Take a large chicken, cut it up into very small pieces, bruise the
bones, and put the whole into a stone jar with a cover that will make
it water tight. Set the jar in a large kettle of boiling water, and
keep it boiling for three hours. Then strain off the liquid, and season
it slightly with salt, pepper, and mace; or with loaf-sugar and lemon
juice, according to the taste of the person for whom it is intended.
Return the fragments of the chicken to the jar, and set it again in a
kettle of boiling water. You will find that you can collect nearly as
much jelly by the second boiling.
This jelly may be made of an old fowl.
BREAD JELLY.--Measure a quart of boiling water, and set it away to get
cold. Take one-third of a six cent loaf of bread, slice it, pare off
the crust, and toast the crumb nicely of a light brown. Then put it
into the boiled water, set it on hot coals in a covered pan, and boil
it gently, till you find by putting some in a spoon to cool, that the
liquid has become a jelly. Strain it through a thin cloth, and set it
away for use. When it is to be taken, warm a tea-cupful, sweeten it
with sugar, and add a little grated lemon-peel.
ARROW ROOT JELLY.--Mix three table-spoonfuls of arrow root powder in
a tea-cup of water till quite smooth; cover it, and let it stand a
quarter of an hour. Put the yellow peel of a lemon into a skillet with
a pint of water, and let it boil till reduced to one half. Then take
out the lemon-peel, and pour in the dissolved arrow root, (while the
water is still boiling;) add sufficient white sugar to sweeten it well,
and let it boil together for five or six minutes. It may be seasoned
(if thought necessary) with two tea-spoonfuls of wine, and some grated
nutmeg.
It may be boiled in milk instead of water, or in wine and water,
according to the state of the person for whom it is wanted.
RICE JELLY.--Having picked and washed a quarter of a pound of rice, mix
it with half a pound of loaf-sugar, and just sufficient water to cover
it. Boil it till it becomes a glutinous mass; then strain it; season it
with whatever may be thought proper; and let it stand to cool.
PORT WINE JELLY.--Melt in a little warm water an ounce of isinglass;
stir it into a pint of port wine, adding two ounces of sugar candy,
an ounce of gum arabic, and half a nutmeg grated. Mix all well, and
boil it ten minutes; or till every thing is thoroughly dissolved. Then
strain it through muslin, and set it away to get cold.
SAGO.--Wash the sago through two or three waters, and then let it soak
for two or three hours. To a tea-cupful of sago allow a quart of water
and some of the yellow peel of a lemon. Simmer it till all the grains
look transparent. Then add as much wine and nutmeg as may be proper,
and give it another boil altogether. If seasoning is not advisable, the
sago may be boiled in milk instead of water, and eaten plain.
TAPIOCA.--Wash the tapioca well, and let it steep for five or six
hours, changing the water three times. Simmer it in the last water
till quite clear, then season it with sugar and wine, or lemon juice.
GRUEL.--Allow three large table-spoonfuls of oatmeal or Indian meal to
a quart of water. Put the meal into a large bowl, and add the water,
a little at a time, mixing and bruising the meal with the back of a
spoon. As you proceed, pour off the liquid into another bowl, every
time, before adding fresh water to the meal, till you have used it
all up. Then boil the mixture for twenty minutes, stirring it all the
while; add a little salt. Then strain the gruel and sweeten it. A piece
of butter may be stirred into it; and, if thought proper, a little wine
and nutmeg. It should be taken warm.
OATMEAL GRUEL.--Put four table-spoonfuls of the best grits (oatmeal
coarsely ground) into a pint of boiling water. Let it boil gently, and
stir it often, till it becomes as thick as you wish it. Then strain it,
and add to it while warm, butter, wine, nutmeg, or whatever is thought
proper to flavour it.
If you make the gruel of fine oatmeal, sift it, mix it first to a thick
batter with a little cold water, and then put it into the sauce-pan of
boiling water. Stir it all the time it is boiling, lifting the spoon
gently up and down, and letting the gruel fall slowly back again into
the pan.
PANADA.--Having pared off the crust, boil some slices of bread in a
quart of water for about five minutes. Then take out the bread, and
beat it smooth in a deep dish, mixing in a little of the water it has
boiled in; and mix it with a bit of fresh butter, and sugar and nutmeg
to your taste.
Another way is to grate some bread, or to grate or pound a few
crackers. Pour on boiling water, beat it well, and add sugar and nutmeg.
BARLEY WATER.--Wash clean some barley, (either pearl or common,) and to
two ounces of barley allow a quart of water. Put it into a sauce-pan,
adding, if you choose, an equal quantity of stoned raisins; or some
lemon-peel and sugar; or some liquorice root cut up. Let it boil slowly
till the liquid is reduced one half. Then strain it off, and sweeten it.
GROUND RICE MILK.--Mix in a bowl two table-spoonfuls of ground rice,
with sufficient milk to make a thin batter. Then stir it gradually into
a pint of milk and boil it with sugar, lemon-peel or nutmeg.
