First, new potatoes, if about the size of marbles, may be scraped,

boiled in salted water, and served with a thin cream dressing,

sprinkled liberally with chopped parsley, or the boiled potatoes,

while still hot, may be quickly browned in a pan containing a couple

tablespoonfuls of hot drippings or butter. They are much better

prepared in this manner if the potatoes are put in the hot fat while

still warm. Or the small boiled potatoes may be cut in thin slices,

browned in a couple tablespoonfuls of butter or drippings and two eggs

beaten together stirred over the potatoes a few minutes before they

are ready to serve. The small potatoes may also be scraped and dropped

in hot, deep fat and fried like fritters.

When possible, the small potatoes should be well cleansed with a

vegetable brush and boiled without paring. They may then be easily

skinned after they are cooked. Some of the more important ingredients

are lost when potatoes are pared, and it is also more economical to

boil them before paring. The cold boiled potatoes may be cut up and

used for potato salad, or thinly sliced after being skinned and placed

in a baking dish alternately with a cream sauce consisting of milk,

butter and flour, and seasoned with salt and pepper, having the first

and last layer cream sauce. Sprinkle bread crumbs liberally over the

top, dot with hits of butter and bake in a moderate oven about 20

minutes until the top is nicely browned. Serve in the dish in which

they were baked.

Or peel one-half dozen medium-sized raw potatoes, cut into small,

narrow strips about 1/3 inch wide, dry on a napkin and fry in very

hot, deep fat about six minutes, then lift from fat, drain, sprinkle

salt over and serve hot. These are a nice accompaniment to broiled

steak.

Peel and slice, or cut in dice, 6 or 8 cold boiled potatoes, cut into

in a stew-pan with 2 tablespoonfuls of butter, salt and pepper to

season, heat all together, shaking pan occasionally. Add 1/2 cup of

cream, sprinkle a small teaspoonful of parsley over and serve hot.

Instead of slicing or dicing cold boiled potatoes (in the usual

manner) to be fried, if they be cut in lengthwise sections like an

orange (one potato should make about 8 pieces) and fried quickly in

enough hot fat to prevent burning, they can scarcely be distinguished

from raw potatoes cut in the same manner and fried in deep fat, and

are much easier to prepare. They should be served at once.

Another manner of preparing potatoes is to slice raw potatoes as

thinly as possible on a "slaw-cutter," place in a fry-pan with a

couple of tablespoonfuls of a mixture of butter and sweet drippings.

Watch carefully, as they should be fried quickly over a hot fire,

turning frequently. When brown, serve at once.

Raw _sweet_ potatoes cut about as thick as half a section of an

orange, fried in a couple tablespoonfuls of a mixture of sweet

drippings and butter, prove a change, occasionally.

SCALLOPED POTATOES

In a baking dish place layers of pared, thinly sliced, raw white

potatoes. Season with a very little salt and pepper and scatter over

small bits of butter. A very little finely minced onion or parsley may

be added if liked. To 1 quart of the sliced potatoes use a scant half

pint of milk, which should almost cover the potatoes. Either sift over

the top 1 tablespoon of flour or 2 tablespoons of fine, dried bread

crumbs and bits of butter; place in hot oven and bake about 3/4 of an

hour, until top is browned nicely and potatoes are cooked through. Old

potatoes are particularly good prepared in this manner.

CANDIED SWEET POTATOES

Place in an agate pudding dish 6 pared and halved (lengthwise) raw

sweet potatoes. Scatter over them three tablespoons of sugar, 2 large

tablespoons of butter cut in small bits, and about 1/2 a cup (good

measure) of water. Stand in a hot oven and bake about 3/4 of an hour.

Baste frequently with the syrup formed in the bottom of the dish. The

potatoes when baked should look clear and the syrup should be as thick

as molasses. Serve in the dish in which they were baked. Should the

oven of the range not be very hot, the dish containing the potatoes

may be placed on top the range and cooked about 25 minutes before

placing in oven to finish baking.

SWEET POTATO CROQUETTES

To 1 pint of hot mashed potatoes, or cold boiled ones may be used,

squeezed through a fruit press; add 1 tablespoon of butter, pinch of

salt, 2 eggs, whites beaten separately. When cool, form into small

cone-shapes, dip in bread crumbs, then into egg, then into crumbs

again, and fry in deep fat. Drain on paper and serve on platter

garnished with parsley.

POTATO CHIPS

Aunt Sarah's way of making particularly fine potato chips: She pared

six large white potatoes, one at a time. As she wished to slice them

to fry, she rinsed the potatoes, rolled them on a clean cloth to dry

them. She sliced the potatoes thinly on a "slaw" cutter. She patted

the sliced potatoes between old linen napkins, until all moisture was

absorbed, then dropped them into hot fat, consisting of two-thirds

lard and one-third suet. Place only one layer of potatoes at a time in

the fat. The chips quickly turn light brown; then remove with a

perforated skimmer to a colander lined with coarse brown paper, to

absorb any remaining fat. Should the fat be the right temperature, the

chips will be entirely free from grease. Dust salt over the chips

while hot. She _never_ allowed chips to stand in salt water, as many

cooks do. She usually made potato chips when frying doughnuts, and

always fried potato chips first; after frying doughnuts in the fat fry

several large slices of potato in it, as the potato clarifies it. Six

large, thinly sliced potatoes will make about five quarts of potato

chips when fried and may be kept several weeks in a dry place. The

potato chips may be re-heated by placing in a hot oven a few minutes

before serving.

FRIED EGGPLANT

Pare the egg-plant, cut in slices one-half inch thick, sprinkle salt

on slices; let stand under heavy weight several hours. Wipe slices dry

with a napkin and dip in a mixture of white of one egg, and one

tablespoon of water, then dip them in fine rolled bread crumbs and fry

a rich brown in deep fat. Drain and serve. Catsup should always be

served with eggplant.

BAKED "STUFFED PEPPERS"

Place a fry-pan on stove containing about two tablespoonfuls of

butter, add a couple of finely chopped sweet peppers and a finely

minced small onion. Let all simmer on stove. Measure the chopped

pepper and add an equal amount of finely crumbled bread. Season with

salt and pepper and fill (well-washed) peppers from which the stem and

seeds have been removed. Stand the peppers in a bake dish containing a

small amount of water. Place in a hot oven about twenty-five minutes,

or until peppers are tender. Serve hot.

CHILI (AS PREPARED IN NEW MEXICO)

Place hot peppers (well-washed) from which seeds have been removed

into a bake dish containing a very little hot water. Stand in a hot

oven until tender and skins turn a yellow brown, turning them over

occasionally. Remove the outside skin, chop fine, add a small quantity

of finely minced onion, pepper and salt and enough vinegar to moisten.

If sweet peppers are used add a pinch of cayenne pepper. Serve as a

relish in place of pickles or chow-chow. This recipe was given Marry

by a friend who had lived in Mexico. The outside skin of the peppers

may be more readily removed if upon being removed from the oven the

peppers are sprinkled with water, then covered with a cloth and

allowed to steam a short time.

BAKED CABBAGE

A half head of cabbage was cut into small pieces and cooked in hot

salted water until cabbage was tender. The water was drained from the

boiled cabbage, which was placed in an agate pudding dish alternately

with cream sauce composed of one cup of milk; one small tablespoonful

of flour, 2 tablespoonfuls of butter, seasoned with salt and pepper.

Sprinkle a few crumbs and place bits of the butter over top. Bake in

oven about 25 minutes and serve hot. This dish is almost equal to

cauliflower in flavor, especially if after the cabbage has cooked ten

or fifteen minutes the water is drained from it and fresh substituted.

And it is said, "Cauliflower is only cabbage with a college

education."

CRIMSON CREAMED BEETS

Cut all except two inches from the tops of beets. Scrub thoroughly

with a vegetable brush, then pour scalding water over beets. When

perfectly cleansed, place in a cook-pot, partly cover with boiling

water, stand on range and when beets have cooked tender remove outside

skin. Strain and stand aside one cup of water in which beets were

boiled, which should be dark wine color. When beets are to be served

to the one cup of strained beet juice add one tablespoonful of sugar,

one-fourth cup of not _very sharp_ vinegar. Add one teaspoon of

butter. Thicken this liquid with one and one-fourth tablespoonfuls of

a mixture of corn starch and flour. When cooked to the consistency of

cream add the quartered beets, season with pepper and salt, stand on

back part of range a few minutes, serve hot. To three cups of the

quartered beets use one and one-half cups of cream dressing.

BUTTERED BEETS

Wash young beets, cut off tops. Boil one hour or until tender, one

tablespoonful of sugar having been added to the water in which beets

were boiled. Rub off skins, cut in quarters, strew over them one

tablespoon of butter cut in small pieces, stand in oven just long

enough for the butter to melt. Or cut the beets in slices one-fourth

of an inch thick and while still warm place in a bowl and pour over

them half a cup of hot vinegar and water to which had been added one

tablespoonful of sugar, a pinch of salt and pepper; serve cold.

PICKLED MANGELWURZEL

A vegetable in taste, similar to very sweet, red beets in shape,

greatly resembling carrots. Wash the mangelwurzel and place in a

stew-pan with boiling water and cook until tender (allow about an inch

of top to remain when preparing to cook). Skin the mangelwurzel, slice

and pour over the following, which has been heated in a stew-pan over

the fire: One cup of vinegar and water combined, one tablespoonful of

sugar, one teaspoonful of salt, a dust of pepper. Stand aside until

cold then serve. Or serve hot like buttered beets. Some "Bucks

County" farmers raise mangelwurzel simply to feed to their cattle, but

Aunt Sarah preferred them when young and tender to beets, and always

raised them for her table.

GERMAN STEAMED CABBAGE

Cut one-half head of cabbage fine on a slaw cutter. Place in a

stew-pan over fire, with about four tablespoonfuls of water, one

tablespoonful of butter, a couple tablespoonfuls of flour, one

teaspoonful of sugar and a pinch of salt. Cover and steam twenty

minutes. Then add three tablespoons of vinegar. Stir in one beaten

egg. Cover and let stand where it will keep hot until ready to serve.

BEAN "SNITZEL"

Place in a pan on the range one tablespoon of diced, smoked bacon, fry

a few minutes, watch closely it does not scorch. Add one tablespoonful

of sweet lard, when hot, add four thinly sliced, medium-sized onions

and four chopped tomatoes and 1-1/2 quarts of string beans, cut in

inch lengths. Season with salt and a pinch of red pepper. Simmer all

together three hours. After cooking one hour add about one cup of hot

water, stirring occasionally to prevent scorching, add a little more

water if necessary; when beans are tender and ready to serve there

should be a small quantity of liquid, resembling tomato sauce, with

the beans.

BOILED SPINACH

Wash one-half peck of spinach thoroughly through a half dozen waters,

until free from sand. Place in a stew-pan containing a small quantity

of _boiling_ water and one teaspoon of butter. Cook until tender,

drain, chop fine. Place a large tablespoonful of butter in stew-pan

and when hot add chopped spinach, season with salt and pepper; serve

in a warmed dish, garnished with either chopped or sliced hard boiled

eggs. A German cook, noted for the fine flavor of her cooked spinach

and green peas, said her secret consisted in adding a teaspoon of

butter to the vegetables while cooking.

FRIED ONIONS AND POTATOES

Another way of utilizing left-over cold boiled potatoes particularly

relished by "Pennsylvania Germans," whose liking for the humble onion

is proverbial, is to fry onions with potatoes in a fry-pan containing

a couple tablespoonfuls of sweet drippings and butter; when heated

place a half dozen thinly sliced cold boiled potatoes, half the

quantity of thinly sliced raw onions, well seasoned with pepper and

salt, cover and steam for ten or fifteen minutes, when uncover and fry

until light brown; serve at once. Or the thinly-sliced onions, after

skins have been removed, may be sliced thinly across the onion, placed

in a fry-pan and partly covered with boiling water; stand on hot range

and steam, closely covered, about fifteen minutes, or until onions are

tender, then drain off water, should any remain, add a small

tablespoonful of butter, salt and pepper to season, fry quickly a

light brown; pan should be uncovered. Serve at once with liver or

bacon. Onions are considered more wholesome prepared in this manner

than if fried.

STEAMED ASPARAGUS (FINE)

Wash asparagus and cut off about an inch of the tough ends, scrape off

thin skin. Place pieces of asparagus tips (all in one direction) in

the top part of perforated section of a double boiler. Fill lower part

of steamer with hot water and steam about three-quarters of an hour or

less time, until tender. The fine flavor of the vegetable is retained

when steamed. When cooked tender turn out on a hot platter and pour

cream sauce over the tips, or the cream sauce may be served

separately, or the asparagus may be served on freshly toasted slices

of bread, over which the cream sauce should be poured.

"PASTURE" MUSHROOMS

All the members of the Landis family unanimously agreed in declaring

the dish "Frau Schmidt" taught Sarah Landis to prepare from the

delicious edible Fungi, known as "Pasture" mushrooms (gathered by

Professor Schmidt from rich, wind-swept pastures early in the fall of

the year until the coming of frost) were good enough to tickle the

palate of an epicure.

