and the flour in the same way that she did in mixing her white cake. Flavor with a teaspoonful of vanilla, or lemon, if preferred.
CITRON CAKE
If citron is liked, a quarter-cupful, cut very thin, and lightly floured, can be stirred through the batter made for the gold cake, the last thing.This cake will bake better if put in a pan having a funnel opening in the center. The oven should be a little cooler for a loaf cake, and it should bake from forty to forty-five minutes. When done, it will shrink slightly from the sides of the pan and should be a delicate brown. The best way to avoid the possibility of sticking, is to first cut a piece of paper to fit the bottom of the pan and grease it thoroughly. On removing from the oven, the loaf cake should stand a few moments and then be turned out on the bread board.
NUT CAKE
If desired, when the loaf is cool, it can be iced also, with a white icing, and it will look attractive if a few nut meats are scattered over the top before the icing hardens. If nuts are liked, a few can be stirred through the cake instead of the citron and thus by using either (or neither) our small cook can make three different cakes with the same recipe.
DEVIL'S FOOD CAKE
A delicious chocolate cake, sometimes called Devil's Food, is made as follows: cream three-quarters of a cup of butter with one cup of sugar,and add the beaten yolks of two eggs. Sift several times one and one-half cups of flour with two scant teaspoonfuls of baking powder, and stir in, alternating with half a cup of milk. Flavor with three tablespoonfuls of cocoa (or two squares of unsweetened chocolate, grated), and half a teaspoonful of vanilla, and lastly add the two whites, beaten stiff. Bake in two layers, and put together with white icing.
Afternoon Tea for TwoAfternoon Tea for Two
Any child with care and a little practice should be able to bake successfully any of the recipes given. They are not expensive, and yet if properlyput together will make cake light and nice enough to offer any guest. The first, of course, is a trifle cheaper, but the others will give a good variety for any company, and when she has learned to make them so they turn out well every time, she will have made a great advance in her cooking lessons. Then by simply changing her icing she can have as many different kinds as the family desire.
BREAD
Home-made bread is one thing that everybody likes, and while it takes time and patience, it is not really hard to make. One little girl I knew took pride in making all the bread for a family of four, and it was fine, too. The recipe here given will make three large loaves, so if you prefer, you can use only half at first, until sure that you have learned to do it properly. Take three quarts of sifted flour, one even iron kitchen spoonful of salt, a rounded one of sugar, and one, also rounded, of lard melted in one cup of warm water—not hot. Dissolve one fresh compressed yeast cake in one cup of warm water, and add that, with two more cups of warm water. Mix this all well together, using your big spoon. When as smooth as you can get it that way, turn out on a floured board,and knead for fifteen or twenty minutes. Then set it away where it will not get chilled, and leave it to rise for from four to six hours, when it will be about double its original size. Then turn out on your bread board again, cut it in three parts, roll into nice smooth loaves, without more kneading, put in buttered bread tins, leave again in a warm place for about two hours, then bake in a moderate oven until a pretty brown. When done, go lightly over the hard crust with a small white cloth dipped in cold water, roll in a fresh tea towel and allow to cool before cutting. If you wish, you can start your bread and give the first kneading at night, then cover and leave until morning.
LIGHT BISCUIT
For light biscuit, take one of the three parts cut for the bread, twist off little pieces the size of an egg, roll smooth without working, wet over the top with melted butter or milk, let rise to double their size, and bake in a hot oven from fifteen to twenty minutes.
Desserts Good in Summer
For the hot days of summer, I know the mothers and little cooks will be deeply interested in cold desserts of all kinds—dishes that can be made early in the morning and set away, as well as various frozen dainties. It is well to enjoy the delicious fruits and melons in their season (and really nothing finishes off a dinner better after a close, warm day), but still we all want to know how to make light puddings and jellies for a change.
FLOATING ISLAND
Floating island is a nice dessert, easily made by any child, with reasonable care. For six persons, have her take three even cupfuls of milk and one-fourth teaspoonful salt, and put on to heat in a double kettle. Then beat up the yolks of three eggs, add one-half cupful sugar, one-half teaspoonful vanilla, and pour in them slowly the hot milk, stirring all the time. Return to the double boiler and continue to stir until it thickens andgets creamy, coating the spoon. Do not allow to boil, or it will curdle. Cover and set aside to cool.
