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 particularly nice 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.
[Illustration: COMPOTE 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 like a 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 to remove 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
with grated 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.