The farm cook & rule book

one-third of the rice in the dish. Sprinkle with one-third of the grated cheese, dot with butter and sprinkle with a few bread crumbs. Repeat until three such layers are made. Then add the milk and salt and bake in a moderate oven about 30 minutes. Rice, Country Style 3 cupfuls cooked rice 3 eggs 1 cupful bacon Vi teaspoonful pepper y2 teaspoonful salt Cut the bacon in small pieces before measuring, then fry it until crisp. Then pour off about half of the fat and place the bacon on a small dish and set in a warm place. Beat the eggs thoroughly and combine them with the rice; add the salt and pepper. Turn in the skillet with the bacon fat and scramble. Place on a hot platter and garnish with the bacon. CANDIES AND CONFECTIONS The secret of successful candy making is to keep the syrup from crystallizing. Several precautions may be heeded to accomplish this. First of all, boil the sugar and liquid together in a thick kettle or saucepan. Stir until the sugar is dissolved and then cook without moving or shaking the kettle containing the boiling syrup. Wipe off the crystals of sugar that form on the sides of the kettle with a cloth moistened in water and tied over the tines of a fork. If one wishes, a few drops of any acid, such as vinegar or lemon juice, may be added to prevent crystallization. Cream of tartar may also be used for this purpose. If the candy contains grains, add water to soften it and reboil. Testing Candy If one has a candy thermometer, it is easy to determine when the candy is cooked. The soft ball stage is reached when the thermometer registers from 236 to 240 degrees F. ; the hard ball at 254 degrees F. ; the soft crack at 260 degrees F. ; and the hard crack at 290 degrees F. Without a thermometer the tests are made by dropping a small portion of the boiling syrup from the spoon into a cupful of cold water. If the mixture makes up into a soft ball, it is the soft ball stage ; if it forms a rather hard ball, it is the hard ball stage; if the mixture becomes crisp and too hard to form a hard ball when crushed between the fingers, it is the soft crack stage; and if it cracks or breaks when crushed between the fingers, the hard crack stage is reached. To Caxamelize Sugar When caramelized sugar is called for in a recipe, it may be prepared by placing granulated sugar in a frying pan and melt- ing it on the stove without the addition of water. The sugar must be stirred constantly while being melted. When it becomes a light brown, or a golden brown, mass, it is caramelized. Caramelized syrup is made by boiling water and sugar together beyond the hard crack stage or until the syrup becomes a golden brown. The main precaution to heed in this process is to stir the syrup and to remove it from the stove as soon as it is caramelized, in this way avoiding all traces of scorch. Peppermint Circles % cupful sugar 3 tablespoonfuls water 5 drops oil of peppermint Stir the ingredients together and place on the stove. When the sugar begins to melt, stir for several minutes. Drop small spoonfuls of the syrup on oiled paper. Cocoanut Candy 1^ cupfuls sugar 3 tablespoonfuls butter 14 cupful milk % cupful shredded cocoanut