Mary at the Farm and Book of Recipes Compiled during Her Visit Part 39

She washed the parsley in cold water and while still moist placed it on agate pans and dried it _quickly_ in a _very hot_ oven. Watch carefully as it scorches easily. Place the parsley when dried, in tin cans covered to exclude the dust.

TIME REQUIRED TO COOK VEGETABLES

Bake good-sized potatoes in oven about 45 minutes. Smaller potatoes require less time to bake.

Boil ordinary sized potatoes 25 to 30 minutes.

_Steam_ asparagus from 30 to 40 minutes.

Boil young beets about 60 minutes or longer.

Old beets, two hours, or until tender.

Green corn on cob about 10 or 15 minutes.

Cauliflower, 30 minutes.

Cabbage, 30 to 40 minutes.

Turnips and carrots, 40 minutes.

String beans, 60 minutes to 2 hours.

Lima beans, 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Onions about 1 hour.

Squash about 30 minutes.

Parsnips, 30 to 40 minutes.

Sweet potatoes, good size, 40 minutes.

Spinach, 25 minutes.

Tomatoes, 25 minutes.

Salt should be added to the water when boiling potatoes, carrots, cabbage, parsnips, turnips and onions, even if liquid in which they were boiled is drained from them after being cooked, before being seasoned. Add a small pinch of baking soda to the water in which string beans are boiled, and they will cook tender in less time.

Especially should this be done if the beans are not young and tender.

COMMON "CREAM SAUCE"

Young housekeepers will be surprised to learn of the various attractive, appetizing dishes which may be prepared by combining them with a "cream sauce." After cooking vegetables until tender in salted water, they should be drained and served with a cream sauce poured over. The art of making a smooth, creamy sauce of the proper consistency is easily acquired. A good rule for "common cream sauce"

is 1 cup of milk, water, or meat broth, thickened with 1 tablespoonful to 1-1/2 tablespoonfuls of flour, or a combination of flour and cornstarch. Mix flour, or cornstarch, with a small quant.i.ty of cold milk or water, to a smooth paste, before adding it to liquid; add, usually, one tablespoonful of b.u.t.ter. Place the mixture in a saucepan and cook until the consistency of cream, add 1/2 teaspoonful of salt just before removing from the fire, and dust pepper over when serving.

When mixing gravy to serve with roast beef or veal, omit b.u.t.ter. For a thick sauce use either 2 or 3 tablespoonfuls of flour and the same amount of b.u.t.ter. This thick sauce may be used to mix with meat for croquettes in the proportion of 1 cup of sauce to 2 cups of chopped cold roast lamb, beef, veal or chicken. Should a richer sauce be desired, add 1 or more yolks of eggs to the cream sauce. Some of the numerous dishes which might be served by the young housewife to vary the daily bill of fare by the addition of "cream sauce," are: Small, new potatoes, cauliflower, onions, cabbage asparagus tips, thinly sliced carrots, celery, mushrooms, fish, oysters, chicken, veal and sweetbreads. All of these, when c.o.ked, may be served on slices of toasted bread, or served in Pattie-cases, with cream sauce, or served simply with cream sauce.

PREPARATION OF SAVORY GRAVIES

The art of preparing savory gravies and sauces is more important in connection with the serving of the cheaper meats than in connection with the cooking of the more expensive cuts.

There are a few general principles underlying the making of all sauces or gravies, whether the liquid used is water, milk, stock, tomato juice or some combination of these. For ordinary gravy, 2 level tablespoonfuls of flour or 1-1/2 tablespoonfuls of cornstarch, or arrow root, is sufficient to thicken a cup of liquid. This is true excepting in recipes where the flour is browned. In this case, about 1/2 tablespoonful more should be allowed, for browned flour does not thicken so well as unbrowned. The fat used may be b.u.t.ter or the drippings from the meat, the allowance being 2 tablespoonfuls to a cup of liquid. The easiest way to mix the ingredients is to heat the fat, add the flour and cook until the mixture ceases to bubble, and then to add the liquid. This is a quick method and by using it there is little danger of getting a lumpy gravy. Many persons, however, think it is not a wholesome method, and prefer the old-fas.h.i.+oned one of thickening the gravy by means of flour mixed with a little cold water. (Aunt Sarah was one who thought thus.) The latter method is not "practicable for brown gravies," to quote the _Farmers' Bulletin_.

The _Farmers' Bulletin_ further adds:

"Considering the large amount of discussion about the digestibility of fried food and of gravies made by heating flour in fat, a few words on the subject at this point may not be out of order. It is difficult to see how heating the fat before adding the flour can be unwholesome, unless the cook is unskillful enough to heat the fat so high that it begins to scorch. Overheated fat, as has already been pointed out, contains an acrid, irritating substance called 'Acrolein,' which may readily be considered to be unwholesome. It is without doubt the production of this body by overheating which has given fried food its bad name. There are several ways of varying the flavor of gravies and sauces. One should be especially mentioned here. The _flavor of browned flour_--The good flavor of browned flour is often overlooked.

