The cultivation of rice in Louisiana is more than a hundred years old.
Louisiana now produces a crop of this cereal larger than the entire crop of the states of Georgia and Carolina. The tourist who visits Louisiana during the time of the rice market enjoys a scene that is rarely duplicated elsewhere in the civilized world; for here are gathered the buyers from all parts of the country.
The Creole of Louisiana, like the Oriental, has the true secret for making this food a palatable article of diet. The old mammy in New Orleans always tells her children that, of course, le riz must be thoroughly washed and she always insists that the grains be cleansed in four waters--two warm and two cold--and then it is cooked in the same manner as the Orientals use.
Never stir the rice while it is cooking; this will make it mushy.
Instead, always shake the sauce-pan. Never flood the rice with water while it is cooking. Always keep the fact in mind that just five times the actual measurements of the rice in water will be required to cook it.
In this way there will be no excess water to drain off. So if you are using one-quarter cup of rice you would use one and one-quarter cups of water. Now you cannot pile up the water; you must be accurate in measuring the rice.
Boiled rice is a delicious accompaniment to chicken, lamb, turkey, shrimp, crabs and lobster--with okra and for oyster, chicken and crab grumbo; as a vegetable to replace potatoes and as a border for stews, goulashes, etc.
PIMENTO SANDWICHES
Use one tall or two small cans of pimentos.
One cup of cottage cheese, One onion.
Put the pimento, cheese and onion through the food-chopper and then add four tablespoons of salad dressing and use for sandwich filling.
BAKED APPLES
Pare and core apples and then place in m.u.f.fin pans and add
Two tablespoons of syrup, One tablespoon of water, One-quarter teaspoon of nutmeg.
Bake in a moderate oven until the apples are tender and then cool.
To serve: Lift the apples into a small platter and cover with a fruit meringue and then sprinkle with cocoanut.
SPICED APPLES
Place six medium-sized apples in a ca.s.serole and then add
One piece of stick cinnamon, broken into pieces, Four cloves, Two allspice, Two blades of mace, One-half teaspoon of nutmeg, Three-quarters cup of brown sugar, One-half cup of cider.
Bake until tender and then serve cold.
CALAS
The old negro women of the old French quarters in New Orleans used to make a delicious rice cake, which they carried in bowls on their heads. The bowls were covered with an immaculately clean cloth and the cakes were called bella cala--tout chaud of New Orleans.
HOW TO MAKE THIS DELICIOUS RICE CAKE
(Use Level Measurements)
Wash one-half cup of rice and cook until tender in two and one-half cups of boiling water. Now cool and mash the rice well. Now dissolve one-half yeast cake in one-half cup of water 80 degrees Fahrenheit and pour into a bowl, and add
One-half teaspoon of salt, Four tablespoons of sugar, One-half cup of sifted flour, The mashed rice.
Beat well to mix and then cover and let rise over night. In the morning add
Two well-beaten eggs, Five tablespoons of sugar, Four tablespoons of flour, One teaspoon of nutmeg.
Beat well and then let rise for three-quarters of an hour in a warm room. Now place in the pan one and one-half cups of vegetable oil.
Heat until hot enough to brown a crust of bread while you count forty.
Drop the rice mixture in by the spoonful and fry until golden brown.
Lift to a soft paper to drain. Dish on a hot platter; cover with warm napkin. Dust with pulverized sugar and nutmeg.
APPLE AND RICE CUSTARD
Wash six tablespoons or two ounces of rice in several waters and then place in a saucepan and add two cupsful of boiling water. Cook until the water is absorbed and the rice soft. Now wash, then cut into small pieces four small apples and then cover the apples with cold water and cook until soft. Rub through a fine sieve and add
One-half cup of sugar, One teaspoon of vanilla, One well-beaten egg, The cooked rice.
Beat to mix and then pour into the custard cups and bake for fifteen minutes in a moderate oven.
SARDINE SANDWICHES
Open a box of sardines and then drain free from oil. Remove the skin and bone and then mash very fine. Add
Two hard-boiled eggs, One green pepper, One-quarter onion.
Chop all fine and mix to a paste with six tablespoons of salad dressing, one-half teaspoon of salt and one teaspoon of paprika.
Spread between the prepared bread and then cut into two pieces. Wrap in wax-paper until needed.
MY IDEAL APPLE SAUCE
Wash one-quarter peck of apples and then cut in pieces and place in a saucepan and add three cups of water.
Cook until soft and then rub through a fine sieve. Sweeten with
One cup of sugar, One-half teaspoon of nutmeg, One teaspoon of vanilla.
If red apples are used, this makes a most delicious pink-looking sauce. No need to peal or core apples.
APPLE CROQUETTES
Wash and cut into small pieces six medium-sized apples and then place in a saucepan and add one cup of water; cook slowly until the apples are soft, and then rub through a fine sieve and add