Chapter II: Part 2

Boil some lentils plain, put them aside, now cut up an onion, two beads of garlic, and fry in three ounces of butter with twenty-four cloves a pale yellow, then put in your lentils, and two bay-leaves. Let it simmer gently for about one hour; the lentils must not be thick; salt to taste. Serve with a separate dish of plain boiled rice, and slices of lemon, to squeeze over it.

4. Lentil Currie.

Boil some lentils plain, put them aside. Now cut up an onion, two beads of garlic, and two bay-leaves; fry in three ounces of butter with twenty-four cloves a nice brown, then add one tablespoon of the best currie powder, stir, and then put in your lentils; let them simmer gently for one hour; add salt to taste, and a small cup of tomato pulp. Serve with a separate dish of plain boiled rice.

5. Haricot Bean Pie.

Boil one pint of haricot beans till quite soft, put a mite of soda in the water to soften it, when quite done drain and set aside.

Cut up an onion into rings, chop up two beads of garlic; fry these in three ounces of butter with twenty-four cloves a nice golden colour. Now add one teaspoon of the best currie powder, and one cup of tomato pulp. Mix well, then add Nepaul pepper and salt to taste, a few drops of tarragon vinegar; put in your beans, and mix well. Turn out in a pie dish, and let them cool. Cover with a nice homely short crust, and bake a nice golden brown. This pie is nutritious, and really nice.

6. Haricot Bean Stew.

Boil one pint of beans till quite soft, drain, and set them aside. Make a thorough tasty brown sauce, as Nos. 16 or 18 in recipes given; pour it over the beans, warm all thoroughly through, and serve decorated with sippets of fried bread and slices of lemon.

7. Haricot Bean Currie.

Boil the beans as in previous recipe; cut up an onion and two beads of garlic; fry in three ounces of butter with twenty-four cloves a nice brown. Add one tablespoon of best currie powder, one cup of tomato pulp, a stick of cinnamon, a blade of mace, the peel of half a lemon grated, salt to taste; put in your beans, and let them simmer very gently for half an hour, taking great care they do not burn. Serve with a separate dish of rice.

8. Haricot Bean Pudding.

Get one pint of dried green haricots, boil till quite soft; mash them up thoroughly with a fork. Add three ounces of butter, pepper and salt to taste, one teaspoon of chopped parsley, one teaspoon of chopped onion; mix well. Add a well-beaten egg; well butter a plain mould; put the mixture in and steam for one hour. Turn out on to a dish, paper and decorate with parsley and small sliced tomatoes.

9. Plain Boiled Rice.

In boiling rice as it should be done, observe the following directions, and success is bound to follow:--(1) Use the best rice only. (2) Do not be afraid of plenty of water, four quarts to one pound. (3) Put in the rice as the water comes to the boil, having put in a good teaspoon of salt before you add the rice. (4) Watch carefully the _moment_ the rice is soft, drain _at once_ and set before the fire to steam for about half an hour or more; by this means your rice will be grain from grain separate, and look most appetising. These remarks apply to the cooking of rice in every form, when it is required dry, and to eat with savouries.

10. Yellow Rice.

Never throw away the water in which kedgrees or yellow rice have been boiled. They make delicious soups on meat days, with the addition of a little Armour's Beef Extract, as the stock is already flavoured and thickened; or it will make a delicious mullagatawny soup with the addition of currie powder, and made according to recipe No. 9 (Soups), without the herrings, and using the liquor instead. This applies equally to the water in which haricot beans and peas have been boiled. It always makes good stock for soup.

Boil in the water you put on for your rice one large onion whole, three beads of garlic whole, twenty-four cloves, the seeds of twelve cardamoms, three bay-leaves, two sticks of cinnamon, two blades of mace, and a pennyworth of saffron, one heaped up teaspoon of salt. Let these come to the boil, and then add one pound of the best rice. Watch carefully. Taste it from time to time. The moment the rice is soft drain at once, and set before the fire to steam. Before serving remove the onion, garlic, bay-leaves, cinnamon, and mace, but _not_ the cloves and cardamoms. Decorate with onions fried crisp and brown, sultanas fried, and almonds blanched and fried. This is very nice.

11. Kedgree.

Put on some water with all the flavourings of the previous recipe, omit the saffron. When it comes to the boil add half a pound of pink lentils that have been well washed. When these change colour and get yellow, which will take about five minutes, add half a pound of best rice; stir well, and watch carefully. The moment the rice is done enough drain at once, and set before the fire to steam. Remove the spices, etc., as before, and decorate in the same way.

12. Another Kedgree.

Do some rice as yellow rice recipe. Add to it some flaked smoked haddock, and one teaspoon of herbs as for veal stuffing, and two ounces of butter. Mix well loosely with a fork. Serve hot, and decorate with hard-boiled eggs cut in quarters, and onions fried crisp and brown.

13. Another Kedgree.

The same as No. 11. Add to it four hard-boiled eggs chopped fine, two ounces of butter. Mix well lightly with a fork, and serve, decorated in the usual way with fried onions brown and crisp and fried almonds.

