The Rural cook book

Noodles. — Beat an egg slightly, but not until it foams ; salt it to season the dough, and then work in all the flour the egg can be made to take up. Take the dough on to the board and knead in flour until it is stiff and smooth, then roll out as thin as possible. Let the 'sheet of dough dry for a while, but roll it into a roll like a jelly roll belbre it gets dry enough to break when rolled; slice from the end, and shake into strings. The thinner the dough is rolled, and the finer it is cut the better the noodles are. A very thin, sharp knife makes the work of cutting much easier and insures much finer noodles. The directions given call for one egg as a basis, but the method of making is exactly the same if six, or a dozen eggs are used. Three medium-sized eggs will make a sheet of dough SO inches square if properly rolled out, and wilt be enough for a family of six or eight hungry people. When dry enough to roll and cut, the noodles are dry enough to cook, but they may be kept for hours or days, after they are cut. Cheese Noodles. — Make your noodles the day before you want to use them and shave fine. Drop lightly into boiling water and allow them to cook 15 minutes over a hot Are. Do not let them simmer, or they will turn out a mushy mass. Drain and fill a rather deep pan to the depth of two inches. Season with salt and pepper and pour over them enough sweet milk almost to cover. Over the top grate cheese to the depth of half an inch, cover and bake one hour, removing cover the last 15 minutes unless oven is too hot. Rice Croquettes. — To one teacupful of boiled rice, add one teaspoonful of butter, a beaten egg, a seasoning of salt and pepper, and mix well together. Mold into rolls, or small cakes, dip into egg, and then into powdered cracker crumbs and fry in hot butter or drippings. A little finely chopped cold meat is an improvement; it should be mixed with the rice and e^ before molding. Rice Muffins.-— One pint of milk, one pint boiled rice, two eggs, two tablespoonfuls of sugar, one tablespoonful of butter, one teaspoonful each of salt and baking powder. Beat the sugar, salt, yolks of egga and butter together, add the milk and sufficient flour to make a thin batter; sift the rice in lightly, and last the beaten whites. Bake in rings 30 minutes. Royal Toast.~Put bread toasted a delicate brown in a square shallow pan ; put a piece of butter the size of a walnut on each slice, and sprinkle with sugar. Arrange in layers, and pour over the whole enough milk or cream to half fill the pan. Cover closelyand set in a slow oven until the liquid is all absorbed. Swiss Toast. — Mash one-half box of berries, but not too fine; sweeten one-quarter cufi of sugar, then cut five slices of stale bread as for toasting. Cover each slice with the berries. Retain some of the juice so as not to make the bread too soft. Heat about two tablespoon fuls of butter in a large frying pan ; put the slices with the berries on them carefully into the hot butter and fry slowly until the bread is browned on the underside, basting the berries with the butter while in the pan. Transfer the bread and berries to a hot platter; pour the rest of the juice over them and serve immediately. Tomato Toast. — This can often be made from stewed or scalloped tomatoes left over from dinner; the extra juice from canned tomatoes which often makes them seem too watery, is useful for the toast. The tomato is simmered with the proper flavoring, strained through a sieve, and then thickened with flour and butter before being poured over the toast. If one wishes to make more of a dish, crisp fried bacon may be served with it, or a spoonful of minced ham or other cooked meat may be put on the top of each piece of toast before the tomato is poured over it