Miss Parloa's kitchen companion

Put one quart of boiling water into a stew-pan, and place on the fire. Put into a bowl two table-spoonfuls of Indian meal and one of flour. Add a gill of cold water, and mix well. Stir this into the boiling water. Stir the mixture well, and when it boils, set the stewpan back where the gruel will simmer for two hours. Add half a teaspoonful of salt, and cook for half an hour longer. Pour a gill of the gruel into a cup, and add half a gill of cream or milk. Serve at once. * Oatmeal Gruel. Put a quart of boiling water into a stew-pan, and place on the fire. Sprinkle one generous table-spoonful of oatmeal into the water. Stir the gruel well, and set it back where it will simmer for two hours. Season with a scant half-teaspoonful of salt. Strain or not, as may be best for the patient. In any case put one gill of the hot gruel into a delicate cup, and add half a gill of cream or milk. * Flour Gruel. After putting one pint of milk into the double-boiler and placing it on the fire, mix a gill of cold milk with one table-spoonful of flour, and stir into the boiling milk. Cook for twenty minutes. Season with a scant half-teaspoonful of salt ; then strain, and serve hot. When this gruel is desired more nutritious, add half a cupful of raisins to the milk when it is put on to boil. A slight grating of nutmeg may be added if the patient desires. * Arrowroot Gruel. Mix one teaspoonful of arrowroot with two tablespoonfuls of milk. Stir this mixture into half a pint of boiling milk. Cook for ten minutes, stirring frequently. Add half a saltspoonful of salt, and strain the gruel. * Caudle. Add half a gill of wine to any kind of plain gruel, Buch as that made of flour, cracker, or arrowroot. The wine must be added after the gruel is taken from the fire. Stir it gradually into the hot gruel, and serve at once. *Wine Whey. Put half a pint of sweet milk into the double-boiler. When it boils, add a gill of sherry. Stir well, and let it £5 cook until the curd and whey separate. If the wine be quite sour, the milk will separate at once ; sometimes it is so sweet that an extra quantity is required to curdle the milk. If there be any objection to the use of more wine in a case like this, add a teaspoonful of vinegar. Pour the liquid through a fine strainer. * Buttermilk or Sour Milk Whey. Put one cupful of sweet milk into the double-boiler, and place on the stove. When it boils, add one cupful of buttermilk or sour milk. Stir for a minute. When the clear whey separates from the milk, strain it. * Vinegar Whey. Stir two table-spoonfuls of vinegar into half a pint of hot milk, and cook until the clear whey separates from the milk ; then strain. If the vinegar be very strong, one table-spoonful will be enough. * Cream-of-Tartar Whey. Put one cupful of sweet milk in the double-boiler. When it boils, add one level teaspoonful of cream-oftartar, and stir until the mixture forms a curd and whey. Strain this, and cool the whey. This is a refreshing drink for a fever patient. * Lemon Whey. Put two table-spoonfuls of lemon juice with half a pint of hot milk. Cook until the clear whey separates from the curd. Strain, and add one teaspoonful of sugar. * Tamarind Water.