COOKERY FOR THE SICK AND CONVALESCENT
The preparation of food for the sick and convalescent person is even
more important than the preparation for the strong and well. Certain
points should always be considered. The food should be freshly
prepared, daintily served, and if possible different dishes for each
meal.
The arrangement of the tray is often of great importance. Select
attractive dishes and arrange them so that the patient can reach them
without trouble. Serve everything which should be hot, very hot, and
cold dishes, ice cold.
Apple Water
1 large juicy apple
2 cups water
sugar
Wash, pare, core, and cut apple into pieces; add water and simmer until
tender; strain, add sugar to water, cook five minutes, chill, and
serve. If apple is not tart, a small amount of lemon juice may be added
to give a more agreeable flavor.
Pears, peaches, plums, figs, prunes, raisins, and rhubarb may be used
in the same way.
Barley Water
2 cups boiling water
½ tablespoon prepared barley
salt
sugar
Mix barley with a small amount of cold water, add to boiling water, and
simmer twenty minutes. Season with salt and sugar. Lemon juice may be
added if desired.
Cinnamon Water
½ ounce stick cinnamon
2 cups boiling water
Break cinnamon in small pieces, add water, and boil twenty minutes.
Strain and serve hot or cold.
Currant Water
2 tablespoons Currant Jelly
1 cup boiling water
Mix jelly and water, strain, chill, and serve.
Cranberry, strawberry, raspberry, blackberry, and plum water may be
prepared in the same way.
Distilled Water
This may be prepared at home by attaching one end of a curved tube to
the spout of the teakettle, and having the other end placed in a jar.
The jar should be placed in a kettle of cold water. This condensed
steam is distilled water.
Flaxseed Tea
½ cup flaxseed
salt
4 cups boiling water
sugar
lemon juice
Boil flaxseed and water one hour, strain, sweeten, and flavor. Serve
hot or cold.
Grape Water
2 cups grapes
1½ cups boiling water
Wash grapes, mash, add water, simmer ten minutes, strain, chill, and
serve.
Lemonade
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons Sugar Sirup
1 cup cold water
Mix ingredients, add crushed ice, and serve ice-cold with straws.
Oatmeal Water
4 tablespoons fine oatmeal
4 cups boiling water
salt
Boil all ingredients twenty minutes, strain, cool, add water to make of
pleasant consistency.
Tamarind Water
1 tablespoon tamarinds
1 cup boiling water
Let tamarinds stand in water one half hour, strain, chill, and serve.
Toast Water
Dry and brown in the oven very thin slices of white or graham bread,
break into small pieces, cover with boiling water; when cold, strain
and season with salt.
Sugar Sirup
1 cup sugar
½ cup boiling water
Boil two minutes, keep in preserve jar, and use when needed.
Irish Moss Lemonade
4 tablespoons Irish Moss
2 cups cold water
3 tablespoons lemon juice
Sugar Sirup
Pick over and soak moss in cold water to cover for one half hour;
drain, cover with two cups cold water, and cook ten minutes; strain,
add lemon juice and Sugar Sirup to taste.
Milk Punch
¾ cup fresh milk
salt
2 tablespoons brandy or whisky
nutmeg
sugar
Sweeten milk to taste, add salt and liquor, and pour from one tumbler
to another until frothy.
Egg and Milk Punch
1 egg
¾ cup milk
1 tablespoon whisky or brandy
2 teaspoons sugar
Beat yolk; add milk, liquor and sugar, pour into glass; add well-beaten
white of egg, stir lightly, and serve.
Eggnog
1 egg
1 teaspoon sugar
salt
2 tablespoons wine, whisky or brandy
1 cup cream
Beat white of egg until stiff; add beaten cream and liquor, then
well-beaten yolk mixed with sugar and salt.
Milk or hot water may be substituted for the cream, and the yolk
and white may be beaten together just slightly if a foamy eggnog is
disliked.
Koumiss
Heat four cups milk; cool; when lukewarm, add one fourth yeast cake
dissolved in one fourth cup lukewarm water, and two tablespoons
sugar. Pour into bottles with patent stoppers, fill two thirds full,
cork tightly. Shake; let stand in kitchen six hours, then on ice for
twenty-four hours; serve ice cold.
Egg Cordial
1 egg white
1 tablespoon brandy or wine
1 teaspoon sugar
few grains salt
2 tablespoons cream
Beat white until frothy; add cream and continue beating; add remaining
ingredients and serve immediately.
