Part 7
Put three-quarters of the amount of coffee to be used on the fire in boiling water; boil from ten to fifteen minutes. Then put in the remaining one-quarter of the coffee, cover and let it stand for five minutes. Stir, strain and serve with an equal amount of milk.
EXCELLENT COFFEE
Use a drip pot, one having a cloth bag. Wet the bag, place the coffee in this, and pack as tightly as possible around the sides and bottom. Pour in slowly three cupfuls of boiling water to each half cupful of powdered coffee. Place the pot on the back of the range, or on an asbestos mat with only enough flame under to keep it warm, and pour the water slowly.
Serve with cream as soon as dripped.
TEA
Chin Hung, Chinese scholar and philosopher, to whom all the agricultural and medical knowledge of China is traced, once said, so I am told: “Tea is better than wine, for it leadeth not to intoxication, neither does it cause a man to say foolish things. It is better than water, for it doth not carry disease, neither doth it act as poison.”
There are really but two kinds of teas on the market: green and black. The color of the tea depends on the oxidation; black tea being exposed to the air, or oxidized before final drying, while green tea is dried immediately after rolling.
There are a number of different brands with which we are all familiar, such as Formosa, Oolong, Ceylon, English Breakfast, Orange Pekoe, and Flowery Pekoe.
Right here I will say that if a spray of orange blossom is kept in the tea caddy one need not pay the price for Orange Pekoe.
TEA MAKING
Be sure that the water is boiling, and use it at once. Rinse the pot with hot water. Place the tea in the pot in a “ball,” and pour over the freshly boiled water, allowing it to stand for five minutes, then the tea-ball and the tea should be removed.
Use a level teaspoonful of tea to one and a half cupfuls of water. I think most people will want to dilute this, even.
RUSSIAN TEA
“Russian tea” has a rather inflated reputation, and is not really known in this country as it is used there.
A great amount of tea infusion is used, as the samovar is always in evidence, but the water is poured on the tea again and again, making a great amount of liquid without much strength. Sugar and lemon juice is added and it is drunk from a glass.
ICED TEA
One may make fresh tea and pour it over cracked ice in individual glasses, or one may make a rather strong solution of tea, and add cracked ice to it in a large pitcher, or make a weaker solution, and pour over cracked ice in glasses. The method must depend upon the fancy of one’s family, or the hostess.
ICED TEA WITH MINT
While iced tea is usually served with sugar and lemon, I am quite sure that in addition a spray of mint will be found most acceptable. Place the mint in the glass and pour the tea over.
HOT TEA WITH MINT
I find that a cupful of hot tea into which a few leaves of mint have been placed is most refreshing. This may be served either with or without sugar.
COCOA AND CHOCOLATE
It is very rare for one to serve chocolate these days, as cocoa in a perfected form is put up by reliable firms in this country, and most hostesses prefer it to chocolate, which is more difficult to prepare and rather richer than wise to serve to the family generally.
COCOA
1 cupful of milk, 1 teaspoonful of cocoa.
Bring the milk to the boiling point and pour in the cocoa moistened with a little warm water. Stir and allow to boil, beating with a cream whip for a minute or two. Pour through a strainer into a cup or individual pot. Multiply this amount by the number of cups to be served.
COCOA No. 2
1 cupful of milk, 2 teaspoonfuls of cocoa.
Use a _porcelain_ kettle; mix the cocoa with enough hot water to make a smooth paste, pour the milk over it slowly, mixing constantly, so that there will be no lumps left undissolved. Bring to the boiling point, and boil for ten minutes. Strain, and serve at once. A teaspoonful of sweetened whipped cream added to each cup adds perceptibly to the acceptability. Sweeten to taste.
CHOCOLATE
2 cupfuls of milk, 2 tablespoonfuls of grated chocolate.
Grate enough unsweetened chocolate to make two tablespoonfuls, mix with a little boiling water, and melt slowly over a low fire, then add the milk, pouring carefully, stirring while pouring. Allow this to boil for ten minutes and strain. Whipped cream added to each serving is delightful, although it makes the drink a bit too rich for most people. It would be unadvisable for persons given to stoutness to drink chocolate.
CHOCOLATE
(Recipe of 1845)
1 inch of a cake of chocolate, 1 quart of boiling water, Milk.
