THINGS FOR THE SICK ROOM.
Many people are ignorant of what constitutes good, nourishing,
refreshing food and drink for sick people. The following dishes are
all palatable and nourishing, and are very refreshing to an invalid.
Every one should have these recipes for "Things for the sick room":
BARLEY WATER.
Pearl barley, two ounces; boiling water, two quarts. Boil to one
quart, and strain. If desirable, a little lemon juice and sugar may be
added. This may be taken freely in all inflammatory and eruptive
diseases: measles, scarlet fever, small-pox, etc.
RICE WATER.
Rice, two ounces; water, two quarts. Boil one hour and a half, and add
sugar and nutmeg to suit the taste. When milk is added to this it
makes a very excellent diet for children. Should the bowels be too
loose, boil the milk before adding.
SAGE TEA.
Dried leaves of sage, half an ounce; boiling water, one quart. Infuse
for half an hour, and strain. May add sugar if desired. Balm,
peppermint, spearmint, and other teas are made in the same way.
A REFRESHING DRINK IN FEVERS.
Boil one ounce and a half of tamarind, two ounces of stoned raisins,
and three ounces of cranberries in three pints of water until two
pints remain. Strain, and add a small piece of fresh lemon peel, which
must be removed in half an hour.
ARROWROOT JELLY.
Stir a tablespoonful of arrowroot powders into half a cupful of cold
water, pour in a pint of boiling water, let it stand five or ten
minutes and then sweeten and flavor it to suit the taste.
IRISH MOSS JELLY.
Irish moss, half an ounce; fresh milk, one and a half pints. Boil down
to one pint. Strain, and add sugar and lemon juice sufficient to give
it an agreeable flavor.
ISINGLASS JELLY.
Isinglass, two ounces; water, two pints. Boil to one pint; strain, and
add one pint milk and one ounce of white sugar. This is excellent for
persons recovering from sickness, and for children who have bowel
complaints.
TAPIOCA JELLY.
Tapioca, two large spoonfuls; water, one pint. Boil gently for an
hour, or until it appears like a jelly. Add sugar, wine, and nutmeg,
with lemon juice to flavor.
RICE JELLY.
Mix a quarter of a pound of rice, picked and washed, with half a pound
of loaf sugar and just sufficient water to cover it. Boil until it
assumes a jellylike appearance; strain, and season to suit the taste
and condition of the patient.
GRAPES.
In all cases of fever, very ripe grapes of any kind are a beneficial
article of diet, acting as both food and drink and possessing soothing
and cooling qualities. They are also extremely grateful to every
palate.
TOAST.
To make a most excellent toast for a reduced or convalescent patient,
take bread twenty-four or thirty-six hours old, which has been made of
a mixture of fine wheat flour and Indian meal and a pure yeast batter
mixed with eggs. Toast it until of a delicate brown, and then (if the
patient be not inclined to fever) immerse it in boiled milk and
butter. If the patient be feverish, spread it lightly with cranberry
jam or calves' foot jelly.
RICE.
In all cases where a light and nice diet for patients who have been or
are afflicted with diarrhoea or dysentery is required, rice, in
almost any cooked form, is most agreeable and advantageous. It may be
given with benefit to dyspeptics, unless costiveness accompanies the
dyspepsia. To make rice pudding, take a teacupful of rice, and as much
sugar, two quarts of milk, and a teaspoonful of salt. Bake, with a
moderate heat, for two hours. Rice flour made in a batter and baked
upon a griddle makes a superb cake; and rice-flour gruel, seasoned to
the taste, is most excellent for the sick room.
BREAD JELLY.
Boil a quart of water and let it cool. Take one-third of a common loaf
of wheat bread, slice it, pare off the crust, and toast it to a light
brown. Put it in water in a covered vessel and boil gently till you
find, on putting some in a spoon to cool, the liquid has become a
jelly. Strain and cool. When used, warm a cupful, sweeten with sugar,
and add a little grated lemon peel.
RICE GRUEL.
