This is an excellent winter dinner.
Scotch Broth.—Buy for four persons one pound or one and a quarter pounds of scrag of mutton; chop it into pieces, and put it into an iron pot with one quart of water, one large onion cut into slices, and a small cupful of pearl barley. Let it simmer for two hours, adding a little water if it becomes too thick. Serve boiling hot with the mutton in it.
This is very inexpensive. The scrag of mutton costs from eight to ten cents; the barley is eight cents a pound—about two cents’ worth is sufficient; the onion may be reckoned as one cent. It can be made a little more costly by buying what is called the best end of the neck. Six or eight chops would weigh the pound and a quarter required, and would cost perhaps twelve to fourteen cents. The chops look somewhat better than the chopped-up scrag, but the nourishing quality is as good in the latter.
Potato Balls.—Choose large potatoes, and with a scoop cut out small balls; boil these and serve them sprinkled with chopped parsley.
Turnips.—Cut into small dice, boil until tender, throw away the water, and serve with a white sauce made of milk, flour, and a teaspoonful of butter. Two turnips are sufficient for a dish.
Tapioca and Apples.—Apples are cheap early in the winter. Three or four at a cent apiece should be pared and cored, and placed in a low baking-dish with two dessertspoonfuls of tapioca, and enough water to cover the whole. Bake in a slow oven. By soaking the tapioca over night a less quantity will do, say, one and a quarter spoonfuls.
N. B.—Both sago and tapioca are very economical because, when soaked over night, they swell greatly, and they can both be cooked with water, instead of milk, with good results.
DINNER No. 2
STUFFED POTATOES, VEAL WITH WHITE SAUCE, PURIFIED CABBAGE, RENNET CUSTARD