Shave the chocolate fine, pour on the boiling water; boil for twenty minutes, add milk to please and boil up again. Serve.
CHOCOLATE (CRÉOLE RECIPE)
1 cake of French chocolate, 1 quart of milk.
Grate the chocolate; mix with a little hot water, and stir into the milk which should have reached the simmering stage. Stir until the mixture boils; allow it to boil up once, and serve immediately. This may be sweetened after serving or allow two tablespoonfuls of sugar to the full amount. Add whipped cream if desired.
COCOA (CRÉOLE RECIPE)
4 tablespoonfuls of cocoa, 1 quart of milk.
Put the milk in a double boiler; moisten the cocoa with a little milk, and pour into the milk as it begins to boil, stirring constantly. Let it boil up once, only, and serve. Whipped cream may be used with it if desired.
COCOA (OLD NEW ENGLAND RECIPE)
2 tablespoonfuls of cocoa, 1 quart of water, 1½ cupfuls of milk.
Mix the cocoa with a little water and pour into the full amount of water and allow to boil for a half hour, skim, add the milk and allow it to boil up again. Serve.
IX—DRINKS FOR INVALIDS AND SMALL CHILDREN
I shall try to give a few helpful suggestions in this chapter for the making of drinks which are both appetizing and nutritious. Some are offered because of their nutritive value and some, like treacle, posset and Iceland moss, because they are a real aid in helping to ward off colds and some because they please the palate of the invalid or the child whose appetite must be catered to.
APPLE WATER
2 large tart apples, 1 tablespoonful of lemon juice, 1 pint of boiling water, Lemon peel, Sugar.
Peel, core and slice the apples; place them in a deep bowl with the lemon juice, one strip of rind and as much sugar as the nurse or mother thinks wise, and cover with the boiling water, allowing this to stand covered tightly until cold. Strain, chill and serve in small glasses. Be sure to serve on a plate on which a fresh doylie is placed.
APPLE TEA (FROM ROAST APPLES)
(Very old recipe)
3 apples, Pint of water.
Roast sour apples until tender, pour boiling water over them and let them stand until cold. Sweeten a little if the patient so desires.
APPLE TEA (UP-STATE RECIPE)
3 large tart apples, 1 pint of water, Sugar.
Peel and slice the apples very thin, pour a pint of boiling water over them and boil for five minutes. Allow them to stand until cold, then strain off the water. Sweeten it slightly, unless the patient prefers the water very tart.
ARROWROOT WITH MILK
½ pint of milk, 1 dessertspoonful of arrowroot, 1 teaspoonful of sugar.
Mix the arrowroot with a little cold milk until a smooth paste. Pour a half pint of boiled milk over it, pouring slowly and stirring constantly. Bring to the boiling point and boil for six minutes. (Arrowroot _must_ be well boiled). Strain, add the sugar and serve.
I want to impress upon my readers the necessity of serving any drink intended for an invalid in the most attractive manner possible.
ARROWROOT WITH WATER
½ pint of water, 1 dessertspoonful of arrowroot, 1 teaspoonful of sugar, 1 teaspoonful of lemon juice.
Mix the arrowroot with a little cold water, making it perfectly smooth. Pour the boiling water over this slowly, stirring well; cook until boiling, and continue for six minutes. Strain, add sugar and lemon juice. Serve in an attractive glass on a pretty plate on which a spotless doylie is laid.
BARLEY WATER
Many cannot take milk plain, but the addition of barley water adds to its digestibility.
2 ounces of pearl barley, 1 pint of water, Sugar.
Pour the water over the barley and boil slowly until there is a third less liquid. Strain and add sugar and serve. Barley water may be served alone or with milk. It is more palatable with milk.
BARLEY WATER MADE FROM BARLEY FLOUR
1 teaspoonful of barley flour, ½ pint of water, 1 pinch of salt.
Mix the barley flour with a little cold water, making a smooth paste; pour the rest of the water on slowly, mixing and stirring constantly. Boil for a half hour, boiling fast all the time. Strain and add to milk, or add a little sugar, or if it is for an infant, it may be given from a nursing bottle without the sugar, between feedings, especially if the child is not getting sufficient nourishment from its own food.
