island with a topping of a bright, tart jelly for dessert.
For Variety
_A Hearty Salad._—Place cold flaked cooked fish in lettuce cups.
Surround with slices of tomatoes and cucumbers (in season), and very
thin slices of cold boiled potato dipped in french dressing. Garnish
with hard-cooked eggs.
_A Cold Platter._—Serve chilled salmon which has been boned and cut into
serving-size pieces. Surround with slices of tomatoes and mounds of
tossed green salad.
Fried fish fillets
1 pound fish fillets (salmon, cod, rosefish, or haddock)
Milk, flour
1 egg, beaten
1 tablespoon water
¾ tablespoon salt
1 cup fine dry crumbs
Cooking fat or oil
Cut fish in serving pieces. Dip in milk, then in flour. Mix egg, water,
and salt. Dip floured fish in this mixture, and roll in crumbs.
Heat fat or oil in fry pan, put in the fillets. Reduce heat, and cook
slowly 10 to 15 minutes, until the fish is done through and golden brown
on both sides. Drain.
Garnish with parsley and lemon.
Menu Suggestion
Serve with baked potatoes, creamed onions, asparagus salad or mixed
vegetable salad, and gelatin fruit dessert.
For Variety
_Oven-Fried Fillets._—Prepare fish for frying and place in greased
shallow baking pan with space between pieces. Dot with butter or
margarine, and bake at 500° F. (extremely hot oven) for 10 minutes.
_Fish Baked in Milk._—Place fish in shallow baking pan, pour on ½ cup
top milk. Sprinkle with salt, dot with butter or margarine. Bake at 350°
F. (moderate oven) about 25 minutes.
Salmon loaf
2 cups flaked canned or cooked salmon
3 tablespoons cooking fat or oil
3 tablespoons flour
1 cup milk and salmon liquid
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
2 cups soft bread cubes
1 egg, beaten
Drain canned salmon, saving the liquid.
Make sauce: Heat fat or oil, blend in flour. Add enough milk to the
salmon liquid to make 1 cup, and stir into the flour mixture. Cook until
thickened, stirring constantly. Season.
Mix the sauce with the other ingredients. Form into loaf.
Bake in uncovered pan at 350° F. (moderate oven) about half an hour, or
until brown.
Menu Suggestion
Serve with baked sweetpotatoes, creamed celery or peas, a green
vegetable salad, and a fruit whip.
For Variety
To give extra flavor to salmon loaf, add ½ cup coarsely chopped sweet
pickle and 1 teaspoon grated onion to mixture before baking.
Use cooked cod or haddock in place of the salmon.
Serve fish loaf with egg sauce made by adding to 1 cup white sauce, 2
sliced hard-cooked eggs and ½ to 1 tablespoon grated horseradish.
Stuffed fish fillets
¾ cup finely cut celery
3 tablespoons finely chopped onion
6 tablespoons cooking fat or oil
3 cups bread cubes
¾ teaspoon salt
Pepper
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
1 teaspoon thyme or other savory seasoning
1 pound small fish fillets
Fine dry crumbs
2 tablespoons fat
Cook celery and onion in fat or oil for a few minutes.
Add bread cubes and seasonings, and mix well.
Place stuffing on skin side of salted individual fillets. Roll and
fasten with toothpicks.
Roll the stuffed fillets in fine crumbs and brown in fat in a fry pan.
Cover and cook over low heat until tender—about 10 minutes.
Menu Suggestion
Serve with tartar sauce, boiled or baked potatoes or squash, green lima
beans, cabbage and carrot salad, and lemon pie.
For Variety
Lay one fillet in greased baking dish; brush with melted fat or with
oil, sprinkle with lemon juice, and cover with stuffing. Place second
fillet on stuffing, sprinkle with crumbs, dot with fat, and bake
uncovered at 350° F. (moderate oven) about 35 minutes. Baste
occasionally with melted fat.
Fish with curry sauce
1½ pounds dressed fish
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 tablespoon chopped green pepper
1 small onion, chopped
¼ cup chopped celery
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup liquid (liquid from simmered fish plus milk)
Curry powder
Salt
2 to 3 cups hot cooked rice
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
Simmer fish about 10 minutes in a small quantity of water in a shallow
pan. Drain and save liquid.