Sarah Landis was very particular to use _none_ unless pronounced

_edible mushrooms_, and not poisonous toad-stools, by Professor

Schmidt, who was a recognized authority. Said the Professor, "The

edible variety may be easily recognized by one having a knowledge of

the vegetable. The cap may be readily peeled, and the flesh of the

'Pasture' mushroom, when cut or broken, changes in color to a pale

rose pink, and they possess many other distinctive features, easily

recognized, when one has made a study of them."

The following is the manner in which the mushrooms were prepared by

Frau Schmidt:

STEAMED MUSHROOMS.

One-half pound or about twenty-four small mushrooms were peeled,

washed carefully in cold water, placed in a small stew-pan containing

two generous tablespoonfuls of butter, covered closely and allowed to

simmer or steam for twenty minutes in butter and liquid, drawn from

the mushrooms by steaming, then uncover and allow liquid in sauce-pan

and mushrooms to cook about ten minutes longer, then sprinkle two

teaspoonfuls of flour over the mushrooms, brown a minute, stir into

this 1/2 cup of milk, or enough to make a sauce the consistency of

cream, season well with salt and pepper to taste. Have ready prepared

six crisply toasted and buttered slices of stale bread. Place four

mushrooms and a couple of tablespoonfuls of the mushroom sauce on each

slice of bread and serve hot. The combination of toast and mushrooms

results in a particularly fine flavor.

STEWED TOMATOES

Scald ripe tomatoes by pouring boiling water over them and allowing

them to stand a few minutes. Skin them and cut in small pieces. Place

in a stew-pan with 1 tablespoonful of butter, season _well_ with

pepper and salt, cook about 25 minutes, add 1/2 teaspoonful of sugar

and thicken with 1 teaspoonful of flour mixed smooth with a little

water. Let cook a few minutes, then serve. If tomatoes are very tart a

small pinch of baking soda, added when cooked, will counteract

acidity.

SWEET CORN

Sweet corn on the cob should be cooked as soon as possible after

taking it from stalk, as after being removed it soon loses its

sweetness. Do not remove the husk until it is to be boiled. Place corn

in a kettle of rapidly boiling water, not salted; rather add a pinch

of sugar if corn is not as sweet as liked. Cover the kettle to prevent

steam escaping. Do not use a _large quantity of water_. Corn is

sweeter if steamed. Boil from ten to fifteen minutes. If corn is not

cooked in that time, it should be used uncooked for corn fritters, as

corn if _not_ young and tender may be grated and from it excellent

corn fritters may be made.

FRIED TOMATOES WITH CREAM SAUCE

Cut large, solid, ripe tomatoes in half-inch slices; one ordinary

tomato makes 3 slices. Dredge thickly with flour. Fry several slices

of bacon in an iron pan, take bacon from pan when fried and put in

warming oven. Lay the well-floured slices of tomatoes in hot bacon fat

and one tablespoon of butter and fry brown on both sides. Serve on hot

platter with bacon. Or fry slices of well floured tomato in pan

containing just enough butter and drippings to keep them from sticking

to the bottom of pan, over a hot fire. Fry quickly, browning on each

side. Season with salt and pepper. If the tomatoes are very sour,

sprinkle a _very little_ sugar over them before frying. When brown,

lift the tomatoes carefully from pan and place in a circle around the

inside edge of a warm chop plate, add a lump of butter to the pan and

a small half cup of sweet milk. Let come to a boil, thicken with a

little flour mixed smoothly with a little cold milk, and cook until

the consistency of thick cream. Season with salt and pour in centre of

chop plate, surrounded with fried slices of tomatoes. Dust pepper over

top and serve hot.

This is a delicious way of serving tomatoes. Or slices of the fried

tomatoes may be served on slices of crisply toasted bread over which

place a couple tablespoons of the cream dressing.

BAKED "STUFFED TOMATOES"

Wash a half dozen ripe red tomatoes. Cut the top from each and remove

about the half of the inside of tomato. Sprinkle a very tiny pinch of

sugar in each. This small quantity of sugar is not noticed, but

counteracts the acidity of the tomato. To one and one-half cups of

soft bread crumbs add one small finely minced onion and season highly

with salt and pepper, also add one teaspoon of chopped parsley. Mix

all together and fill the tomatoes with the mixture. Place a small bit

of butter on each tomato. Place in a bake dish containing a half cup

of water, a piece of butter, one teaspoonful of sugar, a sprig of

parsley and pepper and salt to season. Stand in a hot oven and bake

from 25 to 30 minutes. The centres which were removed from tomatoes

may be utilized in various ways.

CANNED TOMATOES--FRIED

Place in a bowl a half pint of canned tomatoes, one-fourth teaspoon of

sugar and season with salt and pepper. Add about four tablespoonfuls

of flour sifted with one-half teaspoon of baking powder and one

tablespoon of butter. Use only flour enough to hold the mixture

together when fried. Drop spoonfuls some distance apart in a fry-pan

containing several tablespoons of hot lard, butter, suet or drippings.

Fry on both sides and serve hot. In winter, when the housewife is

unable to obtain fresh tomatoes, she will find this dish a good

substitute to serve occasionally.

"BUCKS COUNTY" BAKED BEANS

Put one quart of small soup beans to soak over night in cold water to

cover. In the morning drain the beans, cover with boiling water, add

one tablespoonful of molasses and cook until tender, but not too soft.

Drain. Do not use this water. Put the beans in an earthen bake dish.

In the centre of the bake dish place one pound of clean, scored smoked

bacon, and pour over the beans the water in which the bacon had been

simmering for an hour. Add water, if not enough, to almost cover the

beans, salt and pepper to taste. Place in oven and bake about three

hours, or until beans are tender and a rich brown on top. Add more hot

water if beans bake dry, until the last half hour, then allow the

water to cook away.

Serve stewed tomatoes, baked apples or apple sauce as an

accompaniment to baked beans. This is not a recipe for "Boston Baked

Beans." Just a "plain country recipe," but it will be found very

satisfactory.

If part of a dish of beans remain after a meal, re-heat the day

following in "tomato sauce." Aunt Sarah always baked a pan of corn

bread or Johnny cake, to serve hot with baked beans.

When the housewife serves a dish of baked beans at a meal, serve also

a quart of stewed tomatoes. The day following a "tomato sauce" may be

quickly prepared by adding a well-cooked carrot and an onion to the

"left-over" tomatoes. Press all through a coarse sieve, adding a

little water if too thick; re-heat beans in this; serve hot. A

delicious "cream of tomato soup" may be prepared by substituting milk

or cream to which a small pinch of baking soda has been added,

omitting the beans.

COOKED HOMINY

Wash one cup of hominy through several waters. (The grains should

resemble kernels of corn.) Cover with cold water and stand in a cool

place over night. In the morning, drain. Place the hominy in an agate

pudding dish holding 2 quarts, cover with boiling water, add more

water as the grains swell and water boils away, and 1 teaspoonful of

salt. The hominy should be placed on the range to cook early in the

morning on the day it is to be served and continue cooking slowly

until late afternoon, when all the water should have been absorbed and

each grain should be large, white and flaky. The dish should be about

three-quarters full.

A half hour before serving the hominy, at a six o'clock dinner, add a

generous tablespoonful of butter and about 3/4 of a cup of hot milk

and stand on back of range until served. This is a remarkably cheap,

wholesome and appetizing dish if served properly and is easily

prepared.

GRATED "PARSNIP CAKES"

Scrape, then grate enough raw parsnips to fill two cups, put in a

bowl and add the yolk of one egg, pinch of salt, 1 tablespoonful of

milk, 1 tablespoonful of flour, lastly add the stiffly-beaten white of

egg.

Form into small round cakes, dust with flour and fry brown on both

sides in a pan containing a tablespoonful of butter and one of

drippings. Or these may be crumbed and fried in deep fat. These are

much finer flavored than if parsnips had been cooked before being

fried.

TO MAKE "SAUER KRAUT"

Cut heads of cabbage in half, after trimming off outside leaves. Cut

out centres or hearts, cut cabbage fine on a regular old-fashioned

cabbage cutter, which has a square box on top of cutter to hold the

pieces of cabbage when being pushed back and forth over the cutter. If

not possible to procure this, use small slaw cutter for the purpose.

Partly fill a large pan with the cut cabbage, and mix enough salt,

with the hands, through the cut cabbage to be palatable when tasted,

no more. This was the rule taught Aunt Sarah by her Grandmother, and

always followed by her. Then put the salted cabbage into a wooden cask

or small tub to the depth of several inches. Pound the cabbage down

well with a long-handled, heavy, wooden mallet, something like a very

large wooden potato masher. Then mix another panful of finely cut

cabbage, lightly salted, into the tub and pound down well, as before.

Continue in this manner until the tub is partly filled with cabbage,

pounding down well at the last until the liquid formed by the cabbage

and salt rises above the cabbage. Cover the kraut with a layer of

large, clean cabbage or grape leaves, then cover top with a clean

piece of muslin cloth, place a round, clean board on top and put a

well-scrubbed, heavy stone on the board to weight it down. Stand the

tub in a warm place several days, to ferment. When fermentation

begins, the liquor rises over the top of the board. Remove the scrum

which rises to top, in about six days, and stand in a cool part of the

cellar after washing stone and cloth with cold water, return to top of

kraut and in two weeks the sauer kraut will be ready to use. Should

the sauer kraut require extra liquid at any time, add one quart of

water in which has been dissolved two teaspoonfuls of salt. Squeeze

the sauer kraut quite dry when taking it from the brine to cook. Boil

about two quarts of the sauer kraut several hours with a piece of

fresh pork and a little water until the pork is thoroughly cooked

through, when the sauer kraut should be cooked tender.

Some prefer "frankfurters" cooked with the kraut instead of pork, and

others do not care for the German dish without the accompaniment of

drop dumplings. Serve mashed potatoes and simple dessert with sauer

kraut.

Aunt Sarah taught Mary to save the hearts of the cabbage usually

thrown aside when making sauer kraut. The hearts were trimmed all one

size, like small triangles. She cooked them in salted water until

tender, drained them and served with a cream dressing, and they had

much the flavor of a dish of cauliflower.

Frau Schmidt always placed several tart apples among her sauer kraut

when making it, and thought it improved the flavor of the kraut; gave

it a "winey" flavor, obtained in no other manner. A sour apple, cored

and cooked with sauer kraut is considered by some cooks an

improvement. The apple, of course, is not eatable. Aunt Sarah _never_

placed apples with her sauer kraut.

DUMPLINGS TO SERVE WITH SAUER KRAUT

For these dumplings, 1 egg was broken into a bowl and well beaten.

Then a pinch of salt was added and 1/2 cup of sweet milk. Enough flour

was added to make a soft dough, and one tablespoonful of baking powder

was sifted with a very little flour into the batter, then a little

more flour was added to make the dough the right consistency. Form the

dough into small balls, handling as little as possible. Drop on top of

the hot cooked "sauer kraut" in cook-pot on range and boil, closely

covered, about 20 minutes.

Aunt Sarah taught Mary to cook green vegetables, peas, spinach, etc.,

in a stew-pan _uncovered_, if she wished them to retain their natural

color. Also, that old potatoes may be freshened by being allowed to

stand a short time in cold water before being cooked, but they should

not stand too long a time in cold water, as it draws the starch from

them and causes them to be tasteless, and to lose part of their

nourishing qualities.

Also that one teaspoonful of salt will usually season one quart of

vegetables, to be put in when the vegetables begin to cook.

Cauliflower, cabbage, lettuce and watercress should stand in a pan

containing water and a little vinegar for a half hour. This will cause

insects to drop to the bottom of the pan.

Changing the water on cabbage and onions when partly cooked will

improve their flavor.

PARSLEY DRIED TO PRESERVE ITS GREEN COLOR

Young housewives possessing a bed of parsley in their kitchen gardens,

wishing to preserve it for use during the winter, may like to know how

Aunt Sarah taught Mary to dry it in a manner to preserve its bright

green color.

She washed the parsley in cold water and while still moist placed it

on agate pans and dried it _quickly_ in a _very hot_ oven. Watch

carefully as it scorches easily. Place the parsley when dried, in tin

cans covered to exclude the dust.

TIME REQUIRED TO COOK VEGETABLES

Bake good-sized potatoes in oven about 45 minutes. Smaller potatoes

require less time to bake.

Boil ordinary sized potatoes 25 to 30 minutes.

_Steam_ asparagus from 30 to 40 minutes.

Boil young beets about 60 minutes or longer.

Old beets, two hours, or until tender.

Green corn on cob about 10 or 15 minutes.

Cauliflower, 30 minutes.

Cabbage, 30 to 40 minutes.

Turnips and carrots, 40 minutes.

String beans, 60 minutes to 2 hours.

Lima beans, 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Onions about 1 hour.

Squash about 30 minutes.

Parsnips, 30 to 40 minutes.

Sweet potatoes, good size, 40 minutes.

