or rubbed off with a coarse cloth. Cook in a little water, drain, and
serve; or, when done, drain, pour some rich, sweet milk over them, let
it heat to boiling, then thicken with a little flour rubbed smooth in a
little cold milk, allowing a tablespoonful of flour to a pint of milk,
and season with salt. A few green peas cooked with new potatoes and
thus dressed make a very acceptable dish.
POTATOES WITH CREAM
Pare, and cut as many as desired into small cubes; put into boiling
water and cook from fifteen to twenty minutes; when done, drain off all
the water, let dry a few minutes over the fire, then add a little salt,
a cup of thin cream, and a little chopped parsley; simmer for two or
three minutes, and serve at once.
BAKED SWEET POTATOES
Choose those of uniform size, wash thoroughly, removing any imperfect
spots, wipe dry, and place in a moderately hot oven; bake for about
an hour if the potatoes are rather large. Small potatoes are better
steamed than baked. Send to the table as soon as done, after removing
the skins.
BOILED SWEET POTATOES
Wash well, put into cold water with the skins on, and boil until easily
pierced with a fork; drain, remove the skins, and place in the oven to
dry for five or ten minutes; serve in a hot, open dish.
BROWNED SWEET POTATOES
Take cold, boiled sweet potatoes, peel, cut into halves, place on
shallow buttered tins, and brown in a hot oven.
ROASTED SWEET POTATOES
Wash, wipe dry, wrap with thin paper, and cover first with hot ashes,
then with live coals. Turn occasionally. The coals may need renewing
several times. When done, remove the ashes with a brush, wipe with a
dry cloth, and serve. Sweet potatoes are nicer and more mealy when
prepared in this way.
YAMS
Prepare the same as roasted sweet potatoes or baked sweet potatoes.
Boiling them is thought to quite spoil their flavor.
STEWED TOMATOES
Take nice, fresh tomatoes, pour boiling water over them, remove the
skins, slice into a granite saucepan, add a cupful of water, and stew
from twenty to thirty minutes. Then add salt, butter, and a half cup of
bread or cracker crumbs, or slightly thicken with cornstarch, blended
with a little cold water. Sugar may be added if desired.
BAKED TOMATOES
Select smooth, even-sized, ripe tomatoes. Peel, remove the stems, and
place in an earthen pudding dish; season with a little salt and butter
or cream, and bake in a rather hot oven for half an hour.
TOMATOES AND MACARONI
Put to cook one-half cup of macaroni broken into inch pieces into three
cups of boiling water; boil for about an hour, or until perfectly
tender, adding more water if necessary. When done, put into a pudding
dish, and pour over two cups of stewed tomatoes previously rubbed
through a colander. Add a little salt, a few bits of butter, a half cup
of sweet cream, and bake in the oven till done. If the tomatoes are
quite juicy, a teaspoonful of flour may be used for thickening.
[Illustration: Colander]
SCALLOPED TOMATOES
Take one quart of stewed fresh or canned tomatoes, rub through a
colander, and thicken with a cupful of bread or cracker crumbs; add a
little salt, a few spoonfuls of cream, and bake for twenty or thirty
minutes.
[Illustration: Can Opener.]
BOILED BEANS
Pick over, wash, and soak two cupfuls of beans overnight in cold water.
In the morning drain, and put to cook in hot water. Cook slowly for two
or three hours, or until perfectly tender, adding more hot water as
needed, as they should be quite juicy when done; avoid much stirring.
Season with salt and a little butter or cream. Colored beans having
too strong a flavor may be improved by parboiling for fifteen minutes,
then draining, and putting to cook in fresh boiling water.
BOILED BEANS WITH RICE
Wash and soak two cupfuls of beans in cold water overnight; in the
morning put to cook, and after about an hour add one-half cup of
well-washed rice. Cook slowly until done, season as above, and serve.
BAKED BEANS
Take two cupfuls of beans, pick over, wash, soak overnight, and cook
the same as boiled beans. When done, add a little butter and salt, and
two tablespoonfuls of molasses; turn into a pudding dish, and bake
until nicely browned. A little hot water should be added occasionally
to prevent their becoming too dry.
BAKED GREEN BEANS AND CORN
Shell the beans, and cut the sweet corn from the cob. Put layers of
each in equal quantities in a bean pot or pan, seasoning with salt and
butter. Add boiling water to cover, and bake in the oven for about two
hours, adding more hot water as it becomes absorbed.
MASHED BEANS
Soak overnight two cupfuls of beans, and cook the same as boiled beans.
