Buying Food for a Small Family.
LOIN.
A woman who has to provide for a large family can plan and buy with greater economy than if her family consisted of only two or three. This is especially the case with meats and some kinds of fish. In buying meats, if the family be small, it is wiser to get only the parts actually wanted than to buy large pieces, simply because they are cheaper by the pound. When planning to cook a large piece of meat or fish, its adaptability to being made over into various little dishes should be considered. Pork is the least desirable of the fresh meats for such purposes. For warming over in various ways the following-named meats are the most valuable: poultry, veal, lamb, mutton, and beef. The white meats are better than the red for this purpose. This is also true of fish; the white, dry varieties are much better for made-over dishes than the dark, oily kinds.
The smallest prime roast of beef is one of the short ribs, weighing from three to four pounds. There are two of these short ribs. In Boston they are called the tip of the sirloin; outside New England, the short ribs or first cut of the ribs. The two ribs are included in the cut, but it is possible to get the cut divided.
A small loin of lamb, mutton, or veal, weighing about three or four pounds, makes a roast that will not last forever. Great care must be used in treating these small roasts. The heat must be moderate after the roast is browned and there must be a generous and frequent basting, else the meat will be dry.
RUMP.
A turkey weighing between six and seven pounds is about the smallest one can find in the market, but it can be served in so many ways that one need not grow to hate the sight of turkey before it is all gone.
In the season of lamb it is possible to get a small leg from which there can be cut one or two cutlets. The remainder of the leg can be roasted the following day. If there be a cold room where meats can be hung, a leg of mutton can be used for several meals. Cut off about one third for a roast. In about two or three days cut off a thick slice, to be breaded and fried, and served with tomato sauce. In four or five days the remainder of the leg can be roasted. The leg of mutton that one can get small enough for this purpose will probably be what butchers call yearling lamb. It is not possible to get the best kind of beef or mutton in so light a weight that it can be used to advantage in a small family.
One grouse or partridge, a chicken, duck, or rabbit, a pair of pigeons or of quail, all can be used as a roast in a family of two.
Here are some of the things that can be bought in small quantities: half a pound of sausages, a thin slice of ham that will not weigh more than half a pound, a quarter of a pound of dried beef, a quarter of a pound of smoked bacon, a quarter of a pound of smoked salmon or halibut, one pound of salt codfish, which will answer for three or four dishes,—fish-balls, fish in cream, fish hash, etc.; one thin slice of round steak, weighing about a pound, can be used for beef olives or roll; a slice of veal from the leg can be used in the same way; a piece of beef, cut from the shoulder, and weighing about two or three pounds, can be braised; about a pound and a quarter of fresh beef, cut from any of the tough parts of the animal, can be prepared in a stew; mutton and veal can be used in the same way.
A short porter-house steak may be made to answer for two meals. Cut out the tenderloin, broil it, and serve with brown or mushroom sauce. The remainder of the steak should be put in a cold place and used a day or two later.
LEG OF MUTTON.
In summer vegetables should be bought from day to day, as they are required. In the fall and winter tuberous vegetables may be bought in larger quantities, if there be a cool place in which to store them. The common white potatoes may be purchased by the barrel, but as the sweet potato decays rapidly, it is best to buy it by the pound. Carrots, turnips, beets, onions, squash, etc., are vegetables that can be stored, and if one live in a country town it will be well to store them; but for the housekeeper in the city it will be economy to purchase these vegetables only as she requires them.
Squash spoils quickly after it has been cut. Since one can purchase as small a quantity as two or three pounds, it would, therefore, be unwise to buy a whole squash simply because it costs a little less per pound than when bought in a small quantity.
If one have a cold cellar, it would be well to put in one or two barrels of apples late in the fall; but as all fruits as well as vegetables require a low, dry temperature, it would be unwise to make large purchases unless one have a proper place to keep them in.