While the fish is cooking, make sauce: Melt the butter or margarine and
cook the green pepper, onion, and celery in it a few minutes. Stir in
the flour, then add the liquid. Cook until thickened, stirring
constantly.
Add curry powder and salt to taste. Use ⅛ to 1 teaspoon curry powder, as
desired.
Remove skin and bones from the cooked fish. Arrange fish on a hot
platter with a border of flaky rice. Pour sauce over fish, and sprinkle
parsley on top.
Menu Suggestion
Serve with a cooked green or yellow vegetable, citrus fruit salad, and
cottage pudding with caramel sauce.
For Variety
_Shrimp With Curry Sauce._—Instead of the fish, use shrimp.
Salmon, rice, and tomatoes
¼ cup chopped onion
¼ cup chopped green pepper
2 tablespoons bacon fat or meat drippings
1½ cups boiling water
2 cups cooked or canned tomatoes, or 2½ cups chopped raw tomatoes
Salt and pepper
⅓ cup raw rice
¼ cup chopped olives
2 cups flaked canned or cooked salmon
Cook onion and green pepper in the fat in a large fry pan until the
onion is yellow. Add water, tomatoes, and salt and pepper to taste.
Bring to boil.
Add rice and simmer until rice is tender—20 to 25 minutes—adding more
water if needed.
Add olives and fish and cook 2 or 3 minutes longer to blend the flavors.
Menu Suggestion
Serve with baked squash, a green vegetable in salad or cooked, with
cream pie for dessert.
For Variety
_Other cooked fish_ may be used in place of salmon.
_One cup of cooked rice_ may be used instead of the uncooked rice. Omit
boiling water. Add the rice, olives, and fish as soon as the vegetables
are tender and cook 5 or 10 minutes longer.
_Celery_ may be used instead of the green pepper.
Eggs ...
[Illustration: uncaptioned]
Eggs are excellent for main dishes because they contain high-quality
protein, and are a good source of several important minerals and
vitamins. When you serve eggs as an alternate for meat in a main dish,
either allow more than 1 egg per person or add enough milk or cheese, as
in cheese omelet, for example, to make up the difference.
Government-graded eggs are sold in cartons labeled with the grade
(quality), size (weight), and date of grading. There are four U. S.
grades—AA, A, B, and C. Grades AA and A have a large proportion of thick
white, a firm high yolk, and a delicate flavor. They are often preferred
for cooking in the shell, poaching, and frying. Grades B and C, which
are less expensive than the two top grades, are a thrifty choice where
appearance and delicate flavor are less important, as in Spanish omelet,
gingerbread, or scrambled eggs with bacon.
Sizes of eggs and their minimum weights per dozen are:
Jumbo 30 ounces
Extra large 27 ounces
Large 24 ounces
Medium 21 ounces
Small 18 ounces
Peewee 15 ounces
Within any grade, large eggs usually cost more per dozen than smaller
ones. Use the above weights to determine which size gives you the best
return for your money. For instance, if medium eggs weighing 21 ounces
are 56 cents a dozen (2⅔ cents an ounce) they are a better buy than
large eggs weighing 24 ounces at 66 cents a dozen (2¾ cents an ounce).
Eggs are cheaper than meat as a source of main-dish protein when the
price of eight large eggs is less than the price of a pound of meat with
moderate amounts of bone and fat, such as rump roast. Or when the price
of a dozen large eggs is less than the price of a pound of lean meat
with little fat and bone, as round steak.
The color of the eggshell depends on the breed of hen and does not
indicate the food value of the eggs. So do not pay a higher price for
brown eggs than for white ones, or vice versa, with the idea that you
are getting more food value.
Hot deviled eggs
2 tablespoons butter, margarine, or oil
½ green pepper, chopped fine
⅓ cup celery, chopped fine
1 small onion, chopped fine
1 tablespoon flour
1⅓ cups cooked or canned tomatoes
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
2 drops tabasco sauce
⅔ cup cold milk
6 hard-cooked eggs, sliced
Crumbs, butter or margarine
Heat butter or margarine and cook chopped vegetables in it until they
are tender. Blend in the flour.
