CHAPTER XIX.
SUMMARY—LAMB’S HEART—FLOUNDERS—CORNED BEEF—CANNELON OF BEEF.

It has been said that Molly was providing for visitors by economizing slightly in her table. She was always economical, but it made some difference whether the fish she bought was the inexpensive flounder, made by the art of good cooking into the aristocratic filet de sole, or what passes for such where veritable sole is not to be bought for money, or a more expensive sort; whether she used veal instead of chicken, or clams in place of oysters, and tomato or potato salad for lettuce. On Saturday, after Sunday’s marketing was done, her account stood thus:—

Monday—Sundries$2.80
Tuesday—Sweet corn and milk .10
Wednesday—Oysters.15
Liver.10
Knuckle of veal.20
Pork.20
Thursday—Kidneys.05
Yeast.02
Sweet corn.06
Friday—Beets.05
Corned beef.40
One flounder.12
Soup meat.15
Saturday—Steak.16
Chicken.50
Ice.40
Fuel.50
Milk .56
$6.52

This made the week’s expenditure 23 cents less than the last week.

It will be remembered that Monday’s dinner was formed, with the addition of oysters, from what was left on Sunday; and therefore the lamb bought on Monday did not come into use till Tuesday, when three chops were used for breakfast, and the shoulder for the evening dinner.

Substituting, then, the lamb for the steak of the Tuesday before, and on Wednesday using lamb’s liver in place of the roast breast which was used on Thursday, the bills of fare were substantially the same as those of the preceding week, until Friday, when stuffed lamb’s heart for breakfast, and corned beef and flounders and beets for dinner, were new items, as was also the steak for Saturday, in place of the cutlets. Dessert and puddings of the first week were repeated.

Twice Molly had found in market green corn young enough for their taste, and had bought half a dozen ears. The beets, also, were moderate enough in price now to come within Molly’s purse. Needless to say, all articles which were expensive, only because too early or too late in season, had to be eschewed; but in autumn, in the country, where vegetables are rarely so plentiful as in New York, the market needs watching. One grocer may have a stray basket of string beans, quite young, or a few dozen of sweet corn, long after they have disappeared generally; and these are often quite cheap.

Molly had chosen a cheap part of corned beef—the plate—in preference to the round, at double the price: properly boiled, she liked it better. A small piece of four or five pounds of round of beef is very dry, even if the careful boiling prevents its being hard; therefore she got four pounds and a half at eight cents. She knew, from her cooking-school experience, the New York price was seven cents; but she had learned that most things were a little dearer in Greenfield. As she wrote down the recipes for cooking the heart, the corned beef, the flounders, and steak, I give them in that form.