Spinach, 25 minutes.

Tomatoes, 25 minutes.

Salt should be added to the water when boiling potatoes, carrots,

cabbage, parsnips, turnips and onions, even if liquid in which they

were boiled is drained from them after being cooked, before being

seasoned. Add a small pinch of baking soda to the water in which

string beans are boiled, and they will cook tender in less time.

Especially should this be done if the beans are not young and tender.

COMMON "CREAM SAUCE"

Young housekeepers will be surprised to learn of the various

attractive, appetizing dishes which may be prepared by combining them

with a "cream sauce." After cooking vegetables until tender in salted

water, they should be drained and served with a cream sauce poured

over. The art of making a smooth, creamy sauce of the proper

consistency is easily acquired. A good rule for "common cream sauce"

is 1 cup of milk, water, or meat broth, thickened with 1 tablespoonful

to 1-1/2 tablespoonfuls of flour, or a combination of flour and

cornstarch. Mix flour, or cornstarch, with a small quantity of cold

milk or water, to a smooth paste, before adding it to liquid; add,

usually, one tablespoonful of butter. Place the mixture in a saucepan

and cook until the consistency of cream, add 1/2 teaspoonful of salt

just before removing from the fire, and dust pepper over when serving.

When mixing gravy to serve with roast beef or veal, omit butter. For a

thick sauce use either 2 or 3 tablespoonfuls of flour and the same

amount of butter. This thick sauce may be used to mix with meat for

croquettes in the proportion of 1 cup of sauce to 2 cups of chopped

cold roast lamb, beef, veal or chicken. Should a richer sauce be

desired, add 1 or more yolks of eggs to the cream sauce. Some of the

numerous dishes which might be served by the young housewife to vary

the daily bill of fare by the addition of "cream sauce," are: Small,

new potatoes, cauliflower, onions, cabbage asparagus tips, thinly

sliced carrots, celery, mushrooms, fish, oysters, chicken, veal and

sweetbreads. All of these, when coked, may be served on slices of

toasted bread, or served in Pattie-cases, with cream sauce, or served

simply with cream sauce.

PREPARATION OF SAVORY GRAVIES

The art of preparing savory gravies and sauces is more important in

connection with the serving of the cheaper meats than in connection

with the cooking of the more expensive cuts.

There are a few general principles underlying the making of all sauces

or gravies, whether the liquid used is water, milk, stock, tomato

juice or some combination of these. For ordinary gravy, 2 level

tablespoonfuls of flour or 1-1/2 tablespoonfuls of cornstarch, or

arrow root, is sufficient to thicken a cup of liquid. This is true

excepting in recipes where the flour is browned. In this case, about

1/2 tablespoonful more should be allowed, for browned flour does not

thicken so well as unbrowned. The fat used may be butter or the

drippings from the meat, the allowance being 2 tablespoonfuls to a cup

of liquid. The easiest way to mix the ingredients is to heat the fat,

add the flour and cook until the mixture ceases to bubble, and then to

add the liquid. This is a quick method and by using it there is little

danger of getting a lumpy gravy. Many persons, however, think it is

not a wholesome method, and prefer the old-fashioned one of thickening

the gravy by means of flour mixed with a little cold water. (Aunt

Sarah was one who thought thus.) The latter method is not "practicable

for brown gravies," to quote the _Farmers' Bulletin_.

The _Farmers' Bulletin_ further adds:

"Considering the large amount of discussion about the digestibility of

fried food and of gravies made by heating flour in fat, a few words on

the subject at this point may not be out of order. It is difficult to

see how heating the fat before adding the flour can be unwholesome,

unless the cook is unskillful enough to heat the fat so high that it

begins to scorch. Overheated fat, as has already been pointed out,

contains an acrid, irritating substance called 'Acrolein,' which may

readily be considered to be unwholesome. It is without doubt the

production of this body by overheating which has given fried food its

bad name. There are several ways of varying the flavor of gravies and

sauces. One should be especially mentioned here. The _flavor of

browned flour_--The good flavor of browned flour is often overlooked.

If flour is cooked in fat, until it is a dark brown color, a

distinctive and very agreeable flavor is obtained.

"This flavor combines very well with that of currant jelly, and a

little jelly added to a brown gravy is a great improvement. The flavor

of this should not be combined with that of onions or other

highly-flavored vegetables."

BUTTER, CHEESE AND SUET--A SUBSTITUTE FOR BUTTER

This formula for preparing a good, sweet, wholesome substitute for

butter to be used for baking and frying was given Aunt Sarah by a

thrifty German hausfrau, who prepared and used it in her large family

many years. Aunt Sarah always kept a supply on hand. It was made as

follows:

10 pounds of fine solid kidney suet.

10 pounds of clean pork fat.

10 pounds of butter.

The suet cut in small pieces was put in a large boiler of water,

boiled until all was melted, and the fat extracted from the suet. It

was then all poured through a fine sieve into a vessel containing hot

water (the larger the quantity of hot water the finer the fat will

be). Stand aside to become cold and solid. The boiling process

prevents the peculiar taste which _fried_ lard and suet usually

possess. Treat the pork fat in a similar manner. Allow the suet and

pork fat to stand until the following morning, when remove the solid

fat from the boiler of water, wipe off all moisture and add both pork

fat and suet fat to the melted butter, which had been prepared in the

following manner: The butter was melted in a porcelain lined boiler

and allowed to cook until all salt and other foreign substance had

settled and the butter had the appearance of clear oil. At this point

the butter should be watched carefully, as when settled it might

quickly boil over, when you would be liable to lose your butter,

besides suffering serious consequences. Now the liquid butter, suet

and pork fat are all put together into a large boiler and allowed to

melt together on the back part of the range. This will probably be

done in the morning. After the noon meal is finished move the boiler

containing fat to front part of range; let come to a boil, skimming it

occasionally as it boils up. It needs close watching now, the fat

being liable to cook over the top of boiler, when the "fat" will

surely be "in the fire." Carefully pour into stone crock, and it may

be kept for months in a cool place. The fat which has been first

poured off the top, if it has been carefully skimmed, will keep

longest. The last taken from the boiler should be put in a stone crock

to use first. This may be prepared in lesser quantities, or a smaller

quantity of butter might be used to mix with the lard and suet.

Although the preparation is to be preferred composed of equal

quantities of butter, lard and suet, adding milk to the first water in

which the suet is boiled is quite an improvement. After filling the

crocks with the fat, take the boiled-out suet and hard scraps and

settlings of butter remaining and go through the same process and you

will have a small jar of cooking fat for immediate use. A little

trouble to do this, I admit, but one is well paid by having good,

sweet, inexpensive cooking fat. I should advise a young housekeeper to

experiment with one pound each of clarified suet and pork fat after it

is rendered, and one pound of butter before attempting the preparation

of a larger quantity.

BUTTER--AS IT WAS MADE AT THE FARM, BY "AUNT SARAH"

Aunt Sarah strained fresh, sweet milk into small, brown earthenware

crocks kept for this purpose, scrupulously clean. The crocks were kept

in the spring-house or cellar in summer (in cold weather the milk

should be kept in a warmer place to allow cream to form on the top of

the milk). When the cream was thick and sour she skimmed the cream

from off the top of milk every day, stirring the cream well together

every time she added fresh cream to that on hand. Aunt Sarah churned

twice a week; sour cream should not be kept a longer time than one

week. The churn was scalded with boiling water, then rinsed with cold

water; this prevented the butter adhering to the churn. The cream

should be at a temperature of 60 degrees when put in the churn, but

this would be almost too cold in Winter. In very hot weather the

temperature of the cream should be 56 degrees. Aunt Sarah tested the

cream with a small dairy tube thermometer. She churned steadily and

usually had butter "come" in about 25 minutes, but should the cream he

too cold or too warm it would be necessary to churn a longer time. If

the cream is too warm, stand vessel containing cream on ice; if too

cold, stand in a warm place near the range. When the sour cream had

been churned a certain length of time and granules of butter had

formed, she drained off the buttermilk and poured water over the

granules of butter. Water should be two degrees colder than the

buttermilk. After churning a few minutes the lump of butter was

removed from the churn, placed in a bowl, washed thoroughly several

times in very cold water, until no buttermilk remained. The butter was

worked thoroughly, with a wooden paddle, until all buttermilk had been

extracted. One small tablespoonful of salt was added to each pound of

butter. She worked the butter well, to incorporate the salt, and

molded it into shape. Aunt Sarah did not knead the butter, but

smoothed it down, then lifted it up from the large, flat, wooden bowl

in which it was molded. When the butter was to be molded into _small

shapes_, she scalded the small wooden molds, then dipped them into

cold water before using; this prevented the butter adhering to the

molds. Before commencing to churn butter, Aunt Sarah was particular to

have her hands scrupulously clean. All the utensils used were washed

in hot water, then rinsed in cold water, both hands and utensils. She

frequently wrapped small pats of freshly-churned butter in small

squares of clean cheese-cloth and placed in a stone crock with a

cover. Placed in the crock was usually, with the butter, a bunch of

sweet clover blossoms, which imparted to the butter a delicious

flavor.

"SMIER-KASE" OR COTTAGE CHEESE

Stand a pan containing three quarts of milk in a warm place until it

becomes sour and quite thick. Stand the pan containing the thick milk

on the back part of the range, where it will heat gradually but not

cook. When the "whey" separates from the curd in the centre and forms

around the edges it is ready to use. Should the sour milk become _too

hot_ on the range, or _scald_, the curds, or smier-kase, will not

become soft and creamy. When the curd has separated from the "whey,"

pour the contents of the pan into a cheese-cloth bag and hang in the

open air to drip for several hours, when it should be ready to use.

From three quarts of sour milk you should obtain one good pound of

smier-kase. To prepare it for the table place one-half the quantity in

a bowl and add one teaspoonful of softened butter, a pinch of salt

and mix as smoothly as possible. Or the smier-kase may be molded into

small rolls, and a small quantity of finely-chopped Pimento added.

This will keep fresh several days if kept in a cool cellar or

refrigerator.

USES OF "SWEET DRIPPINGS" AND SUET

For deep frying Mary was taught to use lard and kidney suet combined.

The latter had been tried out by cutting suet in small pieces. The

suet, in an iron pan, was placed in a moderately hot oven until fat

was tried out. To prevent suet when rendered having a taste of tallow,

place in the upper part of boiler, over one containing hot water, and

stand on a hot range until all is tried out, or melted, instead of

putting it in oven. Strain into a jar and stand aside in a cool place

until wanted. Take one-third of this tried-out suet to two-thirds lard

when frying croquettes, oysters, cruellers or fritters. Suet contains

food value equal to that of lard and food fried in this fat, combined

with lard, is more wholesome than if fried in lard alone--if any food

fried in fat _ever is_ wholesome. And suet is more economical than

lard if rendered at home. Mary was taught by her Aunt to save all the

trimmings from steaks, fat left over from roasts, boiled ham, sausage,

bacon fat, etc. When different fats have been tried out, to clarify

them, add to every pound and a half of combined fat or drippings a

half cup of boiling water and a pinch of baking soda. Boil until water

evaporates and fat is clear. Strain into a bowl and keep in a cool

place. Clean, sweet drippings are preferred by most cooks to lard for

many purposes. All young housewives do not know that ham or bacon fat

may be substituted for half the shortening called for in many recipes

for molasses cakes (where spices are used) with good results. Also

that the grease rendered from clean fat of chickens, which greatly

resembles butter when tried out and cold, may be combined with an

equal quantity of other shortening in making cakes in which spices are

used. The difference in the taste of cake made from this fat, if

rendered sweet and clean, will not be noticed. Equal parts of ham or

bacon fat, pork chops or sausage fat, combined with butter, are

excellent for frying cornmeal mush, eggs, sweet potatoes, egg bread

and calves' liver. Also sliced tomatoes have a particularly fine

flavor if fried in bacon fat. Should fat removed from top of stock pot

have a flavor of vegetables, pour boiling water over, strain and stand

aside to cool; then remove the clean cake of fat on top of the water

and add to bowl of drippings. This is one of the small economies which

will, I think, appeal to the frugal young housewife. If possible,

procure an iron pot for deep frying. After using, strain the fat

remaining, adding sediment in the bottom of cook-pot to the can of

soap fat; then return the clean, strained fat to the cook pot. Keep in

a cool place, closely covered, and if careful not to scorch the fat.

It may be used over and over again, and croquettes, etc., may be

prepared in a few moments by simply heating the kettle of fat in which

to fry them.

Aunt Sarah frequently filled small glass jars with rendered mutton

suet, scented with violet essence, to be used for chapped lips and

hands.

EGGS--"EIERKUCHEN" OR OMELETTE

For this excellent omelette or "eierkuchen," as Aunt Sarah called it,

she used the following:

3 fresh eggs.

1 cup sweet milk.

3 level tablespoonfuls of flour.

She placed on the range a small fry pan (size of a tea plate),

containing one tablespoonful of butter. She then placed 3

tablespoonfuls of flour in a bowl, mixed smoothly with a portion of

the cup of milk, then added the three yolks of eggs which had been

lightly beaten and the balance of the milk and a pinch of salt.

