Bring the shells and water to a boil, put them into a cooker for eight hours or more. Add the hot milk, strain the liquid off, pressing the shells with a spoon to squeeze it out. Add the sugar and heat all until boiling. By adding one-third of a cup of cocoa nibs a more satisfactory drink is obtained. This recipe makes one quart.

Serves four or five persons.

Coffee

Mix the coffee, egg and washed shell with enough water to moisten it, in a cooker-pail or pan. Add the boiling water and let it just come to a boil. Put the pail or pan into a large pail of boiling water and set it in a cooker for one hour or more. If a larger quantity of coffee is made and it will nearly fill the cooker-pail, the outside pail of water may be omitted.

Cereal Coffee

Put the coffee into a cheese-cloth bag and drop it into cold water. Bring it to a boil and put it into a cooker for five hours or more. It is best cooked over night and is a different thing from ordinary cereal coffee prepared by boiling. All brands of cereal coffee may be treated in this way. Serve, if possible, with cream.

Croustades

Cut stale bread into slices one and one-half or two inches thick. Cut off the crusts, making rectangular blocks of the bread, or cutting it with a large biscuit cutter, into rounds. With a fork, carefully scoop out the centres, leaving cases with walls about one-fourth of an inch thick. Brush them lightly with melted butter and brown them in a moderate oven. Creamed oysters, lobster, fish or meat and some vegetables are served in croustades.