Orange Egg Cordial
Prepare as Egg Cordial, omitting wine and cream, and using the juice of
one orange.
Albuminized Milk
1 egg white
½ cup milk
salt
Beat white until frothy; add salt and milk, and continue beating;
strain and serve.
Egg and Lemon
1 egg
salt
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon sugar
Beat egg, add remaining ingredients, and serve cold.
Wine Whey
2 cups milk
½ cup wine
Scald milk; add wine; let stand until curds separate from whey. Strain
and serve hot or cold. Lemon or Vinegar Whey may be prepared in the
same way; allow one tablespoon vinegar or two tablespoons lemon juice.
Barley Gruel
1 tablespoon barley flour
¼ cup cold water
½ cup boiling water
½ cup milk
salt
Mix barley with cold water and salt; add boiling water and cook in
double boiler one half hour; add milk and cook ten minutes more; if too
thick, thin with hot milk or cream.
Entire Wheat Gruel
¼ cup entire wheat
½ cup cold water
3 cups water (hot)
salt
Mix wheat and cold water, add boiling water and salt, and cook in
double boiler one to two hours. Milk may be substituted for water.
Cracker Gruel
2 tablespoons cracker crumbs
1 cup milk
¼ teaspoon salt
Mix crumbs and milk and cook in double boiler twenty minutes; add salt
and serve.
Dried bread crumbs may be substituted for cracker crumbs.
Corn Meal Gruel
2 tablespoons corn meal
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup milk
2 cups boiling water
Mix corn meal, salt and milk; add boiling water and cook in double
boiler two hours.
Flour Gruel
2 tablespoons flour
¼ cup cold water
2 cups scalded milk
¼ teaspoon salt
Mix flour with cold water, add scalded milk and salt. Cook in a double
boiler thirty minutes, stirring often.
Flour Ball for Flour Gruel
Knead two cups flour into a ball, adding water to form a stiff dough.
Tie ball in a linen cloth and boil in deep saucepan ten to twelve
hours, keeping the cloth covered with boiling water all of the time.
Dry in cloth, remove cloth, and dry ball in oven. This will keep for
years. Scrape two tablespoons from the ball; add one fourth cup cold
water and two cups scalded milk; cook in double boiler ten minutes, add
salt, and serve.
Oatmeal Gruel
2 tablespoons oatmeal
2 cups boiling water
¼ cup cold water
⅛ teaspoon salt
Mix oatmeal with cold water; add salt and boiling water, and cook two
hours, or better still over night, in double boiler. Strain and serve;
thin with hot water or milk if not of the desired consistency.
Oatmeal Caudle
Add one egg yolk and one tablespoon brandy or sherry to Oatmeal Gruel.
Rice Gruel
2 tablespoons ground rice
¼ cup cold water
2 cups milk
¼ teaspoon salt
Mix rice and cold water; add scalded milk and cook in double boiler two
hours, stirring occasionally. Strain, add salt, and serve.
Dry Toast
Cut stale bread in one quarter inch slices; remove crust or not as
preferred. Dry in oven; place on toaster and toast over clear fire,
first on one side and then on the other, having both sides a golden
brown. Arrange in toast rack or cover with napkin.
Buttered Toast
Prepare bread as for Dry Toast, and spread with butter as soon as taken
from toaster.
Water Toast
Prepare bread as for Dry Toast, dip in hot salted water, drain, and
spread with butter.
Milk Toast
3 cups scalded milk
3 tablespoons butter
¼ cup cold milk
3 tablespoons flour
½ teaspoon salt
toasted bread
Toast bread according to receipt for Dry Toast. Mix flour and cold
milk; add to scalded milk and cook in double boiler twenty minutes,
stirring constantly at first; add salt and butter; dip toast in sauce;
serve in hot dish; add remaining sauce.
Cream Toast
Prepare in the same way as Milk Toast, substituting cream for milk.
Brown Bread Toast
Cut brown bread in thin slices; dry in oven, then toast; butter each
slice, and cover with scalded milk.
Pulled Bread
Remove the crust from fresh bread and tear the center in small pieces.
Dry in slow oven; the center of biscuits may be prepared in the same
way.
Bread and Butter Sandwiches
Cut bread in thin slices; remove crusts; spread with creamed butter;
put two slices together; cut in desired shapes. Arrange on fancy plate.
