Every-day dishes and every-day work

Celery Toast. — Cut the crisp white portion of celery into inch pieces, simmer twenty minutes or half an hour, or until tender, in a very little water ; add salt and a cup of rich milk. Heat to boiling, and thicken with a little flour rubbed smooth in a small quantity of milk — a teaspoonful of flour to the pint of liquid. TOASTS. Serve hot, poured over slices of zwieback previously moistened with cream or hot water. Cream Toast.— Use good graham or whole-wheat zwieback. Have a pint of thin sweet cream scalding hot; salt it a little if desired, and moisten the zwieback in it as previously directed, packing it immediately into a hot dish ; cover tightly so that the toast may steam ; and serve. The slices should be thoroughly moistened, but not soft and mushy nor swimming in cream; indeed, it is better if a little of the crispness still remains, Cream Toast with Poached Egg.- Prepare the cream toast as previously directed, and serve hot with a well-poached egg on each slice. Cherry Toast.— Take a quart of ripe cherries; stem, wash, and stew ( if preferred, the stones may be removed) until tender but not broken ; add sugar to sweeten, and pour over slices of well-browned dry toast or zwieback. Serve cold. Gravy Toast.— Heat a quart and a cupful of rich milk to boiling, add salt, and stir into it three scant tablespoonfuls of flour which has been rubbed to a smooth paste in a little cold milk. This quantity will be sufficient for about a dozen slices of toast. Moisten slices of zwieback with hot water, and pack in a heated dish. When serving, pour a quantity of the cream sauce over each slice. Dry Toast with Hot Cream.— Nicely prepared zwieback served in hot saucers with hot cream poured over each slice at the table, makes a most delicious breakfast dish. Grape Toast.— Stem well-ripened grapes, wash well, and scald without water in a double boiler until broken ; rub through a colander to remove seeds and skins, and when cool, sweeten to taste. If the toast is desired for breakfast, the grapes should be prepared the day previous. Soften the toast in hot cream, as previously directed, and pack in a tureen. Heat the prepared grapes and serve, pouring a small quantity over each slice of toast. Canned grapes may be used instead of fresh ones, if desired. Lentil Toast.- Lentils stewed as directed for lentil gravy on page 76 served as a dressing on slices of zwieback moistened with hot cream or water makes a very palatable toast. Browned flour may be used to thicken the dressing, if preferred. Prune Toast.- Cook prunes as directed on page 62, allowing them to simmer very slowly for a long time. When done, rub through a colander, and if quite thin, stew again for a time, until they are about the consistency of marmalade. Moisten slices of zwieback with hot cream, and serve with a spoonful or two of the prune dressing on each. One-third dried apple may be used with the prunes, if preferred.