Next the whites should be beaten up very stiff, and sweetened with two tablespoonfuls of powdered sugar. Have a pan filled with boiling hot water—but not bubbling—and into this drop the whites in heaping big spoonfuls. After standing a few moments they will puff up very light. While they are cooking, pour the custard in a glass dish, then lift the whites with a skimmer, allow to drain and dot them over the top. Made in this way, the meringue tastes much better than when served uncooked. A half-teaspoonful of currant jelly on top of each "island" makes the dessert even more inviting, and it looks particularly nice when served in individual glass dishes or sherbet cups.
Gelatin forms the basis for many delicious, inexpensive puddings. It is well for the housewife to examine the recipes coming with the different brands, for while some boxes will make only one quart of jelly, others at the same price will make two, and therefore cost only half as much.
LEMON JELLY
For plain lemon jelly, the mother will instruct the child to soak two rounded tablespoonfuls ofgranulated gelatin in one-third cupful of cold water for fifteen minutes. Then add two cupfuls of boiling water, one cupful sugar, and the strained juice of two lemons. Pour in a shallow mold to set and when ready to send to the table turn onto a small platter and garnish with whipped cream, or serve with the custard used for floating island.
Fruit Jelly with Whipped CreamFruit Jelly with Whipped Cream
FRUIT JELLY
For a fruit jelly in winter, line the bottom of the mold or individual cups with pieces of banana, orange, or preserved cherries, fill up with the liquidlemon jelly and set away to harden. In berry season, however, flavor the gelatin with half a cupful of the pure berry juice strained (instead of using lemon), and pour into cups half filled with fine, whole berries. This is best served with whipped cream, one large berry decorating the top of each cup.
These jellies have to be set in a very cold place to make them firm, and it is often advisable in warm weather, if they cannot be put on ice, to make them, the night before they are needed, then put them in the coolest place possible.
WHIPPED CREAM
Whipped cream is called for with so many dishes, that every little girl should learn how to prepare it. In the first place the cream must be very thick and very cold. In the cities a special cream is usually delivered if ordered for whipping; and I believe it is a day older than the other kind. But if thick enough and cold, there is no trick at all about making it stiff in a very few moments. Have the child take a deep bowl or small stone butter jar, rinse it in cold water until chilled, then wipe and pour in one-half pint of cream. Taking a Dover egg-beater, also thoroughly cold, let herwhip steadily and not too fast until thick as the stiff white of an egg. Taking out the beater, next add half a cupful of confectioners' sugar, half a teaspoonful of vanilla, stir thoroughly and set away on the ice until needed. It is best when freshly made.
NUTS
Nuts are used so much nowadays, in all kinds of cookery, that we find them in the most unexpected places. When chopped, they are mixed with cottage cheese for sandwiches, stirred into all kinds of salads, put into cake batter, and all kinds of icings; and when left in unbroken halves, used to garnish many gelatine puddings and whipped-cream desserts.
But when the very hottest days come, we all like the good things that come from the ice-cream freezer. The best up-to-date freezers do their work very quickly, the great secret being to have the ice broken up in very fine pieces or crushed in a strong bag. A good rule to follow for mixing with salt is as follows:
For ice-creams, three parts ice to one part salt.
For frappés, two parts ice to one part salt.
For mousses, etc., equal parts ice and salt.
Then be sure to get the top on your can tightly, and when you are ready to remove it be careful to first brush aside all ice and salt, so not one particle can possibly get into the freezer. Nothing marks the amateur more than salt in the ice-cream.
FRENCH ICE-CREAM
A delicious French ice-cream has for its foundation a custard made by beating up first the yolks of three eggs very light, adding a pinch of salt, one cupful sugar and two cupfuls of milk. Cook this in a double boiler until it coats the spoon, but do not allow to boil or it will curdle. Cool, flavor with a teaspoonful of rich vanilla, add one pint of cream and freeze.