Raw Beef Sandwiches
Cut bread in thin slices; remove crusts; shape and spread with raw
beef. Serve as soon as made.
To scrape Raw Beef
Buy bottom or top of round of beef; wipe, then scrape with a teaspoon;
there should be nothing but fiber left when all meat is scraped.
Fig Sandwiches
Fill bread and butter sandwiches with stewed figs.
Beef Juice
Buy one half pound from top of round; wipe, and set in oven five
minutes; cut in thin slices, squeeze, using meat press or lemon
squeezer. Serve in warm, not hot cups, with salt or not.
Beef Tea
Wipe one half pound of round steak; remove all fat; cut in small
pieces; add one cup cold water; place in preserve jar, cover, and let
stand ten minutes; place jar on trivet in saucepan surrounded with cold
water. Heat gradually on back of range; keep water just simmering for
one hour. Strain, add salt, and serve in hot cup.
Beef Essence
Wipe one half pound round steak; remove fat; chop very fine; place in
fruit jar; cover, place jar on trivet, surround with cold water, and
keep water just bubbling for one and a half hours. Strain, press meat
to extract all juice, season, serve in hot cup.
Frozen Beef Tea
Prepare Beef Tea, pour into glass, surrounded with ice and salt, and
freeze, turning glass often, and scraping the frozen part into the
liquid.
Scraped Beef Balls
Prepare scraped beef according to rule. Season; shape in round balls
about the size of marbles; cook in hissing hot frying pan; keep pan
constantly in motion, and cook balls two minutes. Serve on small strips
of toasted bread; garnish with parsley.
Mutton Broth
Wipe two pounds neck of mutton; remove all fat and cut off skin; cut
meat in small pieces. Put meat and bones in kettle; add four cups cold
water, and simmer gently several hours; add salt to taste. Strain, let
stand over night to cool; in the morning remove fat, reheat, and serve
with two tablespoons cooked rice in broth.
Chicken Broth
Cut up a three-pound fowl; remove skin and all fat. Put in soup kettle;
add ten cups cold water, and simmer until meat falls from bones.
Strain; let stand over night to cool; remove fat; reheat, season with
salt, and serve with Boiled Rice or Croûtons.
Clam Broth
Wash one dozen clams, put in kettle, cover, and cook until shells open.
Strain clam liquor through cheese cloth and serve very hot.
Rennet Custard
4 cups milk
1 tablespoon liquid rennet
1 tablespoon brandy
few grains salt
4 tablespoons sugar
Mix sugar, brandy and salt. Heat milk until lukewarm; add rennet and
other ingredients; pour into serving dish and let stand until a firm
curd is formed, then chill. Serve with cream and sugar.
Calf’s Foot Jelly
1 calf’s foot
4 cups cold water
½ cup sherry
½ cup lemon juice
½ cup sugar
3 egg whites
Cook the calf’s foot in cold water, slowly, for four hours. Skim often
while cooking. Strain; let stand over night. Remove fat; add whites of
eggs slightly beaten, and bring slowly to the boiling point, stirring
all of the time; boil one minute, strain through cheese cloth, add
remaining ingredients, and pour into molds. Chill and serve.
Strawberry Whip
2 egg whites
½ cup powdered sugar
1 cup strawberries
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Hull and wash the strawberries, add sugar and lemon juice. Beat the
whites of eggs until stiff, add other ingredients, and serve ice-cold
in frappé glasses.
Arrowroot Blanc Mange
2 tablespoons arrowroot
few grains of salt
2 tablespoons sugar
1⅓ cups milk
flavoring
Mix arrowroot, salt and sugar; add milk, a little at a time, until the
mixture is smooth, then add the remainder, and cook in double boiler
one half hour, stirring all the time. Add flavoring, pour into molds,
and serve with Soft Custard or cream.
Stewed Prunes
Wash prunes; soak over night in water to cover; cook slowly, in same
water, until tender. A small amount of sugar and lemon juice may be
added if desired.
Stewed Figs
Wash figs; cut in pieces; for each cup of figs add one quarter cup cold
water, simmer one hour; add sugar and lemon juice if allowed.
Oatmeal Wafers
1 cup flour
½ cup fine oatmeal
⅓ cup rolled oats
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons butter
½ teaspoon salt
⅓ cup hot milk
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Mix butter and milk; when cool, add remaining ingredients. Roll very
thin, shape in squares, and bake in a slow oven.