BEEF TEA.--Cut a pound of the lean of fresh juicy beef into small thin
slices, and sprinkle them with a very little salt. Put the meat into a
wide-mouthed glass or stone jar closely corked, and set it in a kettle
or pan of water, which must be made to boil, and kept boiling hard
round the jar for an hour or more. Then take out the jar and strain the
essence of the beef into a bowl. Chicken tea may be made in the same
manner.
MUTTON BROTH.--Cut off all the fat from a loin of mutton, and to each
pound of the lean allow a quart of water. Season it with a little salt
and some shred parsley, and put in some large pieces of the crust of
bread. Boil it slowly for two or three hours, skimming it carefully.
Beef, veal, or chicken broth may be made in the same manner.
Vegetables may be added if approved. Also barley or rice.
MUTTON BROTH MADE QUICKLY.--Cut three chops from the best part of a
neck of mutton, and remove the fat and skin. Beat the meat on both
sides, and slice it thin. Put into a small sauce-pan with a pint of
water, a little salt, and some crust of bread cut into pieces. You
may add a little parsley, and a small onion sliced thin. Cover the
sauce-pan, and set it over the fire. Boil it fast, skim it, and in half
an hour it should be ready for use.
WINE WHEY.--Boil a pint of milk; and when it rises to the top of the
sauce-pan, pour in a large glass of sherry or Madeira. It will be the
better for adding a glass of currant wine also. Let it again boil up,
and then take the sauce-pan off the fire, and set it aside to stand for
a few minutes, but do not stir it. Then remove the curd, (if it has
completely formed,) and pour the clear whey into a bowl and sweeten it.
When wine is considered too heating, the whey may be made by turning
the milk with lemon juice.
RENNET WHEY.--Wash a small bit of rennet about two inches square, in
cold water, to get off the salt. Put it into a tea-cup and pour on it
sufficient lukewarm water to cover it. Let it stand all night, and in
the morning stir the rennet water into a quart pitcher of warm milk.
Cover it, and set it near the fire till a firm curd is formed. Pour off
the whey from it, and it will be found an excellent and cooling drink.
The curd may be eaten (though not by a sick person) with wine, sugar,
and nutmeg. The whey should look greenish.
CALF'S FEET BROTH.--Boil two calf's feet in two quarts of water, till
the liquid is reduced one half, and the meat has dropped to pieces.
Then strain it into a deep dish or pan, and set it by to get cold.
When it has congealed, take all the fat carefully off; put a tea-cupful
of the jelly into a sauce-pan, and set it on hot coals. When it has
nearly boiled, stir in by degrees the beaten yolk of an egg, and then
take it off immediately. You may add to it a little sugar, and some
grated lemon-peel and nutmeg.
CHICKEN BROTH AND PANADA.--Cut up a chicken, season it with a very
little salt, and put it into three quarts of water. Let it simmer
slowly till the flesh drops to pieces. You may make chicken panada or
gruel of the same fowl, by taking out the white meat as soon as it is
tender, mincing it fine, and then pounding it in a mortar, adding as
you pound it, sufficient of the chicken water to moisten the paste. You
may thin it with water till it becomes liquid enough to drink. Then
put it into a sauce-pan and boil it gently a few minutes. Taken in
small quantities, it will be found very nutritious. You may add to it a
little grated lemon-peel and nutmeg.
VEGETABLE SOUP.--Take a white onion, a turnip, a pared potato, and
a head of celery, or a large tea-spoonful of celery seed. Put the
vegetables whole into a quart of water, (adding a little salt,) and
boil it slowly till reduced to a pint. Make a slice of nice toast; lay
it in the bottom of a bowl, and strain the soup over it.
ONION SOUP.--Put half a pound of the best fresh butter into a stew-pan
on the fire, and let it boil till it has done making a noise; then have
ready twelve large onions peeled and cut small; throw them into the
butter, add a little salt, and stew them a quarter of an hour. Then
dredge in a little flour, and stir the whole very hard; and in five
minutes pour in a quart of boiling water, and some of the upper crust
of bread, cut small. Let the soup boil ten minutes longer, stirring it
often; and after you take it from the fire, stir in the yolks of two
beaten eggs, and serve it up immediately.
In France this soup is considered a fine restorative after any unusual
fatigue. Instead of butter, the onions may be boiled in veal or chicken
broth.
TOAST AND WATER.--Toast some slices of bread very nicely, without
allowing them to burn or blacken. Then put them into a pitcher, and
fill it up with boiling water. Let it stand till it is quite cold; then
strain it, and put it into a decanter. Another way of preparing toast
and water is to put the toasted bread into a mug and pour cold water on
it. Cover it closely, and let it infuse for at least an hour. Drink it
cold.
APPLE WATER.--Pare and slice a fine juicy apple; pour boiling water
over it, cover it, and let it stand till cold.