14. Tomato Rice.

Cut up an onion into thin rings, chop two beads of garlic, also two bay-leaves; fry this in three ounces of butter with twenty-four cloves a nice pale yellow. Now add one cup of tomato pulp, salt and Nepaul pepper to taste, a few drops of tarragon vinegar. Stir well; let it simmer for about twenty minutes; strain, and pour the sauce over some cold rice you may have by you; cover up, and warm thoroughly through. Serve decorated with bright West Indian pickles.

15. Cheese Pillau.

Boil some rice, with all the flavouring as for "yellow rice." Remove the spices, etc. Add two ounces of butter and three ounces of grated Parmesan cheese, Nepaul pepper and salt to taste. Mix all lightly with a fork. Dish garnished with watercress.

16. Rice Savoury.

Any cold rice you may have by you may do for this dish. Well beat up two eggs with a little milk; mix with one small onion chopped, one small bead of garlic, one teaspoon of chopped parsley, one teaspoon mixed of lemon thyme, tarragon and chervil, Nepaul pepper and salt to taste. Mix all well together. Put it into a plain mould well buttered; put it in the oven till well set. Turn out on to a paper. Garnish with tufts of parsley and small red tomatoes.

N.B.--Rice can be cooked any colour, by simply adding a harmless vegetable colouring to the water in which it is boiled, and thus it looks very pretty served with stewed fruits, etc., as it makes the simplest thing look appetising and nice. Any cook with very little ingenuity could turn out any number of pretty and tasty dishes of rice alone; it has the advantage of being nutritious and digestible, and is about the most economical thing there is in the market.

17. Macaroni Savoury.

Boil as much macaroni as you require, in salt and water. When tender, drain, and put it aside.

Cut up an onion into very thin rings, chop two beads of garlic small, fry in three ounces of butter with twenty-four cloves a pale yellow, then add one cup of tomato pulp; stir well; the grated rind of half a lemon, Nepaul pepper and salt to taste, a few drops of tarragon vinegar; pour over the macaroni, and warm thoroughly through. This is a delicious and most digestible dish. Garnish with watercress in bunches round the dish, and serve.

18. Macaroni Cheese.

Boil some macaroni plain. Put it in a well-buttered pie dish thus--a layer of macaroni, a layer of grated Parmesan cheese, a sprinkling of mustard and salt, till the dish is full on the top, sprinkle the cheese. Beat up three eggs well in one pint of milk, pour it over the macaroni, and well cover it. Put a few dabs of butter over it here and there, and put it in the oven, and bake a bright golden brown. Serve, decorated with a nice frill round the dish.

19. Curried Macaroni.

Boil some macaroni. Put it aside. Cut up an onion into thin rings, chop up two beads of garlic, fry in three ounces of butter with twenty-four cloves a delicate brown. Now add one tablespoon of best currie powder, one cup of tomato pulp, the grated rind of half a lemon, and the strained juice of half a lemon, salt to taste. Pour the sauce over the macaroni, and serve thoroughly hot.

20. Macaroni Savoury.

Boil some macaroni, cut it into short lengths of about two inches long, well beat up three eggs. Mix with them one teaspoon of chopped onion, one teaspoon of herbs as for veal stuffing, one teaspoon of chopped parsley, Nepaul pepper and salt to taste. Mix it thoroughly with one cup of milk, and stir it well into the macaroni. Pour it into a pie dish, put a few dabs of butter over the top here and there, and bake a nice brown.

N.B.--Vermicelli answers all the same purpose as macaroni. Some like it better and think it more delicate; both are cheap and nutritious, and both are capable of manipulation in a great many ways.

_VEGETABLES IN VARIOUS WAYS._

1. Potato Baskets.

Get some nice long kidney potatoes, peel them very thin, cut them in half, then cut off a small piece at each end, so that the potato will stand like a cup, scoop out the inside neatly, leaving a thin wall of potato. Make it nice and smooth outside and in. Fry these in a bath of boiling fat a nice golden brown. Now take them out and stand them up like cups, fill each one with a farce of fish, or lentils, or mushrooms as desired, and sprinkle over the top some chopped parsley. This is a novel and pretty dish.

2. Potato Balls.

Boil some potatoes, pass them through a sieve. Mix with them some butter, pepper and salt, form into good sized balls with the hand, put them on a buttered tin, brush over them a well beaten egg, and put them in the oven till they are a nice brown colour.

3. Mashed Potatoes.

Mash some potatoes with butter, pepper and salt. Now well grease a plain pudding mould, fill your potatoes into it to get moulded, warm one minute, and turn out on to a dish, brush it over with well beaten egg, and then well sprinkle with fine bread crumbs, put on little dabs of butter all over it, and bake in the oven a bright golden colour. Garnish with parsley.

4. Potato Snow.

Boil some potatoes, mash them with butter, pepper and salt, pass them through a wire sieve in the dish in which they are to be served. They must not be disturbed afterwards, as the light look would be gone, and so the dish get spoiled.