If flour is cooked in fat, until it is a dark brown color, a distinctive and very agreeable flavor is obtained.

"This flavor combines very well with that of currant jelly, and a little jelly added to a brown gravy is a great improvement. The flavor of this should not be combined with that of onions or other highly-flavored vegetables."

b.u.t.tER, CHEESE AND SUET--A SUBSt.i.tUTE FOR b.u.t.tER

This formula for preparing a good, sweet, wholesome subst.i.tute for b.u.t.ter to be used for baking and frying was given Aunt Sarah by a thrifty German hausfrau, who prepared and used it in her large family many years. Aunt Sarah always kept a supply on hand. It was made as follows:

10 pounds of fine solid kidney suet.

10 pounds of clean pork fat.

10 pounds of b.u.t.ter.

The suet cut in small pieces was put in a large boiler of water, boiled until all was melted, and the fat extracted from the suet. It was then all poured through a fine sieve into a vessel containing hot water (the larger the quant.i.ty of hot water the finer the fat will be). Stand aside to become cold and solid. The boiling process prevents the peculiar taste which _fried_ lard and suet usually possess. Treat the pork fat in a similar manner. Allow the suet and pork fat to stand until the following morning, when remove the solid fat from the boiler of water, wipe off all moisture and add both pork fat and suet fat to the melted b.u.t.ter, which had been prepared in the following manner: The b.u.t.ter was melted in a porcelain lined boiler and allowed to cook until all salt and other foreign substance had settled and the b.u.t.ter had the appearance of clear oil. At this point the b.u.t.ter should be watched carefully, as when settled it might quickly boil over, when you would be liable to lose your b.u.t.ter, besides suffering serious consequences. Now the liquid b.u.t.ter, suet and pork fat are all put together into a large boiler and allowed to melt together on the back part of the range. This will probably be done in the morning. After the noon meal is finished move the boiler containing fat to front part of range; let come to a boil, skimming it occasionally as it boils up. It needs close watching now, the fat being liable to cook over the top of boiler, when the "fat" will surely be "in the fire." Carefully pour into stone crock, and it may be kept for months in a cool place. The fat which has been first poured off the top, if it has been carefully skimmed, will keep longest. The last taken from the boiler should be put in a stone crock to use first. This may be prepared in lesser quant.i.ties, or a smaller quant.i.ty of b.u.t.ter might be used to mix with the lard and suet.

Although the preparation is to be preferred composed of equal quant.i.ties of b.u.t.ter, lard and suet, adding milk to the first water in which the suet is boiled is quite an improvement. After filling the crocks with the fat, take the boiled-out suet and hard sc.r.a.ps and settlings of b.u.t.ter remaining and go through the same process and you will have a small jar of cooking fat for immediate use. A little trouble to do this, I admit, but one is well paid by having good, sweet, inexpensive cooking fat. I should advise a young housekeeper to experiment with one pound each of clarified suet and pork fat after it is rendered, and one pound of b.u.t.ter before attempting the preparation of a larger quant.i.ty.

b.u.t.tER--AS IT WAS MADE AT THE FARM, BY "AUNT SARAH"

Aunt Sarah strained fresh, sweet milk into small, brown earthenware crocks kept for this purpose, scrupulously clean. The crocks were kept in the spring-house or cellar in summer (in cold weather the milk should be kept in a warmer place to allow cream to form on the top of the milk). When the cream was thick and sour she skimmed the cream from off the top of milk every day, stirring the cream well together every time she added fresh cream to that on hand. Aunt Sarah churned twice a week; sour cream should not be kept a longer time than one week. The churn was scalded with boiling water, then rinsed with cold water; this prevented the b.u.t.ter adhering to the churn. The cream should be at a temperature of 60 degrees when put in the churn, but this would be almost too cold in Winter. In very hot weather the temperature of the cream should be 56 degrees. Aunt Sarah tested the cream with a small dairy tube thermometer. She churned steadily and usually had b.u.t.ter "come" in about 25 minutes, but should the cream he too cold or too warm it would be necessary to churn a longer time. If the cream is too warm, stand vessel containing cream on ice; if too cold, stand in a warm place near the range. When the sour cream had been churned a certain length of time and granules of b.u.t.ter had formed, she drained off the b.u.t.termilk and poured water over the granules of b.u.t.ter. Water should be two degrees colder than the b.u.t.termilk. After churning a few minutes the lump of b.u.t.ter was removed from the churn, placed in a bowl, washed thoroughly several times in very cold water, until no b.u.t.termilk remained. The b.u.t.ter was worked thoroughly, with a wooden paddle, until all b.u.t.termilk had been extracted. One small tablespoonful of salt was added to each pound of b.u.t.ter. She worked the b.u.t.ter well, to incorporate the salt, and molded it into shape. Aunt Sarah did not knead the b.u.t.ter, but smoothed it down, then lifted it up from the large, flat, wooden bowl in which it was molded. When the b.u.t.ter was to be molded into _small shapes_, she scalded the small wooden molds, then dipped them into cold water before using; this prevented the b.u.t.ter adhering to the molds. Before commencing to churn b.u.t.ter, Aunt Sarah was particular to have her hands scrupulously clean. All the utensils used were washed in hot water, then rinsed in cold water, both hands and utensils. She frequently wrapped small pats of freshly-churned b.u.t.ter in small squares of clean cheese-cloth and placed in a stone crock with a cover. Placed in the crock was usually, with the b.u.t.ter, a bunch of sweet clover blossoms, which imparted to the b.u.t.ter a delicious flavor.

