RIB CHOP AFTER TRIMMING.
In some places it is a great pleasure to go through the markets, especially on the regular market days. This is particularly true where there is a large German or French population. The women of these nationalities have stalls where they sell eggs, butter, cheese, poultry, fruit, vegetables, and flowers,—the product of their own and neighbors’ farms. Nothing can be brighter or more picturesque than are such markets in the spring, summer, and fall, when flowers and vegetables are in abundance. Even the poor laborer’s wife takes home her little growing plant, or a bunch of fresh flowers. Going to market has not been all prose to that poor woman, although she had to calculate very closely in her purchases for her table; for has she not had the sight and odor of the plants and green vegetables, and did not their beauty and freshness fill her mind with visions of a beautiful and fragrant country? What a pity there are not such markets in all our cities!
If you have never made a practice of going to market, try the plan now. It will pay you.
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.