When very tender, and the water nearly absorbed, rub through a colander
to remove the skins; add half a cup of cream or of rich, sweet milk and
a little butter; put into a shallow dish, smooth the top with a knife
or spoon, and place in the oven to brown.
STRING BEANS
Wash, break off each end, stripping the strong fibers from end to end.
Cut or break into inch lengths, and put to cook in enough boiling,
slightly salted water to cover. Cook from one to two hours, or until
very tender, the length of time required depending upon the age and
variety of the beans. The water should be quite absorbed when done. Add
a little milk and butter if cream is not available. Let come to a boil,
and serve.
SPLIT PEAS
Look over carefully, wash, and put to cook in a good quantity of cold
water. Let come to a boil, then simmer until tender and the water quite
absorbed. Press through a colander if desired to remove the skins,
season with salt, and cream or butter, and serve.
GREEN PEAS
Shell, and put to cook in boiling, slightly salted water, allowing one
cupful of water to every four cups of peas. If they are old, and need
longer cooking, add more water if necessary. Cover, and cook rather
slowly till tender. About thirty minutes’ cooking for fresh, young peas
will be found sufficient. When done, pour over a cupful of sweet milk,
heat to boiling, and thicken with a little flour. Season with a little
salt, and a spoonful of cream or a small piece of butter.
LENTILS
Cook, season, and serve the same as split peas, only less water and
less time for cooking will be required.
BAKED RICE
Take one cupful of rice, wash well by turning into a colander and
dipping in and out of warm water, put into a pudding dish, and pour
over four cupfuls of milk, or two each of milk and water, adding a
little salt. Bake about an hour, stirring once or twice before the top
becomes hard. Serve as a vegetable with lentil sauce.
PLAIN BOILED RICE
Wash thoroughly one cupful of rice, and sprinkle it slowly into a
granite saucepan containing two or three quarts of rapidly boiling,
slightly salted water. If the grains sink to the bottom, stir gently
until they keep in motion themselves. Boil rapidly, without covering,
for thirty minutes, or until soft; then drain through a colander
and rinse with hot water to remove all starch. The grains should be
separate and distinct from one another. It may be served with a tomato
sauce. See page 77.
SPAGHETTI WITH TOMATO SAUCE
Break in pieces and cook in boiling, salted water, or cook whole by
dipping the ends in the hot water, and as they bend, coil them around
in the saucepan. Cook for twenty or thirty minutes, or until soft, then
drain, rinse with hot water to remove starch if it is sticky, turn into
a dish and pour over a hot tomato sauce, made as directed on page 77.
STEWED CAULIFLOWER
Carefully separate into small portions; examine closely to make sure
there are no insects on it; let stand a short time in cold water, then
put into boiling, salted water, and cook from twenty to forty minutes,
or until tender. Drain, season with a little butter or cream, or serve
with cream sauce poured over it.
CAULIFLOWER WITH TOMATO SAUCE
Cook the same as stewed cauliflower. When done, drain, turn into a
dish, and pour over it a hot tomato sauce.
STEWED CABBAGE
Remove the outer leaves, divide into halves, cut very fine with a sharp
knife, omitting the heart. Put into a saucepan with a half cup of
boiling water, add a little salt, cover closely, and cook until tender,
adding a little more hot water, if it becomes too dry before it is
done. When done, add a few spoonfuls of cream, allow to heat, and serve.
BOILED CABBAGE
Remove the outer leaves, place in cold water for half an hour, then
quarter, and put to cook in boiling water, adding a little salt. Boil
vigorously for about thirty minutes; turn into a colander, remove the
heart and coarse portions, press out all the water, return to the
saucepan, and season with butter or cream; allow to heat, and serve on
a hot dish at once.
BOILED CELERY
Take one bunch of celery, cut off tops and roots, scrape and wash the
stalks, then cut them into small pieces, and put to cook in boiling
water. Let cook for fifteen or twenty minutes, or until tender; drain,
turn into a heated dish, and pour over a cream sauce. For making cream
sauce see page 77.
STEWED ASPARAGUS
Wash, break into small pieces, and cook from twenty to thirty minutes
in just enough water to cover; when tender, drain, add a little butter
and salt and a cup of milk; let come to a boil, and thicken with a
teaspoonful of flour. Boil up and serve.
BOILED CARROTS
Select small or medium-sized carrots, wash, scrape, rinse in cold
water, then put to cook in boiling water; cook about thirty minutes, or
until tender, then drain. Serve as boiled, or slice them into a heated
vegetable dish, and pour over them a cream sauce prepared as directed
on page 77.
