Part 52
Fresh Fruit Corn Meal Mush Cream Toast Cream Rolls Granola Gems Graham Bread Baked Apples Stewed Fruit
DINNER
Brown Soup Baked Potato Stewed Celery Mashed Peas with Tomato Sauce Graham Grits French Rolls Rye Bread Toasted Wafers Stewed Fruit Apple Snow
THIRD DAY
BREAKFAST
Fresh Fruit Rolled Wheat Grape Toast Graham Crisps Rye Bread Graham Puffs Lemon Apples Stewed Fruit
DINNER
Cream Pea Soup Mashed Potato Mashed Parsnips Macaroni with Egg Pearl Wheat with Raisins Rye Bread Toasted Wafers Currant Puffs Stewed Fruit California Grapes
FOURTH DAY
BREAKFAST
Fresh Fruit Oatmeal Tomato Toast Whole-Wheat Puffs Graham Sticks Corn Cakes Granola Baked Apples Stewed Fruit
DINNER
Parsnip Soup Potato Rice Steamed Squash Baked Beans Cracked Wheat Raised Biscuit Toasted Wafers Graham Gems Stewed Fruit Farina Blancmange with Cranberry Dressing
FIFTH DAY
BREAKFAST
Fresh Fruit Graham Apple Mush Blackberry Toast Macaroni with Cream Sauce Whole-Wheat Puffs Graham Bread Toasted Wafers Stewed Fruit
DINNER
Baked Bean Soup Potato Cakes Scalloped Tomatoes Stewed Vegetable Oysters Rice Graham Bread Oatmeal Crisps Beaten Biscuit Stewed Fruit Tapioca Jelly
SIXTH DAY
BREAKFAST
Fresh Fruit Rolled Rye Snowflake Toast Toasted Wafers Graham Bread Corn Puffs Citron Apples Stewed Fruit
DINNER
Vegetable Oyster Soup Baked Sweet Potato Mashed Peas Boiled Beets with Lemon Dressing Graham Grits Pulled Bread Graham Crusts Stewed Fruit
SABBATH
BREAKFAST
Fresh Fruit Rice with Fig Sauce Gravy Toast Fruit Bread Toasted Wafers Cream Rolls Grape Apples Stewed Fruit
DINNER
Kornlet Soup Mashed Sweet Potato Pease Cakes Browned Rice Buns Pulled Bread Cream Rolls Stewed Fruit Bananas
FIFTY-FIRST WEEK
FIRST DAY
BREAKFAST
Fresh Fruit Cerealine Flakes Cream Toast Graham Puffs Fruit Bread Toasted Wafers Baked Apples Stewed Fruit
DINNER
Swiss Lentil Soup Boiled Potatoes with Cream Sauce Scalloped Tomato Stewed Vegetable Oysters Pearl Barley Graham Bread Rye Gems Toasted Wafers Lemon Apples Stewed Fruit
SECOND DAY
BREAKFAST
Fresh Fruit Oatmeal Vegetable Oyster Toast Lentil Puree Toasted Wafers Corn Puffs Graham Bread Stewed Fruit
DINNER
Pea and Tomato Soup Mashed Potato Mashed Turnip Parsnip with Egg Sauce Graham Grits Raised Corn Cake Graham Sticks Stewed Fruit Ground Rice Pudding
THIRD DAY
BREAKFAST
Fresh Fruit Graham Mush with Raisins Tomato Toast Graham Bread Toasted Wafers Whole-Wheat Puffs Stewed Fruit
DINNER
Parsnip Soup Baked Potato Mashed Squash Stewed Lima Beans Cracked Wheat Graham Bread Cream Crisps Pop Overs Stewed Fruit Bread Custard
FOURTH DAY
BREAKFAST
Fresh Fruit Plum Porridge Dry Toast with Hot Cream Whole-Wheat Bread Cream Crisps Hoe Cake Granola Baked Apples Stewed Fruit
DINNER
Vermicelli Soup Baked Potato with Pease Gravy Boiled Beets Stewed Tomatoes Graham Grits Whole-Wheat Bread Toasted Wafers Beaten Biscuit Cranberry Tarts
FIFTH DAY
BREAKFAST
Fresh Fruit Rolled Oats Gravy Toast Baked Sweet Potato Whole-Wheat Bread Toasted Wafers Graham Puffs Stewed Fruit
DINNER
Tomato and Macaroni Soup Baked Potatoes with Brown Sauce Mashed Peas Stewed Dried Corn Rice Whole-Wheat Bread Toasted Wafers Rye Gems Stewed Fruit Nuts and Oranges
SIXTH DAY
BREAKFAST
Fresh Fruit Corn Meal Mush Apricot Toast Whole-Wheat Puffs Toasted Wafers Breakfast Rolls Steamed Figs Stewed Fruit
DINNER
