Rice Cakes.—One cup cold boiled rice rubbed into a quart of milk, one pint of flour, a teaspoonful of salt, two eggs beaten very light. Beat all free from lumps. Bake as soon as made, on a well-greased griddle.
Rice or Hominy Cakes.—Warm one quart of sweet milk, and rub into it two cups of boiled rice or hominy; throw in a little salt, and add enough wheat flour to bind the rice, or to make the batter as thick as waffles. Beat two eggs and add to the batter, and half a teaspoonful of soda, unless you use the prepared flour. If you do, there will be no salt or soda needed.
Rosie’s Sally Lunn.—One spoonful of butter, one of sugar, one egg, one pint of milk, one quart of flour, with two teaspoonfuls of cream of tartar sifted with the flour, and one teaspoonful of soda added the last thing. This is an excellent breakfast-cake, as well as tea-cake, and is sometimes varied by stirring in a pint of whortleberries.
Strawberry Shortcake.—Rub into a pint and a half of Jewell’s Prepared Flour one teacup of butter; beat one egg very light; add milk to make a soft dough; divide in three parts; roll out lightly, lay one portion on a pie-plate or tin, sprinkle a little flour on the top, then add the second cake, a little flour on the top of that, and cover with the third. Bake quickly, but not too brown. Let the berries stand with sugar sprinkled over them till the cake is baked, then pull the thin portions of cake apart; spread half of the berries over the bottom cake, adding more sugar and a little butter; lay the second over them, and put on the remainder of the berries with more sugar and butter, placing the top cake over all. Put it in the oven for a few minutes to heat through, and send to the table hot.
When wishing an extra nice strawberry cake for tea, beat the whites of two eggs with a cup of white sugar till stiff, and add to it half of a grated cocoa-nut, and spread over the cake. If you have no prepared flour, sift two small teaspoonfuls of cream of tartar with the flour; dissolve one small teaspoonful of soda in milk, and add the last thing before mixing the cake.
Cream Toast.—Put a pint of rich, sweet cream over the stove in the farina-kettle, and while heating toast thin slices of stale bread quickly on both sides, taking care that they do not scorch. Wet two table-spoonfuls of flour in cold milk; stir it smooth; add a teaspoonful of salt, and when the cream is scalding hot, put in the flour, stirring all the time till it thickens; then take the kettle from the fire. Have ready a dish of salt and water, hot, and dip each piece of the toasted bread into it, but only for a moment. Remove quickly to the toast-dish, and dip over it a liberal supply of the thickened cream; then cut more bread and lay into the dish, then more cream, till all is used, letting the cream be the last. If you have no cream, boil and thicken some sweet milk; put in an even teaspoonful of salt, two table-spoonfuls of butter, and, when done, add one or two well-beaten eggs the last thing; stir for a few minutes till well united with the boiling milk, and then pour over the bread.
SOUPS.
General Directions.—Before giving some receipts for soups, we wish first to remind our young housekeepers that it is important for them to bear in mind the necessity and economy of keeping good stock constantly on hand. The French stock-pot is always in readiness to receive every bone, coarse or refuse bit of meat not suitable to use for the main dish or for side-dishes. We understand that the French use earthenware for this purpose and also for “soup-digesters.” It would be a benefaction if our house-furnishing merchants would import some of these “soup-digesters” and “stock-pots,” as they are far better than metal. But until we can procure such, the stock, as fast as made, should be strained into a large stone pot, and when cold, all the grease that rises and hardens on top must be removed, clarified, and set aside for cooking purposes. Aside from the economy of using all refuse meat and bones for stock, and the convenience of having it always ready for use, the soup will be better if the stock is made at least the day before, because one can then easily remove all the grease,—an important item in preparing good soups.
Stock for Soups.—Buy a knuckle of beef or veal. Have the bone well cracked in small pieces. Put it in the soup-digester, or, if you have none, in a closely covered iron pot. For a medium-size piece, add five or six quarts of cold water (by using cold water you will secure all the juices, whereas in hot water half the juice is retained in the meat). Let it come to a boil before you add salt or pepper; then season it to suit your taste, and if agreeable put in a small bit of red pepper. Set the kettle on the back part of the stove after it once commences to boil, and keep it gently simmering all day; then strain it from the bones and meat, which are now worthless, into a pot kept for the purpose. Never throw away bones that are left from baked, boiled, or roast meat of any kind, or from steak, poultry, anything, (except those taken off the plates); dried or gristly bits of meat may also be used to prepare stock for soup; and in a large family sufficient can be gleaned that would otherwise be thrown into the swill to keep stock on hands for weeks, without buying a bone for that purpose alone. When the stock is strained off, set it in the cellar to cool. The next morning carefully remove all the grease that has risen to the top and hardened, and you will have a clear, rich stock ready for use. Clarify the grease removed from the stock by slicing a raw potato into it, and set it over the fire in a skillet till it boils; then strain it from the potato, and you have fine dripping for many purposes.
Tomato Soup.—Use stock from beef, ham, veal, or any other bones or refuse meat. Put two or three quarts into your soup-kettle,—the size of your family must determine the quantity,—cut in one carrot, one small onion, if agreeable, a little celery or fresh parsley; add salt, pepper, and herbs to suit the taste, and then make the stock thick with tomatoes,—fresh from the vine are much the best; a spoonful or two of star maccaroni is an improvement, or rice or pearl barley, if you have either at hand. Let it boil two hours.