BOILED PARSNIPS
Prepare and cook the same as boiled carrots.
BAKED PARSNIPS
Wash, scrape, rinse, divide in halves, add a little more than enough
boiling water to cook them, and boil slowly until tender; place in a
shallow dish, pour over the juice that remains, add a little salt, a
spoonful or two of cream, and place in the oven until nicely browned,
basting occasionally.
STEWED TURNIPS
Pare the turnips, cut into slices, and cook until perfectly tender;
then drain, mash fine with a spoon or potato masher, season with salt,
a little butter or cream if desired, and serve.
SLICED CUCUMBERS
Pare the cucumbers, slice them very thin into a dish, sprinkle with
salt, cover loosely, and shake briskly to distribute the salt; let
stand for about half an hour; then drain off all the water, and shortly
before serving pour over the juice of one or two lemons. A spoonful or
two of cream may be added if desired. Cucumbers should be thoroughly
masticated. Their reputed indigestibility is largely due to a failure
in this particular.
BOILED ONIONS
Cut off the tops and bottoms, remove the outer skins, and put to cook
in cold water; boil fifteen minutes; then drain, and cook in boiling,
salted water until tender; turn into a pudding dish, and cut into small
pieces; pour over a cupful of hot cream sauce, sprinkle the top with
bread crumbs, and bake until brown. For making cream sauce see page 77.
BAKED SQUASH
Cut into sections, and place shell downward on the top shelf of the
oven. Bake until tender, and serve hot in the shell; or, scrape out
the inside, mash, add a few spoonfuls of cream or a little butter, and
serve.
STEWED SQUASH
Peel, remove seeds, cut into small pieces, and stew until tender in a
little boiling water; drain, mash smooth, and season with butter and
salt. Vegetable marrows may be prepared in the same manner.
SUCCOTASH
Soak one cupful of beans overnight. When ready to cook, add water and
one cupful of dried sweet corn, and cook until tender. Season with
salt, a little cream or butter, and serve. If green sweet corn is used,
do not add it to the beans until they are nearly done.
BOILED SWEET CORN
Select full-grown ears, not old and hard, but full of milk; remove the
husks and silks, and put to cook in enough boiling, salted water to
cover. Boil from thirty to forty minutes; when done, drain, and serve
on the cob hot, with a little butter if desired. The corn from ears
not eaten may be cut from the cob and warmed up with a little cream or
butter for the next meal.
STEWED SWEET CORN
Remove husks and silks, stand the ears in a dish, and with a sharp
knife cut off the corn from the top downward, taking a little more than
half of the kernel in depth; then scrape gently downward to get the
remainder of the milk and meat of each kernel. Place in a saucepan, add
half a cup of water for each quart of corn, and cook for fifteen or
twenty minutes. When done, add a little salt, a half cup of cream, or
a cup of milk and a little butter, boil up and serve. The milk may be
slightly thickened with flour, if desired.
BAKED BEETS
Take young, tender beets, wash clean, place in a baking dish with a
little water, and bake from one to two hours, or until tender; add a
little hot water occasionally if they become dry. When done, remove the
skins, slice, and serve with lemon-juice.
BOILED BEETS
Cut off the tops, but avoid cutting the beets; put to cook in boiling
water. When tender, remove to a pan of cold water; rub off the skins
with the hands, slice thin, and serve with lemon-juice.
BEET GREENS
Take the tops from young, tender beets, look over, put to cook in
boiling, slightly salted water, and cook until tender; then drain in a
colander; chop rather fine, and serve with lemon-juice.
SPINACH
Look over carefully a good quantity of spinach, rejecting all wilted
and decayed leaves. Wash thoroughly in several waters, and put to cook
in slightly salted, boiling water, and boil from twenty to thirty
minutes. When tender, drain in a colander, cut into coarse pieces, and
put into a warm dish; add a few bits of butter, and garnish with slices
of hard-boiled eggs. Serve with lemon-juice.
CELERY
Remove all the green and decayed parts from the stalks, and put into
cold water. When ready to serve, place in a celery glass with the small
ends downward. Curl the tops by cutting into narrow strips a little way
down. Celery is recommended as a good nerve food.
SALADS AND SALAD DRESSINGS
Plain and healthful living tends to long and happy living.—_Selected._
The foundation of a happy home is laid in the kitchen.—_Marion
Harland._
TOMATO SALAD, NO. 1
Peel smooth, ripe tomatoes, cut into thin slices, and arrange in layers
in a dish, sprinkling each layer with sugar. Turn over the whole a half
cup of lemon-juice before serving.