Add tomatoes and seasonings and cook until thickened, stirring
constantly.
Stir the hot tomato mixture into the milk and carefully add the eggs.
Turn into a greased baking dish and top with crumbs. Dot with butter or
margarine and bake at 375° F. (moderate oven) until the crumbs are brown
and the mixture is hot, about 10 to 15 minutes.
Menu Suggestion
Serve with asparagus, broccoli, or other green vegetable, mashed
potatoes, and cheese with fruit pie for dessert.
For Variety
Instead of adding crumbs and baking the deviled egg mixture, serve it on
toast or in patty shells.
Egg and toast special
4 slices bacon, chopped fine
4 thick slices bread, with 2-inch holes in centers
4 eggs
Salt and pepper
Cook bacon in a fry pan until half done; push to side of pan. Pour off
fat. Brown bread slices in pan while bacon continues to cook.
Break the eggs into the holes, and season. Sprinkle bacon over eggs and
bread. Reduce heat, cover pan, and cook until eggs are done.
_Serve with_ creamed onions, sliced tomato and cottage cheese salad for
needed protein, and a fruit dessert.
Mexican scrambled eggs
2 tablespoons minced onion
½ clove garlic, chopped fine
1 small green pepper, diced fine
2 tablespoons cooking fat or oil
⅓ cup sieved cooked or canned tomatoes
3 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon salt, pepper
6 eggs, slightly beaten
Fry onion, garlic, and green pepper in fat or oil. Add tomatoes, water,
salt, and pepper.
Cook 3 minutes. Add eggs and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally,
until thickened.
_Serve with_ potatoes, snap beans, green salad with strips of meat and
cheese, and upside-down cake made with fresh or stewed dried fruit.
Shirred eggs on spinach
1 to 1½ pounds spinach
½ teaspoon salt
2 slices bacon
Salt and pepper
4 eggs
Wash spinach thoroughly, place in pan, and add salt. Cover and cook
without added water until wilted—about 5 minutes.
Chop bacon fine; fry until crisp.
Mix bacon and bacon fat with spinach and season to taste with salt and
pepper.
Place hot spinach in a baking dish. Make four depressions in spinach,
and break an egg into each.
Cover dish and bake at 350° F. (moderate oven) 20 to 25 minutes or until
eggs are firm. If desired, sprinkle grated cheese over the eggs during
the last 10 minutes.
Menu Suggestion
Serve with baked sweetpotatoes, fruit salad, and cheese cake or pie with
cheese.
For Variety
_Shirred Eggs With Cheese._—Place a tablespoon of top milk in a greased
custard cup. Break an egg into the cup, add salt and pepper, and bake at
350° F. (moderate oven) until white is nearly firm. Sprinkle with grated
cheese and bake until cheese is melted.
Eggs scrambled with luncheon meat
1 cup diced luncheon meat
1 tablespoon cooking fat or oil
4 eggs, beaten
¼ cup milk
¼ teaspoon salt
Pepper
Salami, canned cured pork loaf, bologna, frankfurters, or any other
spiced or smoked luncheon meat makes a good combination with eggs for
this quick dinner dish.
Lightly brown the diced meat in the fat or oil in a fry pan over
moderate heat.
Combine eggs, milk, salt, and pepper and add to the meat.
Cook, stirring constantly, until eggs are done.
Menu Suggestion
Serve with baked potatoes, carrot and celery sticks, and tomato aspic
salad. Have fruit dumplings for dessert.
For Variety
Use _chopped cooked chicken, turkey, rabbit, or giblets_. With poultry,
substitute broth for the milk for more flavor.
Or, instead of meat, use _¾ cup cottage cheese or chopped Cheddar
cheese_, adding the cheese to the egg mixture before cooking. Serve
these scrambled eggs with broiled, fried, or stewed tomatoes, or with
tomato sauce.
Eggaroni
4 hard-cooked eggs
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
2 tablespoons flour
1⅔ cups milk
1 teaspoon finely chopped onion
½ tablespoon horseradish, if desired
1½ cups cooked macaroni
Salt and pepper
2 tomatoes, cut in quarters
Crumbs mixed with melted butter or margarine
Cut eggs in quarters.
