Mary at the Farm and Book of Recipes Compiled during Her Visit Part 46

MACARONI

In early spring, when the family tire of winter foods and it is still too early for vegetables from the home garden, and the high price of early forced vegetables in the city markets prevent the housewife, of limited means from purchasing, then the resourceful, economical housewife serves macaroni and rice in various ways and makes appetizing dishes of the fruits she canned and preserved for Winter use, combined with tapioca and gelatine. Milk and eggs tide her over the most difficult time of the year for young, inexperienced cooks.

When the prices of early vegetables soar beyond the reach of her purse, then she should buy sparingly of them and of meat, and occasionally serve, instead, a dish of macaroni and cheese, or rice and cheese, and invest the money thus saved in fruit; dried fruits, if fresh fruits are not obtainable.

Macaroni is such a nutritious food that it should be used frequently by the young housewife as a subst.i.tute for meat on the bill of fare.

Also occasionally serve a dish of baked beans or a dish composed of eggs, or milk combined with eggs, instead of the more expensive meat dish, all equally useful as muscle-builders, and cheaper than meat.

The wise housewife will learn which foods furnish heat for the body and those which produce fat and energy, and those which are muscle-builders, and endeavor to serve well-balanced meals of the foods belonging to the three cla.s.ses and thus with fruit and vegetables she will make wise provision for her family.

BAKED MACARONI AND CHEESE

Put 2 cups or 1/2 pound of macaroni (either the long sticks broken in pieces or the "elbow" macaroni, as preferred) in a kettle holding several quarts of rapidly boiling, salted water, and cook about 25 minutes, or until tender. Drain in a colander and allow cold water to run over it for several seconds. This prevents the macaroni sticking together. Place the macaroni in a b.u.t.tered baking dish and pour over a hot "cream sauce" composed of 1 cup of milk and 1 cup of water, 2 tablespoonfuls of flour, 2 even tablespoonfuls of b.u.t.ter and a pinch of salt. (Too much salt is apt to curdle the milk.) Spread over the top of macaroni about 3 tablespoonfuls of grated cheese, or, if preferred, sprinkle over the top 3 tablespoonfuls of well-seasoned dried bread crumbs and small bits of b.u.t.ter. Stand the bake-dish containing the macaroni in a hot oven ten or fifteen minutes, until lightly browned on top. Serve hot in the dish in which it was baked.

Stewed tomatoes are a nice accompaniment to this dish. Double the quant.i.ty of macaroni may be cooked at one time and a part of it kept on ice; the following day serve in tomato sauce, thus utilizing any left-over tomatoes.

The macaroni may be cooked while the housewife is using the range, early in the morning. Drain the macaroni in a colander and stand aside in a cool place. It may be quickly prepared for six o'clock dinner by pouring over a hot cream sauce and grated cheese and quickly browning in the oven.

Or the macaroni, when cooked tender in salt water, may be quickly served by pouring over it a hot cream sauce, before the macaroni has become cold. Serve at once.

Housewives should be particular when buying macaroni to get a brand made from good flour.