Ground rice, one heaping tablespoonful; water, one quart. Boil gently
for twenty minutes, adding, a few minutes before it is done, one
tablespoonful of ground cinnamon. Strain and sweeten. Wine may be
added when the case demands it.
WATER GRUEL.
Oat or corn meal, two tablespoonfuls; water, one quart. Boil for ten
minutes and strain, adding salt and sugar if desired by the patient.
SAGO GRUEL.
Sago, two tablespoonfuls; water, one pint. Boil gently until it
thickens; stir frequently. May add wine, sugar, and nutmeg, according
to taste.
ARROWROOT GRUEL.
Arrowroot, one tablespoonful; sweet milk and boiling water, each one
half pint. Sweeten with loaf sugar. This is very good for children
whose bowels are irritable.
TAPIOCA.
Tapioca is a very delightful food for invalids. Make an ordinary
pudding of it, and improve the flavor agreeably to the desire of the
patient or convalescent by adding raisins, sugar, prunes, lemon juice,
wine, spices, etc.
BEEF LIQUID.
When the stomach is very weak, take fresh lean beef, cut it into
strips and place the strips into a bottle with a little salt; place in
a kettle of boiling water and let it remain one hour; pour off the
liquid and add some water. Begin with a small quantity, and use in the
same manner and under similar circumstances as beef tea. This is even
more nourishing than beef tea.
BEEF TEA.
Cut one pound of lean beef into shreds, and boil for twenty minutes in
one quart of water, being particular to remove the scum as often as
any rises. When it is cool, strain. This is very nourishing and
palatable, and is of great value in all cases of extreme debility
where no inflammatory action exists, or after the inflammation is
subdued. In very low cases a small teaspoonful may be administered
every fifteen or twenty minutes, gradually increasing the amount given
as the powers of life return. In cases of complete prostration, after
the cessation of long exhausting fever it may be used as directed
above, either alone or in conjunction with a little wine.
PANADO.
Put a little water on the fire, with a glass of wine, some sugar, and
a little grated nutmeg; boil all together a few seconds, and add
pounded cracker or crumbs of bread, and boil again for a few minutes.
FRENCH MILK PORRIDGE.
Stir some oatmeal and water together; let the mixture stand to clear,
and pour off the water. Then put more water to the meal; stir it well,
and let it stand till the next day. Strain through a fine sieve, and
boil the water, adding milk while so doing. The proportion of water
must be small. With toast this is admirable.
COFFEE MILK.
Put a dessertspoonful of ground coffee into a pint of milk; boil a
quarter of an hour, with a shaving or two of isinglass; let it stand
ten minutes, and then pour off.
RESTORATIVE JELLY.
Take a leg of well-fed pork just as cut up, beat it and break the
bone; set it over a gentle fire, with three gallons of water and
simmer to one. Let half an ounce of mace and the same of nutmeg stew
in it. Strain through a fine sieve. When cold, take off the fat. Give
a coffee cup of this three times a day, adding salt to the taste. This
is very valuable in all cases of debility where animal food is
admissible.
DRINK IN DYSENTERY.
Sheep's suet, two ounces; milk, one pint; starch, half an ounce. Boil
gently for thirty minutes. Use as a common drink. This is excellent
for sustaining the strength in bad cases of dysentery.
CRUST COFFEE.
Toast slowly a thick piece of bread cut from the outside of a loaf
until it is well browned, but not blackened; then turn upon it boiling
water of a sufficient quantity, and keep it from half an hour to an
hour before using. Be sure that the liquid is of a rich brown color
before you use it. It is a most excellent drink in all cases of
sickness.
CRANBERRY WATER.
Put a teaspoonful of cranberries into a cup of water and mash them. In
the meantime boil two quarts of water with one large spoonful of corn
or oat meal and a bit of lemon peel; then add the cranberries and as
much fine sugar as will leave a smart flavor of the fruit; also a
wineglassful of sherry. Boil the whole gently for a quarter of an
hour, then strain.
WINE WHEY.
