Clayton's Quaker Cook-Book Part 11

Fig Pudding.

Take 1 pint grated bread crumbs, 1 cup suet, 1 cup brown sugar, 2 eggs and 1/2 pound of fresh figs. Wash the figs in warm water, and dry in a cloth; chop the suet and figs together, and add the other ingredients, also 1 nutmeg, grated. Put in a mould or floured bag, and boil 3 hours.

Serve with hard sauce.

Fried Apples.

Take 6 good cooking apples, cut in slices 1/4 of an inch thick; have a pan of fresh hot lard ready, drop the slices in and fry brown; sprinkle a little sugar over them and serve hot.

Clayton's Oyster Stew.

In my long experience I have found that the best way to stew oysters, is, after having saved all the juice of the oysters, to put it in a stew pan with a little boiling water, and a good lump of b.u.t.ter worked in a little flour, adding pepper and salt. Let these boil for two minutes, or long enough to cook the flour; then put in the oysters, and the moment the stew boils up again add a little sweet cream or country milk, and when it boils the stew is cooked and should be set away from a hot fire.

Cooked in this way, good oysters will never be tough and tasteless as is too often the case.

Boiled Celery.

Cut the white stalks of celery the length of asparagus, boil in as little salted water as possible until quite tender. The root, cut in slices, is equally good. Dress with drawn b.u.t.ter made with the water in which the celery was boiled. This vegetable is said to be a sedative and antidote to nervous debility.

Selecting Meats.

For a roast of beef, select from the ribs nearest the point of the shoulder-blade, running backward. For steaks, choose that with the diamond bone on either side. For chops of mutton or lamb, select the rib. For roasting, choose the loin or saddle; and for boiling, the leg of mutton--but not of lamb, the latter being best roasted. For corned-beef, select parts commonly known as the navel and plate pieces, and next best to these, the brisket and rounds.

Rebecca Jackson's Rice Pudding.

Take 1 quart of rich milk; 3/4 of a coffee-cup of rice, well washed, and a lump of b.u.t.ter the size of an egg, and 1 nutmeg. This pudding must be made quite sweet, and without eggs. Bake three hours in a moderate oven, stirring occasionally the first hour. Bake until the top is a dark brown. To be eaten cold.

[This pudding--which was a common dish in the last century--was generally baked on Sat.u.r.day for Sunday's dessert.]

Bread-and-b.u.t.ter Pudding.

To 1 quart of milk, add 3 or 4 eggs, well beaten, with sugar enough to make rather sweet, and season with nutmeg or cinnamon. Put in a baking-pan and cover with slices of nice bread, b.u.t.tered on both sides.

Bake until the bread is nicely browned, taking care, however, not to bake too much, which would make it watery. Good either hot or cold.

Codfish Cakes.

Pick boiled codfish in small bits, adding equal quant.i.ties of mashed potato and fish, with two eggs, well beaten, seasoning with black pepper, and roll in a little flour, the shape of a small cake. Fry in sweet lard, or nice drippings, to a nice brown, but not hard.

Pickled Grapes.

Remove from ripe grapes all imperfect and broken berries; line an earthen jar with grape leaves and fill with grapes. To 2 quarts vinegar add 1 pint white sugar, 1/2 ounce ground cinnamon, and 1/4 ounce cloves.

Let vinegar and spices boil five minutes; then add the sugar, and, when moderately cool, pour over the grapes.

Forced Tomatoes.

Peel and slice some large-sized tomatoes, and put in a colander to drain. Cut in small pieces 1 pint of mushrooms, adding some minced parsley, a slice of finely chopped ham, some summer savory, thyme, salt, and cayenne pepper. Put all these in a saucepan with some b.u.t.ter, and 1/2 cup of water. Boil together ten or fifteen minutes, and set away to cool. Have ready some fine bread crumbs, add to them seasoning, and the yolks of 2 or 3 well-beaten eggs. Mix the mushrooms and tomatoes together; pour into a baking-dish a portion of it; then sprinkle over it a layer of the bread-crumbs and add the remainder of the tomatoes; cover with bread-crumbs, and put some bits of b.u.t.ter on top. Bake half-an-hour in a well heated oven.

Broiled Flounders or Smelts.

Have medium-sized flounders or smelts, cleaned with as little cutting as possible; wash thoroughly in salted water, and dry on a towel; mix in a saucer three tablespoonfuls of olive oil, and 1 of vinegar, with salt and pepper; score the sides of the fish at intervals of an inch, with a sharp knife, and rub all over with the mixture of oil, vinegar and seasoning. Place them between the bars of a b.u.t.tered gridiron, and broil a light brown over a moderate fire.

Onions.

There is no more healthy vegetable or article of diet in general use than onions. Taken regularly, they greatly promote the health of the lungs and digestive organs. Used in a cooked--either fried, roasted or boiled--or in a raw state, their virtues are marked and beneficial. They are among the most popular of old-time remedies for colds, having the advantage of always being readily procured, and it is said that affections of the lungs and liver have been largely benefited, and even cured, by a free use of this palatable esculent. They are also resorted to as a sedative and remedy for sleeplessness.

Singeing Fowls.

The best mode I have ever followed for singeing fowls, is to put 2 or 3 tablespoonfuls of alcohol in a tin dish and light with a match, thus making a large flame, without smoke--that is apt to injure the flavor of the bird.

The Secret of Tests of Taste and Flavor.

The correct test of coffee or tea, is to make use of a thin china or delf-ware cup, by which the lips are brought close together, while a thicker cup would separate them widely apart. In testing the quality and flavor of wines, the thinnest quality of gla.s.s is for the same reason essentially requisite. Our grandmothers, who lived a hundred years ago, understood the philosophy of this when they expressed the opinion, that it was only possible to get the true taste, fine flavor, and delicate aroma of tea, by drinking it out of a china cup.

How to Choose Ware for Ranges.

In selecting ware for a range, especial care should be taken to see that the bottoms of all the cooking utensils are perfectly level, for if convex, they will invariably burn in the centre. An iron grating or gridiron--1/4 of an inch in depth--placed between the pan and the top of the range, will be found highly useful while cooking, as this increases the heat and lessens the liability of burning.

Drying Herbs for Seasoning.

All herbs should be gathered just before blossoming and dried in the shade, or in a dark dry room, as exposure to the sun both takes away flavor and color. When perfectly dry, put in a clean sack and hang in a dry room or loft, and when wanted for use, rub through a sieve. Herbs treated in this way, if left dry, will retain their strength and remain perfectly good for years. As long as the outer membrane of the leaves remains unbroken, the aroma cannot escape.

To Destroy Roaches, Flies and Ants.

Take 15 cents worth of powdered borax and a small bottle of Persian Insect Powder, and mix thoroughly together. In order to use successfully, take a feather from the wing of a turkey or goose, by the quill, and dipping the feather end in the powder, spring the feather as a bow; in this way you can thoroughly rid the room of flies. Before using on roaches, set the doors wide open, as they will start for the open air; generally, however, dying on the way. To rid cupboards or closets of ants, sprinkle wherever these minute pests "most do congregate." An easy and cheap remedy to rid pantries of c.o.c.k-roaches is said to be fresh cuc.u.mber parings laid in their haunts. We have never tested this remedy, but can vouch for the efficacy of the above mentioned compound.

To Clean Tin-Ware.

The best thing for cleaning tin-ware is common soda; dampen a cloth, dip it in the soda, rub the ware briskly, after which wipe dry.

Iron Rust.

Iron rust may be removed by a little salt mixed with lemon-juice; put in the sun, and if necessary use two applications.