5. Potato Rings.

Well wash and thinly peel some nice large potatoes, cut them in slices, then take a nice cutter and stamp them out quite round, and then a smaller cutter to stamp out the centre so as to form a ring. Fry these rings a golden brown in a bath of fat, drain them in a sieve. Serve neatly dished and garnished with parsley. The centres need not be wasted, but fried for another dish.

6. Potato Pie.

Parboil some potatoes, slice them, put them in a pie dish thus--a layer of potatoes, then sliced onions and tomatoes, a few cloves, pepper and salt, and a spoonful of water, and so on till the dish is full. Cover with a light crust, and bake a golden brown, ornament with a frill round the dish, and serve.

7. Mixed Vegetable Pie.

Parboil some potatoes, carrots, turnips, some green cabbage, cauliflower. Cut the former into nice slices, the cauliflower into nice bunches, so, too, the cabbage. Now put them in a pie dish thus--a layer of the vegetable mixture, then some sliced onions and tomatoes and a few cloves and a spoonful of water, pepper and salt to taste; fill up the dish thus. Cover with a nice light crust and bake a golden brown; ornament as before.

8. Stewed Onions White.

Parboil some onions (Spanish), put them aside. Have ready some white butter sauce, as recipe No. 1, and put your onions into it, and finish cooking them in the sauce. Serve with a sprinkling of pepper and salt over them.

9. Stewed Onions Brown.

Parboil some onions as before. Have ready a good brown sauce, as recipe No. 14, put your onions in, and let them finish cooking in the sauce. If liked, a sprinkling of chopped parsley may be put over the onions before serving.

10. Farced Cucumbers Stewed.

Parboil some small cucumbers, scoop out the inside with care, taking care the outsides are not injured. Stuff these with a lentil farce, as recipe No. 1 for lentil moulds. Have ready some good brown sauce as recipe No. 14, and finish cooking your cucumbers in it. Dish neatly, and pour the sauce round.

11. Cucumbers on Toast.

Boil some cucumbers (small ones) till tender. Lay them neatly on pieces of toast, pour over them a white butter sauce, as recipe No. 1. Sprinkle over with pepper and salt, and serve hot.

12. Stewed Vegetable Marrow.

Get some small marrows, peel them, scoop out the inside carefully, stuff them with a farce thus--boil some onions, mash them with a fork. Add one cup of fine bread crumbs, some chopped sage to taste, two ounces of butter, pepper and salt. Mix well, and stuff the marrows. Now steam the marrows till nearly done. Have ready some good brown sauce, as recipe No. 14, finish cooking your marrows in that. Dish neatly, and pour the sauce round them. A separate boat of apple sauce to eat with them is liked by some.

13. Marrows on Toast.

Peel and cut into quarters some nice young marrows. Put the pieces into a jar with some butter, pepper and salt. Cover the jar close, and put it into the oven. Let the marrows cook in their own steam. When done place them on nicely cut pieces of buttered toast; sprinkle over them pepper and salt. These are really delicious.

14. Stewed Cabbage Stalks.

Get good thick stalks; cut away all the outside, till you come to the tender part inside; cut these into two-inch lengths. Parboil them in a little salt and water, and then finish cooking them, in either a white sauce as No. 1 recipe, or brown as No. 14 recipe. Either way they are truly delicious, and by far the best part of the cabbage in flavour and goodness.

15. Spinach with Eggs.

Well pick and wash some spinach; put it in a pan with only the water that is in the leaves; let it boil till quite tender. Mash it with a fork with a little butter, pepper and salt. Put some on pieces of neatly cut buttered toast, then on each piece lay a well poached egg. Sprinkle over with pepper and salt, and serve.

16. Spinach Indian Way.

Wash and cook some spinach as before. Put it aside. Cut up an onion into rings, and fry in two ounces of butter a pale yellow. Put in your spinach; stir well: add Nepaul pepper and salt to taste. This may be eaten on toast, or with plain boiled rice.

17. Farced Parsnips.

Parboil some nice young parsnips. Scoop out the inside, and stuff with a farce of fish made thus--boil a salt haddock, remove all skin and bone, pound the flesh in a mortar. Add one teaspoon of herbs as for veal stuffing, Nepaul pepper to taste, a small cup of bread crumbs, some butter and a teaspoon of chopped onions; bind the whole with well beaten eggs, and stuff your parsnips. Now finish cooking by steaming them. Serve neatly on a dish, and pour over them either a brown sauce as No. 14, or white as No. 1, whichever is liked best.

18. Farced Carrots.

Parboil some nice sized carrots. Scoop out the inside, and stuff with a farce as for lentil moulds, recipe No. 1. Finish cooking by steaming them, and then pour over a tomato sauce, as recipe No. 15, and serve.

19. Vegetable Stew.

Cut up an onion into rings, chop two beads of garlic, and fry in three ounces of butter with twenty-four cloves; let it get a nice golden colour. Now add sliced potatoes, carrots, turnips, parsnips, and pour over all one pint of water, two tablespoons of mushroom ketchup, salt and Nepaul pepper to taste. Cook till the vegetables are quite tender, and serve.

