Dr. Allinson's cookery book Part 29

SPONGE MOULD.

9 stale sponge cakes, some raspberry jam, 2 pints of milk, 8 oz. of Allinson cornflour, sugar to taste, a few drops of almond essence.

Halve the sponge cakes, spread them with jam, arrange them in a b.u.t.tered mould, and soak them with 1/2 pint of the milk boiling hot.

Boil the rest of the milk and thicken it with the cornflour as for blancmange; flavour with the essence and sugar; pour the mixture over the sponge cakes, and turn all out when cold.

STEWED PEARS AND VANILLA CREAM.

Get 1 tin of pears, open it, and turn the contents into an enamelled stewpan, add some sugar and liquid cochineal to colour the fruit, and let them stew a few minutes. Take out the pears carefully without breaking them, and let the syrup cook until it is thick. When the pears are cold lay them on a dish with the cores upwards, and with a spoon scoop out the core, and fill the s.p.a.ce left with whipped cream flavoured with vanilla and sweetened; sprinkle them with finely shredded blanched almonds or pistachios, and pour the syrup round them.

SWISS CREAMS.

4 oz. of macaroons, a little raisin wine and 1 pint of custard, made with Allinson custard powder; lay the macaroons in a gla.s.s dish and pour over enough raisin wine to soak them, make the custard in the usual way, let it cool and then pour over the cakes; when quite cold garnish with pieces of bright coloured jelly.

TAPIOCA ICE.

1 teacupful of tapioca, 1/2 teacupful of sifted sugar, 1 tinned pineapple. Soak the tapioca over night in cold water; in the morning boil it in 1 quart of water until perfectly clear, and add the sugar and pineapple syrup. Chop up the pineapple and mix it with the boiling hot tapioca; turn the mixture into a wet mould. When cold turn it out and serve with cream and sugar.

TIPSY CAKE.

12 small sponge cakes, 1/2 lb. jam, 1 pint of custard made with Allinson custard powder. Soak the sponge cakes in a little raisin wine, arrange them on a deep gla.s.s dish in four layers, spread a little jam on each layer and pour the custard round, decorate the top with candid cherries and almonds blanched and split.

A WEEK'S MENU

I have written the following menus to help those who are beginning vegetarianism. When first starting, most housewives do not know what to provide, and this is a source of anxiety. I occasionally meet some who have been vegetarians a long time, but confess that they do not know how to provide a nice meal. They usually eat the plainest foods, because they know of no tasty dishes. When visitors come, we like to provide tempting dishes for them, and show them that appetising meals can be prepared without the carcases of animals. I only give seven menus, that is, one for each day of the week; but our dishes can be so varied that we can have a different menu daily for weeks without any repet.i.tion. The recipes here written give a fair idea to start with.

Instead of always using b.u.t.ter beans, or haricot beans, as directed in one of these menus, lentils or split peas can be subst.i.tuted. I have not included macaroni cheese in these menus, because this dish is so generally known; it can be introduced into any vegetarian dinner. I have allowed three courses at the dinner, but they are really not necessary. I give them to make the menus more complete. A substantial soup and a pudding, or a savoury with vegetables and sauce and a pudding, are sufficient for a good meal. In our own household we rarely have more than two courses, and often only one course. This article will be of a.s.sistance to all those who are wis.h.i.+ng to try a healthful and humane diet, and to those meat eaters who wish to provide tasty meals for vegetarian friends.

Anna P. Allinson.

4, Spanish Place, Manchester Square, London, W.

_MENU I._

TOMATO SOUP.

1 tin of tomatoes or 2 lbs. of fresh ones, 1 large Spanish onion or 1/2 lb. of smaller ones, 2 oz. of b.u.t.ter, pepper and salt to taste, 1 oz. of vermicelli and 2 bay leaves. Peel the onions and chop up roughly; brown them with the b.u.t.ter in the saucepan in which the soup is made. When the onion is browned, add the tomatoes (the fresh ones must be sliced) and 3 pints of water. Let all cook together for 1/2 an hour. Then drain the liquid through a sieve without rubbing anything through. Return the liquid to the saucepan, add the seasoning and the vermicelli; then allow the soup to cook until the vermicelli is soft, which will be in about 10 minutes. Sago, tapioca, or a little dried julienne may be used instead of the vermicelli.

VEGETABLE PIE.