CHOCOLATE ICE-CREAM
For a rich chocolate ice-cream, make like the foregoing, only add to the custard before it cools two ounces of grated, unsweetened chocolate which has been set in a pan of hot water long enough to allow it to melt. This takes but a few moments, however.
FRUIT ICE
For a refreshing fruit ice, have our little maid prepare the juice of three oranges, three lemons,and one pint of either strawberries or red raspberries. After straining through a coarse strainer, she must add three cupfuls of sugar, three cupfuls of cold water and the stiffly beaten whites of two eggs. This does not need to be frozen quite so hard as the ice-cream.
STRAWBERRY MOUSSE
In strawberry season, particularly on a farm where there is an abundance of rich cream and luscious fruit, the finest kind of a frozen dessert is made by adding to a pint of thick unflavored cream, whipped as directed, two cupfuls of crushed berries and two cupfuls of sugar. The berries and sugar, well mixed, should be folded carefully into the cream and pressed in a mold. The cracks must be filled with butter or lard to prevent the salt water leaking in, and the mold packed closely in salt and ice and left for four hours. Remember it is not frozen in the freezer by turning. When ready to unmold, wring a cloth out of boiling water and lay around the can for a moment, after loosening where possible with a thin-bladed knife. Turn on to a platter and send to the table to be cut in slices.
LEMON ICE
For a plain lemon ice, take the grated rind of one lemon, and the juice of three, a cupful and a half of sugar, four cupfuls of water, and the stiffly beaten whites of two eggs. Freeze, but not too hard.
CITRON CUSTARD
Citron custard is good summer or winter, served hot or cold. The child should first beat up very light two eggs, then add a pinch of salt, one-third cupful of sugar, two cupfuls of milk, and a sprinkle of nutmeg. Next she must line a baking-dish or individual cups with thin slices of citron, then pour in the custard and bake, after setting her dish or cups in a pan of boiling water. If a few small nails are scattered over the bottom of the water-pan, so the pudding cups do not touch, but are surrounded by water, the custard will cook more evenly. Leave in the oven about twenty minutes, but test before taking out by inserting in the middle the blade of a silver knife. When thoroughly done the blade will come out clean instead of coated.
Cornstarch Pudding, Individual MouldsCornstarch Pudding, Individual Moulds
CORNSTARCH PUDDING
Cornstarch pudding is an old favorite, too, either hot or cold. First mix four level tablespoonfuls of cornstarch with three tablespoonfuls of sugar, and beat up light one egg. Then scald two cupfuls of milk, after pouring a few spoonfuls on the cornstarch in order to thoroughly wet it. When the milk is hot, add the moistened cornstarch and sugar, the beaten egg, and flavoring to taste, stirring constantly until thick. Then allow to cook gently for ten minutes at least. A double boiler is best for all such puddings, as it prevents all possibility of scorching, but it takes longer. One delicious way of serving this otherwiseordinary dish is to cut a few thin peelings from a lemon (just the yellow part), cook with the milk till a delicate flavor is imparted, and then remove. When the pudding is done, pour in a mold and let set. Then serve with whipped cream flavored with vanilla. The combination of the two flavorings is very agreeable.
RAISIN TAPIOCA
Tapioca is a thing every child should learn to use, as it is capable of so many variations. For the simplest pudding, have her first cover three-quarters of a cup of tapioca, (or sago, either), with one cupful of cold water and allow to soak at least an hour. Then add three cupfuls of boiling water, one-half teaspoonful salt, the flavoring and sugar to taste, and boil until transparent. If the family like lemon, let her add the strained juice and grated rind of one lemon and one-half cupful of sugar. Or, she can use a level cupful of raisins, the juice and grated rind of half a lemon and cupful of sugar. (The raisins should be seeded, of course.)
APPLE TAPIOCA
Or still another way is to boil the tapioca,sweetened but not flavored, for about fifteen minutes, then pour into a baking-dish half filled with sliced apples and flavored with nutmeg. This must be baked until the apples are tender.
