A practical cook and text book for general use

Fruit Juice Sauce. Use any kind of fruit possessing a distinctive flavor, raspberry, strawberry, grape, cherry, etc. To one pint of boiling juice add one rounding tablespoonful of corn starch made smooth with a little cold juice. Dip a few spoonfuls of the hot juice on the starch mixture, and stir all the lumps out, then add to the hot juice stirring at the same time. Cook five minutes ; if too thick add hot water to make it creamy. A little sugar may be used, but do not destroy the flavor of the berry with it. Entire wheat flour can be used if preferred, and the sauce varied by using any of the different kinds of fruit juices one may have on hand. Drinks for the Sick. Fruit juices are particularly useful and helpful as drinks for the sick. In preparing them any known taste of the invalid should be recognized, and small quantities offered at a time. Use dainty wine glasses, or the pretty glass lemonade mugs, though the latter must not be full ; and serve on a napkin covered! tray. Thirst vs. Water. The heading, Drinks for the Sick^ is intended as a reminder that well people do not need " drinks " very often. A stomach supplied with proper food in proper quantities will rarely demand drink, even on a hot day, but to meet the call of w«healthy stomachs for ice water, it is suggested that they take instead the following. Good for a Hot Day. The thirst that 'demands drink almost constantly, can be better and more safely quenched by taking two heaping table-spoonfuls of fine oat meal to a quart of water, stir well and set the pitcher in the refrigerator. As it cools and settles the water is slightly colored, and later may resemble milk. This quenches thirst better than clear water, and is less harmful than ice water. CHAPTER IX. Vegetables should be grown in good soil, be perfectly fresh, and of the best quality. As all food partakes of the nature of the soil in which it matures, the utmost care should be exercised in furnishing the best quality of pure fertilizers. Vegetables matured beneath the soil more readily become diseased and are not as wholesome as those ripened in the sun. To prepare for cooking they should be thoroughly washed with a brush, imperfections removed and, as a rule, not stand in water previous to cooking. Being rather coarse in their nature, they should be eaten sparingly by invalids or those with weak digestive powers. To cook evenly they should be of uniform size, and may be boiled, stewed, baked or steamed. Steaming is recommended as in boiling much of the flavor is lost in . the steam which escapes, or is left in the water which is thrown away. If care is used to have as little water as possible and the vegetables have been sufficiently washed and pared before cooking, this water can often be used as a sauce for their serving. In boiling vegetables use as little water as possible ; replenish with boiling water if necessary. When done, drain, and leave them on the back of the range partially uncovered, or take them up the moment they are done, and set in the warming oven until wanted. Vegetables for stewing should be pared very lightly, as a large part of the nutriment lies just beneath the skin ; slice them a quarter of an inch thick, drop in sufficient boiling water to cover, cook until soft and the water nearly or quite evaporated. Steaming vegetables is the best method, the most economical and labor saving. When the water in the steamer boils, put the vegetables in dry, and cook until a fork will penetrate them. An entire meal can be cooked, including the dessert, at the^ same time, the flavor and juices of each article being retained, instead of permeating the house with undesirable odors. Food may be kept warm for several hours in a steam cooker.