Lastly, she stirred in lightly the stiffly-beaten whites of eggs.

Poured all into the warmed fry-pan and placed it in a moderately hot

oven until lightly browned on top. The omelette when cooked should be

light and puffy, and remain so while being served. Double the omelette

together on a hot platter and sprinkle finely chopped parsley over the

top. Serve immediately.

HARD BOILED EGGS

Eggs to be hard boiled should be carefully placed in boiling water

and cooked 15 minutes from the time the water commences to boil again.

If cooked a longer time, the white of egg will look dark and the outer

part of yolk will not be a clear yellow, as it should, to look

appetizing when served.

SOFT BOILED EGGS

The quicker way to prepare eggs is to drop them in a stew-pan

containing boiling water, and let boil 3-1/2 to 4 minutes, when the

white part of the egg should be "set" and the yolk soft, but a soft

boiled egg is said to be more easily digested if dropped into a

stew-pan of rapidly boiling water; remove the stew-pan of boiling

water the minute the eggs have been put in from the front part of the

range to a place where the water will keep hot, but not allow the eggs

to boil. Let the eggs remain in the hot water from 8 to 10 minutes. On

breaking the egg open, the yolk will be found soft, and the white of

the egg a soft, jelly-like consistency. This latter is the way Aunt

Sarah taught Mary.

AN EGG AND TOMATO OMELETTE

Beat the yolks of three eggs until light, then add three

tablespoonfuls of water. Beat the whites of the eggs separately. Turn

the stiffly-beaten whites of the eggs into the bowl containing the

yolks of eggs and water. Stir lightly together and add a pinch of

salt. Turn all into a small fry-pan containing a generous

tablespoonful of butter and cook on top of stove until the eggs are

set, then place the pan containing omelette in a hot oven and finish

cooking. When cooked, turn out on a hot platter and spread over the

top the following, which was prepared while the omelette was cooking.

In a small fry-pan place a tablespoonful of finely-chopped bacon. When

fried brown add half a small tomato, finely chopped, 1/4 of an onion,

chopped fine, and a little chopped green pepper. Cook all together for

a short time and season with salt and pepper. After spreading the

mixture on the omelette, fold over and serve on a hot platter. This

recipe had been given Frau Schmidt years before by a friend and she

used no other for making omelette. Always make small omelettes. They

are more satisfactory. Use a small pan no larger than a small tea

plate, and, if wished, make two small, rather than one large one.

Always serve immediately.

MUSHROOM OMELETTE

Place the yolks of three eggs in a bowl and beat until light. Add a

teaspoonful of cream and 1/2 teaspoonful of flour mixed together; 1/2

cup of chopped mushrooms, salt and pepper and a dust of baking powder.

Lastly, the stiffly-beaten whites of the eggs. Turn into a pan

containing two tablespoonfuls of melted butter, stand on range a few

minutes until eggs are set, then finish cooking in a hot oven. Serve

at once.

A few cold, steamed mushrooms (left-overs), if finely chopped, and

added to a plain omelette or roast, will improve the flavor.

A CLAM OMELETTE

Two eggs beaten separately, 1 scant cup of milk, 1 tablespoonful of

flour, 6 clams run through a food-chopper. Place in a bowl the

tablespoon of flour and mix smooth with a little of the milk. Then add

the two yolks of eggs and beat well together. Add the milk, salt and

pepper, the chopped clams, and lastly the stiffly-beaten whites of

eggs, and add a trifle more flour, if necessary. Drop a couple of

tablespoons at a time in a large fry-pan containing a couple of

tablespoons of butter or drippings. They spread out about the size of

a small saucer. Fry as many at a time as the pan will conveniently

hold without running together. Turn when browned lightly on one side,

and when the other side has cooked fold together and serve at once.

Garnish with parsley. These are very easily made for luncheon, and are

very nice served with fried chicken.

DEVILED EGGS

Boil half a dozen eggs until hard. Remove shells, cut in halves, mash

the yolks to a smooth paste with about 1/2 teaspoon mixed mustard, 1

teaspoon softened butter, pepper and salt to taste. Some like a small

quantity of cold boiled minced ham added. When ingredients are well

mixed, press enough of this mixture into the cup-shaped whites of eggs

to form a rounding top. Serve on a platter of parsley. To boil eggs

uniformly, they should be placed in a wire basket and plunged into

boiling water and boiled not longer than 15 to 20 minutes from time

water commences to boil, then pour cold water over and shell them.

EGGS IN CREAM SAUCE

Four eggs, boiled hard, cut in halves lengthwise, then across, each

egg cut in four pieces. A cream sauce was made using 1/2 cups sweet

milk, 1-1/2 tablespoons flour, 1 generous tablespoon of butter,

seasoned with salt. After letting milk come to a boil and adding flour

mixed smoothly with a little cold milk or water, add butter and cook

until a thick creamy consistency, then add the quartered eggs to

sauce. Stand a few minutes until heated through. Pour the creamed eggs

over four or five slices of nicely-toasted bread. Sprinkle a little

finely-chopped parsley and a pinch of pepper over top and serve at

once. This is a delicious and quickly prepared luncheon dish.

A very wholesome and digestible way to prepare an egg is to put yolk

and white of a fresh egg together in a bowl, beat lightly, pour over

the egg a pint of rich milk, which has been heated to the boiling

point. Add a pinch of salt. Stir constantly while slowly adding the

milk. The hot milk should slightly cook the egg. Eat slowly with

crackers or toasted bread.

AUNT SARAH'S METHOD OF PRESERVING EGGS WITH LIQUID WATER GLASS

Aunt Sarah for many years preserved eggs in water glass, or soluble

glass, also known as "Sodium Silicate," a thick liquid about the

consistency of molasses. It is not expensive and may easily be

procured at any drug store. She used the water glass in the proportion

of 10 quarts of water to one pint of the water glass. The water glass,

although in liquid form, is usually sold by the pound, and 1-1/2

pounds equals one pint. The water should always he boiled and allowed

to cool before combining with the water glass.

She was particular to use none but perfectly clean, fresh eggs. She

placed the eggs, narrow end down, in an earthenware crock which had

been well scalded and cooled. When the water glass had been thoroughly

mixed through the water she poured the mixture over the eggs in the

crock.

A stronger solution might be used to preserve the eggs, but Aunt Sarah

declared she used eggs for baking cake which were good at the

expiration of a year, which had been preserved in a mixture of 10

quarts of water to a pint of water glass, and she considered this

proportion perfectly reliable. So I do not see the need of using a

large quantity of the water glass, although many recipes call for a

mixture of one pint of water glass to only 8 quarts of water.

Fresh eggs may be added daily until the crock is filled, having the

mixture at least one inch above the last layer of eggs. It is best not

to wash the eggs before packing, as this removes the natural

mucilaginous coating on the outside of the shell. Place clean, fresh

eggs carefully into the crock containing the water glass and water,

with a long-handled spoon to avoid cracking the shell. Stand the crock

containing eggs in a cool place, cover with a cloth tied over top of

crock, avoiding frequent change of temperature; they should keep one

year. The water glass solution may become cloudy, and resemble a

soft-soap mixture, but this is a natural condition and does not affect

the eggs.

April is considered the best month for packing eggs. Infertile eggs

are to be preferred to others. Carefully remove the eggs from the

water glass mixture with a long-handled spoon when wanted to use, as

the shells are sometimes not quite as hard as when placed in the

crock. The eggs may be used for cooking, baking, in fact, for any

purpose except soft-boiled but should you wish to boil them, a tiny

puncture should be made in the shell of these eggs before boiling.

Ten quarts of water to one pint of water glass will cover about 12 or

13 dozen eggs.

TO TEST FRESH EGGS.

Place an egg in a tumbler, fill tumbler with cold water. If eggs are

fresh they will remain in the bottom of tumbler. If not strictly fresh

the egg will float on the top, or near the top of tumbler of water.

SALADS--AUNT SARAH'S SALAD DRESSING

For this she used 1 pint of sour cream, 1-1/2 tablespoonfuls of flour,

1-1/2 tablespoonfuls of mustard (pulverized dry mustard), 3 eggs, 1/4

cup butter (or 1/4 cup of olive oil may be used instead, if liked),

1/2 cup good sour vinegar, 1/2 teaspoonful of black pepper and a pinch

of red pepper (cayenne), salt to taste, 1/2 teaspoonful of sugar.

Place in a bowl the 1-1/2 tablespoonfuls of flour with the same

quantity of mustard; mix smoothly with a little of the sour cream.

Then add the eggs, beaten in one at a time, or use, instead, the yolks

of five eggs. When using the whites for angel cake or any white cake

Aunt Sarah usually made salad dressing from the remaining yolks of

eggs. Add the sour cream and vinegar, salt and pepper. Mix all well

together and strain through a fine sieve and cook in a double boiler

over hot water until a creamy consistency. Pour in glass jars. This

dressing will keep well on ice or in a cool place for two weeks. If

too thick, thin with a little vinegar, water or milk when using it.

About 3/4 of a cup of this dressing was used for mixing with 1 cup of

the meat of cold, cooked chicken in making chicken salad. The white

meat of chicken was cut in dice and 3/4 cup of celery was also cut in

small pieces, a couple of hard boiled eggs, cut in dice, were added

and the whole was carefully mixed with the salad dressing. Cold boiled

veal or pork may be used instead of chicken for salad. Potato salad

was sometimes prepared by using a small quantity of this dressing,

adding, also, minced onion, parsley and celery. Hot slaw was prepared

by heating a couple of tablespoonfuls of the salad dressing and mixing

with shredded cabbage. Or use as a dressing for lettuce when not

served "Au Natural" with olive oil and vinegar at the table.

Should very _thick_, sour cream be used in making "Aunt Sarah's salad

dressing," use a mixture of sour cream and sweet milk, instead of all

sour cream.

"DUTCH" CUCUMBER SALAD

Thinly slice one large green cucumber and one medium-sized onion (if

liked). Sprinkle over about one teaspoonful of salt. Allow to stand a

short time, then place in a piece of cheese-cloth and squeeze out all

the moisture possible. Place cucumbers, when drained, in the dish in

which they are to be served, add a couple tablespoonfuls of sour

vinegar, mix well. Then pour over enough thick sour cream to half

cover and a dust of pepper. Cucumbers are considered less unwholesome,

prepared in this manner.

CARROT SALAD

Aunt Sarah pared and cut 1-1/2 cups of uncooked carrots in thin

strips, not much larger than common match sticks, and cooked in salted

water until tender. When drained, pour over them a couple of

tablespoonfuls of vinegar. Allowed to stand until cold. When ready to

prepare the salad she drained off vinegar remaining. Lined a salad

bowl with lettuce leaves or parsley, placed inside this a border of

halved or sliced cold hard-boiled eggs; mixed the carrots lightly with

salad dressing, placed them in the centre of the bowl and served ice

cold. This is a particularly delicious, as well as an appetizing

looking, salad. I have never eaten this elsewhere than at Aunt Sarah's

home.

"AN OLD RECIPE" FOR CHICKEN SALAD

Two dressed chickens were cooked tender. When cold, meat was removed

from bones and cut in dice (not too fine). Cut half the amount of

celery you have of meat into small pieces.

Dressing for salad was composed of the following: Three well-beaten

yolks of eggs. Pour over these 1 pint of boiling hot cider vinegar,

stand on back of range to thicken. Place in a bowl 3 freshly boiled

and finely mashed white potatoes, add 1 tablespoonful of dry mustard,

6 teaspoonfuls of olive oil, 1 tablespoonful of salt, 1 tablespoonful

of pepper. Mix all well together, then add the thickened vinegar. Beat

together until creamy and stand aside until chilled.

Drop the three whites of eggs in hot water, remove when cooked, chop

fine and when cold add to the chicken meat and celery.

Pour the dressing over all the ingredients, stir lightly with a fork

and stand in a cold place until chilled before serving.

GERMAN POTATO SALAD

Boil one dozen small potatoes without paring. Remove the skin and cut

potatoes size of dice, also a small onion, finely minced. Put small

pieces of bacon in a pan and fry brown and crisp. Add a large

tablespoonful of vinegar and a pinch of salt. Pour the hot bacon fat

and vinegar over the diced potatoes, toss them up lightly with a fork

and serve hot.

GERMAN TURNIP SALAD

This is the manner in which Aunt Sarah made turnip salad: She pared

and sliced thin on a slaw cutter 5 large, solid turnips, put them in a

stew-pan which she placed on the range, adding about 1/4 cup hot

water, 1 teaspoonful of butter and 1/4 teaspoonful of sugar (no more).

She covered the stew-pan closely and steamed about half an hour until

the turnips were tender. Then mixed together 1 teaspoonful of flour

with 1 tablespoonful of vinegar and yolk of one egg. This was poured

over the stewed turnips, just allowed to come to a boil, then removed

from the fire. Add a little salt and serve hot.