Cream Pea Soup Boiled Potato Stewed Carrots Celery Mashed Chestnuts Cracked Wheat Raised Corn Cake Toasted Wafers Fruit Bread Stewed Fruit Rice Cream Pudding
SABBATH
BREAKFAST
Fresh Fruit Rolled Oats Grape Toast Beaten Biscuit Roasted Almonds Stewed Fruit
DINNER
Tomato and Vermicelli Soup Boiled Macaroni Canned String Beans Steamed Rice Beaten Biscuit Fruit Bread Toasted Wafers Stewed Fruit Fresh Fruit
FIFTY-SECOND WEEK
FIRST DAY
BREAKFAST
Fresh Fruit Plum Porridge Strawberry Toast Toasted Wafers Hoe Cake Graham Puffs Baked Chestnuts Stewed Fruit
DINNER Vegetable Oyster Soup Baked Potato Cabbage and Tomato Hulled Corn or Hominy Graham Grits Whole-Wheat Puffs Graham Sticks Fruit Bread Stewed Fruit Snow Pudding
SECOND DAY
BREAKFAST
Fresh Fruit Corn Meal Mush Tomato Toast Whole-Wheat Puffs Toasted Wafers Baked Apples Stewed Fruit
DINNER
Lentil Soup Mashed Potato Boiled Macaroni Canned Okra and Tomato Corn Bread Graham Puffs Toasted Wafers Stewed Fruit Fresh Fruit and Nuts
THIRD DAY
BREAKFAST
Fresh Fruit Rolled Oats Dry Toast with Hot Cream Currant Puffs Rye Bread Toasted Wafers Baked Apples Stewed Fruit
DINNER
Lima Bean Soup Scalloped Potato Mashed Peas Baked Squash Celery Rice with Raisins Rye Bread Graham Crusts Toasted Wafers Stewed Fruit Apple Manioca
FOURTH DAY
BREAKFAST
Baked Chestnuts Rolled Wheat Gravy Toast Baked Sweet Potato with Tomato Sauce Cream Rolls Graham Puffs Granola Stewed Fruit
DINNER
Cream Pea Soup Baked Potato Stewed Tomatoes Scalloped Vegetable Oysters Graham Grits Graham Bread Toasted Wafers Buns Stewed Fruit Apple Tart
FIFTH DAY
BREAKFAST
Fresh Fruit Cracked Wheat Vegetable Oyster Toast Graham Bread Crusts Toasted Wafers Baked Apples Stewed Fruit
DINNER
Potato Soup Baked Beans Stewed Parsnips Pearl Wheat Graham Bread Currant Puffs Toasted Wafers Stewed Fruit Rice Cream Pudding
SIXTH DAY
BREAKFAST
Fresh Fruit Graham Mush with Dates Snowflake Toast Graham Bread Toasted Wafers Whole-Wheat Puffs Baked Apples Stewed Fruit
DINNER
Black Bean Soup Mashed Potato Kornlet and Tomato Macaroni baked with Granola Farina Graham Bread Crescents Cream Rolls Stewed Fruit Cracked Wheat Pudding
SABBATH
BREAKFAST
Fresh Fruit Rolled Oats Blackberry Toast Pulled Bread Buns Beaten Biscuit Baked Chestnuts Citron Apples Stewed Fruit
DINNER
Canned Green Pea Soup Broiled Potato Macaroni with Egg Sauce Steamed Rice with Raisins Buns Beaten Biscuit Toasted Wafers Stewed Fruit Farina Pie
COUNTING THE COST.
The expense of the menus given will vary somewhat with the locality and the existing market prices. The following analysis of several similar bills of fare used in widely different localities will serve to show something of the average cost. The first of these were taken at random from the daily menus, during the month of January, of a Michigan family of seventeen persons, grown persons and hearty, growing children, none younger than six years. In the estimates made of the cost of material, wherever fractions occurred, the next higher whole number was taken. No butter was used, a small pitcher of cream for each individual supplying its place. The milk used for cooking was not counted, since in this case most of the cream had been removed, and its cost reckoned at the entire cost of the milk itself, or twenty cents a quart, allowing four quarts of milk at five cents a quart for one quart of cream.