TAMARIND WATER.--Put tamarinds into a pitcher or tumbler till it is
one-third full; then fill it up with cold water, cover it, and let it
infuse for a quarter of an hour or more.
Currant jelly or cranberry juice mixed with water makes a pleasant
drink for an invalid.
MOLASSES POSSET.--Put into a sauce-pan a pint of the best West India
molasses; a tea-spoonful of powdered white ginger; and a quarter of
a pound of fresh butter. Set it on hot coals, and simmer it slowly
for half an hour; stirring it frequently. Do not let it come to a
boil. Then stir in the juice of two lemons, or two table-spoonfuls
of vinegar; cover the pan and let it stand by the fire five minutes
longer. This is good for a cold. Some of it may be taken warm at once,
and the remainder kept at hand for occasional use.
It is the preparation absurdly called by the common people a stewed
quaker.
Half a pint of strained honey mixed cold with the juice of a lemon,
and a table-spoonful of sweet oil, is another remedy for a cold; a
tea-spoonful or two to be taken whenever the cough is troublesome.
FLAX-SEED LEMONADE.--To a large table-spoonful of flax-seed allow a
tumbler and a half of cold water. Boil them together till the liquid
becomes very sticky. Then strain it hot over a quarter of a pound of
pulverized sugar candy, and an ounce of pulverized gum arabic. Stir it
till quite dissolved, and squeeze into it the juice of a lemon.
This mixture has frequently been found an efficacious remedy for a
cold; taking a wine-glass of it as often as the cough is troublesome.
COCOA.--Put into a sauce-pan two ounces of good cocoa (the chocolate
nut before it is ground) and one quart of water. Cover it, and as soon
as it has come to a boil, set it on coals by the side of the fire,
to simmer for an hour or more. Take it hot with dry toast. Baker's
prepared cocoa is excellent.
COCOA SHELLS.--These can be procured at the principal grocers and
confectioners, or at a chocolate manufactory. They are the thin shells
that envelope the chocolate kernel, and are sold at a low price; a
pound contains a very large quantity. Soak them in water for five or
six hours or more, (it will be better to soak them all night,) and then
boil them in the same water. They should boil two hours. Strain the
liquid when done, and let it be taken warm.
RAW EGG.--Break a fresh egg into a saucer, and mix a little sugar with
it; also, if approved, a small quantity of wine. Beat the whole to a
strong froth. It is considered a restorative.
SODA WATER.--To forty grains of carbonate of soda, add thirty grains or
tartaric acid in small crystals. Fill a soda bottle with spring water,
put in the mixture, and cork it instantly with a well-fitting cork.
SEIDLITZ POWDERS.--Fold in a white paper one drachm of Rochelle salts.
In a blue paper a mixture of twenty grains of tartaric acid, and
twenty-five grains of carbonate of soda. They should all be pulverized
very fine. Put the contents of the white paper into a tumbler not
quite half full of cold water, and stir it till dissolved. Then put
the mixture from the blue paper into another tumbler with the same
quantity of water, and stir that also. When the powders are dissolved
in both tumblers, pour the first into the other, and it will effervesce
immediately. Drink it quickly while foaming.
BITTERS.--Take two ounces of gentian root, an ounce of Virginia snake
root, an ounce of the yellow paring of orange peel, and half a drachm
of cochineal. Steep these ingredients, for a week or more, in a quart
of Madeira or sherry wine, or brandy. When they are thoroughly infused,
strain and filter the liquor, and bottle it for use. This is considered
a good tonic, taken in a small cordial glass about noon.
ESSENCE OF PEPPERMINT.--Mix an ounce of oil of peppermint with a pint
of alcohol. Then colour it by putting in some leaves of green mint.
Let it stand till the colour is a fine green; then filter it through
blotting paper. Drop it on sugar when you take it.
Essence of pennyroyal, mint, cinnamon, cloves, &c. may all be prepared
in the same manner by mixing a portion of the essential oil with a
little alcohol.
You may obtain liquid camphor by breaking up and dissolving a lump in
white brandy or spirit of wine.
LAVENDER COMPOUND.--Fill a quart bottle with lavender blossoms freshly
gathered, and put in loosely; then pour in as much of the best brandy
as it will contain. Let it stand a fortnight, and then strain it.
Afterwards, mix with it of powdered cloves, mace, nutmeg and cochineal,
a quarter of an ounce of each; and cork it up for use in small bottles.
When taken, a little should be dropped on a lump of sugar.
LEAD WATER.--Mix two table-spoonfuls of extract of lead with a bottle
of rain or river water. Then add two table-spoonfuls of brandy, and
shake it well.
REMEDY FOR A BURN.[N]--After immediately applying sweet oil, scrape
the inside of a raw potato, and lay some of it on the place, securing
it with a rag. In a short time put on fresh potato, and repeat this
application very frequently. It will give immediate ease, and draw
out the fire. Of course, if the burn is bad, it is best to send for a
physician.