FoodNet

Most for your money cookbook

1938

Page 93 · 1 recipe record on this page

Presented as published in 1938. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
A row of jars and bottles of home prepared seasonings is a never- ending inspiration on those days when one is distracted with think- ing up new ways to vary the menus. Herbs such as rosemary, savory, dill, marjoram and tarragon can be collected, one at a time, as they appear on the pushcarts. Dried and kept away from the air, they will last a year. The leaves from a bunch of celery will dry also, keeping their natural color and full flavor if laid on a pie tin in an open warm oven, or hung on a string over radiator or behind stove, until brittle. Piled up loosely in a covered glass jar, these will always provide fresh celery seasoning for the soup and stew pot, or roasting pan, for sauces and for gravies. Parsley cannot be suc- cessfully dried for commerce, but for one's own kitchen it will dry as well as celery and take the place of green parsley, especially if it is refreshed in cold water 15 minutes before using. Basil, too, can be dried at home in the same way. But living plants of basil or sweet marjoram, procured from florist or vegetable vendor, will grow in pots on any window sill, bravely putting out more leaves to take the place of the ones continually plucked oflF. In summer, fire-escapes in foreign sections of our cities always display tin cans and boxes of these two sturdy plants which are taken inside in winter. With this store of herbs should go a string of little hot red peppers, likewise dried out in the open oven, so they will not spoil. An unopened pod is not too much for a pot of soup. If only a portion is used, be sure the seeds are discarded. And be sure to take it out before serving, or some person will get more than his share of hotness. l68 MOST-FOR-YOUR-MONEY COOK BOOK There is nothing like herb variety for relieving food monotony and giving a family the feeling that they are eating something different all the time. Most herbs are both appetizers and aids to digestion besides, and thus they may be used freely without fear of injury to health. Although most of them are so strong that a little goes a long way, there are a few, like the faithful basil that grows in a pot, whose leaves can be scattered through green salads or, minced, may be put into the salad dressing until it is actually green. Basil is the best herb of all with tomatoes, either raw or cooked, and Italians like to lay a few leaves of it on a platter of spaghetti with tomato sauce, for each person to tear up a leaf and mix it in, or nibble at it whole, while eating. The time to lay in orange and lemon flavorings is when these are cheapest. Before cutting the fruit, carefully pare off the outside yellow covering of the skin in a long unbroken spiral with as little of the white sticking to it as possible. Toss the spirals over a string stretched in a warm place. When the moisture has dried out, but before the skin has become crisp, pack away in a glass jar. Eventually there will be two jars full, one of lemon and the other of orange peel, ready for the season when fresh citrus fruit is scarce and expensive. Two inches or so broken off will flavor soup, or pudding or pie, will give a zest to applesauce or other cooked fruits and is handy in concocting drinks. For use in certain cakes, cookies and puddings it is better to candy these peels. CANDIED ORANGE AND LEMON PEELS Candied Orange and Lemon Peels