BILLS OF FARE.
BREAKFAST
Fresh Apples Toasted Whole-Wheat Wafers Rolled Wheat with Cream Grape Toast Whole-Wheat Puffs Toasted Wafers Baked Sweet Apples Stewed Prunes Cream Hot Milk
_Cost:_ Apples (fresh and baked), one half peck, 10c.; one lb. rolled wheat, 5c.; one and one half lbs. zwieback for toast, 15c.; one pint of canned grape pulp for toast, 12c.; puffs (for which beside milk, three eggs at 25c. per doz., and one and one half lbs. whole-wheat flour at 5c. per lb. were used), 14c.; two and one half lbs. of California prunes, 37c.; two qts. cream, an amount quite sufficient for moistening the toast and supplying a small cream cup for each individual, 40c.; two lbs. of toasted whole-wheat wafers, 20c.
--making the entire cost of breakfast $1.53, or exactly nine cents per person.
DINNER
Lima Bean Soup Baked Potato with Cream Sauce Scalloped Vegetable Oysters Graham Grits Whole-Wheat Bread Whole-Wheat Wafers, Toasted Canned Cherries Citron Apples with Whipped Cream Cream Hot Milk
_Cost:_ One and one fourth lbs. Lima beans, 9c.; one half peck of potatoes, 12c.; one lb. Graham grits, 5c.; 1 loaf whole-wheat bread, 10c.; 2-1/4 lbs. whole-wheat wafers, 23c.; canned cherries, 25c.; apples and citron, 10c.; 3 bunches vegetable oysters, 15c.; cream (1 cup for the soup, one for the cream sauce, and one for whipped cream, beside three and one fourth pints for individual use), 50c.; flour and sugar for cooking, 10c.
Total, $1.69--a little less than ten cents each.
BREAKFAST NO. 2
Bananas Oatmeal Gravy Toast Graham Gems Toasted Wafers Apple Sauce Cream Hot Milk
_Cost:_ 1 1/2 doz. bananas, 45c.; toast, 15c.; cream for gravy, 5c.; material for gems (Graham flour, milk, and a small portion of cream), 8c.; apple sauce, 10c.; wafers, 20c.; cream for individual use, 30c.; sugar, 5c.
Total, $1.46, or a trifle more than 8 cents apiece.
DINNER NO. 2
Tomato and Macaroni Soup Boiled Potato with Gravy Mashed Peas Pearl Barley with Raisins Whole-Wheat Bread Toasted Wafers Canned Berries Apple Tapioca with Cream Cream Hot Milk
_Cost:_ For the soup was required two cans of tomatoes at 10c. each, 2 oz. macaroni at 15c. per lb., and one cup of cream, 27c.; 1/2 peck of potatoes, 12c.; 1 1/2 lbs. peas, 6c.; 1 lb. pearl barley, 5c.; 1/3 lb. raisins, 5c.; 1/2 lb. tapioca, 3c.; apples, 20c.; cream, 50c.; canned fruit, 25c.; flour and sugar, 4c.
Total, $1.70--ten cents apiece for each member of the household.
The following bills of fare were used by an Iowa family of six persons. The prices given were those current in that locality in the month of March.
BREAKFAST
Apples Rolled Oats Tomato Toast Toasted Wafers Graham Gems Patent Flour Bread Dried Apple Sauce Cream Hot Milk
_Cost:_ One sixth peck of apples, 3 1/3c.; one third lb. rolled oats, 1 2/3c.; three fourths lb. whole-wheat wafers, 7 1/2c.; one half can tomatoes, 5c.; bread for table and for toast, 10c.; material for gems, 3 1/2c.; dried apples, 6c.; sugar, 2c.; cream and milk, 15c.
Average cost for each person, 9 1/2 cents.
DINNER
Canned Corn Soup with Croutons Scalloped Tomato Parsnip with Egg Sauce Graham Mush Buns Whole-Wheat Bread Cup Custard Cream Hot Milk
_Cost:_ One can of corn, 10c.; tomatoes (using the half can left over from breakfast), 5c.; bread for the table, for the scalloped tomatoes, and for croutons for the soup, 10c.; parsnips, 5c.; buns, 5c.; four eggs, 6 1/2c.; milk and cream, 15c.; sugar, 2c.; Graham flour, 1c.
Average cost, 10 cents apiece.
The material for the bills of fare given on the next page was reckoned at prices current in a city in northern West Virginia, in the autumn, and was for a family of six persons.