This is quite as nice as Irish stew with meat in it.

20. Farced Tomatoes.

Scoop out the middle of the tomato with great care. Put into it a farce made thus--one small cup of bread crumbs, one teaspoon of herbs as for veal stuffing, two ounces of butter, pepper and salt to taste; bind with the yolk of one or two well beaten eggs. Stuff your tomatoes, put a little dab of butter on the top of each, sprinkle with pepper and salt, and bake in the oven till soft. Dish neatly; sprinkle over them some chopped green parsley. These may be served on pieces of fried bread. They are very nice served thus.

21. Mushroom and Olive Stew.

Make a nice brown sauce as recipe No. 14. Add to it some turned olives, and some nice button mushrooms. Garnish the dish with fried sippets of bread and chopped green parsley.

22. Mushrooms on Toast.

Well pick and clean some mushrooms, fry in about four ounces of butter, with pepper and salt to taste. Cook till the mushrooms get quite black. Serve on neatly cut pieces of toast; heap them one on the other, and garnish with tufts of parsley.

23. Celery Stew.

Cut up some nice tender stalks of celery into three-inch pieces, parboil in milk, then put it into a sauce as recipe No. 1, and finish cooking thus--add the grated rind of half a lemon, the grate of a nutmeg, Nepaul pepper and salt to taste. Lay this on nicely trimmed slices of toast, and serve. The celery may be stewed in a brown sauce, as per recipe No. 14, instead of the white; it is nice either way.

24. Sea-Kale Stew.

Serve the same as celery, or plain boil, and pour over a good white butter sauce, in which a little cream has been mixed, to make it extra rich.

25. Stewed Green Peas.

Shell your peas, and put them into a jar. Add two ounces of butter, a little pepper and salt, and one saltspoon of sugar; cover close, and put into the oven to cook in their own steam. When quite done, turn out into a dish, pour over them a good brown sauce, as No. 14, add a teaspoon of chopped green mint, and serve.

26. Stewed French Beans.

Get some tender French beans, cut them in two or three pieces each across, _not_ lengthways, cook the same as peas in a jar, omitting the sugar. Turn out on a dish, and pour over them a brown parsley sauce, as recipe No. 18.

27. French Beans on Toast.

Get some very young French beans, put them in whole in a jar, with butter, pepper and salt, and a mite of soda to preserve the colour. Cook them as in previous recipe. Turn them out when done, and lay on neatly cut slices of well buttered toast. Sprinkle over with pepper and salt, and serve very hot.

28. Stewed Broad Beans.

Well boil some broad beans in salt and water; take off the skins, and pour over the beans a parsley and butter sauce, as recipe No. 3. These may be served on toast, and thus make a substantial dish, and very nice.

29. Jerusalem Artichokes on Toast.

Peel very carefully and trim nicely; throw them into cold water as you peel them, or they will get discoloured. Boil in salt and water till quite soft; drain; mash them with a fork till quite smooth, with butter, pepper and salt. Put the artichokes thickly on nicely cut pieces of buttered toast, and sprinkle with pepper and salt, and serve. This is simply delicious, though simple.

30. Egg Plant Savoury.

Cut up some egg plants into quarters; put them into a jar, with butter, pepper and salt; cover close, and put in the oven. When done, take them out, mash them smooth with a fork. Add two hard-boiled eggs chopped fine, and a few bread crumbs, fill the mixture with little scallop shells, brush over the top of each with well beaten egg, sprinkle on some fine bread crumbs, put a little dab of butter on each, and just put in the oven to brown. Serve them in the shells, neatly dished.

_SALADS IN VARIOUS WAYS._

These are very little understood in this country. Almost any vegetable cold can be made into a most appetising salad. By this means you have really delicious dishes, and there is no waste of cold vegetables or fish. I will give a few which, though known, are very seldom used, and I want to impress the fact in the minds of my readers that salads are healthy and economical, and generally liked by young and old, and the very little trouble they take in preparation is well repaid by the result.

1. Potato Salad.

Mash up any cold potatoes you may have, mix them with any cold fish. Add a tablespoon of best olive oil, some caper vinegar, and a few chopped capers, one teaspoon of chopped onions, one bead of garlic chopped very small, the grated rind of a small lemon, the juice of half a lemon strained, salt and Nepaul pepper to taste; mix thoroughly. Serve it in a glass dish neatly piled up, smooth with a fork. Sprinkle over the whole some chopped hard-boiled egg, and arrange pretty West Indian pickles over it for decoration.

2. Plain Potato Salad.

Cut up any cold potatoes in slices, mix with them a teaspoon of chopped onion, a teaspoon of chopped parsley, and pour over it equal quantities of best olive oil and vinegar that has been well mixed with a little pepper and salt.

