The girl's own cookery book

134 The Girl's Own Cookery Book. burning, till wanted. It may be eaten in twenty minutes, but will be improved by long boiling. Broken bread is frequently given to the poor, and a great scandal is created because they throw it away instead of using it. Very often, however, they do not know what to do with it. An excellent pudding of broken bread may be made by pouring boiling water upon the pieces, letting them soak for a while, then draining them, and beating them up with a good slice of dripping, some coarse sugar, currants, and nutmeg. The mixture thus prepared may be turned into a greased pie-dish, and baked in a well-heated oven till it is brightly browned on the top. It may be eaten hot or cold. Children's Cheap Pudding.— Stew a little cheap fruit of any kind, sweeten it, and spread it upon broken bread, pour cold milk over, and let the bread soak for a while. Children will eat this pudding with great relish. Few dishes are more nourishing than peas, lentils, or haricots made into soup. The process in all cases is the same. Soak the beans, then draw off the water, and boil them in three times their bulk of fresh water till soft. They will take three hours or more, and a little dripping should be thrown into the water with them. Flavour the soup as convenient, rub it through a colander to keep back the skins, which are not easy of digestion, and serve very hot. A crust of bread boiled with soup is a great improvement ; and, when it can be procured, greasy stock in which fat meat has been boiled should be used instead of water to make the soup. An excellent supper for a working man can be made from cheese and rice. Cheese, it will be remembered, is more nourishing than meat, and can generally be digested without difficulty by those who w-ork in the open air. Take a quarter of a pound of rice, put it into a saucepan with cold water to cover it, and bring it to the boil. Drain it, and put it back into the saucepan with three-quarters of a pint of milk and a little pepper and salt, and boil it gently till tender and rather dry. Grate a little cheese finely (dry, stale cheese will answer for this purpose if it is not hard) ; place alternate layers of boiled rice and Cookery for the Poor. grated cheese in a greased dish, and let cheese be the uppermost layer ; put little pieces of dripping here and there upon the top, and brown in the oven. Serve hot. Lentils or haricot beans may be soaked and boiled till soft, then eaten either as a vegetable or as a substitute for meat. They are excellent prepared as follows : Haricot Beans. — Boil the haricots till tender, and drain them. Mince a small onion finely, toss it over the fire, and mix the beans with it. Serve hot. Lentils. — Boil the lentils till tender, and drain them. Melt a slice of dripping in a saucepan, and throw in an onion finely chopped. Stir in a tea^poonful of flour, and add a little of the water in which the lentils were boiled to make a thick sauce, with half a teaspoonful of vinegar if liked. Put in the lentils, and let them simmer softly for a few minutes. Serve hot.