Mix the oatmeal, salt, and sugar together, and pour on the boiling water. Cook it in a saucepan for thirty minutes, or in a double boiler two hours; then strain it through a fine wire strainer to remove the hulls, put it again on the stove, add the milk, and allow it to heat just to the boiling-point. Serve it hot. Good oatmeal gruel may be made from cold porridge, by adding water, milk, and a little sugar and straining it, or it may be served unstrained. Many like it so, and it makes an excellent lunch.
FLOUR GRUEL
1 Tablespoon of flour.
1 Saltspoon of salt.
1 Teaspoon of sugar.
1 Cup of boiling water.
1 Cup of milk.
½ Square inch of cinnamon.
Mix the flour, salt, and sugar, as for other gruels, into a paste with a little cold water; add the piece of cinnamon and the hot water; boil it for twenty minutes, slowly, so that it may not stick to the bottom of the pan and burn; then put in the milk and bring to the boiling-point. Strain it, and serve it very hot. If the gruel is intended for a patient with fever, a little lemon-juice is good in place of the cinnamon. Other flavors may also be used, such as nutmeg, almond, and vanilla.
CRACKER GRUEL
2 Tablespoons of cracker-crumbs.
1 Scant saltspoon of salt.
1 Scant teaspoon of sugar.
1 Cup of boiling water.
1 Cup of milk.
To make the cracker-crumbs, roll some crackers on a board until they are fine. Bent's water-crackers are good, cream-crackers better; mix the salt and sugar with the crumbs, pour on the boiling water, put in the milk, and simmer it for two minutes. The gruel does not need long cooking, for the cracker-crumbs are already thoroughly cooked. Do not strain it.
FARINA GRUEL
Farina is a grain which is carefully prepared from the nitrogenous part of selected wheat, and is therefore a better nutrient than rice-flour or arrowroot.
1 Tablespoon of Hecker's farina.
1 Saltspoon of salt.
1 Teaspoon of sugar.
1 Cup of boiling water.
1 Cup of milk.