3. Mixed Vegetable Salad.

Cold carrots, turnips, potatoes, green peas, French beans, beet-root, celery, cauliflower, etc. Cut the carrots, turnips, potatoes, etc., with a nice fancy vegetable cutter; mix in the green peas, the French beans cut up in two or three pieces each, the cauliflower in neat little branches. Mix with them a teaspoon of chopped onion, a teaspoon of chopped parsley; mix equal quantities of vinegar and best olive oil, with pepper and salt to taste; toss all lightly up together. Ornament with lettuce and watercress in bunches.

N.B.--German lentils, green peas, French beans, broad beans, all make a good salad by themselves with equal quantities of oil and vinegar, and pepper and salt. No cold vegetable is out of place.

Every one more or less knows how to make salads from lettuce, endive, watercress, radishes, mustard and cress, etc., etc.; so it would be useless to enter into that in this little book. I will, however, give directions for a few simple salad sauces that I find generally approved of.

4. Salad Sauce No. 1.

Boil some eggs hard, two or three will be enough, take out the yolks, bruise them with the back of a spoon quite smooth, add a teaspoon of made mustard. Mix well, then add two tablespoons of olive oil, a little at a time, till well mixed, then two tablespoons of vinegar, stirring all the while. Lastly, a few drops of tarragon vinegar, a few drops of garlic vinegar, a salt spoon of castor sugar, and salt to taste. Some like a spoonful of anchovy sauce added; this is, of course, a matter of taste.

5. Sauce No. 2.

Break in the yolks of three eggs into a basin, stir with a wooden spoon, with two tablespoons of olive oil, but a drop at a time only till the egg gets thick; then mix in two tablespoons of vinegar gradually, a few drops of tarragon, a few drops of garlic, a spoonful of made mustard, and, lastly, two tablespoons of cream, but this must be mixed with great care so that it does not curdle. Salt to taste.

6. Sauce No. 3.

One potato passed through a sieve, the hard-boiled yolk of one egg rubbed smooth, two tablespoons of olive oil, two tablespoons of vinegar, a few drops of tarragon vinegar, a few drops of garlic vinegar, and a few drops of Chili vinegar; mix all well and smoothly. Add salt to taste.

N.B.--All salads should have a dash of onion and garlic, but very judiciously mixed. The difference in the flavour of the salads is very great.

Green salads may be mixed with lobsters, anchovies, sardines, and any kind of cold fish.

_PUDDINGS AND SWEETS._

I find the generality of ordinary puddings are dreadfully insipid. It is not at all necessary that this should be the case. And flavouring is cheap enough. Appearance, too, is a great thing. The sense of sight, smell, and taste can easily enough be gratified with very little trouble. And when one takes into consideration that our health depends on the way in which our food is prepared, it becomes an actual matter of duty to take the necessary trouble to prepare it properly, and bringing both intelligence and taste to bear on the subject.

1. Currant and Apple Tart.

Make a nice short crust of Coombs' Eureka Flour, thus--half a pound of flour, three ounces of butter, one egg well beaten, a pinch of salt, and one teaspoon of castor sugar. Make it into a nice dough with milk. Put in a pie dish one layer of dry currants well washed and picked, a little grated lemon peel, and a few drops of lemon juice, then a spoonful of treacle and a few very fine bread crumbs, then a layer of sliced fresh apples, and again the currants, and so on till the dish is full. Cover with the paste rolled thin, and ornament prettily on the top with the paste nicely cut out, etc., etc. Bake a nice golden brown, and when a little cool sprinkle castor sugar over the top. Serve with a nice custard or cream.

2. Cabul Cassalettes.

Put half a pound of dried apricots to soak for about four hours, pour the water in which they have been soaked into an enamel saucepan, about a cupful. Add half a pound of sugar, a little grated lemon peel, and the juice of half a lemon. Let it get into a syrup, then add the fruit, and let it simmer gently for one hour. Make a nice puff paste of Coombs' Eureka Flour, roll out thin, and line some nice shaped patty pans, well greased, with the paste; prick it with a fork to prevent it blistering. Put it in a quick oven and bake a pretty golden brown, turn out of the pans, and fill the cases with the apricot stew; then _well_ whip some cream very stiff, put it smoothly over the top of each, so that it looks like white foam, and then sprinkle over all either crushed crystallised violets or chopped pistachio nuts. Both are pretty, or do half with the violets and half with the nuts. Arrange them neatly in a glass dish, with a dish paper under. These are very pretty, and very delicious, and simple to make.

3. Fried Almond Rings.

Make a paste thus--half a pound of Coombs' Eureka Flour, two ounces of butter, two ounces of sugar, a quarter pound of almonds ground to a paste. Mix well together. Add one well-beaten egg, with just enough milk to make the mixture into a good dough, roll out about a quarter of an inch thick, stamp out some rounds about the size of the top of a tumbler, then take some smaller rounds and stamp out the inside so as to form rings. Fry these rings in a bath of boiling lard a pale golden colour, drain them on a sieve, and sprinkle well over with castor sugar. Serve on a dish paper neatly. The inner rounds may be put on a well floured baking tin, and baked in the oven as biscuits. So there need be no waste. They are nice both ways.

