The practical cookbook

To fulfill the first two requirements is easy. Buy the best that can be obtained (not always the most expensive, but that which is seasonable and of high grade), then prepare according to methods which have proved satisfactory. Food out of season is always an extravagance and is often of inferior quality. Attractive serving depends on the fact that the eye governs the taste and that food which is unattractive in appearance is distasteful and therefore indigestible. Avoid overdecoration, though a slight garnishing adds greatly to the esthetic value of many dishes. Slices of lemon, pimientos, stuffed olives, hard-cooked eggs, shredded lettuce, watercress, parsley, or any greens suggested by one's ingenuity may be used to garnish savory dishes, while whipped cream (delicately colored), candied cherries, angelica, chopped nuts, etc., are suitable for cakes and desserts.. Be careful that greens which may wilt are not used on hot dishes, and remember that whipped cream liquefies on hot desserts. To obtain variety serve only a few kinds of food at a meal, but vary the selection for each meal. Once a day is enough to use meat in most families ; in its place fish and the various meat substitutes may be included in the luncheon menu, while eggs, salt fish, baked beans, or a hearty cereal (such as whole oatmeal or cracked wheat, served with plenty of milk) may replace it for breakfast. If a starchy vegetable is desired for two meals, use potatoes for one and rice, macaroni in its various forms, hominy, or sweet potatoes for the other. Where a second vegetable is desired, choose a succulent one, such as greens, asparagus, onions, turnips, or carrots for a hot dish and cucumbers, lettuce, tomatoes, celery, or cabbage for a cold dish. Avoid vegetables similar in flavor or texture ; even the color should be different, except at a formal meal, which may carry out a color scheme. When meat is served with gravy, a second sauce should not accompany the vegetables, nor should two creamed dishes be used at the same meal. Bread in some form, butter, and a beverage are permissible at all meals, but while coffee and tea have no food value except for the milk and sugar added, cocoa is distinctly nourishing and should only be used to increase the nutritive value of a meal. When the first course is soup, no beverage should be served except a small cup of after-dinner coffee, as too large an amount of liquid weakens the power of the gastric juice to digest the solid foods. It is probably true that it is impossible, under normal conditions, to serve too many fresh fruits and vegetables if care is taken to select them wisely and to have the diet otherwise balanced. Our common habit of beginning a meal with fruit d,:...l,CjOO^:;Ic stimulates the digestive system and puts it into condition to receive the foods more difficult of digestion. The same is true of the use of hot soup. On the other hand, we place sweets at the end of a meal in order that they may leave a pleasant sensation and excite the flow of the gastric juice; they should not, however, be used for this purpose at the beginning of a meal, since they are so satisfying as to lessen the desire for more nourishing food. And while an excessive use of relishes and condiments is not to be recommended, they, also, undoubtedly serve much the same purpose, since highly seasoned food increases the secretion of the digestive juices. Thus many of our common practices have a physiological basis which we cannot afford to ignore in the choice of our food.