Make white sauce: Melt butter or margarine, blend in flour, and add milk
slowly. Cook, stirring, until thickened.
Add other ingredients except tomatoes and crumbs. Pour into greased
baking dish.
Press tomatoes into top of mixture, leaving skin surface exposed.
Sprinkle crumbs over top and bake at 350° F. (moderate oven) 20 to 30
minutes or until tomatoes are tender.
Menu Suggestion
Serve with spinach or kale, apple and raisin salad, and apricot snow
with custard sauce.
For Variety
Cover macaroni mixture with pieces of canned, instead of fresh,
tomatoes. Make sauce with juice from tomatoes instead of milk.
Omit tomatoes. Mix ½ cup grated cheese with the crumbs and sprinkle over
top during last 15 minutes of baking.
Puffy spanish omelet
1 cup cooked or canned tomatoes, or 1¼ cups chopped raw tomatoes
1 small green pepper, chopped
½ small onion, chopped fine
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
¼ cup chopped celery
8 to 10 stuffed olives, sliced
4 eggs, separated
½ teaspoon salt
⅛ teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon cooking fat or oil
Combine tomatoes, green pepper, onion, parsley, celery, and olives.
Simmer 15 minutes or until liquid is reduced to a few tablespoonfuls.
Beat egg yolks well. Add salt to egg whites and beat until stiff but not
dry.
Gradually fold the beaten egg yolks into the whites and then fold in the
cooked vegetables. Add pepper.
Heat the fat or oil in a fry pan and pour in the egg mixture. Cook over
low heat until lightly browned on the bottom. Cover and cook until set.
Or, when the omelet is lightly browned on the bottom, finish by baking
10 to 15 minutes at 350° F. (moderate oven).
Menu Suggestion
Serve with slices of broiled ham or fried sausages for more protein, and
with baked potatoes, greens, and cooked dried fruit.
Egg and potato scramble
2 slices bacon
4 medium-sized potatoes, sliced thin
1 teaspoon salt
4 eggs, beaten
¼ cup milk
Pepper
Fry bacon slices and remove from fry pan.
Fry potatoes in the fat until they are well browned, sprinkling with
salt as browning starts.
Cover pan closely. Cook over low heat until potatoes are tender.
Combine eggs, milk, and pepper. Pour over potatoes in pan and cook
slowly, stirring occasionally, until eggs are set.
Crumble bacon slices and add just before removing pan from heat. Serve
at once.
Menu Suggestion
Serve with scalloped tomatoes or eggplant, spinach or kale, pear and
cottage cheese salad, cookies.
For Variety
Bits of cooked ham, chipped beef, or any cooked meats may be used in
place of the bacon in this recipe. Thin slices of sausages or chopped
chicken livers are especially good. Fry the potatoes in bacon fat or
other meat drippings when omitting the bacon.
Small cubes of cheese or flakes of smoked fish are other welcome
additions with their own distinctive flavors.
Eggs in potato nests
1½ cups leftover mashed potatoes
5 eggs
Salt and pepper
Mix potatoes with one of the eggs. Shape mixture into four balls, place
on greased baking sheet.
Press centers of balls to make cups. Break an egg into each cup, season
with salt and pepper.
Bake at 325° F. (slow oven) 20 to 25 minutes or until eggs are as firm
as desired.
Menu Suggestion
Serve with broccoli and cheese sauce, and crisp salad, and spicecake for
dessert.
For Variety
Add ¼ cup grated cheese and 1 teaspoon grated onion or onion juice to
the potato mixture.
Bake the potato cups and fill with a mixture such as creamed salmon and
peas or creamed chicken and celery.
Mix ¾ cup chopped cooked ham with 2 cups mashed potatoes; season. Add
the yolk of 1 egg and fold in the stiffly beaten egg white. Line a
greased baking dish with this mixture; bake 30 minutes at 350° F.