GERMAN SALAD DRESSING

For dandelion, watercress, endive or lettuce, a dressing was made

thus: The leaves of vegetables used for salad, after being carefully

rinsed and looked over, were cut fine, and the following dressing

poured over hot and served at once.

A small quantity of bacon was finely minced and fried crisp. To about

2 tablespoonfuls of bacon and fat after being fried, 3 tablespoonfuls

of vinegar and 1 of sour cream, were added pepper and salt and a very

little flour mixed with cold water, to make it the consistency of

cream. The yolk of one raw egg may be added to the dressing if liked.

An easier way for the busy housewife to do is to simply add a couple

of tablespoonfuls of Aunt Sarah's Salad Dressing, add also a small

quantity of water, flour and fried, diced bacon; serve hot at once.

MARY'S POTATO SALAD

A bowl of cold, boiled, diced or thinly-sliced potatoes, three hard

boiled eggs, also diced, and about half the quantity of celery chopped

in half-inch pieces, and a little minced onion, just enough to give a

suspicion of its presence. She mixed all together lightly with a

silver fork and mixed through some of the following salad dressing,

which is fine for anything requiring a cold salad dressing.

MARY'S SALAD DRESSING

One tablespoonful of flour, 1 tablespoonful of mustard, 2 cups of

sweet or sour cream, 1 tablespoonful of sugar, 1/2 cup of good sharp

vinegar, yolks of four eggs, small teaspoonful of salt. Omit sugar

when using the dressing for potato or chicken salad. This salad

dressing may also be used for lettuce.

"FRUIT" SALAD DRESSING

Three tablespoonfuls of olive oil to 1-1/2 tablespoonfuls of vinegar.

Season with salt and pepper. Use this quantity for 1 pint of salad.

GRAPE FRUIT SALAD

Cut the pulp from one grape fruit into small pieces, add an equal

amount of chopped apples, a few English walnuts chopped coarsely.

Serve on lettuce leaves with fruit salad dressing. This recipe was

given Mary by a friend who knew her liking for olive oil.

Grape fruit is delicious, served cut in halves with the addition to

each half; of a couple tablespoonfuls of pineapple juice, a

tablespoonful of orange juice or tiny pieces of orange pulp, topped

with a marachino cherry. A small quantity of sugar should have been

added. The sections of grape fruit should each have been cut loose

from the white skin inclosing pulp with a small knife or scissors.

A GOOD, INEXPENSIVE SALAD DRESSING

1 tablespoonful flour.

1 tablespoonful butter.

1 tablespoonful mustard.

1/2 tablespoonful sugar.

1 teaspoonful salt.

1 egg.

3/4 cup milk.

3/4 cup vinegar.

Use a double boiler, put in it the first five articles, stir together

until smooth; add the well-beaten egg and the milk. Let cook, stirring

hard. Then add vinegar, and beat all with an egg-beater until the

mixture is smooth and creamy. Let cool before using.

Aunt Sarah frequently used this salad dressing over sliced, cold, hard

boiled eggs when other salad materials were not plentiful. Serve on

lettuce leaves.

IMITATION LOBSTER SALAD

A bowl was lined with crisp lettuce leaves, over this was spread a

layer of cold boiled potatoes, cut in dice, a little finely minced

onion, a layer of chopped celery, another layer of diced potatoes,

then a layer of sliced tomatoes and one hard boiled egg, thinly

sliced. Pour a good salad dressing over and serve ice cold.

"GERMAN" HORSERADISH SAUCE

A sauce to serve with boiled meat was prepared by Aunt Sarah in the

following manner: She put half a cup of milk in a stew-pan, let come

to a boil, added one large tablespoonful of cracker crumbs, 1 large

teaspoonful of butter, 2 large tablespoonfuls of freshly grated

horseradish, seasoned with pepper and salt. Also a pinch of salt,

sugar and pepper added to grated horseradish, then thinned with

vinegar, is an excellent accompaniment to cold meat.

MAYONNAISE DRESSING IN WHICH OLIVE OIL IS USED

Before making this dressing for salads, Mary placed a large soup plate

or a shallow bowl in the refrigerator, also a bottle of olive oil and

two egg yolks. All should be quite cold. Put the yolks on the cold

plate, add 1/4 teaspoonful of salt, the same of mustard. Mix well and

then, with a fork, stir or blend the olive oil into it drop by drop.

After about 1/2 cup of oil has been blended in, add lemon juice, a

drop or two at a time. Then more oil, and when it becomes very thick

add more lemon juice. A pint or even more oil may, with care, be

blended into two yolks. Care must be taken not to mix oil in too fast,

or the egg and oil will separate, making a mixture resembling curdled

custard. If this should happen, take another plate, another egg yolk,

and begin over again, blending a drop or two at a time in the curdled

mixture. Then add more oil and lemon juice as before.

MUSTARD DRESSING TO SERVE WITH SLICED TOMATOES

Two tablespoonfuls mustard, 1 tablespoonful of sugar, 1/2 cup cream, 1

tablespoon salt, yolks of two eggs and 1/2 cup of vinegar. Beat all

well together, first mixing the mustard until smooth with a small

quantity of cream, then add the other ingredients. (Mary used only 1

tablespoonful of mustard, and substituted 1 tablespoonful of flour

instead of the second tablespoonful of mustard and thought it improved

the dressing.) This mustard dressing may also be served at table, to

be eaten with lettuce.

CHICKEN SALAD

The meat of one boiled chicken cut in small pieces, three-fourths as

much celery, also cut in small pieces. Three hard boiled eggs cut in

dice. Take 2 teaspoonfuls salt, 2 teaspoonfuls pepper, 4 teaspoonfuls

mustard, 1 cup of sweet cream and 1 raw egg. Use vinegar to thin the

mustard. Beat the raw egg, add to cream, egg and butter (mash yolks of

hard boiled eggs and butter together). Mix all the ingredients

together and cook until it thickens (all except chicken meat, celery

and hard boiled whites of eggs, which should be placed in a large bowl

after cutting in small pieces). The salad dressing should he put in

another bowl and stood on ice until cold, then mix the salad dressing

carefully through the chicken meat, celery, etc., one hour before

using. Cover with a plate until ready to serve. Or "Aunt Sarah's Salad

Dressing" could be used over the chicken, celery, etc. This is a very

old but an excellent recipe used by Aunt Sarah's mother for many

years.

PEPPER HASH

Chop fine with a knife, but do not shred with a slaw cutter, 1 pint of

finely chopped cabbage, adding 1 teaspoonful of salt, 2 teaspoonfuls

of sugar, 1 teaspoonful of whole mustard seed, 1/2 a chopped red,

sweet pepper, a pinch of red cayenne pepper and 1/2 pint of vinegar.

Mix all well together and serve with fried oysters, oyster stew and

deviled oysters.

This "pepper hash" is delicious if a couple tablespoonfuls of thick

cream be added just before serving.

Should very sour cider vinegar be used in this recipe, the housewife

will, of course, dilute it with water.

GERMAN BEAN SALAD

Use small green or yellow string-beans, which snap when broken, called

by some "snap beans." String them carefully. (If quite small and

tender this should not be necessary.) Rub well with the hands through

several waters. This removes the strong bean taste. Have your kettle

half filled with boiling water on the range over a brisk fire. Put a

tablespoon of butter in the water, add beans by handfuls until all are

in and cook until tender. Turn the beans in a colander to drain. When

cool add a chopped onion, salt and pour enough good vinegar over to

cover, and allow to stand two days, when strain vinegar from beans.

Boil vinegar, add water if vinegar is quite sour and pour hot over

the beans. Fill quart glass jars with the beans and pour vinegar over,

within an inch of top of jar; pour pure olive oil over top of beans,

screw on jar covers tightly and stand in a cool place until wanted to

use. In the winter, when fresh salads were scarce, Aunt Sarah opened a

can of these beans. If they were very sour she poured cold water over,

allowed to stand an hour, drained and added a little fresh olive oil.

Every one called her "bean salat," as the Pennsylvania Germans call

it, delicious. The instructions regarding the preparing and cooking of

string beans for salad will answer for beans used as a vegetable,

omitting vinegar, of course. There is a great difference in the manner

of cooking vegetables. Aunt Sarah always added an onion and a sprig of

parsley when cooking beans to serve as a vegetable.

MEAT SALADS

To quote from the _Farmers' Bulletin_: "Whether meat salads are

economical or not depends upon the way in which the materials are

utilized. If in chicken salad, for example, only the white meat of

chicken, especially bought for the purpose, and only the expensive

inside stems of expensive celery are used, it can hardly be cheaper

than plain chicken. But, if portions of meat left over from a previous

serving are mixed with celery grown at home, they certainly make an

economical dish, and one very acceptable to most persons. Cold roast

pork or tender veal, in fact, any white meat, can be utilized in the

same way. Apples cut into cubes may be substituted for part of the

celery. Many cooks consider that with the apple the salad takes the

dressing better than with the celery alone. Many also prefer to

marinate (_i.e._, mix with a little oil and vinegar) the meat and

celery or celery and apples before putting on the final dressing,

which may be either mayonnaise or a good boiled dressing."

Celery should not be allowed to stand in water. To keep fresh until

used it should be wrapped in a piece of damp cheese-cloth and placed

in an ice box or cool cellar.

Lettuce should be broken apart, carefully rinsed, and put loosely in a

piece of damp cheese-cloth and placed on ice to crisp before using.

BEVERAGES--COFFEE

Scald coffee pot well before using (never use metal). Place in it five

tablespoons ground coffee. (A good coffee is made from a mixture of

two-thirds Java to one-third Mocha.) Beat up with the ground coffee

one whole egg. Should the housewife deem this extravagant, use only

the white of one egg, or peel off the white skin lining inside of egg

shells and use. Add three tablespoons cold water and mix well

together. Stand on range to heat; when hot add one quart of

_freshly-boiled_ hot water. Allow coffee to boil to top of coffee pot

three times (about eight minutes), pour over one tablespoon cold water

to settle. Stand a few minutes where it will keep hot, not boil. Place

a generous tablespoon of sweet thick cream in each cup and pour coffee

through a strainer over it. Always serve hot.

A larger or smaller amount of coffee may be used, as different brands

of coffee vary in strength and individual tastes differ, but five

tablespoons of coffee, not too coarsely ground and not pulverized, to

one quart of water, will be the correct proportions for good coffee.

Use cream and you will have a delicious, rich, brown beverage not

possible when milk is used. Better coffee may be made if whole grains

of roasted coffee be bought, reheated in oven and freshly ground

whenever used, rather finely ground but not pulverized. Coffee, when

ground for any length of time, loses strength. If coffee is ground

when purchased, always keep it in closely covered cans until used. Or

buy green coffee berries and roast them in oven; when coffee has been

roasted, stir one whole raw egg through the coffee berries; when dry,

place in covered cans, then no egg will be needed when preparing

coffee. As a substitute for cream, use yolk of fresh egg mixed with a

couple tablespoonfuls of milk.

COCOA

Mix four tablespoonfuls of cocoa to a smooth paste with one cup of

boiling water. Add one more cup boiling water and boil fifteen or

twenty minutes. Add four tablespoonfuls of sugar, then add 4 cups of

hot boiled milk. A few drops of essence of vanilla improves the

flavor. Add a couple tablespoonfuls whipped cream on top of each cup

when serving, or, instead of cream, place a marshmallow in each cup

before pouring in cocoa. This quantity is for six cups of cocoa.

CHOCOLATE

One square of Baker's unsweetened chocolate shaved thinly or grated,

mixed to a smooth paste with 1 cup of boiling water. Boil from fifteen

to twenty minutes. Add 1 cup of boiling milk and 2 even tablespoonfuls

of sugar. Flavor with a few drops of vanilla, if liked, and add

whipped cream to each cup when serving. This is for 2 cups of

chocolate.

BOILED WATER

It sometimes becomes necessary to boil drinking water, which usually

has a flat, insipid taste. Do young housewives know it is said that

after water has been boiled and when quite cool if a bottle be half

filled and shaken well the water will become aerated, and have the

taste of fresh spring water?

TEA

To make tea always scald the teapot, which should be agate,

earthenware or china, never metal. Always use water that has been

_freshly_ boiled, and use it boiling hot. Never, under any

circumstances, boil tea, as tannin is then extracted from the leaves,

and the tea will have a bitter taste. Do not allow tea to stand any

length of time unless strained from tea leaves. Use one teaspoon of

tea for each cup, unless liked stronger, when add one extra teaspoon

to each three cups of tea. Some contend that tea is better, if at

first a small quantity of boiling water is poured over the leaves,

allowing it to steep three minutes--then pour over the remaining

quantity of boiling water and let stand about four minutes, when it is

ready to serve with cream and sugar, if liked. Should any tea remain

after serving do not throw away, but strain at once from tea leaves

and when cool place in a glass jar in refrigerator to be used as iced

tea.

ICED TEA

For two quarts of delicious iced tea, place in an agate teapot one

generous tablespoon of good tea (never buy a cheap, inferior grade of

tea). Pour over the tea leaves one quart of freshly boiled, scalding

hot water; let stand five minutes, keep hot (not boil), strain from

the leaves into a pitcher, then pour over the tea leaves another quart

of hot water, allow it to stand a few minutes, then strain as before.

