FoodNet

Foods, their selection and preparation

1935

Page 333

Presented as published in 1935. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
Urban workers tend to lunch at the place of employment or near by. The older chil¬ dren lunch at school, so that the midday meal or luncheon tends to be light and the heavy meal or dinner comes at night, when the family assembles and there is a time to enjoy both food and each other. Luncheon. What is needed for lunch depends upon what was served for break¬ fast and what is to be served for dinner. It also depends upon whether this meal is served at home or is carried to school or work. It is good management in buying and in preparation, too, to have planned left¬ overs from dinner to use for lunch next day. Luncheon may be extremely simple, yet adequate in amount and in food nutrients. Like most meals the menu is built around the main dish. This is a good time to use substitutes for meat. Egg and cheese dishes and dried legumes make good main dishes for lunch. The meat or other protein food and vegetables may be combined in a heavy salad or a one-dish meal, such as a hearty soup, or a stew, meat pie, or casserole dish; or the meat, egg, cheese, or peanut butter may be combined with the bread into sand¬ wiches, hot or cold. The vegetables may be cooked, or served uncooked as relishes or salad. With as many factors as must be consid¬ ered in planning luncheon, it is not always as easy to follow a set pattern as it is for breakfast and dinner. However, the following pattern may prove helpful to the inexperienced meal-planner in making luncheon both nourishing and interesting, yet simply and quickly prepared. Luncheon Patterns A main dish with a vegetable or salad or A hearty soup and a salad and Bread and butter or A hearty salad with a sandwich To all may be added a simple dessert, if desired, and always a beverage. Dinner. With some families, it is pre¬ ferred and more convenient to have dinner at night; in others, it is better to have the [360] big meal of the day at noon. This depends upon the work and habits of the various members of the family. Either way, the planning is the same; and when dinner is served at noon, supper at night will be similar to luncheon, already discussed. As with the other meals, the menu is built around the protein dish, which may be meat, poultry, fish, or a meat alternate dish, such as cheese souffle or baked beans. Potato or some starchy food is needed and at least one other vegetable. In many cases, the salad will be uncooked vegetables or fruit served on crisp salad greens. For additional energy and food nutrients, bread in some form and butter or fortified margarine are included. The dessert may be pie, cake, ice cream, or pudding; or it may be fruit, fresh, frozen, canned, or dried. More elaborate dinners may begin with fruit, a juice, or soup as an appetizer. Fruits and clear meat soups are especially good to precede hearty dinners. (See page 8.) In a very simple dinner, the sweet may be supplied by marmalade, jelly, jam, preserves, or other sweet spread instead of a made dessert. This pattern will serve as a guide in planning satisfying and nourishing dinners. D inner Patterns A main dish, meat, poultry, fish, or meat alternate A starchy and a succulent vegetable or Two succulent vegetables Salad or uncooked relish (optional) Bread and butter (optional) Dessert Beverage