The Community Cook Book Part 2

LEMON PIE.

One cup water, one cup sugar, one lemon, two eggs, one tablespoonful b.u.t.ter, one heaping tablespoonful flour. Bake crust on the outside of pan, first p.r.i.c.king with a fork. Boil sugar and water; add to the beaten yolks of eggs the grated peel of lemon, b.u.t.ter and flour; pour over this the boiling mixture, then boil until it thickens like custard. Cool, turn into baked crust, spread on top whites of eggs beaten stiff, to which add a tablespoonful pulverized sugar. Place in oven until the meringue is brown.

MOCK CHERRY PIE.

One cup cranberries cut in half, one-half cup chopped raisins, one cup sugar, one tablespoonful flour, a pinch of salt, one teaspoonful vanilla and one-half cup boiling water. Bake with upper and under crust.

PUMPKIN PIE.

Peel and cut up in squares, cook with half pint of water, one cup sugar, one-fourth teaspoonful red pepper, boil slowly till soft and perfectly dry, then sift; two beaten eggs, one-half cup sugar, three and one-half large spoonfuls pumpkin, one-half cup milk, small pinch of salt, one-fourth teaspoonful cinnamon, a little more of ginger. Makes one pie.

Bake slowly one hour.

SHORTCAKE.

Three cups flour, two teaspoonfuls baking powder, one-half teaspoonful salt; sift three times; one-half cup b.u.t.ter mixed with flour till like meal. Beat one egg light, add to it a cup of cold water. Mix with flour.

Put in two pie pans, or in m.u.f.fin pans for individual shortcakes, and sprinkle tops with granulated sugar. When baked, split, b.u.t.ter and put sweetened berries between, and garnish tops with sweetened whipped cream and whole berries.

WAFERS.

Cream one-third cup b.u.t.ter, add one cup powdered sugar. Mix well. Add one-half cup milk alternately with two scant cups flour, or enough to make a stiff batter. Spread very thin on a slightly greased tin. Bake in very slow oven until light brown. Remove from oven and place on top of stove. Cut and roll in desired shape. These wafers can be flavored with ginger, sprinkled with chopped nuts or filled with whipped cream and berries.

CEREALS, BREAKFAST FOODS

"Look up! the wide extended plain Is billowy with its ripened grain, And on the summer winds are rolled Its waves of emerald and gold."

CORN MEAL MUSH.

Allow one pint of meal and one teaspoonful of salt to a quart of water.

Sprinkle meal gradually into boiling salted water, stirring all the time. Boil rapidly for a few minutes, then let simmer for a long time.

Very palatable served with milk; some people like it with b.u.t.ter and pepper. For fried mush let it get cold, then cut in slices, dip in flour and fry in suet until brown.

HOMINY.

This is very good when well cooked, and may be simply boiled until done in salted water, and served with pepper and b.u.t.ter. It is good fried like mush.

MACARONI WITH CHEESE.

After boiling macaroni in salted water until soft, sprinkle with grated cheese; repeat, pour over a sauce made of b.u.t.ter, flour, salt and scalded milk; cover with bread crumbs and bake until brown.

RICE.

Rice has been cultivated from time immemorial. While not so valuable a food as some of the other cereals, it forms the larger part of the diet of people in the tropics and in semi-tropical countries, and is used extensively in other places. It is eaten by more human beings than any other cereal; is not equal to wheat as a brain food, but worthy of the high place it holds in the estimation of mankind.

It may be simply boiled and served as a vegetable, with pepper and b.u.t.ter, or served with sugar and cream. It is good cooked in milk. Is baked like macaroni with cheese, and cooked in various ways in combination with meat or vegetables.

BOILED RICE.

One of the quickest ways of preparing rice is to fill a large kettle with water, allow it to come to a boil; when bubbling vigorously throw in two cups of rice and boil hard twenty-five minutes. Empty into a colander and dash under cold water, which will separate the grains.

Season with pepper and salt, heap lightly on a dish and put a lump of b.u.t.ter on top.

ROLLED OATS.

None of the breakfast foods which are so much used are so wholesome as a simple dish of rolled oats or the old-fashioned oatmeal. Served with or without cream and sugar, these are to be highly recommended to persons who are compelled to live indoors a great deal, and are generally relished by those who lead an outdoor life. Although rolled oats is supposed to be a dish quickly prepared, it is better, like oatmeal, for being cooked a long time, and baked for two hours, after being boiled a few minutes, it is very palatable and nutritious.

SOUPS

"La soupe fait le soldat." ("The soup makes the soldier.")

BEAN SOUP.

One pint navy beans, soak over night, cook till they are very tender, add some celery and little tomato, salt and pepper to taste, cook all well together. In another saucepan let boil one tablespoonful of b.u.t.ter, add a chopped onion, fry till it is clear. Mix a tablespoonful of flour with a cup of the soup and a little b.u.t.ter, cook a moment or two, add to soup and let all boil ten minutes, add a pinch of red pepper and strain.

BOUILLON.

Twenty-cent beef soup bone, ten-cent knuckle of veal, twenty cents'

worth chicken gizzards, seven quarts cold water. After reaching boiling point add one small handful salt; three or four whole peppers, one carrot, one onion, one celery root, one turnip, one parsley root, one bay leaf, two or three whole allspice, one-half can tomatoes. Let boil slowly one day. Strain and skim.

BOUILLON.

Chicken bones, three pounds beef, three quarts water, four whole cloves, one onion, one carrot, two pounds marrow bones, four peppercorns, a bouquet of herbs and one bay leaf, three stalks of celery, juice of a lemon, two tablespoonfuls b.u.t.ter or marrow, one-half cup of sherry, one turnip. Put vegetables in last, spices about one-half hour; brown vegetables in b.u.t.ter or suet; brown a few pieces of meat, to give a good color to the soup, turn into soup digester and cover with cold water.

Let it come to a boil, skim, and let it simmer; cover and cook for five hours. Strain in an earthen vessel, cool, remove fat, clear and serve hot in cups.

CORN SOUP.

One can cornlet or corn, one pint cold water, one quart heated milk, two tablespoonfuls b.u.t.ter, one tablespoonful chopped onion, two tablespoonfuls flour, two teaspoonfuls salt, one-fourth teaspoonful white pepper, yolks of two eggs. Chop corn, cook it with the water twenty minutes; melt b.u.t.ter, add chopped onions and cook until light brown; add flour, and when thoroughly mixed add milk gradually. Add this mixture to corn and season with salt, pepper, rub through sieve, heat again. Beat yolk of eggs, put them in soup tureen, and pour soup over them very slowly. When mixed serve immediately.

CREAM OF CELERY SOUP.