(moderate oven) until potatoes are slightly browned. Fill the potato
“nest” with hot creamed ham and eggs: 1½ cups white sauce, 4 hard-cooked
eggs sliced, ¼ cup chopped cooked ham.
Cheese and milk ...
[Illustration: uncaptioned]
Cheese is one of the most popular alternates for meat. Like meat and
eggs, it contains high-quality protein and is an excellent supplement
for the protein in bread and such other cereal foods as macaroni,
noodles, and spaghetti.
Cheese is not equal in food value to the milk from which it is made. It
contains one of the milk proteins but the other is separated out when
cheese is made and is left in the whey.
American Cheddar, sometimes called American or “store” cheese, is the
cheese most commonly used in cooking in this country. It is sold in
natural and processed forms, and varies in flavor from mild to very
sharp. Other cheeses are noted for their distinctive flavors and are
chiefly used for garnishing, as the grated hard Parmesan, or for eating
alone, as the sweet Swiss and Brick or the salty Bleu and Gouda.
You can count on half a pound of Cheddar cheese (2 cups chopped or
grated) to give you enough protein for 4 servings of a main dish, or
about the same amount of protein as a pound of meat with a moderate
amount of bone and fat.
Because Cheddar cheese is a concentrated food, it is generally used in
relatively small amounts—less than half a pound for 4 servings. Then
other protein-rich foods are added to the meal or included in the cheese
dish to increase the protein content, as milk and eggs added to the
cheese for a souffle or an omelet.
Cottage cheese is less concentrated than Cheddar cheese, with only
four-fifths as much protein per pound. In using cottage cheese as a meat
alternate, use about a fourth more by weight than you would of Cheddar
cheese. For instance, it would take 10 ounces of cottage cheese
(compared with 8 ounces of Cheddar cheese) to alternate for a pound of
beef with a moderate amount of fat and bone. Ten ounces of cottage
cheese measure about 1¼ cups; a pound measures a little more than 2
cups.
We lean heavily on milk as a source of our day’s protein. But it takes
almost 7 cups of fluid milk, or about 2 cups of nonfat dry milk, to
provide enough protein for 4 servings of a main dish. So, although we
sometimes use a milk soup or chowder as the main dish, we are more
likely to spread our milk consumption throughout the day—in beverages,
custards, or milk puddings. In many recipes, we can increase the milk
value by using fluid and dry milk together.
Cheese puff
6 slices bread
1½ cups ground or grated cheese
2 eggs
1½ cups milk
½ teaspoon salt
Pepper, paprika, and mustard if desired
Fit 3 slices of bread into the bottom of a greased baking dish. Sprinkle
with half the cheese and cover with the rest of the bread.
Beat eggs, add milk and seasonings, pour over bread and cheese, and
cover with rest of cheese.
Set baking dish in a pan of hot water and bake at 350° F. (moderate
oven) about 40 minutes or until custard is set and bread is puffy.
_Serve with_ lima beans or peas, beets, green salad, fruit cobbler.
Cheese fondue
1½ cups milk
1½ cups soft breadcrumbs
1 cup chopped or grated cheese
1 tablespoon butter or margarine
½ teaspoon salt
3 eggs, separated
Scald milk. Add crumbs, cheese, butter or margarine, and salt.
Beat egg yolks; add milk mixture. Beat egg whites until stiff but not
dry; fold into mixture.
Pour into greased baking dish. Bake at 350° F. (moderate oven) 30
minutes or until set.
_Serve at once with_ baked squash, a green vegetable, apple-celery salad
with nuts, and cookies.
Baked macaroni and cheese
4 ounces macaroni (1 cup elbow or 1-inch pieces)
1 quart boiling water
1 teaspoon salt
1½ cups water or fluid milk
⅓ cup dry milk, whole or nonfat
1 tablespoon flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon butter or margarine
1 cup chopped or grated cheese
Crumbs, butter or margarine
Cook the macaroni in the boiling water with the teaspoon of salt for the
length of time indicated on the package. Drain.
Put the 1½ cups of water or fluid milk into top of double boiler. Add
dry milk, flour, and half teaspoon salt. Beat until smooth.
Cook over boiling water, stirring constantly until thickened. Add butter
or margarine and cheese. Stir until they are melted.