TOMATO SALAD, NO. 2
Peel, slice, and place in a dish, and sprinkle lightly with salt.
To the beaten yolk of one egg add the juice of one or two lemons, a
teaspoonful of sugar, and pour all together over the tomatoes.
CABBAGE SALAD, NO. 1
Chop very fine half a small head of crisp cabbage, and put into a dish.
Mix together two tablespoonfuls of sugar and the juice of two lemons,
and pour over the cabbage; add a spoonful or two of thick cream, stir
together, and serve. The cream may be omitted if preferred.
CABBAGE SALAD, NO. 2
Chop the cabbage fine, and dress with mayonnaise dressing. If preferred
omit to thin the dressing with cream, and cover the cabbage with
whipped cream, slightly sweetened.
CABBAGE AND TOMATO SALAD
Cut the cabbage as above, and put into a dish. Peel and slice two or
three large, ripe tomatoes, and place on the cabbage. Toss up lightly
in the dish, sprinkle with sugar, and pour over all the juice of two
lemons.
LETTUCE SALAD, NO. 1
Separate the leaves, look over, wash, and put into cold water a while
before using. When ready to serve, place on a dish and pour over a
dressing made of equal quantities of lemon-juice, sugar, and water.
LETTUCE SALAD, NO. 2
Wash and shred two heads of lettuce. Boil two eggs until hard, remove
the shells, and mash the yolks fine; mix well together the juice of one
or two lemons, two or three tablespoonfuls of water, one tablespoonful
of sugar, one-half teaspoonful of salt, one tablespoonful of sweet
cream, adding this last to prevent curdling, and the yolks of the eggs,
and pour over the lettuce. Cut the whites of the eggs into rings and
arrange on the top. A spoonful or two of minced onion may also be added.
POTATO SALAD
Cut into thin slices, hot or cold boiled potatoes, and place in a dish
without breaking slices. A small onion, chopped fine, to each pint of
potatoes may be added if desired. Cover with mayonnaise dressing.
VEGETABLE SALAD
Put a layer of fresh watercress or lettuce into a salad bowl, then
alternate with layers of peeled, thinly sliced cucumber and tomatoes.
When enough is prepared, place a border of watercress around the bowl.
Just before serving, pour over a French dressing, and toss up lightly
with a fork till well mingled.
FRUIT SALAD
Place in salad dish alternate layers of sliced bananas and
strawberries, sprinkling each layer with sugar. Cover with whipped
cream, and serve.
BANANA SALAD
Slice crosswise six ripe bananas into a dish; sprinkle with powdered
sugar, then turn over them the juice of two nice large oranges; let
stand for an hour in a cool place, and serve.
NUT AND CELERY SALAD
Take three cupfuls of finely cut, crisp celery, and one cupful of
chopped English walnuts; dress with mayonnaise dressing, made thin with
a little sweet cream.
FRENCH DRESSING
Mix thoroughly together six tablespoonfuls of oil, a pinch of salt, and
two tablespoonfuls of lemon-juice.
MAYONNAISE DRESSING
To the yolks of two fresh eggs add a scant teaspoonful of salt; then
beat in slowly, almost drop by drop, a small cupful of olive-oil. The
mixture should become nearly as thick as butter. Then gradually add one
tablespoonful of lemon-juice. Thin with sweet cream. Nice for potato,
cabbage, or nut salads. If used for tomato salad, omit the cream.
SUBSTITUTES FOR MEATS
As a man eateth, so is he.—_German Proverb._
Lord Byron refused to eat meat because, as he said, “It makes me
ferocious.”
The flesh of animals tends to cause grossness of body, and to benumb
the finer sensibilities of the mind.—“_Bible Hygiene._”
The eating of much flesh fills us with a multitude of evil diseases,
and a multitude of evil desires.—_Porphyrises, 233_ A. D.
Animal food is one of the greatest means by which the pure sentiment
of the race is depressed.—_Alcott._
The candidates for ancient athletic games were dieted on boiled grain
with warm water, cheese, and dried figs, but no meat. Modern athletes
are not allowed meat while in training.
I have known men who prayed for a good temper in vain, until their
physician proscribed eating so much meat; for they could not endure
such stimulation.—_Henry Ward Beecher._
The liability to disease is increased by flesh eating. Where plenty of
good milk and fruit can be obtained, there is rarely any excuse for
eating animal food.—“_Christian Temperance._”
[Leaf]
From the instruction given at the beginning respecting foods, it is
evident the Creator did not design that either man or beast should
subsist on flesh foods. To Adam and Eve he said: “Behold, I have given
you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth,
and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed;
to you it shall be for meat. And to every beast of the earth, and to
every fowl of the air, and to everything that creepeth upon the earth,
wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat.” Gen.
