Wash the rice well, and put it into a casserole with the milk. Let it cook slowly, with the lid on, until all the milk is absorbed by the rice. Now add the chopped dates, chopped peel, chopped suet, sugar, and nutmeg, mix well, and add the eggs well beaten.

Pour into a buttered earthenware dish, cover with the lid, and steam steadily for one and a half hours.

DRIED APRICOTS

Separate the fruit so that each piece will be single, then wash several times in lukewarm water. Pour the water off; put the rinsed fruit into a casserole; cover well with cold water, and let stand for at least twelve hours, keeping the pan covered all the time with the lid.

After the fruit has been thoroughly soaked and has regained its natural size, pour off this water saturated with fruit juice into another fireproof dish, add sugar according to taste (apricots will require a considerable quantity of sugar, peaches and apples less, prunes very little or none, and pears none at all), and cook from twenty to twenty-five minutes until you get a rich fruit syrup. Pour this boiling hot syrup over the soaked fruit. Put the casserole on back of the stove and let the fruit simmer very slowly for twenty to forty minutes, according to the quality of it. Now remove the casserole from the stove, keep the lid on the dish, and let it cool.

French Pudding

If cooked properly, the fruit when served must be clear, the syrup should be rich and clear, and each piece of fruit should look as if fresh fruit had been stewed.