Heat a pint of new milk until it boils, at which moment pour in as
much good wine as will curdle and clarify it. Boil and set it aside
until the curd subsides. Do not stir it, but pour the whey off
carefully, and add two pints of boiling water with loaf sugar.
ORANGE WHEY.
Milk, one pint; the juice of an orange with a portion of the peel.
Boil the milk, then put the orange into it and let it stand till it
coagulates. Strain.
MUSTARD WHEY.
Bruised mustard seed, two tablespoonfuls; milk, one quart. Boil
together for a few minutes until it coagulates, and strain to separate
the curd. This is a very useful drink in dropsy. A teacupful may be
taken at a dose, three times a day.
CHICKEN BROTH.
Take half a chicken, divested of all fat, and break the bones; add to
this half a gallon of water, and boil for half an hour. Season with
salt.
VEGETABLE SOUP.
Take one potato, one turnip and one onion, with a little celery or
celery seed. Slice, and boil for an hour in one quart of water. Salt
to the taste, and pour the whole upon a piece of dry toast. This forms
a good substitute for animal food and may be used when the latter
would be improper.
CALVES'-FOOT JELLY.
Boil two calf's feet in one gallon of water until reduced to one
quart. Strain, and when cool skim carefully. Add the white of six or
eight eggs, well beaten; a pint of wine, half a pound of loaf sugar,
and the juice of four lemons. Mix them well, boil for a few minutes,
stirring constantly, and pass through a flannel strainer. In some
cases the wine should be omitted.
SLIPPERY ELM JELLY.
Take of the flour of slippery elm, one or two tablespoonfuls; cold
water, one pint. Stir until a jelly is formed. Sweeten with loaf sugar
or honey. This is excellent for all diseases of the throat, chest, and
lungs; coughs, colds, bronchitis, inflammation of the lungs, etc. It
is very nutritious and soothing.
NUTRITIVE FLUIDS.
Following will be found directions for preparing three nutritious
fluids, which are of great value in all diseases, either acute or
chronic, that are attended or followed by prostration; debility,
whether general or of certain organs only; derangement of the
digestive organs, weak stomach, indigestion, heartburn or sour
stomach, constipated bowels, torpidity or want of activity of the
liver, thin or poor blood. These fluids are highly nutritious,
supplying to the blood, in such a form that they are most easily
assimilated, the various elements which are needed to enrich it and
thus enable it to reproduce the various tissues of the body that have
been wasted by disease. In cases where the stomach has become so
weakened and sensitive that the lightest food or drinks cannot be
taken without causing much uneasiness and distress these fluids are
invaluable. They strengthen the stomach and neutralize all undue
acidity, while at the same time they soothe the irritation by their
bland and demulcent qualities. When carefully and properly prepared,
according to the directions following, they very nearly resemble rich
new milk in color and consistency, while their taste is remarkably
pleasant. Care should be taken that all the ingredients are of the
best quality. Soft water must be used in all cases. Fresh rain water
is to be preferred, but spring water may be used if perfectly soft.
Hard water will cause the fluids to be of a yellow color, and if the
milk is old they are apt to separate:
FLUID NO. 1.
Put a pint of new milk (the fresher the better) and two pints of soft
water, in a vessel perfectly free from all greasy matter, over a slow
fire. Rub two even teaspoonfuls of superfine wheat flour and two
teaspoonfuls of carbonate of magnesia, together with a little milk,
into a soft batter, free from lumps; add this to the milk and water as
soon as they begin to boil. Boil gently for five minutes--_no
longer_--stirring constantly. Pour into an earthen or glass dish to
cool, adding at the same time two teaspoonfuls of loaf sugar and one
teaspoonful each of saleratus and table salt, rubbed fine. Stir until
cold. The fluid must not be allowed to remain in a metallic vessel of
any kind, and it must be kept in a cool place.
FLUID NO. 2.
Put one pint of fresh milk and two pints of soft water in a vessel
over a slow fire. Rub together with a little fresh cream into a soft
batter, free from lumps, one tablespoonful each of good sweet rye
flour, ground rice, and pure starch; which add to the milk and water
as soon as they begin to boil. Boil for five minutes, stirring
constantly. Remove from the fire and add three teaspoonfuls of loaf
sugar and one teaspoonful each of saleratus and table salt. Observe
the same precautions as in No. 1.
