The Community Cook Book Part 22

TEA.

Scald an earthen or china teapot. Use a teaspoonful of tea for each person and one for the pot. Put into the pot and pour in freshly boiled water, a cupful to each spoonful of tea. _Never boil tea_, but let it stand in a warm place a few minutes before serving. Serve with or without milk and sugar.

Tea and coffee, like all stimulants, should be used only in moderation.

The use of either by children or dyspeptics is not to be recommended.

Pure water is the best drink ordinarily for everybody. Most people prefer cold water, as it is not so insipid as boiled, but a cup of hot water taken in the morning on arising and one at night just before retiring will prove of benefit to sufferers from dyspepsia or indigestion.

THE FIRELESS COOKER.

The idea of the fireless cooker is an old one, bringing things to a boil, placing into a box of hay and leaving for a few hours to cook--that method has been used by housewives in some European nations for a good many years.

The cooker is, of course, made upon the same principle as that almost indispensable article, the refrigerator. Instead of retaining the cold and keeping out the heat, the fireless cooker does the opposite by keeping food which has been brought to a boiling point at a temperature high enough to continue the process of cooking for many hours.

Every one has wrapped up ice in a newspaper or carpet to keep it from melting. In making the fireless cooker the material used for packing around the boiling food is paper, hay, wool or cork, because any one of these things is a poor conductor of heat--that is, the heat can not go through them easily. Though there are many makes of fireless cookers on the market, a home-made one will serve the purpose just as well, and for the convenience afforded requires a comparatively small amount of time and material.

A HOME-MADE FIRELESS COOKER.

Materials required: A box or barrel, one pair of strong hinges, a hasp, material for stuffing, one or more large pails, one or more small pails or pans, muslin--1-1/2 yard or more, depending on size of box; a cooking thermometer, heavy pasteboard, brown paper, tacks and screws.

The box selected may be an unpainted one, to be had from most any store for a few pennies, but the boards should be heavy enough to put on hinges and a hasp. It should be four or five inches larger than the kettle it is to contain. The easiest stuffings to procure are hay, excelsior, or paper; among others which should be covered to keep them in place are wool, mineral wool, cork, sawdust and cotton. If hay is used, it should be soft.

The best shape for the cooking utensil is a pail about the depth of its own diameter; the sides should be straight and perpendicular to the bottom, and the cover should fit securely in place. A smaller utensil may be used inside the larger one; a pudding pan serves the purpose, resting on the rim of the pail. Care should always be taken to have covers that fit snugly on any pans that are used in the cooker. Aluminum ware makes the best utensil, though enameled ware or agate ware may be used. A six-quart pail with a pan to fit inside of it is a good size for the ordinary family.

It is best to line the box and cover with a thickness of heavy paper or several thicknesses of newspaper; asbestos sheeting may be used instead of paper. Now pack in the box a firm layer of packing material about four inches deep, not less; this must raise the cooking pail to within three to five inches of top of box. Place utensil in middle of s.p.a.ce on this layer and pack around it closely until level with top of the kettle. When it is removed a hole will be left just large enough for it to slip into again.

A cushion should be made to cover the kettle. If more than one kettle is used a cushion should be made for each. The cushion must be thick enough to fill the box when the kettle is in place. Cut two pieces of muslin or denim the sizes of top of box and join with a strip which is four or five inches wide; fill with same material used in packing the box. There should always be a slight pressure when the lid is closed.

The box is now ready for cooking. If the whole s.p.a.ce is not firmly filled after considerable use, more stuffing should be added. If a covering is wanted for the stuffing, the simplest thing to use is a sheet of very heavy paper, at least one inch larger than the top of box; draw a circle in center of it the size of the pail. From center of circle cut with sharp scissors to edge, to strike it at intervals of about 1-1/2 inch. Fit paper over top of packing so that circle will come just over nest for pail. Place pail in nest and it will crease the paper down at exactly the right place.

Since it is very important for the food to be placed into the cooker while it is still boiling, the box should be placed as near to the stove as possible. Everything should be ready before the food is taken from the fire; the cooker open and the cushion removed. The box must be kept tightly closed from the time the food is put in until it is entirely done. If it is necessary to open the box before appointed time, the contents must be reheated to the boiling point before it is replaced.

Though the time necessary to cook the foods on the stove is very short, they must be boiled until heated to the center. Thus the denser and larger the food, the longer it will take to heat.

THE ADVANTAGES OF THE FIRELESS COOKER.

One of the advantages of the fireless cooker has been mentioned--the small amount of cooking over a fire, which means a great saving of fuel and attention. The housekeeper may put the food into the cooker and forget about it until meal time comes, busying herself in the meantime with other things, or perhaps leaving home. She knows that the food is not being ruined by burning, and that it will come to the table with its full flavor unimpaired.

The pails used in a fireless cooker are easier to clean than pans which have had the food burned into them, and the kitchen is never made a degree warmer by use of the cooker, which is certainly agreeable during the hot summer weather, and even onions may be cooked without the odor pervading the house.

Nearly all foods may be cooked in the fireless cooker except those which have to be crisp or brown, though roast meat may be browned either before placing in the cooker or when the process of cooking is nearly finished. Cereals, one of the most wholesome foods known, are greatly improved by use of the fireless cooker. The long cooking makes them more digestible and gives them a flavor which they lack when cooked only fifteen or twenty minutes.

