Domestic science (Johnson, for schools and homes)

Vegetable Soup: As commonly used, the term "vegetables" includes all plants used for food, except grains and fruits. Vegetable soups are nutritious and easily digest- ed. A comparative table of the composition of different vegetables will assist the housewife in selecting the more nu- tritious vegetables for the table. Lima beans are the greatest vegetable muscle builders. Lima beans and sweet potatoes excel in fat, the greatest heat producers; sweet potatoes and Lima beans, the greatest en- ergy producers; Lima beans and parsnips contain the most mineral matter, while celery and tomatoes contain the most water. The legumes, peas, beans, and lentils, may be used in place of meat; the other vegetables are chiefly valuable for their mineral matters, and should form a part of the daily food. Peas and beans, when old, should be used for purees and soups; by so doing, the outer covering of cellulose, which is indigestible, is removed. Lima Bean Soup: Soak one cup of Lima beans over night, drain, and cook in boiling salted water until soft; drain; add three-fourths cup cream, season with butter and salt. Reheat before serving. Tomato Soup: One can tomatoes, one pint water, twelve pepper-corns, bit of bayleaf, four cloves, two teaspoons sugar, one teaspoon salt, one-third teaspoon soda, two tablespoons butter, three tablespoons flour, one slice onion. Cook first six ingredients twenty minutes; strain, add salt and soda; strain through thin cloth or fine wire strainer. Lesson 17. Potato Soup: Three medium-sized potatoes, one quart milk, two slices onion, three tablespoons butter, two t&blespoons flour, one and one-half teaspoon salt, one-fourth COOKING 4i teaspoon celery salt, one-eighth teaspoon pepper, a few graini of cayenne, one teaspoon chopped parsley. Cook potatoes in boiling salted water; rub them through a strainer. Scald milk with onion, remove onion, and stir the milk slowly into the potatoes, Melt half the butter, add dry ingredients, stir until well mixed, then stir into the boiling soup. Cook one minute, strain, add remaining butter, and sprinkle with the parsley. Lesson 18. Bread is the most important article of food. Consid- ering its great value, it seems a great wrong to place poor bread before the hungry. Wheat, rye, barley, and Indian corn are the principal cereals used for bread. Fig. 12. A Grain of Wheat. 1. Cuticle. 3. Gluten cells. 2. Bran cells. 4. Starch cells. A grain of wheat consists of a centre of starch, which forms the largest part of the grain; a layer of gluten, which consists of proteid and fat; a layer of bran, which contains mineral matter; and an outer covering called the hull, which is removed before milling. For the conversion of any grain into finished flour, three processes are necessary; cleansing, grinding, and bolting, Entire wheat flour is made by grind- ing all but the outer hull. Graham flour, frequently con- founded with entire wheat flour, is often an inferior flour mixed with coarse bran. Leavening is the process of making batters and doughs 'light," by producing in them a gas, which is expanded by 44 DOMESTIC SCIENCE the heat in baking. The gases commonly aiding tne process of leavening are air, steam, and carbon dioxide, (a compound of carbon and oxygen). Air at 70 degrees Fahr. expands to about twice its volume when submitted to the heat of the oven in baking.