Put macaroni into a greased baking dish. Pour on the cheese sauce.
Top with crumbs, dot with butter or margarine. Bake at 375° F. (moderate
oven) until crumbs are brown and mixture is hot.
Menu Suggestion
Serve with beet greens, grated raw carrot salad, and cooked dried
apricots or fresh fruit cup with cookies for dessert.
For Variety
Add grated onion or chopped green pepper to the sauce.
Cheese rabbit (rarebit)
3 tablespoons butter or margarine
3 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon finely chopped onion
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon powdered dry mustard
Paprika, if desired
1½ cups milk
⅓ pound cheese, ground or grated (1½ cups)
1 egg, beaten
Melt butter or margarine and blend in flour, onion, and seasonings. Add
milk slowly. Cook over low heat until thickened, stirring constantly.
Remove from heat and add cheese.
Pour a little of the sauce into the beaten egg, then pour all back into
the sauce. Stir and cook 2 or 3 minutes longer, until cheese is melted.
Serve on toast or crackers.
Menu Suggestion
Serve with lima beans or peas and combination vegetable salad. Have
melon or other fresh fruit for dessert.
For Variety
_Tomato rabbit._—Use tomato juice or thin tomato soup instead of milk in
the recipe for Cheese Rabbit.
To make plain or tomato rabbit a heartier dish, serve over quartered
hard-cooked eggs on toast.
Cottage cheese-pickle-peanut sandwich
⅔ cup cottage cheese
⅓ cup peanut butter, coarse grind
⅓ cup diced dill or sweet pickles
8 slices bread
2 tablespoons milk
¼ teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten
Cooking fat or oil
Combine cottage cheese, peanut butter, and chopped pickles.
Spread the mixture generously on 4 bread slices and cover with the other
4 slices.
Add milk and salt to the beaten egg and mix thoroughly.
Dip both sides of sandwiches quickly into the egg mixture. Do not soak
the bread. Brown on both sides in hot fat over moderate heat.
Menu Suggestion
Serve with vegetable soup or a large vegetable salad, and fresh fruit.
Cottage Cheese Salads
Season cottage cheese with finely chopped chives and use for stuffing
fresh tomatoes. Or, in winter, use to fill the center of a ring mold of
tomato aspic jelly.
Moisten cottage cheese with top milk and season with salt and pepper.
Heap in the center of cantaloupe rings and top with pitted sweet
cherries.
Dry beans and peas ...
[Illustration: uncaptioned]
There are dozens of varieties of beans and peas, and for centuries they
have been important in the diets of many peoples. In this country,
varieties grown and used in some sections are practically unknown in
others. The South has its blackeye peas and black beans, the East and
Middle West have their pea beans, soybeans, and kidney beans, and the
Southwest and West like pinto beans and chickpeas.
Beans and peas contain proteins that are not well balanced by themselves
and need to be supplemented with high-quality protein in the same meal.
When you serve beans as the main dish, you can increase the quality and
quantity of protein in the meal by adding a little meat or cheese. This
is done in many famous national bean dishes. For example, ham or smoked
sausage is often added to split-pea soup and grated cheese is used to
garnish beans.
When you serve beans alone as the main dish, you need to cook about 1⅓
cups, or a little more than 9 ounces of dry navy beans, to provide the
amount of protein recommended for 4 servings. This makes about 3 cups of
cooked beans, or four ¾-cup servings. If you do not use this amount or
do not add other protein food to the bean dish, remember to supplement
the protein elsewhere in the meal, perhaps with an egg salad or baked
custard.
Soybean protein is of higher quality than protein of most beans commonly
used in this country. For high nutritive value and distinctive flavor
from your food dollar, use soybeans sometimes instead of navy or lima
beans in favorite bean recipes, or use some soy flour in making breads
and hot breads.
Split peas provide slightly more protein than an equal weight or measure
of dry beans except soybeans. Try thick hot split-pea soup for the main
dish on a cold winter day.
Beans and peas are economical protein foods. You will generally find
that a protein dish made up partly of beans and providing an equal
quantity of protein averages less in cost than one made up entirely of
meat.