BREAKFAST
Browned Rice Graham Crisps Whole-Wheat Puffs Dried Peach Sauce Cream Hot Milk
_Cost:_ One half doz. bananas, 10c.; one half lb. rice, 5c.; puffs, 5c; crisps 2-1/3c.; one lb. dried peaches, 8c.; 2 qts. milk, 10c.; sugar, 1-1/2c.
Total, 42 cents, or 7 cents for each individual.
DINNER
Tomato Soup with Croutons Baked Potatoes Mashed Peas Rolled Wheat Whole-Wheat Bread Orange Rice Cream Hot Milk
_Cost:_ One half peck tomatoes, 7-1/2c.; one fourth peck potatoes, 5c.; one half lb. rolled wheat, 2-1/2c.; one fourth loaf of bread to make croutons, 2-1/2c,; whole-wheat bread, 5c.; one half doz. oranges,12-1/2c.; one half lb. rice, 5c.; two qts. milk, 10c.
Total, 60 cents, or exactly 10 cents apiece.
The following four days' bills of fare,--the first two served by a Michigan lady to her family of four persons, the second used by an Illinois family of eight,--although made up of much less variety, serve to show how one may live substantially even at a very small cost.
BREAKFAST NO. 1
Apples Graham Mush with Dates Toasted Wafers Bread Dried Apples Stewed with Cherries Milk Cream
_Cost:_ Apples, 4c.; Graham mush and dates, 3c.; toasted wafers, 3c.; bread, 2c.; sauce, 3c.; milk and cream, 5c.
Total, 20 cents, or 5 cents apiece.
DINNER NO. 1
Baked Potatoes with Gravy Mashed Peas Oatmeal Blancmange Whole-Wheat Bread Stewed Fruit Milk Cream
_Cost:_ Mashed peas, 3c.; baked potato and gravy, 3c.; whole-wheat bread, 2c.; milk and cream, 5c.; Oatmeal Blancmange, 2c.; Sauce, 5c.
Total cost, 20 cents, or 5 cents apiece.
BREAKFAST NO. 2
Apples Graham Grits Zwieback Cream Milk
_Cost:_ Apples, 4c.; Graham grits, 2c.; Graham gems, 5c.; Zwieback, 2c.; cream and milk, 5c.
Total, 20 cents, or 5 cents per person.
DINNER NO. 2
Pea and Tomato Soup Scalloped Potatoes Graham Rolls Rice Custard Milk Cream
_Cost:_ Soup, 4c.; potatoes, 1c.; rolls 4c.; milk and cream, 5c.; rice custard, 6c.
Total, 20 cents, or 5 cents each.
BREAKFAST NO. 3
Baked Apples Graham Grits with Cream Cream Toast Graham Gems Graham and Whole-Wheat Wafers Stewed Prunes
BREAKFAST NO. 4
Oatmeal with Cream Blueberry Toast Breakfast Rolls Graham and Whole-Wheat Wafers Stewed Apples
DINNER NO. 3
Bean Soup with Croutons Mashed Potatoes Pearl Wheat Macaroni with Tomato Sauce Oatmeal Crackers Patent Flour Bread Fresh Apples
DINNER NO. 4
Rice Soup Baked Potatoes with Cream Gravy Baked Beans Graham Crackers Whole-Wheat Bread Fresh Apples Farina with Cream
Material necessary to furnish these four meals for eight persons,-- Six lbs. flour, 18c.; two lbs. crackers, different varieties, 20c.; pearl wheat, oatmeal, graham grits, and farina, one half lb. each, 10c.; one peck apples, 30c.; prunes, 10c.; one half lb. rice, 3-1/2c.; two lbs. beans, 8c.; one can tomatoes, 10.; one half peck of potatoes, 13c.; blueberries, 10c.; eight qts. milk, 32c.; macaroni, 5c.; sugar, 1-1/2c.
Total, $1.71, or cost to each individual, 5-2/3 cents a meal.
TABLE TOPICS.