BLACK CURRANT TEA
It is said that this tea is excellent to alleviate hoarseness, and is a most appetizing beverage.
1 dessertspoonful of black currant jam, ½ pint of water, 1 teaspoonful of sugar.
Put jam, sugar and water in an enamel dish and bring to the boiling point; simmer for five or six minutes. Strain and add lemon juice and serve hot; or chill and add a little cracked ice and serve very cold.
BRAN TEA
2 tablespoonfuls of bran, 1 pint of water, ½ ounce of gum arabic, 1 tablespoonful of honey.
Mix water and bran and boil for fifteen minutes. Add gum arabic and honey, stir until dissolved. Strain through a cloth and serve. This, too, may be served hot or cold.
EGG WHITE AND MILK (ENGLISH RECIPE)
1 egg white, 1 cupful of milk, Vanilla.
Boil the milk and let it cool. Whip the egg white until dry and put it in a tall glass with the milk, flavor with vanilla and serve.
OLD FASHIONED CAUDLE (ENGLISH)
1 tablespoonful of fine oatmeal (ground, not rolled), 1 cupful of water, 1 cupful of milk, 1 tablespoonful of lemon juice, 1 strip of lemon rind, 1 tablespoonful of sugar, Nutmeg.
Boil oatmeal, water, milk and lemon rind together for ten minutes; remove the rind, add the lemon juice, sugar and a sprinkling of grated nutmeg. Serve hot. The beaten yolk of an egg may be stirred in if extra nourishment is needed.
CAUDLE (OLD NEW ENGLAND RECIPE)
1 pint of rice gruel (see gruel), 1 egg yolk, 1 tablespoonful of sugar, ¼ cupful of cold water, 2 tablespoonfuls of orange juice, 1 teaspoonful of lemon juice, Nutmeg.
When the gruel is boiling, add the following mixture; beat the yolk of the egg with the sugar and stir in the water, fruit juices and a sprinkling of grated nutmeg. Strain and serve very hot.
CREAM AND CARBONATED WATER
½ cupful of cream, Carbonated water.
There are times when a patient is not allowed milk, but cream is permissible; under those conditions, this will be found useful as well as nutritious.
Pour the cream in a tumbler or straight-sided, tall glass; fill the glass with carbonated water, using a syphon.
MILK AND CARBONATED WATER
½ cupful of carbonated water, ¾ cupful of milk.
It is a matter of taste just what carbonated water one uses: whether seltzer, vichy or club soda; whether poured from a bottle or a syphon. Put the milk in a tall glass and fill with the carbonated water.
EGG WHITE, LEMON AND CARBONATED WATER
1 egg white, 1 tablespoonful of lemon juice, Carbonated water.
Beat the white of the egg until stiff, put it in a tall glass and add the lemon juice; fill the glass with the carbonated water.
EGG YOLK, LEMON JUICE AND CARBONATED WATER
1 egg yolk, 1 tablespoonful of lemon juice, Carbonated water.
Beat the yolk until lemon colored, pour into a tumbler and stir in the lemon juice. Fill the glass with the carbonated water.
EGG WHITE AND ORANGE JUICE
1 egg white, 1 cupful of orange juice.
Extract the juice from enough oranges (two Florida oranges will usually prove sufficient); strain into a tall glass; whip the egg white until stiff, and stir it into the orange juice.
If the patient does not like the taste of the egg white, it were well to beat the white until stiff, put it in a cocktail shaker with the orange juice, shake well for a minute or two and strain into a glass. It will be so blended that it will be very difficult to taste anything excepting the orange juice.
EGG WHITE, ORANGE JUICE AND CARBONATED WATER
1 egg white, 1 orange, Carbonated water.
Beat the white until stiff; extract the juice from the orange, stir the egg in carefully and pour into a tall glass. Fill the glass with carbonated water.
EGG WHITE, ORANGE JUICE AND DISTILLED WATER
1 egg white, 1 tablespoonful of orange juice, 2 tablespoonfuls of distilled water.
If a baby is very ill and cannot retain food, this will tide it over until a physician can be called and prescribe.
Beat the egg white until stiff, stir in the orange juice and then the water. Feed with a spoon.