4. Digestible Plum Pudding.

Put one tablespoon of crushed loaf sugar into a pan. Let it get quite brown, but do not let it burn. Add to it one pint of hot milk; stir well till the sugar dissolves in the milk. Have ready three ounces of fine florador dissolved in enough milk to make it like thick cream; stir this into the milk as it is on the point of boiling. Let it get very thick; stir in two ounces of fresh butter, quarter a pound of sultanas washed and picked, quarter a pound of currants washed and picked, two ounces of citron peel chopped small, half a grated nutmeg, the grated rind of half a lemon, two well beaten eggs; stir all well (but do not put in the eggs till the pudding is a little cool, as they will curdle), put it in a well greased plain mould, and steam till well set and firm. Turn out on a dish, and ornament with _glacé_ cherries, angelica, etc., etc. This is a very digestible plum pudding, and may be safely eaten by invalids, who dare not touch ordinary plum pudding. It is in the opinion of some very much nicer than the usual Christmas puddings.

5. Plain Florador Pudding.

Put one tablespoon of crushed loaf sugar into a pan. Let it get brown, but do not let it burn, then add one pint of hot milk. Have ready three ounces of fine florador (semolina will do) mixed with enough milk to make it like thick cream, stir it into the milk just as it comes to the boil, let it thicken, then add two ounces of butter, a little more sugar to taste, and any flavouring approved of. Turn it into a pie dish, and bake in the oven a nice brown on the top. Let it cool a little, and sprinkle over the top some hundreds of thousands, and serve.

6. Boiled Banana Pudding.

Make a crust thus--a half pound of Coombs' Eureka Flour, a pinch of salt, and a quarter pound of chopped suet. Mix well with enough water to form it into a dough, roll out thin, line a plain well-greased pudding mould with the paste, and fill in thus--some nice ripe bananas cut in slices, a few cloves, the grated rind of half a lemon, the juice of one lemon strained, one tablespoon of castor sugar, a small cup of water. Cover over the top with paste, tie with a cloth wrung out of boiling water. Steam for about two hours. Turn out carefully, and serve with a nicely flavoured custard.

7. Banana Custard.

Well mash two bananas into a complete pulp. Put with one pint of milk and the well beaten yolks of three eggs sugar and vanilla flavouring to taste. Stir well. Put it into a pan, and put the pan into a larger one with boiling water in it. Stir all the time for twenty minutes, and pour it into custard cups. This is very delicious and novel.

8. Cocoa-nut Rice.

Boil a quarter pound of small rice in one pint of milk till quite soft. Then add two ounces of butter, sugar to taste, and three ounces of desiccated cocoa-nut. Stir well, and pour into a plain mould that has been rinsed with cold water. Let it get cold. Turn out of the mould into a glass dish, decorate with pretty sweets, such as those sold by Messrs. Clark Nicholls and Coombs, or Mr. E. Roberts of Camberwell.

9. Cocoa-nut Macaroni.

Boil half a pound of macaroni in water till tender, drain, put it in a pie dish. Mix with it a quarter pound of desiccated cocoa-nut. Well beat up two eggs with rather more than a half pint of milk, with sugar to taste. Pour it over the macaroni, and see that it is well covered. Put a little dab of butter here and there over it. Bake it in the oven a nice colour. Let it cool a little, and sprinkle castor sugar over it, or any pretty fruits.

Vermicelli will answer the purpose quite as well.

10. Cream Rolls.

Get as many nice plain, round, smooth, little rolls as you may require. Cut a little piece off the top of each with care; now scoop out the crumbs out of each with very great care, and also take off any crumbs there may be on the pieces cut off the tops. Well beat two eggs with about one cup of milk. Add a little sugar to taste. Put the custard in a bowl, dip each roll and the piece cut off in the custard, but not enough to moisten it so that it gets too soft. Now fry all of them in a bath of boiling lard a nice golden brown. Drain on a sieve. When cold, fill each one up thus--a little guava jelly at the bottom, and then cream whipped stiff and flavoured with a little sugar, the grated peel of half a lemon, and a little lemon juice. Then put on the top that was cut off, sprinkle over with castor sugar. Serve on a dish paper. These are delicious.

11. Semolina Cup Puddings.

Put on one pint of milk in the pan, with two ounces of fresh butter and sugar to taste, and some grated rind of lemon to taste. Have ready about three ounces of semolina mixed with enough milk to make it like thick cream. Pour it into the milk just as it comes to the boil; stir well, and let it get very thick. Pour into very small cups that have been rinsed in cold water. When cold, turn out in a glass dish, neatly, and pour over it a nicely flavoured custard, and grate over the top a little nutmeg. Each cup can be decorated with dried fruit if desired, but it is very simple and nice as it is.