Add the juice of one lemon and sugar to taste. When cooled stand on

ice and add chipped ice to tumblers when serving.

PUDDINGS

To boil a pudding in a bag, dip the bag, which should be made of thick

cotton or linen, in hot water, dredge the inside well with flour

before putting batter into the bag. When the pudding has boiled a long

enough time, dip the bag quickly in cold water, and the pudding will

turn out easily. Allow five large eggs to 1 quart of milk usually to

make custard solid enough to keep its shape when turned from the mold.

One teaspoonful of extract will flavor one quart. Always stand

individual cups in a pan partly filled with hot water. Place pan

containing custard cups in a moderate oven and bake slowly forty

minutes. Always sift flour over beef suet when chopping it to be used

in puddings. Pour boiling water over Pecans (nuts), allow to stand

several hours. When cracked, the shell may be easily removed, leaving

the nuts whole.

Blanch almonds by pouring boiling water over them. Allow them to stand

a short time, when the brown skin may be easily removed. Dry

thoroughly by standing in a rather cool oven, then put in glass jars

and they are ready to use. Almonds are used particularly by the

Germans in various ways. One hausfrau adds chopped almonds to cooked

oatmeal for her children's breakfast and they are frequently used as

an ingredient; also to decorate the tops of raised cakes. When dried

currants and raisins are bought by the frugal housewife they are

quickly washed in cold water, carefully picked over, then turned on to

a sieve to drain. Raisins are seeded, then spread over pans, placed in

a warm oven about 15 minutes, then spread on a plate and allowed to

stand in a dry place for several days. When thoroughly dried place in

glass jars and stand aside until required. Currants or raisins should

always be well floured before adding to cake or pudding. The "German

hausfrau" usually serves stewed prunes or raisins with a dish of

noodles or macaroni.

RICE PUDDING

One of the simplest and cheapest of desserts depends partly on the

quality of the ingredients used, but chiefly on the manner of making

for its excellence. If prepared according to directions, you will have

a pudding both rich and creamy. Use 1 quart of good sweet milk (do not

use either skimmed milk or water), 3 tablespoonfuls of whole uncoated

rice (no more), 2-1/2 tablespoonfuls of sugar, pinch of salt, vanilla

or almond flavoring.

Wash the rice well, mix all together in a pudding dish, bake from

2-1/2 to 3 hours in an oven with a slow, even heat. When a skin forms

on the top of the pudding, carefully stir through the rice. Do this

frequently. This gives the pudding a rich, creamy consistency. When

grains of rice are tender allow pudding to brown over top and serve

either hot or cold. Raisins may be added, if liked, or raisins may be

stewed separately and served with the rice, which many think a great

improvement to the pudding. Many think rice pudding should always be

flavored with grated nutmeg. Aunt Sarah, while using nutmeg flavoring

in various other dishes, never used it for her rice pudding.

When mixing a boiled pudding Aunt Sarah frequently substituted a large

tablespoon of fine dried bread crumbs instead of the same amount of

flour. She said, "'Twas a small economy," and, she thought, "the

pudding's improved" by the use of bread crumbs.

FRAU SCHMIDT'S APPLE DUMPLINGS

Prepare a syrup of 1 cup sugar, 2 cups of hot water and 1 tablespoon

of butter. Pour all into an agate pudding dish. Add to this syrup 2

heaping cups of pared, sliced sour apples.

Let all come to a boil. For the dumplings, sift together one cup of

flour and two even teaspoons of baking powder. Add a pinch of salt.

Mix into a soft dough or batter with about 3/4 cup of sweet milk or

cream. Drop six or eight spoonfuls of this batter into the boiling

syrup on top of apples. Cover closely and cook on top of range twenty

minutes without uncovering. Serve hot. These dumplings should be light

as puff balls. Peaches may be substituted for apples and are

delicious.

CARAMEL CUSTARD (AS MARY PREPARED IT)

1 pint of milk.

2 eggs.

1/2 cup granulated sugar.

Melt 1/2 cup of sugar in an iron pan on stove and allow it to brown.

Add a part of the hot milk, stirring constantly until brown sugar is

dissolved. Add balance of the pint of hot milk. Stir all together,

then stand aside to cool. When cold, add eggs and bake in oven in

custard cups. Stand cups in hot water while baking.

AUNT SARAH'S BREAD PUDDING

Pour 1 quart of boiling milk over 1-1/2 pints of soft bread crumbs.

Put the mixture into a buttered pudding dish with 1 teaspoonful salt.

Cover closely with a plate and let stand about half an hour. At the

end of that time beat into it three eggs, 1 teaspoonful lemon extract,

and beat until perfectly smooth. Bake in a moderately hot oven

three-quarters of an hour. Serve with the following sauce: 6

tablespoonfuls pulverized sugar, 2 tablespoonfuls butter, 1

tablespoonful lemon juice. Beat all together to a cream; when it is

ready to serve. No sugar is needed in this pudding if this sweet sauce

is used.

STEAMED BREAD PUDDING

Place 1 cup of fine dried bread crumbs in a bowl. Pour over the crumbs

2 cups of milk and allow to stand a short time. Beat together 2 eggs

and scant 1/2 cup sugar, add 1 tablespoon of butter. Mix all the

ingredients together thoroughly; then add 1/2 cup of chopped raisins,

which have been seeded and floured. Pour the batter in the

well-buttered top part of a double boiler over hot water. Steam about

2-1/2 to 3 hours. Serve hot with sauce used for cottage pudding, or

serve with sugar and cream.

AN ECONOMICAL BREAD AND APPLE PUDDING

Into a well-buttered pudding dish put a layer of sliced sour apples.

On the top of these a layer of stale bread crumbs with small bits of

butter and sugar sprinkled over them, more sliced apples and bread

crumbs, having the crumbs for the top layer. To about three apples use

1 cup of bread crumbs, 1/2 cup sugar, piece of butter size of walnut

and bake in oven until apples are tender. Serve with cream.

CUP CUSTARDS

1 quart of sweet milk.

5 large eggs.

3 tablespoons sugar.

Grated nutmeg or vanilla flavoring.

Scald milk. Beat whites of eggs separately. Add milk when cooled to

the beaten yolks. Add sugar and flavoring. Stir in stiffly beaten

whites of eggs, pour into custard cups, stand them in a dripping pan

half filled with boiling water. Stand the pan in a moderate oven about

twenty minutes, or until custard is "set." This quantity fills about

eight small custard cups. The water surrounding the custard cups

should not be allowed to boil, but the custard should cook slowly.

Grate nutmeg thickly over top of each custard before placing in the

oven. Scalding the milk before using improves the custard.

FRAU SCHMIDT'S GRAHAM PUDDING

Sift into a bowl 1/4 cup of pastry flour and 1 teaspoonful of baking

powder. Add 1 cup Graham flour, pinch of salt and 1/2 cup granulated

sugar. Mix all thoroughly, then add 1/2 cup of finely chopped kidney

suet. Add 1 cup of seedless raisins mixed with one extra tablespoonful

of white flour. Mix into a batter with 1 cup of sweet milk, to which

add yolk of one egg. Lastly, add the stiffly beaten white of egg.

Flavor with either a little grated nutmeg or essence of vanilla.

Make a strong, unbleached muslin bag 7 by 12 inches. Pour the batter

into the bag, which had been previously dipped in cold water, the

inside of the bag sifted over with flour, and tie bag at top with a

string, allowing room for the pudding to swell. Place the bag in the

perforated compartment of a steamer, over boiling water, and boil

continuously 1-1/2 hours, or longer, without removing lid of steamer

oftener than absolutely necessary.

Serve Graham Pudding hot with sauce used for "cottage pudding," or

serve simply with sugar and cream, or a sauce may be served composed

of 1/2 cup of pulverized sugar, creamed with 1/4 cup of butter. Add 1

tablespoonful of lemon juice or flavor with vanilla. Stand sauce in a

cool place a short time and serve cold on hot pudding.

SPONGE BREAD PUDDING

Place 1-3/4 cups of soft stale (either white or graham) bread crumbs

in a pudding dish. Pour 2 cups of hot milk over the crumbs, cover with

a plate and allow it to stand about thirty minutes, then add yolks of

2 eggs, 1/2 teaspoonful of salt, 1 tablespoonful of sugar and grated

yellow rind of orange or lemon for flavoring. Beat the mixture until

perfectly smooth, add the stiffly beaten whites of two eggs. Bake in a

moderately hot oven. Serve hot with the following sauce:

SAUCE.

Three large tablespoonfuls of pulverized sugar and 1 tablespoonful of

butter were beaten together until smooth and creamy, 1 teaspoonful of

lemon juice was added. The sauce, when quite cold, was served with the

warm pudding.

AUNT SARAH'S COTTAGE PUDDING

Cream together 1 cup of sugar, 2 tablespoonfuls of butter, 1 egg,

white beaten separately, and added last, 1 cup of sweet milk, pinch of

salt, 2 cups of flour, sifted with 2 heaping teaspoonfuls of Royal

baking powder, 1/2 cup of dried currants, well floured. Add stiffly

beaten white of egg. Bake in a small oblong bread pan.

SAUCE.

One cup of milk, 1/2 cup of water, 1 large teaspoonful of butter, a

scant tablespoonful of flour moistened with a small quantity of water,

before adding. Sweeten to taste, add 1/2 teaspoonful of grated nutmeg.

Cook all together a few minutes, allow the mixture to partly cool,

then stir in the yolk of one egg; stand on stove to heat, but not to

cook. Serve hot over freshly baked, warm cottage pudding, cut in

squares.

APPLE "STRUDEL"

Aunt Sarah pared and quartered six medium-sized tart apples, placed in

the bottom of an agate pudding dish, poured over them one cup of hot

water and 2 tablespoonfuls of sugar. She allowed this to stand on the

range and cook while she mixed the following dough.

Into a bowl she sifted 1 pint of flour with 2 teaspoons baking powder,

one teaspoonful of sugar, a little salt. Cut 1 tablespoonful of butter

through the flour. Lightly mixed all together into a soft dough with

about 3/4 cup sweet milk. Should she have a left-over yolk of egg,

that was added to the milk. She rolled dough out lightly on the bread

board, cut vents in the crust to allow steam to escape and spread it

over the top of the dish containing the hot apples; placed in a hot

oven to bake until light brown on top. Serve with sugar and cream.

Aunt Sarah called this "Apple Strudel," but the German recipe for

"Apple Strudel," handed down by her Grandmother, was quite different.

An ordinary noodle dough was made, placed on a clean cloth on the

table and rolled as thin as tissue paper. Small bits of butter were

scattered over this, covered with tart apples, thinly sliced,

sprinkled with cinnamon, sugar and chopped raisins, rolled up and

baked in the oven until brown on top, basting frequently with a thin

syrup composed of sugar, butter and water.

"LEMON MERINGUE" PUDDING

1 pint of milk.

1/2 cup of sugar

1 cup bread crumbs.

Juice and grated rind of one lemon.

2 eggs.

1/3 cup of butter.

3 tablespoonfuls of pulverized sugar used for top. Soak the bread

crumbs in milk. Beat the butter and sugar together. Add yolks of eggs,

soaked bread crumbs and grated lemon rind and about 3/4 of the juice

of the lemon. Bake in a buttered pudding dish until firm, then cover

the pudding with a meringue composed of the stiffly beaten whites of

eggs, 3 tablespoonfuls of pulverized sugar and the remaining lemon

juice. Place in oven to brown. Stand on ice; serve cold.

SUET PUDDING

1 cup suet, chopped fine.

1 cup sugar.

1 cup sweet milk.

2 eggs.

1 teaspoonful cinnamon.

1 cup raisins.

1 cup currants.

3 cups flour sifted with 2 teaspoonfuls baking powder.

Steam 2-1/2 hours, then place in oven two or three minutes. This

quantity will partly fill three empty 1-pound baking powder cans;

allowing room to swell. These puddings are equally as good as when

freshly prepared if placed in a steamer a short time before serving

until heated through.

SAUCE FOR SUET PUDDING.

One cup of pulverized sugar and 1 large tablespoonful of butter

creamed together. One teaspoonful of vanilla. Add one whole egg or the

yolks of two eggs, or the whites of two eggs, whichever you happen to

have.

STEAMED FRUIT PUDDING

1 cup sweet milk.

1 cup chopped suet.

1 cup molasses.

1 cup raisins.

1 teaspoonful soda dissolved in a little water.

1 teaspoonful salt.

SAUCE FOR PUDDING.

A small quantity of cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, and a _very little_

clove. Flour to make a batter a little thicker than that of ordinary

cake. Steam about 3 hours. This pudding is also inexpensive and

equally as good as the former recipe.

Beat 1 egg very light, add 1 cup brown sugar, 1 teaspoonful vanilla.

Beat all together until creamy. Serve at once.