FLAXSEED TEA
2 tablespoonfuls of whole flaxseed, 1 pint of water, 1 lemon, 2 tablespoonfuls of granulated sugar.
Mix the flaxseed with a little water, adding the remainder of the pint and boil for fifteen minutes. Slice a lemon in a deep bowl and add two tablespoonfuls of granulated sugar. Strain the flaxseed tea boiling hot, over this, stir and allow to stand until cold. Strain again and use in tablespoonful doses. This is used for cold or to relieve an irritated throat.
GRUEL (ENGLISH RECIPE)
½ pint of milk or water, 1 dessertspoonful of fine oatmeal (ground, not rolled), Salt or sugar.
Mix the oatmeal with a little cold water in an enameled saucepan; add the milk or water boiling hot, and boil for ten minutes, stirring constantly. Strain, pressing as much of the oatmeal through the sieve as possible. Add either salt or sugar as the patient desires. As gruel induces perspiration it is best to take it after one is in bed. This is most satisfactory as an aid in breaking up a cold.
INDIAN MEAL GRUEL (YELLOW CORN MEAL)
2 teaspoonfuls of ground Indian corn meal, ½ pint of water, Sugar, Nutmeg, Cream.
Mix the corn meal with enough cold water to make a smooth paste; add a pint of water, bring to the boiling point and boil slowly for one half hour,—never less; strain, add a little salt, or a little sugar if the patient does not like the salt. If sugar is used add a sprinkling of grated nutmeg, if salt is preferred, add two tablespoonfuls of cream; stir and serve at once.
OATMEAL GRUEL
4 tablespoonfuls of oatmeal (ground, not rolled), 3 pints of water, ½ cupful of raisins, Salt, Sugar.
Wet the oatmeal with a little cold water, pour over it three pints of boiling water, and boil gently for two hours. Strain, add a sprinkle of salt and enough sugar to satisfy the patient. A very little mace or nutmeg may be added, and, if one wishes, a half cupful of raisins may be put in as soon as the boiling point is reached. If raisins are used it is not at all necessary to use sugar, for there is plenty of sugar in them to make the gruel most palatable.
RICE GRUEL
2 teaspoonfuls of ground rice, ½ pint of water, Salt, Cream (if allowed).
Blend the rice with a little cold water, add the half pint of boiling water and boil for five minutes. Season with a little salt, and if allowed add three tablespoonfuls of thick cream, or if milk is preferred use that.
POTATO GRUEL (ENGLISH RECIPE)
2 large potatoes, Milk.
Steam two large mealy or floury potatoes, press through a fine sieve, and add hot milk slowly, stirring and blending until the consistency of thin cream. Salt to taste and serve.
CARROT GRUEL
2 large, or 4 small carrots, Milk.
Boil the carrots until very tender, press through a fine sieve and add hot milk slowly, being sure to mix well and smoothly. When the consistency of cream is reached, add a little salt and serve.
An English physician recommends this as an aid in treating scurvy in children.
IRISH OR ICELAND MOSS
½ ounce of Irish moss, 1 pint of water, Lemon juice, Sugar.
Wash the moss, put it in a covered dish and allow it to stand in enough water to cover over night. Throw off this water and cover with a pint of fresh water; simmer for one hour, strain, add a tablespoonful of lemon juice and a little sugar, being sure that it is not too sweet.
Irish moss is a sea weed and is rather rich in mucilage, iodine and sulphur, and is given as an aid in treatment for colds, especially when there is a cough.
HOME MADE KOUMISS
(Recipe from an English Physician)
Boil fresh milk, and when nearly cold put into quart bottles, leaving room to shake. Add ½ ounce of crushed lump sugar, a very small piece of compressed yeast—about one twenty-fourth of the ordinary yeast cake—cork, tie down the cork unless a patent stopper is used; lay the bottles on the side, and shake twice daily. If the weather is hot this may be used on the fifth day, if cool, on the sixth, if very cold, on the seventh.
LINSEED TEA
1 ounce of whole linseed, 1 pint of water, ½ ounce of liquorice, ½ ounce of rock candy, ½ lemon.
Wash, the linseed and simmer with the lemon rind and water for, a half hour. Take from the fire, add liquorice and rock candy and stir until dissolved. Strain and add the lemon juice. Useful in treatment of colds.
