CARROTS (Demi Longues de Lucques). — Sow in open
ground, in light soil, rich in decayed leaves. No manure.
Sow in lines twelve inohes apart. Thin out at intervals ;
even quite young carrots not much thicker than a pencil
give a good flavour to soup and stews. No shade necessary.
TURNIPS (Marteau). — Sow like carrots but more lightly.
Thin out when they begin to develop till they are six inches
apart. Require much water at first ; if ground suitable will
grow quickly but should be eaten young or become rather
stringy. Sow at intervals of three weeks. No shade
required.
33
SUGGESTIONS FOR MENUS.
In the following recipes we have endeavoured to suppress
nearly all tinned foods and to encourage the utilisation of
rice, macaroni, eggs and especially fresh vegetables. In
the menus suggested for the use of a man alone in the bush,
we have supposed that he has neither even beef, mutton
nor game and the one course of fresh fish included could
be replaced by a tin of salmon.
On those days when meat or fish is obtainable, he must
remember to make out his menu so as to take full advantage
of these resources and it is always advisable to try to com-
bine a lunch of eggs, rice, stuffed vegetables, etc., so that
the inevitable fowl appears but once a day.
BREAKFASTS.
Quaker oats porridge.
Fried fish or fish pie, with
\ tin salmon.
Devilled fowl (remains of
poulet menagere)
Maize pancakes with honey.
Maize porridge.
Buttered eggs.
Maize cakes with honey.
Cottage pie (with remains
of roast fowl.)
LUNCHEONS.
Rice and Tomatoes.
Curried fish or remaining
salmon with mayonnaise.
Tapioca pudding.
Stuffed eggs in batter.
Vegetable curry or potato
salad.
Baked custard.
Macaroni and cheese.
Stuffed tomatoes or egg plant.
Paw paw tart.
Stuffed eggs with mustard
and cress.
Egg plant fritters with
mashed yam and cabbage.
Cheese.
34
DINNERS.
Tomato soup.
Poulet Menagere and French
beans.
Plums or figs with custard.
Cheese biscuits.
Pumpkin soup.
Joloff rice.
Lime sponge.
Eggs on anchovy toast.
Yam and onion soup.
Roast fowl with mashed yam
and fried tomatoes.
Caramel cream.
Pickle cheese.
Native bean soup.
Boiled fowl with rice and
fried cucumbers.
Paw paw compote.
Tomato savoury.
The more elaborate menus which now follow comprise
a soup, three courses, a pudding and a savoury. This
would only be for a really big important “ tralala ” dinner.
For dinners of three or four people or even seven or eight,
a soup, two courses and a pudding or savoury would be
quite sufficient.
No cook at home could show as much ingenuity as the
black man does when he succeeds in producing an endless
succession of cou rses, created on a dilapidated range furnished
with two saucepans and a frying pan. But would it not be
better not to ask him to perform these feats, but rather to
shorten the menu to what he can reasonably carry out and
even to arrange for a cold entree or sweet which could be
prepared beforehand in the calm of the morning ? Nigerian
hospitality, is the kindest, most thoughtful and most
generous in the world, but through force of circumstauce
it is often symbolised by a hecatomb of tins. With a little
forethought this could frequently be obviated and the result
would be more original and varied.
Page 14
Presented as published in 1910. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
CARROTS (Demi Longues de Lucques). — Sow in open ground, in light soil, rich in decayed leaves. No manure. Sow in lines twelve inches apart. Thin out at intervals ; even quite young carrots not much thicker than a pencil give a good flavour to soup and stews. No shade necessary.
TURNIPS (Marteau). — Sow like carrots but more lightly. Thin out when they begin to develop till they are six inches apart. Require much water at first ; if ground suitable will grow quickly but should be eaten young or become rather stringy. Sow at intervals of three weeks. No shade required.
SUGGESTIONS FOR MENUS.
In the following recipes we have endeavoured to suppress nearly all tinned foods and to encourage the utilisation of rice, macaroni, eggs and especially fresh vegetables. In the menus suggested for the use of a man alone in the bush, we have supposed that he has neither even beef, mutton nor game and the one course of fresh fish included could be replaced by a tin of salmon.
On those days when meat or fish is obtainable, he must remember to make out his menu so as to take full advantage of these resources and it is always advisable to try to combine a lunch of eggs, rice, stuffed vegetables, etc., so that the inevitable fowl appears but once a day.
BREAKFASTS.
Quaker oats porridge.
Fried fish or fish pie, with \ tin salmon.
Devilled fowl (remains of poulet menagere)
Maize pancakes with honey.
Maize porridge. Buttered eggs.
Maize cakes with honey. Cottage pie (with remains of roast fowl.)
LUNCHEONS.
Rice and Tomatoes.
Curried fish or remaining salmon with mayonnaise. Tapioca pudding.
Stuffed eggs in batter. Vegetable curry or potato salad.
Baked custard.
Macaroni and cheese.
Stuffed tomatoes or egg plant. Paw paw tart.
Stuffed eggs with mustard and cress.
Egg plant fritters with mashed yam and cabbage. Cheese.
DINNERS.
Tomato soup.
Poulet Menagere and French beans.
Plums or figs with custard. Cheese biscuits.
Pumpkin soup.
Joloff rice.
Lime sponge.
Eggs on anchovy toast.
Yam and onion soup.
Roast fowl with mashed yam and fried tomatoes. Caramel cream.
Pickle cheese.
Native bean soup.
Boiled fowl with rice and fried cucumbers.
Paw paw compote.
Tomato savoury.
The more elaborate menus which now follow comprise a soup, three courses, a pudding and a savoury. This would only be for a really big important “ tralala ” dinner. For dinners of three or four people or even seven or eight, a soup, two courses and a pudding or savoury would be quite sufficient.
No cook at home could show as much ingenuity as the black man does when he succeeds in producing an endless succession of courses, created on a dilapidated range furnished with two saucepans and a frying pan. But would it not be better not to ask him to perform these feats, but rather to shorten the menu to what he can reasonably carry out and even to arrange for a cold entree or sweet which could be prepared beforehand in the calm of the morning ? Nigerian hospitality, is the kindest, most thoughtful and most generous in the world, but through force of circumstauce it is often symbolised by a hecatomb of tins. With a little forethought this could frequently be obviated and the result would be more original and varied.