CORNMEAL PUDDING

Scald 1 quart of sweet milk. While hot stir in 3 tablespoonfuls of

cornmeal, 3 tablespoonfuls of flour mixed smooth with a little cold

milk. Add 1 tablespoonful of butter. Let cool. Then add to the mixture

1/2 cup sugar, 1/4 cup molasses, 1 well-beaten egg, 1/2 teaspoonful of

ginger, 1/2 teaspoonful cinnamon, 1/4 pint cold milk, a small pinch of

soda and 1/2 cup of floured, seeded raisins. Bake 2 hours in a

moderate oven. Serve with sugar and cream.

HUCKLEBERRY PUDDING

Two eggs and 1 small cup of granulated sugar creamed together. Four

tablespoonfuls of cold water. Add 1 cup of sifted flour containing 1

teaspoonful of baking powder, and 1 cup of huckleberries, pitted

cherries, or raisins and bake. Serve with milk or any sauce liked.

This recipe was given Mary by a friend, who called it her emergency

pudding, as it may be easily and quickly prepared from canned sour

cherries from which liquid has been drained, or any tart fruit, when

fresh fruit is not in season.

TAPIOCA CUSTARD

Four tablespoonfuls of pearl tapioca soaked in cold water over night.

The next morning drain the tapioca, boil 1 quart of sweet milk, beat

the yolks of 4 eggs light, stir them into the tapioca, adding 4

tablespoonfuls of sugar. Beat all together and gradually add the hot

milk. Return to the fire and stir until it commences to boil. Take

from the range and pour in a glass dish. Flavor with 1 teaspoonful of

vanilla. Whip the whites of the eggs to a standing froth and stir

into the cooling pudding When cold stand on ice until ready to serve.

One-half cup of shredded cocoanut may be added if liked.

DELICIOUS BAKED PEACH PUDDING

For the dough place in a bowl 1 pint of flour sifted with 2

teaspoonfuls of Royal baking powder and a pinch of salt. Cut through

this a scant 1/2 cup of butter. Mix this with sufficient sweet milk to

make a soft dough. Roll out dough half an inch thick, cut in strips

and in case whole, ripe, pared peaches, leaving top and bottom of the

peach exposed. Or solid canned peaches may be used. Put two halves of

peach together and place a strip of dough around the peach. Pinch

dough well together, place in a bake dish. Prepare a syrup of 2 cups

of sugar and 1 cup of water. Let come to a boil, pour around the

dumplings and bake a half hour in a moderately hot oven. These are

delicious. The recipe was given Mary by a friend who was an excellent

cook. From this dough may also be baked excellent biscuits.

CARAMEL CUSTARD

Place 1 pint of milk on the range in a double boiler. Melt half a cup

of sugar in an iron pan over the fire until a golden brown. When

melted add four tablespoonfuls of boiling water. Allow mixture to cook

one minute, then add it to the milk. Remove from the fire and add 1

teaspoonful of vanilla. When cool stir in 4 well-beaten eggs with 2

tablespoonfuls of sugar. Pour the mixture in a small pudding dish.

Stand in a pan of boiling water, place in oven to bake until a

jelly-like consistency. When cooled serve plain or with whipped cream.

"AUNT SARAH'S" RHUBARB PUDDING

Remove skin from stalks of rhubarb, wash and cut into half-inch pieces

a sufficient quantity to half fill a medium-sized agate or earthenware

pudding dish. Place in a stew-pan on range, cook slowly with a couple

tablespoons of sugar and a very small amount of water. Sift together

in a bowl 1 pint of flour, 1-1/2 teaspoons of baking powder and a

pinch of salt. With a knife cut through the flour 2 tablespoonfuls of

butter, moisten with one beaten egg and sufficient milk added to make

a soft dough or batter. Drop tablespoons of this thick batter over top

of dish containing hot stewed rhubarb. Place at once in a hot oven,

bake quickly until crust is a light brown. Serve on individual dishes,

placing over each a couple tablespoonfuls of the following sauce. The

combined flavor of rhubarb and vanilla is delicious.

VANILLA SAUCE FOR RHUBARB PUDDING.

Beat 1 egg very light, add 1 cup of light brown sugar and 1 teaspoon

of vanilla flavoring. Beat all together until foamy. Serve at once,

cold, on the hot pudding.

RICE CUSTARD

Add 1 cup of cold boiled rice to 2 cups of sweet milk, mix together

slowly. Add 1/4 cup sugar, the well-beaten yolks of 2 eggs, let all

cook together a few minutes. Remove custard from the fire and pour

over the stiffly-beaten whites of two eggs. Beat well with an

egg-beater. Place in a glass dish and serve cold.

MARY'S CUP PUDDING (FROM STALE BREAD)

One quart of finely _crumbled stale bread_ (not dried crumbs). Fill

buttered cups two-thirds full of crumbs and pour over the following

custard, composed of one pint of milk and three eggs. Allow to stand a

few minutes, then place the cups in a pan partly filled with hot

water, place the pan in a moderately hot oven and bake thirty minutes.

No sugar is required in this pudding if the following sweet sauce be

served with it:

SAUCE FOR PUDDING.

Mix one tablespoonful of cornstarch with a half cup of sugar. Pour

over one cup of boiling water, add one generous teaspoonful of butter.

Cook all together until clear, take from the fire and add one

well-beaten egg and one teaspoonful of vanilla. Serve hot.

"BUCKWHEAT MINUTE" PUDDING

Pour three cups of milk in a stew-pan, place on range and let come to

a boil. Then stir slowly into the boiling milk 1-1/4 cups of buckwheat

flour and 1/4 teaspoonful of salt. Keep stirring constantly until a

thick mush. Serve at once with sugar and cream. I have never eaten

this pudding anywhere except in "Bucks County." It is cheap, quickly

and easily prepared and well liked by many country folk in Bucks

County.

PEACH TAPIOCA

One cup of tapioca soaked in 1 quart of cold water several hours.

Place in stew-pan, set on stove and cook until clear. Add sugar to

taste and 1 pint can of peaches. Boil two or three minutes, remove

from range and pour into the dish in which it is to be served. Stand

aside to cool.

AUNT SARAH'S PLAIN BOILED PUDDING

One cup of beef suet chopped fine or run through a food-chopper, 1/2

cup sour milk, 1 egg, 1 teaspoonful soda, pinch of salt. 1/2 cup

sugar, 1 teaspoonful cinnamon, 1 cup raisins, seeded and floured.

Flour enough to make as stiff as ordinary cake batter. Boil or steam

in a muslin bag three hours. This is a very inexpensive and good

pudding. Dust a small quantity of flour over suet before chopping.

Serve with the following sauce:

PUDDING SAUCE.

One large tablespoonful of butter, 1 teacup water, 1/2 teacup milk,

scant tablespoonful of flour, grated nutmeg to flavor. Sweeten to

taste, add a pinch of salt. Cook and let cool. Beat up yolk of egg,

add to sauce, stand on back of stove to heat, not cook. Serve hot over

the pudding.

APPLE TAPIOCA

Pour 1 pint of cold water over 1/2 cup tapioca. Allow to stand until

the following morning, when cook until clean. Slice 6 tart apples.

Place in bottom of pudding dish, strew sugar over, then pour over the

tapioca; place over this a layer of thinly sliced apples over which

dust sugar. Place in oven and bake until the apples are cooked. Serve

with sugar and cream. Several thin slices of lemon added before baking

impart a fine flavor.

STEAMED WALNUT PUDDING

Place in a bowl 1/2 cup butter and 1 cup of granulated sugar. Beat to

a cream. Add yolks of 2 eggs and 1/2 cup of syrup molasses or maple

syrup, in which had been dissolved 1 teaspoonful baking soda. Then add

1 cup sweet milk, alternately, with about 3-1/2 cups flour, 1/2 cup of

walnut meats, run through food-chopper or crushed with rolling pin,

3/4 cup of seeded raisins, 1/2 teaspoonful ground cinnamon, 1/2

teaspoonful grated nutmeg, 1/4 teaspoonful ground cloves, a pinch of

salt and the stiffly beaten whites of the two eggs.

The batter should be placed in two empty one-pound tin coffee cans,

about two-thirds full, covered tightly with lid and placed in a pot of

boiling water which should be kept boiling constantly for three hours;

when steamed the pudding should almost fill the cans. If the cans were

well buttered and flour sifted over, the pudding when steamed may be

easily removed to a platter. Slice and serve hot with the following

sauce:

Beat one cup of pulverized sugar to a cream with 2 heaping

tablespoonfuls of butter. Add white of one egg (unbeaten). Beat all

together until creamy. Add 3/4 of a teaspoonful of lemon extract and

stand sauce in a cold place or on ice one hour before serving on

slices of hot pudding. This is a delicious pudding.

"CORNMEAL SPONGE" PUDDING

Crumble cold corn muffins, or corn cake, a quantity sufficient to fill

two cups. Soak in 1 quart of sweet milk three or four hours, then add

3 well-beaten eggs, 3 tablespoonfuls of sugar and a pinch of salt.

Beat all well together. Place in a pan and bake 1 hour in a moderately

hot oven. Serve hot with whipped cream and sugar or with a sauce made

by beating to a cream a heaping tablespoonful of butter, 1 cup of

granulated sugar, 1 egg and a very little vanilla flavoring.

MARY'S CORN STARCH PUDDING

1-1/2 quarts of milk.

5 eggs.

2 heaping tablespoonfuls of corn starch.

1 scant cup of sugar.

1 teaspoonful of vanilla.

Pour milk in a double boiler and place on range to cook. Moisten

cornstarch with a little cold milk and add to remainder of the milk

when boiling hot. Stir thoroughly, then beat yolk of eggs and sugar

until light, stir in stiffly beaten whites and when all are mixed stir

into the scalding milk. Let come to a boil again and add vanilla or

almond flavoring. Pour into individual molds to cool. Serve cold with

a spoonful of jelly or preserved strawberry with each serving.

APPLE JOHNNY CAKE (SERVED AS A PUDDING)

This is a good, cheap, wholesome pudding.

1 cup corn meal.

2 tablespoonfuls of sugar.

1 teaspoonful of soda.

1 tablespoonful of melted butter.

1/4 teaspoonful of salt.

2/3 cup flour.

1 cup sour milk.

Mix batter together as you would for cake, then add 4 pared, thinly

sliced, tart apples to the batter. Stir all together. Bake in a quick

oven in a bread pan and serve hot with cold cream and sugar. Raisins

may be substituted for apples if preferred.

A GOOD AND CHEAP "TAPIOCA PUDDING"

Soak over night in cold water 3 even tablespoonfuls of pearl tapioca.

In the morning add tapioca to one quart of milk, 3 tablespoonfuls of

sugar, a pinch of salt. Grate nutmeg over top. Bake in a moderate oven

about three hours, stirring occasionally.

"GOTTERSPEISE"

Partly fill an earthenware pudding dish with pieces of sponge cake or

small cakes called "Lady Fingers;" cut up with them a few macaroons.

Place one pint of wine over fire to heat, add to the wine the

following mixture, composed of 1 spoonful of cornstarch mixed smooth

with a little water, 3 yolks of eggs and 3 spoonfuls of sugar. Mix all

together and stir until thickened. Pour the thickened mixture over the

cake. When cooled cover with the stiffly-beaten whites of the 3 eggs,

spread sliced almonds thickly over top and brown in oven a few

minutes. Serve cold.

SPANISH CREAM

Half a box of Knox gelatine, 1 quart of milk, 4 eggs. Put gelatine in

milk, let stand 1 hour to dissolve. Set over fire to boil, then add

beaten yolks of eggs with 1 cup granulated sugar. Remove from fire

while adding this. Stir well. Return to range and let boil. Stand

aside to cool. Beat whites of eggs to a froth and beat into custard

when cooled. Pour into a glass dish in which it is to be served. Stand

in a cold place and serve with cream.

GRAHAM PUDDING

One cup of molasses, 1 egg, 1 cup sweet milk, 1/2 teaspoonful soda, 1

teaspoonful of salt, 1 tablespoonful brown sugar, 1 cup raisins, 2-1/2

cups Graham flour. Mix all ingredients together. Steam three hours.

"PENNSYLVANIA" PLUM PUDDING (FOR THANKSGIVING DAY)

One cup milk, 2 eggs, 1 cup molasses, 1/2 teaspoonful nutmeg, 1/2

teaspoonful salt, 2 teaspoonfuls baking powder, 1 cup bread crumbs,

1/2 cup corn meal, 1 cup chopped beef suet, 1/4 cup finely minced

citron, 1 cup seeded raisins, 1/2 cup currants. Flour to make a stiff

batter. Steam fully three hours, turn from the mold, strew chopped

almonds over top. Serve pudding hot with sauce for which recipe is

given.

Aunt Sarah invariably served this pudding on Thanksgiving Day, and all

preferred it to old-fashioned "English Plum Pudding."

SAUCE FOR PUDDING.

Cream together 1 cup of pulverized sugar, scant 1/2 cup of butter,

beat whites of 2 eggs in, one at a time, and one teaspoonful of lemon

flavoring; stand on ice a short time before serving. Serve sauce very

cold.

