The handy dictionary of cookery

Put into a basin half an ounce of arrowroot, one teaspoonful of sugar, and, very slowly, half a pint of cold water, stirring all the time to keep it smooth. Pour this into a pan, stir till it boils and thickens, then boil for three minutes. Serve hot. There is very little nourishment in this preparation, but it is easily digested, and can sometimes be taken when nothing else is acceptable. Arrowroot and Black-Currant Drink. Boil some black-currant preserve in a quart of water, and strain; mix a teaspoonful of arrowroot with a little cold water, and pour the boiling liquid over it, stirring it well all the time : to be taken cold. Particularly good in affections of the throat. Arrowroot Biscuits. Put into a basin half a pound of butter, half a pound of sugar ; cream them together ; next add the yolks of four eggs and half a pound of arrowroot. Beat the whites to a stiff froth on a clean dry plate with a pinch of salt and a knife ; add them, lastly, to the mixture. Drop on to greased tins and bake. Arrowroot Milk. Put into a basin half an ounce of arrowroot, a teaspoonful of sugar ; add very slowly half a pint of cold milk, stirring all the time to keep it quite smooth. Put all this into a pan ; stir till boiling ; then boil three minutes. Serve hot. Artichokes, Boiled. Wash the artichokes ; peel them and throw them at once into vinegar and water — three parts water and one part vinegar — to preserve the colour. When all are ready take them from the vinegar and water and put them into a pan of boiling water ; boil them until they are soft. Place them in a vegetable dish and pour over them the following sauce : — Melt in a pan one ounce of butter or dripping ; stir into it one ounce of flour and a quarter of a pint of milk ; stir carefully to boiling ; add a pinch of salt ; boil two minutes, and serve hot. A^ofe. — Salt should not be put into the water they are boiled in, as it spoils the colour. B Artichoke Soup. Take two pounds of the shin of beef and two pounds of the shank of veal ; cut up the meat into small pieces, also the bones ; put them into a clean stewpan, cover them with cold water, bring slowly to the boil ; throw in a teaspoonful of salt at boiling-point ; remove any scum that rises to the surface ; simmer it very slowly four hours ; strain it through a sieve. When the stock is quite cold, take off every particle of fat ; put the stock into a pan to boil. Break four ounces of rice-flour with a little milk, and pour it into the boiling stock ; stir carefully three minutes ; have ready two dozen artichokes cleaned and peeled ; add them to the soup, cook them slowly till soft, pass all through a sieve. When the soup is to be served, return it to the pan ; make it quite hot ; season with white pepper, and pour it into a soup tureen on to half a pint of cream or milk, gently stirring it all the time. Asparagus. Trim the asparagus and cut it into equal lengths ; wash it in cold water, tie it in a bundle, stand it upright in a pan of boiling water, allowing it to reach nearly to the tender green tips j boil it rapidly without a lid until it is tender. Serve on toast with white sauce. Note. — Asparagus should be eaten as soon as possible after cutting, as it is then most wholesome. Aspic Jelly.