12. Cream Cake Pudding.

Make a cake thus--one pound of Coombs' Eureka Flour, a quarter pound of sugar, a quarter pound of butter. Mix well together; add three well beaten eggs with enough milk to make the mixture like very thick whipped cream. Pour it into a well-buttered quite plain pudding mould (tin), bake a nice colour, let it stand about ten minutes, and then turn out. Next day scoop out all the inside, leaving a wall of cake about one and a half inches thick; fill this up as follows--a layer of strawberry jam, then a layer of thick cream, till it is filled up; cover the top with cream, and smooth with a wet palette knife; decorate the top with two nice strawberry sweets in the middle, and some half moon almond paste sweets laid round the edges, either plain or interlaced, by putting a second round over the first, then stick three long pieces of angelica, and make a tripod handle. This is pretty and nice.

13. Boiled Vermicelli Pudding.

Boil a quarter pound of Vermicelli in about half a pint of milk till soft, sweeten a little, then make a custard thus--two eggs well beaten, half a pint of milk, vanilla to taste, also a little castor sugar. Pour the custard over the vermicelli; stir well together; pour it into a mould that has been well greased. Steam for about one hour or more till quite set. Take great care in turning it out, as it is apt to break. Ornament with dried cherries cut in half, and chopped pistachio nuts, or with pretty sweets.

14. Florador Custard Pudding.

Boil one pint of milk. Have ready two ounces of fine florador, mixed with enough milk to make it like cream; stir this into the milk as it comes to the boil; let it thicken. Now take it off the fire; stir in two ounces of fresh butter, sugar and flavouring to taste. Well beat up three eggs, and when the florador is cooled a little, mix in the eggs with it. Pour into a pie dish, and bake in the oven till set and of a nice golden brown. When a little cool, sprinkle over the top a little castor sugar that has been made a pretty pink by adding a drop of cochineal to it in a dry state, and rubbing it with the fingers.

15. Orange Fritters.

Get two or three nice large oranges, peel them carefully so as not to break the inner part. Divide into skeins, and carefully take off all the white pithy part, but on no account break the skin. Make a batter thus--quarter pound of flour, the yolks of two raw eggs, one tablespoon of olive oil. Mix it with enough cold water to make it a stiff batter. Whip the whites of the eggs to a stiff froth, with a pinch of salt, and add this to the batter; stir and use; dip each skein of orange in it, and fry in a bath of boiling lard a nice golden brown; drain on a sieve. Serve on a dish paper, and sprinkle all over with castor sugar; better still, roll each skein in castor sugar. This is uncommon, and nice.

16. Pine Apple Sweet.

Put into a pan a quarter pound of butter, with a quarter pound of sugar, and two ounces of fine florador; stir well till it gets quite smooth, then add four slices of pine-apple that have been mashed to a complete pulp and passed through a sieve; add a spoonful or two of water, and let it cook till the florador is quite done and looks clear. Pour into a mould that has been rinsed in cold water. When quite cold, turn out with care in a glass dish, surround the dish with cream, nicely flavoured with pine-apple flavouring. Decorate with either dried fruits or pretty sweets.

17. Apple Sweet.

Exactly the same as the pine-apple, only using apples boiled and pulped instead. About four good sized apples will be needed, and the cream flavoured with lemon. Decorate in the same way, or with pink and white cocoa-nut chips.

18. Pumpkin Tart.

Make a puff paste of Coombs' Eureka Flour, and line a nice sized shallow tin pan with it. Grease the pan well; prick the paste to prevent it blistering; bake a nice colour and turn out of the pan. Fill up with a mixture made thus--boil one pound of nice ripe yellow pumpkin till soft; pass it through a sieve. Add to it half a pound of sugar, the grated rind of a small lemon, the strained juice of a lemon, the strained juice of an orange, a few cloves. Boil till it looks nice and clear; take out the cloves, and fill the mixture into the paste case. Cover over neatly with well whipped cream, and sprinkle over the top some chopped pistachio nuts.

19. Jerusalem Artichoke Jelly.

Nicely peel one and a half pounds of Jerusalem artichokes, and throw them into cold water as you do them, else they discolour. Boil them till soft; drain and mash them to a complete pulp. Add one pound of castor sugar, and boil till the artichokes get quite clear. Mix with them a good deal of vanilla flavouring to overcome the artichoke flavour; taste it so as to have it right; then put the mixture into a greased plain mould. Let it get cold before turning out; dip it for one instant in very hot water so as to melt the grease, and turn out in a glass dish. Decorate with nice dried crystallised fruits. This is nice, and is nutritious.

20. Banana Pancakes.

Well mash two bananas to a pulp, mix up a quarter of a pound of flour, two eggs well beaten, yolks and whites separately, the whites to a froth; mix with enough milk to make a stiff batter. Add the bananas to it, and fry in lard or butter a golden brown; turn over neatly; drain on a sieve. Serve on a napkin or dish paper; sprinkle well over each some castor sugar. Serve with sliced lemon.

21. Coffee Cream Puddings.

Boil one pint of milk, have ready three ounces of fine florador mixed with just enough milk to make it like thick cream; stir it into the milk just as it comes to the boil, stir well till it gets very thick, stir into it two ounces of fresh butter, sugar to taste, and enough coffee essence to give it a good flavour, and a few drops of almond flavouring. Pour into small plain Darrol moulds that have been rinsed in water, let them get quite cold and set. Turn them out on a glass dish; put on the top of each a spoonful of thick whipped cream, and a _glacé_ cherry in the middle.