TAPIOCA CUSTARD
Probably the most common way, though, of making tapioca pudding is by taking half the recipe given and after boiling fifteen minutes, (without flavoring or sugar), adding to it two cupfuls of milk, two well-beaten eggs, one-half teaspoonful vanilla, and half a cupful of sugar, then baking until the custard begins to brown on top. All these desserts are to be served with cream, plain or whipped, which adds to the appearance as well as taste.
There are several brands of granulated tapioca on the market, and they are convenient if one is in a hurry, but they are more expensive than the ordinary kind, and I have found that the directions on the box seldom allow sufficient time to boil, and also that the pouring on of boiling water suggested is apt to result in the powdered tapioca forming lumps which require an extra amount of cooking.
HOT CHOCOLATE SAUCE
A favorite hot sauce for puddings, or to be served separately with vanilla ice-cream, is made by melting one square of unsweetened chocolate, adding a teaspoonful of butter, one-third of a cup of water, one cup of sugar, and a few drops of vanilla. Cook for five minutes, and keep hot until needed. Two tablespoonfuls of cocoa can be used if preferred.
My little cooks should now have become experienced enough that if they saw a recipe they thought they would like in some newspaper or magazine they could go ahead and try it by themselves. It might be well for mother to glance it over first and see if it looks all right, and then if she said "Yes," proceed with it. But whatever they try, they should remember to be sure they put in every ingredient according to directions, and then cook to the queen's taste!
The Thanksgiving Dinner
All children are deeply interested in preparations for company, and in the getting ready for the Thanksgiving dinner every mother will find good opportunity to teach her little daughter many valuable lessons. There is so much to be thought of at this time and so much to be done that the wise woman will take the child into consultation, and by freely discussing plans get help and at the same time train her into the right way to prepare for guests.
THANKSGIVING MENU
In the first place, talk over with her and decide about the number to be entertained, and then settle on the menu. Get her to express her opinions, and if they are good let her see that you approve them by following her suggestions. If they are not good point out wherein they are at fault, and after deciding what dishes are to be served, show her how to write out the bill of fare in proper form. This should then be hung up inthe kitchen for reference, as otherwise it would be an easy matter to overlook something or make a mistake. If, for instance, a simple dinner of the usual good things is desired, it should be written out in this way—and the child herself can do the writing:
DINNERConsomméRoast Turkey, with DressingCranberry SaucePicklesCeleryMashed PotatoesCreamed OnionsMince PieCream CheeseCoffeeNutsRaisins
MARKETING
The day before let the child help in the marketing. As she has already been shown how to make consommé, she can now be allowed to do it by herself, and set it away to be heated up when needed. When you go to buy the turkey, vegetables and fruits, show her the right kind to select. Explain that the celery should be crisp and white, not wilted and discolored; the cranberries hard and red, not soft and brown in spots; the oranges solid and heavy, not pithy and light.
Have her consult the list made before startingout, to be sure she gets everything needed before beginning her cooking.
A Dinner Table, with Fruit Centerpiece, and Nuts in Individual BasketsA Dinner Table, with Fruit Centerpiece, and Nuts in Individual Baskets
DRESSING THE TURKEY
Returning home, as soon as the turkey is delivered show her how to dress it. This is always an interesting process, and while few mothers like to see their girls really do this work, they ought to explain it fully. After taking out the pinfeathers and singeing, the skin should be carefully washed with warm water, soap and a small clean cloth, for so much dust adheres to the flesh of poultry that in no other way can it be removed. As fowls are usually drawn at the market, nowtake out the giblets, tear away the lights, rinse thoroughly the inside and then sprinkle with salt.
MOIST STUFFING
The little cook herself can be allowed to make the stuffing. To each loaf of stale bread, broken in small pieces, add salt and pepper to taste, two tablespoonfuls of butter, half-teaspoonful of ground sage and boiling water enough to slightly moisten.
DRY STUFFING
For dry dressing, crumble the bread, omit the water, but use four tablespoonfuls of melted butter. Pack in the turkey very loosely. Some people like this seasoned with thyme, while others prefer onion.
OYSTER STUFFING
Or if oyster dressing is preferred, omit sage and add instead one pint of oysters, using the liquor to dampen the bread. Pack lightly in the turkey, sew up the opening with white thread and set away in a cool place.