"SMIER-KASE" OR COTTAGE CHEESE

Stand a pan containing three quarts of milk in a warm place until it becomes sour and quite thick. Stand the pan containing the thick milk on the back part of the range, where it will heat gradually but not cook. When the "whey" separates from the curd in the centre and forms around the edges it is ready to use. Should the sour milk become _too hot_ on the range, or _scald_, the curds, or smier-kase, will not become soft and creamy. When the curd has separated from the "whey,"

pour the contents of the pan into a cheese-cloth bag and hang in the open air to drip for several hours, when it should be ready to use.

From three quarts of sour milk you should obtain one good pound of smier-kase. To prepare it for the table place one-half the quant.i.ty in a bowl and add one teaspoonful of softened b.u.t.ter, a pinch of salt and mix as smoothly as possible. Or the smier-kase may be molded into small rolls, and a small quant.i.ty of finely-chopped Pimento added.

This will keep fresh several days if kept in a cool cellar or refrigerator.

USES OF "SWEET DRIPPINGS" AND SUET

For deep frying Mary was taught to use lard and kidney suet combined.

The latter had been tried out by cutting suet in small pieces. The suet, in an iron pan, was placed in a moderately hot oven until fat was tried out. To prevent suet when rendered having a taste of tallow, place in the upper part of boiler, over one containing hot water, and stand on a hot range until all is tried out, or melted, instead of putting it in oven. Strain into a jar and stand aside in a cool place until wanted. Take one-third of this tried-out suet to two-thirds lard when frying croquettes, oysters, cruellers or fritters. Suet contains food value equal to that of lard and food fried in this fat, combined with lard, is more wholesome than if fried in lard alone--if any food fried in fat _ever is_ wholesome. And suet is more economical than lard if rendered at home. Mary was taught by her Aunt to save all the tr.i.m.m.i.n.gs from steaks, fat left over from roasts, boiled ham, sausage, bacon fat, etc. When different fats have been tried out, to clarify them, add to every pound and a half of combined fat or drippings a half cup of boiling water and a pinch of baking soda. Boil until water evaporates and fat is clear. Strain into a bowl and keep in a cool place. Clean, sweet drippings are preferred by most cooks to lard for many purposes. All young housewives do not know that ham or bacon fat may be subst.i.tuted for half the shortening called for in many recipes for mola.s.ses cakes (where spices are used) with good results. Also that the grease rendered from clean fat of chickens, which greatly resembles b.u.t.ter when tried out and cold, may be combined with an equal quant.i.ty of other shortening in making cakes in which spices are used. The difference in the taste of cake made from this fat, if rendered sweet and clean, will not be noticed. Equal parts of ham or bacon fat, pork chops or sausage fat, combined with b.u.t.ter, are excellent for frying cornmeal mush, eggs, sweet potatoes, egg bread and calves' liver. Also sliced tomatoes have a particularly fine flavor if fried in bacon fat. Should fat removed from top of stock pot have a flavor of vegetables, pour boiling water over, strain and stand aside to cool; then remove the clean cake of fat on top of the water and add to bowl of drippings. This is one of the small economies which will, I think, appeal to the frugal young housewife. If possible, procure an iron pot for deep frying. After using, strain the fat remaining, adding sediment in the bottom of cook-pot to the can of soap fat; then return the clean, strained fat to the cook pot. Keep in a cool place, closely covered, and if careful not to scorch the fat.

It may be used over and over again, and croquettes, etc., may be prepared in a few moments by simply heating the kettle of fat in which to fry them.

Aunt Sarah frequently filled small gla.s.s jars with rendered mutton suet, scented with violet essence, to be used for chapped lips and hands.