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

"The foolish John Resolved the problem, 'twixt his napkinèd thumbs, Of what was signified by taking soup Or choosing mackerel." — Mrs. Browning ("Aurora Leigh"). SELECT a fat salt mackerel weighing at least a pound; soak overnight in a pan of cold water, skin side up so that the salt falls out ; change the water in the morning. Drain well and put on the fire in cold water; when it boils drain thoroughly and gently remove the backbone. Pour over and in the mackerel two tablespoonfuls of nicely browned melted butter. Garnish with parsley and serve very hot. JUNE 26th " 'Wofs the matter?' says the doctor. " 'Weiy ill,' says the patient. " * Wot have you been eatin' on ?* says the doctor. *' 'Roast weal,* says the patient." — Charles Dickens ("Pickwick Papers"). UNDOUBTEDLY there are people to whom indulgence in roast veal means a doctor's bill; but they are comparatively few. If veal is thoroughly cooked it may generally be eaten with impunity. Have the bone taken out of a fillet. Stuff with breadcrumbs highly seasoned and bound lightly together with butter; no other moistening is needed. Skewer the meat into shape, cover it with slices of salt pork or bacon. Cook at least three hours, whether the fillet is large or small. That length of time is needed to make the stubborn fibre of the meat digestible. JUNE 27TH " Reserve the feast I The board forsake — Ne'er tap the wine — don't cut the cake — No toasts or foolish speeches make At which my reason spurns." —Hood ("Poems"). DELICIOUS old fashioned "delicate" cake is made by creaming together one cupful of butter with two of sugar, then slowly adding one cupful of sweet milk and the whites of eight eggs, beaten to a stiff froth. Finally mix in, with as little stirring as possible, three cupfuls of sifted flour in which has been stirred three teaspoonfuls of baking-powder. Flavor with one teaspoonful of almond extract. The addition at the last of a cupful of blanched and chopped almonds, with an icing which is ornamented with rings of whole blanched almonds, transforms this into a christening cake of the most orthodox type. JUNE 28th ''Mine eyes smell onions, I shall weep anon." —Shakespeare (''All's WeU That Ends Well"). SPANISH onion is eaten as a salad without cooking, mixing it with the white, inner leaves of lettuce. Peel the onion, and, not to let the "eyes smell" it too weepingly, do it under water. Shred the onion fine. Put the lettuce leaves and onion shavings in a bowl, cover with a French dressing of six tablespoonfuls of oil, three of vinegar, half a teaspoonf ul of salt, and a pinch of pepper. The young, small garden onions in the early Spring are often eaten raw with a simple dressing, and also mixed with cucumbers and radishes. JUNE 29TH "What's the Latin name for parsley?" — Browning ("Soliloquy of the Spanish Cloister")* PARSLEY butter is very nice for fish, flesh, or fowl, and still nicer for boiled potatoes. Add to half a cup of butter a tablespoonful of lemon- juice, one of chopped parsley, half a teaspoonful of salt and the same amount of paprika. Beat thoroughly, and if it is to be used for fish stir in a teaspoonful of capers. JUNE 30TH "There Is such a beautiful piece of cold beef in the larder; do somebody ask for a little slice of it." — ^Thackeray ("Memorials of Gormandizing").