Books and My Food: With Literary Quotations and Original Recipes for Every ..

"Give cherries in time of year, or apricots; and say they were sent you from the country." — Ben Jonson. FROZEN apricots can be given any time of year by using fruit that has been canned or preserved. Cut in very small pieces one can of apricots, add a quart of water and two cups of sugar and freeze. When partly frozen add two-thirds of a cup of cream, whipped to lightness. Stir into the apricot and finish freezing. If the apricots used are preserved, less sugar will be needed, but all frozen desserts need more sugar than unfrozen ones. MARCH I2TH [illustration: If you are hungry, can't you be content with the wholesome roots of the earth? — Sheridan ("The Duenna").] FEW people realize the excellent flavor of celery-root. Cut it in thin slices and boil for about two hours, or until tender. Serve with a cream sauce. It will have a much stronger flavor than the stalk of the celery, and possesses even more valuable attributes as the calmer of irritated nerves. MARCH 13TH [illustration: The pie dishes were now drawn out of the ashes and broken, and the meat baked with all its juices was greedily devoured. It tastes like a rabbit. — Charles Reade ("It Is Never Too Late To Mend").] ADD to one pound of lean chopped beef one-quarter of a pound of bacon; season highly with salt and pepper, and, if the flavor is liked, with one teaspoonful of minced onion; stir into it a beaten egg, and form into a long roll. Incase in a shell of buttered paper and place in a pan; cover closely the whole with a thick paste of cornmeal. Bake three-quarters of an hour; remove the paste and serve. If it does not taste like a rabbit it will at least taste much better than an inferior cut of steak, which costs nearly twice as much. MARCH 14TH [illustration: Twice meat was forbidden and twice pudding allowed. — Mrs. Humphry Ward ("Marcella").] AN excellent rule for custard pudding is this : beat until very light the yolks of six eggs and seven tablespoonfuls of sugar. Pour slowly on them a quart of hot milk, in which is a small pinch of salt ; fill buttered custardcups with the mixture, set in a pan of hot water and bake until set, then draw to the door of the oven and quickly dot the surface of each custard with currantjelly, raspberry-jam or other favorite and convenient substitute; cover with a meringue made of the whites of three eggs and a tablespoonful and a half of powdered sugar. Brown lightly. MARCH 15TH [illustration: Better a crust of black bread than a mountain of paper confections. — Arthur Hugh Clough ("The Bothie of Tober-na-Vuolich").] OLD-TIME New England brown bread is almost as sweet and nutty as a confection. To make it, sift two cupfuls of rye flour, two cupfuls of Indian meal, two teaspoonfuls of salt and one of soda, dissolved in a little hot water. Mix into a white bread sponge that is already light and add gradually half a cup of molasses. Knead well and leave six or seven hours. Then knead into loaves and let rise for two hours longer. Bake three hours in a slow oven. MARCH i6th "Papa was great at lobster salads and taught me. I mixed it myself a fortnight ago, and, as you see, it is as fresh and sweet as if I had just made it." — George du Maurier ("Peter Ibbetson"). A BOILED salad dressing that does keep "fresh and sweet" for a fortnight is made by adding three tablespoonfuls of vinegar to the beaten yolks of three eggs, heating in a double-boiler and stirring until stiff. On removing from the fire stir in two so tablespoonfuls of butter, mixing thoroughly. Season when cold with salt, mustard, and cayenne, and thin with olive-oil to the desired consistency. Keep in a cool place. MARCH 17TH "For the first course at the top, a pig, and prune sauce." — Goldsmith ("She Stoops to Conquer").