The food on which the man who would be healthy should live must be selected so as to ensure variety without excess.--_Dr. Richardson._
Hearty foods are those in which there is an abundance of potential energy.--_Prof. Atwater._
AN OLD-FASHIONED RECIPE FOR A LITTLE HOME COMFORT.--Take of thought for self one part, two parts of thought for family; equal parts of common sense and broad intelligence, a large modicum of the sense of fitness of things, a heaping measure of living above what your neighbors think of you, twice the quantity of keeping within your income, a sprinkling of what tends to refinement and aesthetic beauty, stirred thick with the true brand of Christian principle, and set it to rise.--_Sel._
For all things have an equal right to live. 'T is only just prerogative we have; But nourish life with vegetable food, and shun the sacrilegious taste of blood.--_Ovid._
A BATCH OF DINNERS
HOLIDAY DINNERS,
A Special dinner for a holiday celebration has so long been a time-honored custom in most families, that the majority of housewives consider it indispensable. While we admire the beautiful custom of gathering one's friends and neighbors around the hospitable board, and by no means object to a special dinner on holiday occasions, yet we are no wise in sympathy with the indiscriminate feastings so universally indulged in at such dinners, whereby stomachs are overloaded with a decidedly unhealthful quality of food, to be followed by dull brains and aching heads for days to come.
And this is not the extent of the evil. Holiday feasting undoubtedly has much to do with the excessive use of intoxicants noticeable at such times. Tempted to overeat by the rich and highly seasoned viands which make up the bill of fare, the heaviness resulting from a stomach thus overburdened creates a thirst not readily satisfied. A person who has noted how frequently one is called upon to assuage thirst after having eaten too heartily of food on any occasion, will hardly doubt that indigestible holiday dinners are detrimental to the cause of total abstinence.
Then, for the sake of health and the cause of temperance, while an ample repast is provided, let not the bill of fare be so lavish as to tempt to gormandizing; and let the viands be of the most simple and wholesome character practicable, although, of course, inviting. As an aid in this direction, we offer the following bills of fare;--
THANKSGIVING MENUS.
NO. 1
Tomato Soap with Pasta d'Italia Stuffed Potatoes Canned Asparagus Pulp Succotash Celery Graham Grits Fruit Rolls Graham Puffs Buns Canned Peaches Pumpkin Pie Baked Chestnuts Grape Apples Fresh Fruits
NO. 2
Vegetable Oyster Soup Potato Puff Roasted Sweet Potatoes Parsnip Stewed with Celery Beet Salad Boiled Wheat with Raisins Cream Crisps Whole-Wheat Bread Crescents with Peach Jelly Canned Fruit Cranberry Tarts Almonds and Pecans
HOLIDAY MENUS.
NO. 1
Canned Corn Soup Mashed Sweet Potato Macaroni with Tomato Sauce Canned Wax Beans or Cabbage Salad Steamed Rice Graham Puffs Fruit Bread Toasted Wafers Canned Strawberries Malaga Grapes Loaf Cake with Roasted Almonds Bananas in Syrup
NO. 2
Pea and Tomato Soup Ornamental Potatoes Scalloped Vegetable Oysters Egg and Macaroni Farina with Fig Sauce Sally Lunn Gems Beaten Biscuit Graham Bread Apply Jelly Canned Gooseberries Prune Pie with Granola Crust Citron Apples Pop Corn
[Illustration: A Picnic Dinner]
PICNIC DINNERS
A picnic, to serve its true end, ought to be a season of healthful recreation; but seemingly, in the general acceptation of the term, a picnic means an occasion for a big dinner composed of sweets and dainties, wines, ices, and other delectable delicacies, which tempt to surfeiting and excess. The preparation necessary for such a dinner usually requires a great amount of extra and wearisome labor, while the eating is very apt to leave results which quite overshadow any benefit derived from the recreative features of the occasion. It is generally supposed that a picnic is something greatly conducive to health; but where everything is thus made subservient to appetite, it is one of the most unhygienic things imaginable.
The lunch basket should contain ample provision for fresh-air-sharpened appetites, but let the food be as simple as possible, and of not too great variety. Good whole-wheat or Graham bread in some form, with well sterilized milk and cream, or a soup previously prepared from grains or legumes, which can be readily heated with the aid of a small alcohol or kerosene stove, and plenty of fruit of seasonable variety, will constitute a very good bill of fare. If cake is desirable, let it be of a very simple kind, like the buns or raised cake for which directions are given in another chapter. Beaten biscuits, rolls, and crisps are also serviceable for picnic dinners. Fruit sandwiches--made by spreading slices of light whole-wheat or Graham bread with a little whipped cream and then with fresh fruit jam lightly sweetened, with fig sauce or steamed figs chopped, steamed prunes or sliced bananas--are most relishable. These should be made on the ground, just before serving, from material previously prepared. An egg sandwich may be prepared in the same manner by substituting for the fruit the hard-boiled yolks of eggs chopped with a very little of the whitest and tenderest celery, and seasoned lightly with salt. Two pleasing and palatable picnic breads may be made as follows:--
_RECIPES._
PICNIC BISCUIT.--Prepare a dough as for Raised Biscuit, page 145, and when thoroughly kneaded the last time, divide, and roll both portions to about one fourth of an inch in thickness. Spread one portion with stoned dates, or figs that have been chopped or cut fine with scissors, cover with the second portion, and cut into fancy shapes. Let the biscuits rise until very light, and bake. Wash the tops with milk to glace before baking.