PRUNE TEA
2 ounces of prunes, 1 pint of boiling water, 1 teaspoonful of lemon juice.
Be sure to select California prunes, for then no sugar will be needed.
Wash the prunes and put in a saucepan with the water; simmer for an hour, cut the prunes while in the water, then strain through a fine sieve, pressing some of the pulp through. Add the lemon juice and serve to the patient in a wine glass. This is excellent in cases of constipation.
RICE WATER
1 ounce of best Sea Island rice, 1 quart of water, Salt.
There is no better rice grown than that which we get from the islands which lie in the Atlantic off the state of South Carolina. This is large full rice and is by far the most desirable for use for invalids and children.
Wash the rice in cold water, rubbing it well between the hands. Allow water to run over it until the water runs clear. Throw the washed rice in a quart of cold water, and cook rapidly until it boils hard. Then cook slower over a lower fire until rather mushy. Two hours is not too long for the boiling. Strain through a fine sieve. Add a little salt, or if the patient greatly prefers, and sugar will not harm, sweeten slightly.
This is used in cases of dysentery with salt only, as a drink.
RICE MILK
1 ounce of rice (Sea Island), 1 pint of milk, Salt or sugar.
Wash the rice as directed in the foregoing recipe, and put into a saucepan with the milk. Boil for one hour. Add salt to taste or a very little sugar. The salt is preferable. Do not strain this.
TOAST WATER
1 full sized crust of bread, 1 pint of water.
Select the crust of the bread, cut at least an inch thick; toast or dry it until brown in the oven, being sure that it does not burn or scorch, but is thoroughly brown. Put this in a deep bowl and pour one pint of cold water over it, allowing it to stand for one hour. Strain and use. One may season with a little salt or a sprinkling of celery salt. It may be served either hot or cold.
TREACLE (MOLASSES) POSSET
(English recipe)
½ pint of milk, 2 tablespoonfuls of molasses, ½ lemon.
Put the milk into a saucepan, and bring to the boiling point; add the molasses and lemon juice. This will curdle. Strain through a fine cloth. Use hot or cold.
THICK MILK
½ ounce of baked flour, ½ pint of milk, Sugar.
Put a half ounce of flour in a dish and put into the oven, allowing it to brown slightly. Blend it with the milk, stirring a few drops of milk into the flour at a time, until all the milk is used. Boil for five minutes, stirring constantly. Sweeten a trifle and use.
This is given to patients at times when they are on a liquid diet and a change is needed. A little nutmeg will again change the taste.
LEMON WHEY
½ pint of milk, ½ lemon, Sugar.
Boil the milk and add the juice from a half lemon. It will, of course, curdle. Strain through a fine cloth; sweeten slightly and use.
MILK WHEY
(English recipe)
1 pint of sweet milk, ½ pint of buttermilk.
Bring the milk to the boiling point, add the buttermilk and boil for a minute. Strain and use.
MEAT BROTHS AND TEAS
BEEF TEA OR BROTH
½ pound of beef, ¼ teaspoonful of salt, ½ pint of water.
Select a piece of beef which has little or no fat, preferably from the top round; remove any fats, and cut into strips, then cut across, shredding the meat. Put the shredded meat, salt and _cold_ water in an enamel saucepan and allow it to soak for fifteen minutes, then place over a slow fire. Cook until the meat is white and the juice or broth a deep red-brown. Strain through a fine strainer, pressing the beef hard. Remove any particles of grease by drawing a piece of brown paper over the top. Serve hot. Be sure to serve in an attractive cup on a doylie. Please the eye and the appetite is more likely to be tempted.
BEEF TEA (MADE IN A JAR)
1 pound of top round, 1 pint of cold water, ½ teaspoonful of salt.
Remove the fat, shred the meat finely and put into a glass jar. A two quart glass can such as is used for preserving is desirable. Fasten the cover, whether a screw-top or patent fastener, and place in a deep pan of boiling water. Keep the water simmering for at least three hours. Stir the beef occasionally. Strain and remove any fat by drawing a paper over the top. Serve.
BEEF TEA (RAW BEEF)
2 ounces of top round, 2 tablespoonfuls of cold water, Pinch of salt.