One-room cookery

If you have not much time to spare, “‘ something on toast”’ is a good idea. Make your toast underneath the gas grill or, with the aid of a toasting fork, in front of the gas fire. Butter toast while still hot. Dry toast will stay crisp if it is stood upright in a toast rack and not laid flat on a plate. Here are a few suggestions for toast dishes :— ANCHOVY AND CREAM CHEESE TOAST Spread rounds of buttered toast with cream cheese and top with anchovy fillets. CHEESE AND WALNUT TOAST Mix together cream cheese and chopped walnuts and spread on buttered toast. FISH TOAST Mix some flaked smoked haddock, or shrimps or prawns, in a little white sauce, spread on the toast, cover with a little grated cheese, and brown under the grill. MUSHROOMS ON TOAST Grill the mushrooms, sprinkle with lemon juice and pepper and place on rounds of buttered toast. Or cook 4 oz. mushrooms in a little butter or margarine, place in white sauce, heat through and serve on hot toast. SAVOURY TOAST Spread rounds of toast with meat extract, fish-paste, or other savoury extract and top with chopped hard-boiled egg. TOMATOES ON TOAST Grill the tomatoes either whole or cut in half. Or slice thickly, sprinkle with grated cheese and cook under the grill. Serve on hot toast. ONION TOAST Fry some sliced Spanish onions until brown and spread thickly on buttered toast. Season. Cover with thin slices of cheese spread with a little mustard. Heat under the grill or in the oven till the cheese has melted. Serve at once. WELSH RAREBIT Melt a teacup of grated cheese very slowly in a thick saucepan ; mix to a smooth paste with a flat teaspoon of flour and about a tablespoon of milk. Add salt, pepper and mustard to taste, spread on the toast and brown slowly under the grill. A poached egg is sometimes placed on top. : A good sauce will turn even the most homely fare into something really appetising, and can be very useful for re-heating a variety of foods. A coating sauce must be thick enough to adhere to the back of a spoon: if required for pouring round a dish, it should be thin enough to flow without being lumpy. If it is necessary to keep a sauce hot some time before using, place the saucepan in which it was made in another containing boiling water, and stand over a very gentle heat. Always use a wooden spoon for mixing ; cook very slowly and simmer for five minutes after the sauce has reached boiling point. For a coating sauce allow 1 oz. fat and 1 oz. flour to half a pint of liquid. For a pouring sauce allow 1 oz. fat and 1 oz. flour to 2-1 pint liquid. For a thick binding sauce, for use when making rissoles, etc., allow 1 oz. fat and 1 oz. flour to } pint liquid. FOUNDATION WHITE SAUCE Utensils required : thick saucepan, wooden spoon. Melt the fat in the saucepan ; add the flour and mix well together, then cook for a minute or two over a very low flame without browning. Remove the pan from the heat, pour in the liquid gradually, then stir over a gentle heat till it boils. Add seasoning to taste and cook for a further five minutes. VARIATIONS : Anchovy Sauce. Use half fish stock and half milk in making the sauce, and add 2 teaspoons anchovy essence. Cheese Sauce. Add 2 tablespoons grated cheese and a little made mustard. Caper Sauce. Add 1 tablespoon chopped capers and 1 tablespoon vinegar. Egg Sauce. To } pint of sauce add one finely chopped hard-boiled egg. Parsley Sauce. Add 1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley. Zi MINT SAUCE To 3 tablespoons finely chopped mint add } pint white vinegar, 1 oz. sugar and a pinch of salt. Mix well together and let it stand for a while before using. HORSERADISH SAUCE Scrub and scrape the horseradish, then grate finely. Add sufficient white vinegar to cover and castor sugar to taste. BREAD SAUCE