CAKES--CAKE-MAKING

Sift flour and baking powder together several times before adding to cake batter. Aunt Sarah usually sifted flour and baking powder together four times for cakes. Flour should always be sifted before using. Baking powder should be sifted through the flour dry. Salaratus (or baking soda) should, usually, be dissolved before using in a teaspoonful of hot water, unless stated otherwise. Cream of tartar should be sifted with the flour. Flour should be added gradually and batter stirred as little as possible afterwards, unless directions are given to the contrary. Much beating after flour has been added is apt to make cake tough. Cake will be lighter if baked slowly at first After it has raised increase heat slowly so it will brown nicely on top. The batter, if heated slowly, will rise evenly. This does not mean a cool oven. To prevent cakes sticking to pans, grease pans well with lard, and sift a little flour lightly over pan. Use baking powder with sweet milk. Saleratus is always used with sour milk. Use 1 teaspoonful of saleratus to 1 pint of sour milk. Cream of tartar and saleratus combined may be used with sweet milk instead of baking powder. One heaping teaspoonful of Royal baking powder is equivalent to 1 teaspoonful of cream of tartar and 1/2 teaspoonful of saleratus combined. Either baking powder or a combination of saleratus and cream of tartar may be used in a cake in which sweet milk is used. Usually take 1-1/2 to 2 scant teaspoonfuls of baking powder to two cups of flour. Saleratus should be used alone with sour milk. Put baking mola.s.ses in a stew-pan over fire and allow it to just come to boil; cool before using it. It will not sour as quickly in warm weather, and the cake baked from it will have a better flavor. The cup used in measuring ingredients for cakes holds exactly one-half pint. All cakes are improved by the addition of a pinch of salt. When lard is used instead of b.u.t.ter, beat to a cream and salt well. In mixing cakes, beat b.u.t.ter and sugar together until light and creamy, then add the beaten yolks of eggs, unless stated otherwise as for angel cake, etc., then the flavoring, then mix in the flour and liquid alternately. The baking powder, flour and salt should have been sifted together three or four times before being added. Lastly, fold in lightly the stiffly beaten whites of eggs. Fruit well dredged with flour should be added last, if used. Cool the oven if too hot for baking cakes by placing a pan containing cold water in the top rack of oven. Sponge cake particularly is improved by doing this, as it makes the cake moist.

Stir sponge cake as little as possible after adding flour, as too much stirring then will make cake tough. Sift flour several times before using for sponge cake, as tins causes the flour to become lighter.

Layer cake, and most small cakes, require a quick oven. The oven door should not be opened for 12 minutes after cake has been placed in oven. Rich cakes, loaf cakes and fruit cakes must bake long and slowly. The richer the cake, the slower the heat required in baking.

To test the oven, if the hand can bear the heat of the oven 20 or 25 seconds, the oven then is the right temperature. After placing a loaf cake in oven do not open the oven door for 20 minutes. If oven be not hot enough, the cake will rise, then fall and be heavy. Angel cake, suns.h.i.+ne cake and sponge cake require a moderate oven.

Raisins and dried currants should be washed and dried before using in cake. All fruit should be dredged with flour before being added to cake. Citron may be quickly and easily prepared by cutting on a slaw cutter or it may be grated before being added to cake. When a recipe calls for b.u.t.ter the size of an egg it means two tablespoonfuls. A tablespoonful of b.u.t.ter, melted, means the b.u.t.ter should be measured first, then melted. Aunt Sarah frequently used a mixture of b.u.t.ter and lard in her cakes for economy's sake, and a lesser quant.i.ty may be used, as the shortening quality of lard is greater than that of b.u.t.ter. When subst.i.tuting lard for b.u.t.ter, she always beat the lard to a cream before using it and salt it well. If raisins and currants are placed in oven of range a few minutes to become warmed before being added to cake, then rolled in flour, they will not sink to bottom of cake when baked.

FRAU SCHMIDT'S LEMON CAKE

1-1/2 cups sugar.

1/2 cup b.u.t.ter and lard.

3 small eggs or 2 large ones.

1/2 cup sweet milk.

2 cups flour.

1/2 teaspoonful saleratus.

1 teaspoonful cream of tartar.

Grated yellow rind and juice of half a lemon.

Beat sugar and b.u.t.ter to a cream and add the yolks of eggs. Add the milk, then the flour and cream of tartar and saleratus; and the flavoring. Lastly, the stiffly-beaten whites of eggs.

This makes one loaf cake. The original of this recipe was a very old one which Frau Schmidt had used many years. Every ingredient in the old recipe was doubled, except the eggs, when five were used. Mary thought this cake fine and from the recipe, when she used half the quant.i.ty of everything, she baked a fine loaf cake, and from the original recipe was made one good sized loaf and one layer cake.

Thinly sliced citron added to this cake is a great improvement.

