Now let me thinlc. The bUnds are drawn up in the
nurseries, and the youngsters are all wide awake ; and, like
their elders, their first desire upon waking is not to have a
bath, but to have something to eat and drink. I hear some
of my readers exclaim, " Something to eat and to drink before
they are Avashed and dressed ! Ridiculous ! " But I repeat
that their first desire upon Avaking is to have something to
eat and to drink ; and that desire I maintain should be
satisfied. Give your children, Avise mothers, upon Avaking,
a Avine-glassful of home-made lemonade, a Marie biscuit,
and some fruit — a feAV grapes, a pear, an apple, an orange,
or a feAv figs. Let the little ones enjoy this early "snack"
every day upon Avaking, and you Avill find that their general
health Avill be very much the better for it, and it Avill go
far to decrease your chemist's bill. Bread and milk should
constitute the staple diet for breakfast ; but bcAA^are of
porridge more than once, or, at the outside, tAvice a Aveek.
Too much oatmeal porridge is apt to haA^e a bad effect on
the skin. With some children it brings about a roughness,
and AA'itli others absolute soreness, of the skin. When o-iven
at breakfast it should be prepared Avith milk, and the con-
sistency should be only that of arroAvroot or corn-flour,
and not resemble in thickness a "bran mash" or linseed
poultice, as I liaA^e frequently seen it served. BroAvn sugar,
and not Avhite, should be served Avith porridge.
There is no necessity for me to tell how bread and milk
should be prepared, as yve all knoAV that ; but there are
tAVO AA'ays of serving up even this homely fare, an appetis-
ing and a non -appetising Avay. I have had bread and
milk for my morning meal for months together during
times of sickness, so I ouo-lit to knoAv somethino- about the
appetising aspect of it. A nice cottage, not a tinned,
loaf should be chosen, cut into even squares, care being'
CHATS ABOUT COOKEEY. 7.>
taken to leave nice bright little edges of crust for this
matutinal dish ; next be careful to jDoiir boiling, and not
lukewarm, water on the bread ; drain it off quickly so as
not to allow the bread to be reduced to a pap ; set the
bowls — always have white bowls — on a Avarm plate, and pour
on to the bread the hot fresh milk in a few seconds, just
as it is on the point of boiling. Don't wait until the milk
actually boils, or it may become brown and burnt in a
moment, and will entirely spoil the repast. A nice dish of
buttered toast, made from tinned loaves, should follow, with
a cup of chocolate made from cocoa-nibs.
Page 53
Presented as published in 1895. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
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Now let me thinlc. The bUnds are drawn up in the
nurseries, and the youngsters are all wide awake ; and, like
their elders, their first desire upon waking is not to have a
bath, but to have something to eat and drink. I hear some
of my readers exclaim, " Something to eat and to drink before
they are Avashed and dressed ! Ridiculous ! " But I repeat
that their first desire upon Avaking is to have something to
eat and to drink ; and that desire I maintain should be
satisfied. Give your children, Avise mothers, upon Avaking,
a Avine-glassful of home-made lemonade, a Marie biscuit,
and some fruit — a feAV grapes, a pear, an apple, an orange,
or a feAv figs. Let the little ones enjoy this early "snack"
every day upon Avaking, and you Avill find that their general
health Avill be very much the better for it, and it Avill go
far to decrease your chemist's bill. Bread and milk should
constitute the staple diet for breakfast ; but bcAA^are of
porridge more than once, or, at the outside, tAvice a Aveek.
Too much oatmeal porridge is apt to haA^e a bad effect on
the skin. With some children it brings about a roughness,
and AA'itli others absolute soreness, of the skin. When o-iven
at breakfast it should be prepared Avith milk, and the con-
sistency should be only that of arroAvroot or corn-flour,
and not resemble in thickness a "bran mash" or linseed
poultice, as I liaA^e frequently seen it served. BroAvn sugar,
and not Avhite, should be served Avith porridge.
There is no necessity for me to tell how bread and milk
should be prepared, as yve all knoAV that ; but there are
tAVO AA'ays of serving up even this homely fare, an appetis-
ing and a non -appetising Avay. I have had bread and
milk for my morning meal for months together during
times of sickness, so I ouo-lit to knoAv somethino- about the
appetising aspect of it. A nice cottage, not a tinned,
loaf should be chosen, cut into even squares, care being'
CHATS ABOUT COOKEEY. 7.>
taken to leave nice bright little edges of crust for this
matutinal dish ; next be careful to jDoiir boiling, and not
lukewarm, water on the bread ; drain it off quickly so as
not to allow the bread to be reduced to a pap ; set the
bowls — always have white bowls — on a Avarm plate, and pour
on to the bread the hot fresh milk in a few seconds, just
as it is on the point of boiling. Don't wait until the milk
actually boils, or it may become brown and burnt in a
moment, and will entirely spoil the repast. A nice dish of
buttered toast, made from tinned loaves, should follow, with
a cup of chocolate made from cocoa-nibs.