22. Chocolate Cream Puddings.

The same as the last, but instead of coffee put in two ounces of _good_ cocoa, flavour with vanilla, and decorate each little mould with pistachio nuts, blanched and cut in strips, and stick all over the little moulds like porcupine quills.

Cream may be served with these separately.

23. Sponge Cake and Banana Pudding.

Crumble up half a dozen sponge cakes, cover them with a custard made thus--two bananas mashed to a pulp, two eggs well beaten, one pint of milk, sugar to taste, and vanilla flavouring. Pour over the sponge cakes, stir well together, put over the top little dabs of butter here and there; bake a nice brown. Decorate with pink castor sugar sprinkled over the top.

24. Strawberry Cream Pudding.

Mix some cochineal with ordinary clear plain jelly; line a plain mould with this. Let it set about a quarter of an inch thick, then fill up the mould with the following--half a pound of strawberries passed through a sieve; mix with one cup of good thick cream, sugar to taste, and a little liquid jelly. Mix well together, and pour it in the lined mould. Let it get quite cold and set; dip the mould into hot water for a second; whip the water off, and turn out on a glass dish. Decorate with leaves and flowers of the strawberry.[1]

[1] Raspberries can be done the same way.

25. Hen's Nest Pudding.

Get some egg shape moulds, fill them with a mixture made as recipe No. 11, only using fine florador instead of semolina. When cold, turn in thus--cut into thin chips some pale lemon and orange peel, so as to resemble straw as much as possible. Take off all the sugar, put the chips in a glass dish (a round one is best), form them as much as possible like a nest, and lay the eggs in them. Serve with a nice custard in custard glasses separately. This is a pretty dish when well made. Some use jelly cut in strips instead of the peel, but it must be very carefully done to look nice.

26. Fancy Sweets.

One pound of Coombs' Eureka Flour, half a pound of sugar, half a pound of butter; mix these well together, then add four eggs, yolks and whites separately, the whites beaten to a stiff froth; mix with enough milk to make the consistence of stiff whipped cream. Take out a third of the mixture, and colour a nice pink with cochineal, and flavour with a few drops of almond essence, also put in a few blanched almonds cut in half; the rest of the mixture flavour with lemon, and put in some _glacé_ cherries cut in half. Well butter a square and shallow cake tin, pour in half the plain mixture with cherries, let it spread and flatten, then pour the pink mixture on the top of that, let that also spread and flatten, and then pour the rest of the cherry mixture on the top; smooth with a wet knife and bake till set and a nice colour. Leave it for about ten minutes, and turn out. Let it get quite cold, then cut it into small squares; smooth the top of each by cutting it quite even. Then pour over each an icing made thus--half a pound of confectioners' sugar, with about two tablespoons of water, stir well; just let it boil up, and cover the tops of the cakes smoothly; then sprinkle over the top with pink chip cocoa-nut, hundreds of thousands, pistachio nuts, or crushed crystallised violets, each cake with a different decoration. This is a pretty dish, and very nice.

27. Sago Jelly.

Boil a quarter pound of small sago in one quart of water till quite clear and thick--if too thick add a little more water--but it must be very thick and stiff. Now add a half pound of sugar, the juice of three oranges strained, a drop or two of oil of oranges, a pennyworth of saffron that has been dissolved in a wine glass of boiling water and strained, some almonds blanched and cut into thin strips. Mix all well together, and pour into a plain mould that has been rinsed with cold water. Let it get quite cold and set, and turn out on a glass dish. Decorate with chow-chow according to fancy.

28. Sweet made of Bread.

Cut some slices of stale bread of a close texture, stamp it out in neat rounds, soak it in one egg well beaten in a small cup of milk, fry in lard a golden brown. Now cover over each any kind of jam that is liked best. Cover with whipped cream and ornament with a sprinkling of pink chip cocoa-nut, or to make it of two different colours the cream can be coloured with a few drops of cochineal, and ornament with white chip cocoa-nut. This is a very simple and pretty sweet.

29. Chestnut Souffle.

Boil about thirty chestnuts in water till soft. Remove the shell and outer skin; pound the nuts in a mortar with a few drops of orange flower water. Well beat the yolks of three eggs. Add them to the chestnuts with enough sugar and almond flavouring to taste. Stir into the paste about one pint of milk. Now beat the whites of the eggs to a stiff froth, and stir in gradually. Pour the mixture into a _soufflé_ dish and bake a nice colour. Serve direct from the oven, as a _soufflé_ falls in getting cold, and is spoilt.

30. Treacle Balls.

A half pound of Coombs' Eureka Flour, a pinch of salt, half a teaspoon of ginger powder, the grated rind of a small lemon, a quarter pound of treacle. Mix well together, add two well beaten eggs, form into small balls, and fry in a bath of boiling lard a golden brown. The balls will swell a little in cooking. Sprinkle well over with castor sugar, and serve.

THE END.

_Printed by Cowan & Co., Limited, Perth._