Any person having a fair idea of the general principles of cooking will need very little instruction for the successful use of the fireless cooker. The following recipes do not pretend to cover the wide variety of food possible to fireless cookery, but only give an idea in the preparation of a few simple dishes that might be used for most any meal.

BEEF BROTH.

Wash one pound of lean beef from the shoulder or round. Chop the meat fine and remove pieces of fat; put meat into a pint of cold water with one-fourth teaspoon of salt and let it soak in a cold place for an hour.

Place meat in a small cooker pan set over a large cooker pail of hot (but not boiling) water; heat the broth until it registers 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Slip pails into cooker for half an hour. Strain through coa.r.s.e wire strainer, remove fat and serve at once in a heated cup. It may be chilled or frozen to the consistency of mush.

ROLLED OATS.

Remove any husks or pieces from one cup of rolled oats. Put two and a half cups of water, one teaspoon of salt and oats into a pan that fits into a cooker pail. Boil until slightly thickened, stirring frequently; put pan over a cooker pail of boiling water and put into a cooker for from four to twelve hours. This is the ideal way to prepare rolled oats, as it is almost impossible to cook it too long.

BOILED POTATOES.

Scrub potatoes with a small brush. Pare them and let them stand a while in cold water. Cook them in a large amount of boiling salted water in a cooker pail. When they have boiled one minute put them in the cooker for from one and a half to three hours. New potatoes will not require so long to cook as old.

BOILED FISH.

Put a three-pound fish or three pounds of small fish into four quarts of boiling water to which four teaspoonfuls of salt have been added; set it at once into a cooker for one hour.

POT ROAST.

Have the butcher bone and roll three pounds of beef rump; dredge it well with salt, pepper and flour and brown it on all sides in a frying pan with a little of the fat from the meat. Put the meat, three cups of boiling water, one bay leaf, one small onion, salt and pepper, two small carrots, two sprigs parsley, one-half teaspoon celery seed, a little flour, one-half teaspoon Worcestershire sauce into a small cooker pail and let it simmer thirty minutes; set in a large pail of boiling water and put into a cooker for nine hours or more. Reheat it to boiling point; strain; thicken the liquor for gravy.

RICE PUDDING.

Heat one quart of milk, one teaspoonful of b.u.t.ter, one-third cup of rice, one-eighth teaspoon of grated nutmeg, one-eighth teaspoon of salt and one-half cup of sugar in a pudding pan over a cooker pail of water.

When water boils remove pan and bring pudding also to a boil. When boiling, replace pudding in large pan of boiling water, cover and put into cooker for three or four hours. One-half cup of small unbroken seeded raisins may be added to this recipe, and the pudding may be browned in oven before serving, if desired.

STEWED CHICKEN.

Clean and cut up a chicken. Put it, with the giblets, in enough boiling salted water to cover it--one teaspoonful of salt to each quart of water. Let it boil for ten minutes and put it into a cooker for ten hours or more. If not quite tender, bring it again to a boil and cook it for six or eight hours, depending on its toughness. Skim off as much fat from the liquor as possible, pour off some of the liquor to use as soup or stock, and thicken the remainder with flour for gravy. A beaten egg or two stirred into the gravy just before serving improves it. Add pepper and salt to taste, and serve chicken on hot platter with gravy poured around it.

SETTING THE TABLE.

A most important thing necessary to the enjoyment of life, and an actual aid to digestion and the preservation of health, is that each person should make up his or her mind to forget all but pleasant thoughts and to put an absolute bar against the discussion of disagreeable subjects while at the table. Then only can they appreciate the fact that the meal has been carefully prepared and the table daintily set.

To cook an excellent meal and then serve it well makes the meal perfect.

First of all the table linen should be immaculate. The more inexpensive linens are as attractive as the handsomest damasks when absolutely spotless and snowy white. For the lighter meals, breakfast and luncheon, a center piece and doilies may be used instead of the table cloth. The silver should be polished frequently and gla.s.ses wiped out carefully before placing on the table. A small fern or low bowl filled with short-stemmed flowers in the center of the table gives a dainty, cozy air, while the more elaborate vases may be used on more formal occasions. Four shaded candles on the table, when there are side lights in the dining room, cast a soft and pleasing light, far more agreeable to the eyes than the usual chandelier.

The placing of the silver must, of course, suit the character of the meal. If the meal is simple, the service should be simple. A good arrangement for an ordinary dinner is to place the fork and teaspoon at left of s.p.a.ce allowed for plate, the knife and b.u.t.ter knife at the right, the napkin on right side and coffee spoon at the top, with water gla.s.s at the right and b.u.t.ter plate at left of each place. Various articles may be added, such as oyster fork, bouillon spoon, salad fork and so forth.

FOOD FOR, AND SERVING THE SICK.

The utmost care should be taken in cooking food for the invalid, so that all of the flavor and delicacy of each dish may be preserved. We take it for granted that the food is the best that can be had, and that absolute cleanliness is used in preparation. But, really, the important thing is to make the tray as attractive and dainty as possible, or the food will not be tempting, no matter how carefully prepared.