FIG WAFERS.--Rub together equal quantities of Graham meal, and figs that have been chopped very fine. Make into a dough with cold sweet cream. Roll thin, cut in shape, and bake.
If provision can be made for the reheating of foods, a soup, or grain, macaroni with tomato sauce, or with egg or cream sauce, or some similar article which can be cooked at home, transported in sealed fruit cans, and reheated in a few moments on the grounds, is a desirable addition to the picnic bill of fare.
Recipes for suitable beverages for such occasions will be found in the chapter on Beverages.
SCHOOL LUNCHES.
Mothers whose children are obliged to go long distances to school, are often greatly perplexed to know what to put up for the noonday lunch which shall be both appetizing and wholesome. The conventional school lunch of white bread and butter, sandwiches, pickles, mince or other rich pie, with a variety of cake and cookies, is scarcely better than none at all; since on the one hand there is a deficiency of food material which can be used for the upbuilding of brains, muscles, and nerves; while on the other hand it contains an abundance of material calculated to induce dyspepsia, headache, dullness of intellect, and other morbid conditions. Left in an ante-room, during the school session, until, in cold weather, it becomes nearly frozen, and then partaken of hurriedly, that there may be more time for play, is it to be wondered at that the after-dinner session drags so wearily, and that the pupils feel sleepy, dull, and uninterested? Our brains are nourished by blood made from the food we eat; and if it be formed of improper or unwholesome food, the result will be a disordered organ, incapable of first-class work.
Again, the extra work imposed upon the digestive organs and the liver in getting rid of the excess of fats and sugar in rich, unwholesome foods, continually overtaxes these organs.
It can hardly be doubted that a large majority of the cases of so-called overwork from which school children suffer, are caused by violation of hygienic laws regarding food and diet rather than by an excess of brain work; or in other words, had the brain been properly nourished by an abundance of good, wholesome food, the same amount of work could have been easily accomplished with no detriment whatever.
Whenever practicable, children should return to their homes for the midday lunch, since under the oversight of a wise mother there will be fewer violations of hygienic laws, and the walk back to the school room will be far more conducive to good digestion than the violent exercise or the sports so often indulged in directly after eating. When this is impracticable, let the lunch be as simple as possible, and not so ample as to tempt the child to overeat. Good whole-wheat or Graham bread of some kind, rolls, crisps, beaten biscuit, sticks, fruit rolls, and wafers, with a cup of canned fruit or a bottle of rich milk as an accompaniment, with plenty of nice, fresh fruits or almonds or a few stalks of celery, is as tempting a lunch as any child need desire. It would be a good plan to arrange for the heating of a portion of the milk to be sipped as a hot drink. In many school rooms the ordinary heating stove will furnish means for this, or a little alcohol stove or a heating lamp may be used for the purpose, under the supervision of the teacher.
Furnish the children with apples, oranges, bananas, pears, grapes, filberts, and almonds in place of rich pie and cake. They are just as cheap as the material used for making the less wholesome sweets, and far easier of digestion. An occasional plain fruit or grain pudding, cup custard, or molded dessert may be substituted for variety. Fruit sandwiches, or a slice of Stewed Fruit Pudding prepared as directed on page 308 are also suitable for this purpose.
Rice prepared as directed below makes a wholesome and appetizing article for the lunch basket:--
CREAMY RICE.--Put a pint of milk, one quarter of a cup of best Carolina rice, a tablespoonful of sugar, and a handful of raisins into an earthen-ware dish, and place on the top of the range where it will heat very slowly to boiling temperature. Stir frequently, so that the rice will not adhere to the bottom of the dish. When boiling, place in the oven, and bake till the rice is tender, which can be ascertained by dipping a spoon into one side and taking out a few grains. Twenty minutes will generally be sufficient.
Much care should be used in putting up the lunch to have it as neat and dainty as possible. A basket of suitable size covered with a clean white napkin is better for use than the conventional dinner pail, in which air-tight receptacle each food is apt to savor of all the others, making the entire contents unappetizing, if not unwholesome.
SABBATH DINNERS.