1/2 lb. each of tomatoes, turnips, carrots, potatoes, 1 tablespoonful of sago, 1 teaspoonful of mixed herbs, 3 hard-boiled eggs, 2 oz. of b.u.t.ter, and pepper and salt to taste. Prepare the vegetables, scald and skin the tomatoes, cut them in pieces not bigger than a walnut, stew them in the b.u.t.ter and 1 pint of water until nearly tender, add the pepper and salt and the mixed herbs. When cooked, pour the vegetables into a pie-dish, sprinkle in the sago, add water to make gravy if necessary. Cut the hard-boiled eggs in quarters and place them on the top of the vegetables, cover with a crust made from Allinson wholemeal, and bake until it is brown.

SHORT CRUST.

10 oz. of Allinson wholemeal, 8 oz. of b.u.t.ter or vege-b.u.t.ter, 1 teacupful of cold water. Rub the b.u.t.ter into the meal, add the water, mixing the paste with a knife. Roll it out, cut strips to line the rim of the pie-dish, cover the vegetable with the crust, decorate it, and bake the pie as directed.

GOLDEN SYRUP PUDDING.

10 oz. of Allinson wholemeal, 3 eggs, 1 pint of milk, and 1/2 lb. of golden syrup. Grease a pudding basin, and pour the golden syrup into it; make a batter with the milk, meal, and eggs, and pour this into the pudding basin on the syrup, but do not stir the batter up with the syrup. Place a piece of b.u.t.tered paper on the top of the batter, tie a cloth over the basin unless you have a basin with a fitting metal lid, and steam the pudding for 2 1/2 hours in boiling water. Do not allow any water to boil into the pudding. Dip the basin with the pudding in it for 1 minute in cold water before turning it out, for then it comes out more easily.

_MENU II._

CLEAR CELERY SOUP.

1 large head of celery or 2 small ones, 1 large Spanish onion, 2 oz.

of b.u.t.ter, pepper and salt to taste, and 1 blade of mace. Chop the onion and fry it brown in the b.u.t.ter (or vege-b.u.t.ter) in the saucepan in which the soup is to be made. When brown, add 4 pints of water, the celery washed and cut into pieces, the mace, the pepper and salt. Let all cook until the celery is quite soft, then drain the liquid from the vegetables. Return it to the saucepan, boil the soup up, and add 1 oz. of vermicelli, sago, or Italian paste; let the soup cook until this is quite soft, and serve with sippets of Allinson wholemeal toast.

b.u.t.tER BEANS WITH PARSLEY SAUCE.

Pick the beans, wash them and steep them over night in boiling water, just covering them. Allow 2 or 3 oz. of beans for each person. In the morning let them cook gently in the water they are steeped in, with the addition of a little b.u.t.ter, until quite soft, which will be in about 2 hours. The beans should be cooked in only enough water to keep them from burning; therefore, when it boils away, add only just sufficient for absorption. The sauce is made thus: 1 pint of milk, 1 tablespoonful of Allinson wholemeal, a handful of finely chopped parsley, the juice of 1/2 a lemon, pepper and salt to taste. Boil the milk and thicken it with the meal, which should first be smoothed with a little cold milk, then last of all add the lemon juice, the seasoning, and the parsley. This dish should be eaten with potatoes and green vegetables.

GROUND RICE PUDDING.

1 quart of milk, 6 oz. of ground rice, 1 egg, and any kind of jam.

Boil the milk, stir into it the ground rice previously smoothed with some of the cold milk. Let the mixture gook gently for 5 minutes, stir frequently, draw the saucepan to the side, and when it has ceased to boil add the egg well whipped, and mix well. Pour half of the mixture into a pie-dish, spread a layer of jam over it, then pour the rest of the pudding mixture over the jam, and let it brown lightly in the oven.

_MENU III._

CARROT SOUP.

4 good-sized carrots, 1 small head of celery, 1 fair sized onion, a turnip, 3 oz. of Allinson breadcrumbs, 1-1/2 oz. of b.u.t.ter, 1 blade of mace, pepper and salt to taste. Sc.r.a.pe and wash the vegetables, and cut them up small; set them over the fire with 3 pints of water, the b.u.t.ter, bread, and mace. Let all boil together until the vegetables are quite tender, and then rub them through a sieve. Return the mixture to the saucepan, season with pepper and salt, and if too thick add water to the soup, which should be as thick as cream. Boil the soup up, and serve.

CURRIED RICE AND TOMATOES.