Arrange evenly in a buttered dish six apples which have been pared and cored. Any other fruit may be used—canned peaches are good. Soak a cupful of tapioca in hot water for an hour or more; sweeten and flavor it to taste and pour it over the fruit. Bake in a moderate oven for an hour.
RICE PUDDINGS
PLAIN RICE PUDDING No. 1
In a pudding-dish holding a quart, put two heaping tablespoonfuls of well-washed rice; fill the dish with milk, and add a half teaspoonful of salt. Let it cook in the oven for half an hour, stirring it two or three times. Take it out and add two tablespoonfuls of sugar and a scant teaspoonful of vanilla; also a half cupful of stoned raisins if desired. Grate nutmeg over the top; return the dish to the oven and cook slowly for two hours or more; as the milk boils down, lift the skin at the side and add more hot milk. The pudding should be creamy, and this is attained by slow cooking, and by using plenty of milk.
RICE PUDDING No. 2
Scald a pint and a half of milk; add a tablespoonful of cornstarch which has been moistened with a little of the cold milk; cook it for a few minutes; then remove it from the fire and stir in three cupfuls of boiled rice, a cupful or more of sugar to taste, and the beaten yolks of two eggs. Return it to the fire and cook it until thickened, stirring constantly but carefully. Turn it into a dish, cover the top with meringue, and place it in the oven for a few minutes to brown.
RICE AND RAISINS
Mix with two cupfuls of boiled rice a half or three quarters cupful of raisins. The rice should be boiled as directed on page [222], and the raisins should be soaked in hot water until plump, and the seeds removed. Press the mixture into a bowl to give it shape, and turn it onto a flat dish. Grate nutmeg over the top. Serve with sweetened milk a little flavored with vanilla or almond, or only nutmeg.