FLUID NO. 3.
Put in a vessel, over a slow fire, one pint of fresh milk and two
pints of soft water. When they begin to boil, add one tablespoonful of
wheat flour, two tablespoonfuls of pure starch, and two teaspoonfuls
of carbonate of magnesia, rubbed, together with a little milk into a
soft batter, free from lumps. Boil gently for five minutes, stirring
constantly. Pour into an earthen vessel to cool, and add one
teaspoonful of the best gum arabic dissolved in a little warm water,
one teaspoonful each of saleratus and table salt, and one
tablespoonful of pure strained honey. Stir until cold. The same
precaution must be observed as in preparing No. 1.
DIRECTIONS.
One half pint or less of these fluids may be taken at a dose, and at
least three pints should be taken during the day and the amount
gradually increased to two or three quarts. Commence with No. 1 and
use two weeks, then use No. 2 for the same length of time, after which
No. 3 is to be used for two weeks. Continue their use as long as
necessary, taking each for two weeks before changing. In all the
diseases mentioned above, the use of these fluids, in connection with
proper remedies, will insure a speedy restoration to health.
GUM ACACIA RESTORATIVE.
Take two ounces of pure white gum arabic (procure the lump, the
powdered is very apt to be adulterated), pulverize it well, and
dissolve by the aid of a gentle heat in a gill of water, stirring
constantly. When it is entirely dissolved, add three tablespoonfuls of
pure strained honey. Let it remain over the fire until it becomes of
the consistency of a jelly. The heat must be very gentle, it must not
boil. If desirable, flavor with lemon or vanilla. This will be found a
very pleasant article of diet for a weak stomach. When the articles
used are pure it will be transparent and of a light golden color. This
will be borne by the weakest stomach when everything else is rejected.
_It is highly nutritious._
MALT INFUSION.
Infuse one pint of ground malt for two hours in three pints of
scalding water. The water should not be brought quite to the boiling
point. Strain; add sugar, if desired; flavor with lemon juice. This is
an excellent drink in inflammatory fevers, acute rheumatism, etc.
PEAS.
Take young and fresh shelled green peas, wash them clean, put them
into fresh water, just enough to cover them, and boil them till they
take up nearly all the water. This dish, if prepared according to
directions, and eaten warm, will not harm any invalid, not even one
suffering from diarrhoea.
MILK.
In some cases where a milk diet is advisable, owing to the peculiar
condition of the patient's stomach it will cause distress. This is
frequently the case where there is undue acidity. In such cases, let
it be prepared in the following manner and it will be found to set
well: Take a teacupful of fresh milk, heat nearly to boiling; dissolve
in it a teaspoonful of loaf sugar; pour into a large sized tumbler,
and add sufficient plain soda water to fill it. Prepared in the above
directed manner it will be free from all unpleasant effects.
SOUPS FOR THE CONVALESCENT.
To extract the strength from meat, long and slow boiling is necessary;
but care must be taken that the pot is never off the boil. All soups
should be made the day before they are used, and they should then be
strained into earthen pans. When soup has jellied in the pan, it
should not be removed into another. When in danger of not keeping, it
should be boiled up.
EGGS.
In cases of extreme debility, eggs are most excellent. They should
never be boiled hard. The best way to prepare them is to beat them
well with milk and sugar. When it will be appropriate to the case, add
some fine pale sherry wine.
MILK FOR INFANTS.
Fresh cow's milk, one part; water, two parts; sweeten with a very
little loaf sugar. When children are raised by hand it is always
necessary to dilute the milk. As the child advances in age the
proportion of water stated above may be gradually lessened.
WATER GRUEL.
Corn or oat meal, two tablespoonfuls; water, one quart. Boil ten or
fifteen minutes, and strain. Add salt and sugar to suit the taste of
the patient. This should be used freely during and after the operation
of cathartic medicines.