"SLICE" BREAD PUDDING

Line the sides of a pudding dish holding two quarts with seven slices

of stale bread from which crust had been removed. Beat together 3

eggs, 3 tablespoonfuls of sugar and 3 cups of sweet milk (and add the

juice and grated rind of one lemon, or half a grated nutmeg). Pour in

the centre of pudding dish. With a spoon dip some of the custard over

each slice of bread. Bake about 30 minutes and serve hot with the

following sauce:

One cup of water, 1/2 cup milk, 1 teaspoonful butter, scant

tablespoonful of flour mixed smooth with a little water before adding

it. Sweeten to taste, add grated nutmeg or vanilla to flavor. Cook all

together, then add the yolk of one egg. Place on stove a minute to

heat. Add a pinch of salt. Serve hot over the pudding in individual

dishes.

CEREALS--OATMEAL PORRIDGE

Oatmeal to be palatable and wholesome should be thoroughly cooked,

that is, steamed over a hot fire two hours or longer. Use a double

boiler of agateware. Place in the upper half of the boiler about 5

cups of water and stand directly over the hottest part of the range.

When the water boils furiously, and is full of little bubbles (not

before), stir into the boiling water about 2 cups of oatmeal (if

porridge is liked rather thick), and about 1 teaspoonful of salt.

(Tastes differ regarding the thickness of porridge.) Let stand

directly on the front of the range, stirring only enough to prevent

scorching, and cook ten minutes, then stand upper part of double

boiler over the lower compartment, partly filled with boiling water;

cover closely and let steam from two to three hours. In order to have

the oatmeal ready to serve at early breakfast the following morning,

put oatmeal on to cook about five o'clock in the evening, while

preparing supper, and allow it to stand and steam over boiling water

until the fire in the range is dampened off for the night. Allow the

oatmeal to stand on range until the following morning, when draw the

boiler to front part of range, and when breakfast is ready (after

removing top crust formed by standing), turn the oatmeal out on a dish

and serve with rich cream and sugar, and you will have a good,

wholesome breakfast dish with the flakes distinct, and a nutty flavor.

Serve fruit with it, if possible. A good rule for cooking oatmeal is

in the proportion of 2-1/2 cups of water to 1 cup of oatmeal.

The cereals which come ready prepared are taking the place of the

old-time standby with which mothers fed their growing boys. If you

wish your boys to have muscle and brawn, feed them oats. To quote an

old physician, "If horses thrive on oats, why not boys who resemble

young colts?"

For example, look at the hardy young Scot who thrives and grows hearty

and strong on his oatmeal "porritch." Chopped almonds, dates or figs

may be added to oatmeal to make it more palatable. Use cup measuring

1/2 pint for measuring cereals as well as every other recipe calling

for one cup in this book.

COOKED RICE

Boil 1 cup of whole, thoroughly cleansed, uncoated rice in 3 quarts of

rapidly boiling water (salted) about 25 minutes, or until tender,

which can be tested by pressing a couple of grains of rice between the

fingers. Do not stir often while boiling. When the rice is tender turn

on to a sieve and drain; then put in a dish and place in the oven, to

dry off, with oven door open, when the grains should be whole, flaky,

white and tempting, not the soggy, unappetizing mass one often sees.

Serve rice with cream and sugar. Some prefer brown sugar and others

like crushed maple sugar with it. Or rice may be eaten as a vegetable

with salt and butter. Rice is inexpensive, nutritious and one of the

most easily digested cereals, and if rightly cooked, an appetizing

looking food. It is a wonder the economical housewife does not serve

it oftener on her table in some of the numerous ways it may be

prepared. As an ingredient of soup, as a vegetable, or a pudding,

croquettes, etc., the wise housekeeper will cook double the amount of

rice needed and stand half aside until the day following, when may be

quickly prepared rice croquettes, cheese balls, etc. On the day

following that on which rice has been served, any cold boiled rice

remaining may be placed in a small bake dish with an equal quantity of

milk, a little sugar and flavoring, baked a short time in oven and

served with a cup of stewed, seeded raisins which have slowly steamed,

covered with cold water, on the back of the range, until soft and

plump.

CORN MEAL MUSH

Place on the range a cook-pot containing 9 cups of boiling water (good

measure). Sift in slowly 2 cups of yellow granulated corn meal,

stirring constantly while adding the meal, until the mixture is smooth

and free from lumps. Add 1-1/4 level teaspoonfuls of salt and 1/4

teaspoonful of sugar, and cook a short time, stirring constantly, then

stand where the mush will simmer, or cook slowly for four or five

hours.

Serve hot, as a porridge, adding 1/2 teaspoonful of butter to each

individual bowl of hot mush and serve with it cold milk or cream.

Should a portion of the mush remain after the meal, turn it at once,

while still hot, in an oblong pan several inches in depth, stand until

quite cold. Cut in half-inch slices, sift flour over each slice and

fry a golden brown in a couple tablespoonfuls of sweet drippings and

butter. Or dip slices of mush in egg and bread crumbs and fry brown in

the same manner. Some there are who like maple syrup or molasses

served with fried mush.

This proportion of corn meal and water will make porridge of the

proper consistency and it will be just right to be sliced for frying

when cold. Long, slow cooking makes corn meal much more wholesome and

palatable, and prevents the raw taste of cornmeal noticeable in mush

cooked too quickly. The small quantity of sugar added is not noticed,

but improves the flavor of the mush.

MACARONI

In early spring, when the family tire of winter foods and it is still

too early for vegetables from the home garden, and the high price of

early forced vegetables in the city markets prevent the housewife, of

limited means from purchasing, then the resourceful, economical

housewife serves macaroni and rice in various ways and makes

appetizing dishes of the fruits she canned and preserved for Winter

use, combined with tapioca and gelatine. Milk and eggs tide her over

the most difficult time of the year for young, inexperienced cooks.

When the prices of early vegetables soar beyond the reach of her

purse, then she should buy sparingly of them and of meat, and

occasionally serve, instead, a dish of macaroni and cheese, or rice

and cheese, and invest the money thus saved in fruit; dried fruits, if

fresh fruits are not obtainable.

Macaroni is such a nutritious food that it should be used frequently

by the young housewife as a substitute for meat on the bill of fare.

Also occasionally serve a dish of baked beans or a dish composed of

eggs, or milk combined with eggs, instead of the more expensive meat

dish, all equally useful as muscle-builders, and cheaper than meat.

The wise housewife will learn which foods furnish heat for the body

and those which produce fat and energy, and those which are

muscle-builders, and endeavor to serve well-balanced meals of the

foods belonging to the three classes and thus with fruit and

vegetables she will make wise provision for her family.

BAKED MACARONI AND CHEESE

Put 2 cups or 1/2 pound of macaroni (either the long sticks broken in

pieces or the "elbow" macaroni, as preferred) in a kettle holding

several quarts of rapidly boiling, salted water, and cook about 25

minutes, or until tender. Drain in a colander and allow cold water to

run over it for several seconds. This prevents the macaroni sticking

together. Place the macaroni in a buttered baking dish and pour over a

hot "cream sauce" composed of 1 cup of milk and 1 cup of water, 2

tablespoonfuls of flour, 2 even tablespoonfuls of butter and a pinch

of salt. (Too much salt is apt to curdle the milk.) Spread over the

top of macaroni about 3 tablespoonfuls of grated cheese, or, if

preferred, sprinkle over the top 3 tablespoonfuls of well-seasoned

dried bread crumbs and small bits of butter. Stand the bake-dish

containing the macaroni in a hot oven ten or fifteen minutes, until

lightly browned on top. Serve hot in the dish in which it was baked.

Stewed tomatoes are a nice accompaniment to this dish. Double the

quantity of macaroni may be cooked at one time and a part of it kept

on ice; the following day serve in tomato sauce, thus utilizing any

left-over tomatoes.

The macaroni may be cooked while the housewife is using the range,

early in the morning. Drain the macaroni in a colander and stand aside

in a cool place. It may be quickly prepared for six o'clock dinner by

pouring over a hot cream sauce and grated cheese and quickly browning

in the oven.

Or the macaroni, when cooked tender in salt water, may be quickly

served by pouring over it a hot cream sauce, before the macaroni has

become cold. Serve at once.

Housewives should be particular when buying macaroni to get a brand

made from good flour.

CAKES--CAKE-MAKING

Sift flour and baking powder together several times before adding to

cake batter. Aunt Sarah usually sifted flour and baking powder

together four times for cakes. Flour should always be sifted before

using. Baking powder should be sifted through the flour dry. Salaratus

(or baking soda) should, usually, be dissolved before using in a

teaspoonful of hot water, unless stated otherwise. Cream of tartar

should be sifted with the flour. Flour should be added gradually and

batter stirred as little as possible afterwards, unless directions are

given to the contrary. Much beating after flour has been added is apt

to make cake tough. Cake will be lighter if baked slowly at first

After it has raised increase heat slowly so it will brown nicely on

top. The batter, if heated slowly, will rise evenly. This does not

mean a cool oven. To prevent cakes sticking to pans, grease pans well

with lard, and sift a little flour lightly over pan. Use baking powder

with sweet milk. Saleratus is always used with sour milk. Use 1

teaspoonful of saleratus to 1 pint of sour milk. Cream of tartar and

saleratus combined may be used with sweet milk instead of baking

powder. One heaping teaspoonful of Royal baking powder is equivalent

to 1 teaspoonful of cream of tartar and 1/2 teaspoonful of saleratus

combined. Either baking powder or a combination of saleratus and cream

of tartar may be used in a cake in which sweet milk is used. Usually

take 1-1/2 to 2 scant teaspoonfuls of baking powder to two cups of

flour. Saleratus should be used alone with sour milk. Put baking

molasses in a stew-pan over fire and allow it to just come to boil;

cool before using it. It will not sour as quickly in warm weather, and

the cake baked from it will have a better flavor. The cup used in

measuring ingredients for cakes holds exactly one-half pint. All cakes

are improved by the addition of a pinch of salt. When lard is used

instead of butter, beat to a cream and salt well. In mixing cakes,

beat butter and sugar together until light and creamy, then add the

beaten yolks of eggs, unless stated otherwise as for angel cake, etc.,

then the flavoring, then mix in the flour and liquid alternately. The

baking powder, flour and salt should have been sifted together three

or four times before being added. Lastly, fold in lightly the stiffly

beaten whites of eggs. Fruit well dredged with flour should be added

last, if used. Cool the oven if too hot for baking cakes by placing a

pan containing cold water in the top rack of oven. Sponge cake

particularly is improved by doing this, as it makes the cake moist.

Stir sponge cake as little as possible after adding flour, as too much

stirring then will make cake tough. Sift flour several times before

using for sponge cake, as this causes the flour to become lighter.

Layer cake, and most small cakes, require a quick oven. The oven door

should not be opened for 12 minutes after cake has been placed in

oven. Rich cakes, loaf cakes and fruit cakes must bake long and

slowly. The richer the cake, the slower the heat required in baking.

To test the oven, if the hand can bear the heat of the oven 20 or 25

seconds, the oven then is the right temperature. After placing a loaf

cake in oven do not open the oven door for 20 minutes. If oven be not

hot enough, the cake will rise, then fall and be heavy. Angel cake,

sunshine cake and sponge cake require a moderate oven.

Raisins and dried currants should be washed and dried before using in

cake. All fruit should be dredged with flour before being added to

cake. Citron may be quickly and easily prepared by cutting on a slaw

cutter or it may be grated before being added to cake. When a recipe

calls for butter the size of an egg it means two tablespoonfuls. A

tablespoonful of butter, melted, means the butter should be measured

first, then melted. Aunt Sarah frequently used a mixture of butter and

lard in her cakes for economy's sake, and a lesser quantity may be

used, as the shortening quality of lard is greater than that of

butter. When substituting lard for butter, she always beat the lard to

a cream before using it and salt it well. If raisins and currants are

placed in oven of range a few minutes to become warmed before being

added to cake, then rolled in flour, they will not sink to bottom of

cake when baked.

FRAU SCHMIDT'S LEMON CAKE

1-1/2 cups sugar.

1/2 cup butter and lard.

3 small eggs or 2 large ones.

1/2 cup sweet milk.

2 cups flour.

1/2 teaspoonful saleratus.

1 teaspoonful cream of tartar.

Grated yellow rind and juice of half a lemon.

Beat sugar and butter to a cream and add the yolks of eggs. Add the

milk, then the flour and cream of tartar and saleratus; and the

flavoring. Lastly, the stiffly-beaten whites of eggs.

This makes one loaf cake. The original of this recipe was a very old

one which Frau Schmidt had used many years. Every ingredient in the

old recipe was doubled, except the eggs, when five were used. Mary

thought this cake fine and from the recipe, when she used half the

quantity of everything, she baked a fine loaf cake, and from the

original recipe was made one good sized loaf and one layer cake.

Thinly sliced citron added to this cake is a great improvement.

FINE "KRUM KUCHEN"