FINE "KRUM KUCHEN"

One cup sugar, 1/2 cup b.u.t.ter and lard, mixed; 2 cups flour and 2 teaspoonfuls of baking powder, 2 eggs, 1/2 cup sweet milk.

Crumb together with the hands the sugar, b.u.t.ter, flour and baking powder sifted together. Take out 1/2 cup of these crumbs to be scattered over top of cake. To the remainder add the yolks of the eggs, well beaten, and the sweet milk, and lastly the stiffly beaten whites of eggs. Put the mixture in a well-greased pan (a deep custard pie tin will answer), scatter the half cup of crumbs reserved over top of cake and bake about 3/4 of an hour in a rather quick oven. When cake is baked, sprinkle over 1 teaspoonful of melted b.u.t.ter and dust top with cinnamon.

AUNT SARAH'S "QUICK DUTCH CAKES"

She creamed together 1 cup of sugar, 1 tablespoonful of lard, 1 tablespoonful of b.u.t.ter and added 1-1/2 cups of luke-warm milk. Add 3 cups flour (good measure), sifted with three scant teaspoonfuls of baking powder. Add a half cup of raisins, seeded and cut in several pieces, if liked, but the cakes are very good without. Spread in two pans and sprinkle sugar and cinnamon on top and press about five small dabs of b.u.t.ter on top of each cake. Put in oven and bake at once.

These are a very good subst.i.tute for "raised Dutch cakes," and are much more quickly and easily-made and, as no eggs are used, are quite cheap and very good.

A RELIABLE LAYER CAKE

1-1/4 cups granulated sugar.

3 eggs.

1/2 cup b.u.t.ter and lard mixed. (Use all b.u.t.ter if preferred.) 1/2 cup sweet milk.

2 cups flour sifted with 2 teaspoonfuls Royal baking powder.

Cream together sugar and shortening. Add yolks of eggs, beating well, as each ingredient is added. Then add milk and flour alternately, and lastly the stiffly beaten white of eggs. Stir all together. Bake in two square layer pans, and put together with chocolate or white icing.

Or ice the cakes when cold and cut in squares.

BOILED ICING

Boil together 1 cup of granulated sugar and 5 tablespoonfuls boiling water ten or twelve minutes, or until a small quant.i.ty dropped from spoon spins a thread. Stir this into the stiffly-beaten white of one egg until thick and creamy. Flavor with lemon, almond or vanilla flavoring and spread on cake. Dip knife in hot water occasionally when spreading icing on cake.

A delicious icing is composed of almonds blanched and pounded to a paste. Add a few drops of essence of bitter almonds. Dust the top of the cake lightly with flour, spread on the almond paste and when nearly dry cover with ordinary icing. Dry almonds before pounding them in mortar, and use a small quant.i.ty of rose water. A few drops only should be used of essence of bitter almonds to flavor icing or cake. A pinch of baking powder added to sugar when making boiled icing causes the icing to become more creamy, or add a pinch of cream of tartar when making boiled icing. Or, when a cake iced with "boiled icing" has become cold, spread on top of icing unsweetened, melted chocolate.

This is a delicious "cream chocolate icing."

A DELICIOUS "SPICE LAYER CAKE"

2 cups light brown sugar.

1 cup chopped raisins.

2 eggs.

1 cup sour milk.

1/2 cup b.u.t.ter.

2 cups flour.

1 teaspoonful each of soda, cloves, cinnamon, allspice and a little grated nutmeg.

Cream sugar and b.u.t.ter together, add yolks of eggs, then the sour milk in which the soda has been dissolved, flour and spices, and lastly stir in the stiffly beaten white of eggs. Bake in two-layer pans.

ICING

Two cups sugar, 3/4 cup of milk or cream, 2 tablespoonfuls of b.u.t.ter.

Boil until it forms a soft ball when a small quant.i.ty is dropped in water, and flavor with vanilla. Beat until cold and spread between layers of cake. Also on top and sides.