1:29, 30.
But sin brought many changes into our world, and because of the changed
circumstances, customs, and practises were instituted and allowed which
were not in harmony with the primeval order of things. Among other
things meat eating was permitted. Just after the flood, when the face
of the earth had been desolated, God said to Noah: “Every moving thing
that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given
you all things.” Gen. 9:3. But the blood was not to be eaten with
the flesh,—a very wise provision, for if there is any disease in the
system, it is sure to be found in the blood.
A little later, as a further precaution in the interests of health,
instruction was given that only the flesh of “clean beasts” was to be
eaten, such as that of the ox, the sheep, the goat, the deer, etc. See
Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14.
But for all this it must be admitted that the flesh of animals is not
a natural diet for man, nor does it constitute the most healthful
food. Of this it may be truly said as Christ said of the granting of
a writing of divorcement, it was suffered because of the “hardness”
of their hearts, “but from the beginning it was not so.” Matt. 19:8.
It was never intended that man should take the life of any innocent,
living creature.
Meat eating tends to excite the passions. This is seen in the
animal kingdom. The animals that are mild, patient, and docile are
generally herbivorous, such as the cow, the sheep, the horse; while
the excitable, quick-tempered, and ferocious animals are meat eaters,
such as the lion, the tiger, the leopard. A meat diet also tends to
constipation, the great scourge of the race.
One object of this work, therefore, is in the interests of health and
morality, to educate people out of meat eating rather than into it;
and to supply such a variety of recipes for good, wholesome, palatable,
and nutritious dishes, prepared from natural food elements, that meat
eating will be practically unnecessary.
Moreover, so many animals at the present time are becoming so greatly
diseased that it is not a little dangerous to eat largely of their
flesh. As a matter of safety the use of flesh-meats might very
consistently be dispensed with altogether.
The fact, therefore, that meat may be cheap, or that it may be easily
or quickly prepared, should count for little with those who have the
best interests of their families in view.
From every standpoint from which the subject may be viewed, the reasons
for discontinuing the use of flesh-meats are more imperative now than
ever before.
1. This is an age of disease. Animals are coming to be greatly
diseased. The use of their flesh, therefore, tends to increase disease
in mankind, and thus to shorten life.
2. This is an age of intemperance. Flesh-meats are all more or less
stimulating. Their use, therefore, tends to increase this evil.
3. This is an age of surfeiting. Meat eating is, to a large degree,
responsible for this. A well-known English writer on cookery says: “No
one will deny that the foods we are apt to eat too much of are those
absent from a purely vegetarian fare, such as meat, game, fish, eggs,
etc., upon which materials the culinary art seems exercised to tempt us
beyond the satisfying of the appetite.”
4. This is an age of vice and immorality. A meat diet tends greatly to
increase this terrible evil.
5. This is an age of violence and murder. The practise of killing and
eating animals tends to harden men’s hearts, to destroy their finer
sensibilities, and thus to increase violence and crime.
In the beginning God gave man no flesh foods to eat. And after the
Exodus, when he had his own way with his own people, he gave them no
flesh to eat. Before taking them into the promised land, for forty
years he fed them on “manna,” a purely vegetarian food. Ex. 16:31; Num.
11:7, 8. And when they “fell a lusting,” and said, “Who shall give us
flesh to eat?” he was displeased with them, and, with the giving of the
quails, brought a great plague upon them. Numbers 11; Ps. 78:18-31.
In the New Testament, the apostle, referring to this experience, warns
Christians against falling into the same error. “Now these things,”
he says, “were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after
evil things, as they also lusted.... And they are written for our
admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.” 1 Cor. 10:5-11.
Evidently, therefore, meat eating is not in harmony with God’s original
plan. And it must be that the nearer we bring ourselves into harmony
with that plan, the better it will be for us.
To some it may seem difficult to give up the use of meat. But in this,
as in all reformatory work, much depends upon the mind. Let the correct
principle be first assented to; then, step by step, let the practise be
brought into conformity to the principle, making changes gradually, if
necessary, leaving off the meat dishes as others more wholesome can be
substituted. We should cultivate a love for that which we know to be
good and healthful.
To assist those who desire to make this dietetic reform, a few recipes
are here given which will be found to be good substitutes for meats.
VEGETABLE AND LENTIL STEW