FoodNet

Food and freedom

1918

Page 47

Presented as published in 1918. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
3. Efficient working conditions: These cover: A well-planned, convenient, inspiring kitchen. Equipment and tools or cooking utensils that will facilitate work and save all unnecessary labor. A comfortable, washable, becoming kitchen uniform, including a cap, white stockings, and well-fitting, good-looking, low-heeled shoes. Every woman in the country is entitled to the best kitchen equipment and uniform that the work of her particular household demands. Any system of living that does not make this possible is unfair in the extreme; where the income of a home cannot afford right working conditions for the housekeeper, these should be provided for, in some way, by the state or community. COOKING THE MEALS 117 4. Elimination of all unnecessary, elaborate cooking. 5. Simplification of all necessary cooking, making as little work of this as possible, and keeping this work under control. The following suggestions, put into practice, can be most helpful: Have menus planned in advance; let these in- clude frequent "one-dish" and "two-course" meals, ^ also include dishes requiring little or no cooking — fresh fruits, raisins, dates, figs, nuts, milk, cocoa, chocolate, cheese, salads, egg dishes, fish dishes, cream soups, sandwiches, gelatin, and frozen desserts. Plan an adaptable schedule of work fitted to particular home conditions, with greatly reduced work for Sundays, holidays, hot weather. ^ Plan "cookless" meals for these days; "picnics" and "tray-suppers" save work and give pleasure. Do all kitchen work as far as possible before 9 A.M. When cooking cereals, beans, vegetables, etc., cook enough at one time to cover several meals; serve in different forms. Use a fireless cooker for overnight cooking: cereals, beans, vegetables, stewed fruits, stews, a fowl or other piece of meat, may all be pre- pared in this way, when convenient, and much time and work during the day will be saved. ^ See "Hot Weather Cooking Suggestions," on p. 253. Also, "Fuel-saving Menus," on pp. 93-94. ii8 FOOD AND FREEDOM "Oven dinners," "two-story" steamer dinners, the baking of breads and cakes in small pans — all save time and fuel. An "emergency cupboard," stocked with ready- to-eat foods, frequently saves time and con- fusion. Form, arrangement, color, flavor, count high in food satisfaction, but cost little in time and money. Reliable "rules," "tables," and "foundation recipes" are more convenient and helpful than a confused mass of scattered, individual recipes. A good cook-book or set of recipes may be used as a guide or reference, but it is more efficient to work without constantly referring to a recipe. Enlist the co-operation of other members of the family. Fuels used for cooking include wood, coal, coke, kerosene oil, gas, electricity, and, for small quantity, cooking alcohol. While the use of coal may still be necessary in some localities, the coal stove or range for home cooking represents econ- omy in neither fuel nor labor. The proportion of coal used for generating the heat required for family cooking is extravagant, much of this heat is wasted, and the care of the stove is a burden. Gas, oil, and electricity are noW the practical COOKING THE MEALS 119