Bread Cutlets.
Have a number of neat pieces of bread about 1/2 inch thick. Dip in milk, gravy, tomato juice, &c., and drain. Do not soak. Brush over with egg or dip in batter, and fry. Serve as they are or with some savoury mince, tomatoes, &c.
Stuffed Tomatoes.
Have number of tomatoes required, equal in size but not too large. With a sharp knife take off a small slice from the stalk end. Scoop out a little of the centre part, mix this with some forcemeat, or sausage mixture, beaten egg, &c., and fill in the cavity. Put some b.u.t.ter on the top and bake. A few chopped mushrooms with crumbs, egg, &c., make a delicious filling.
Cheese Fritters.
Mix 2 tablespoonfuls flour with 1/2 teacupful milk, 2 ozs. grated cheese, teaspoonful made mustard, and the whites of 2 eggs stiffly beaten. Mix well, and drop by small spoonfuls into hot fat. Fry a nice brown and serve very hot.
One might go on indefinitely to detail breakfast dishes, but that is quite unnecessary. It is a good thing, however, to have some simple, easily-prepared food as a regular stand-by from day to day, just as porridge is in some households, and bacon and eggs in others. Variety is very good so far, but we are in danger of making a fetish of changes and variations.
Most of you know the story of the Scotch rustic who was quizzed by an English tourist, who surprised him at his mid-day meal of brose. The tourist asked him what he had for breakfast and supper respectively, and on getting each time the laconic answer "brose," he burst out in amaze: "And do you never tire of brose!" Whereupon the still more astonished rustic rejoined "Wha wad tire o" their meat!" "Meat" to this happy youth was summed up in brose, and to go without was to go unfed.
Well, I am afraid the most Spartan _hausfrau_ among us will scarcely attain to such an ideal of simplicity, but we might do well to have one staple dish, either in plane of, or along with porridge. For this purpose I know of nothing better than
Shredded Wheat Biscuits.
These have been referred to several times already in various savoury recipes, and, indeed, the ways in which they may be used are practically unlimited. For a
Standard Breakfast Dish,
especially in these days of "domestic" difficulty, they are exceedingly useful. For some years now we have bought them through our grocer by the case of 50 boxes--which, of course, brings them in much cheaper than buying these boxes singly--and use them week in, week out, for the family breakfast. Most people are familiar with the appearance of these, but any who have not yet sampled them should lose no time in doing so. Fortunately, they can now be had of all good grocers. When some of us began to use them first we had no end of bother sending away for them to special depots.
To prepare:--Have a flat tin or ashet large enough to hold the biscuits side by side. Spread the tin liberally with b.u.t.ter, lay in the biscuits, put more b.u.t.ter on the top of each, and toast till nicely crisp and brown in good oven, or under the gas grill. If the latter, turn to toast the under side. Be very careful not to burn. If toasted on an ashet serve on same dish. One can now have fire-proof ware which is not unsightly. There is a very artistic white fire-proof ware which is specially suitable for using in this way, so that besides the saving of trouble, one can have the food hot and crisp from the oven--a rather difficult, or at least uncertain consummation if there is much shifting from one dish to another. These
"Shredders,"
as we familiarly dub them, are most toothsome served quite simply as above, but they may be acceptably varied with sundry relishes. A very good way is to have a little gravy prepared by diluting half a teaspoonful "Marmite" or a teaspoonful "Carnos" in a half teacup _boiling_ water. Pour a very little over each biscuit, and serve on very hot plates. Prepared thus they may serve as toast for scrambled eggs or any savoury mixture. For
Tomato "Shredders"
fry the necessary quant.i.ty of tomatoes, free from skin and seeds, in a little b.u.t.ter, with seasoning of grated onion, pepper, and salt. A little "Marmite" or "Carnos" is a great improvement.
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may be used in the same way, and a mixture of mushrooms and tomatoes fried or baked and mixed together is especially good.
Green Onions
are also very good. Take 1/2 lb. green onions, trim away any tough or withered parts, and cut up the green in 1/2 inch lengths. Put these in a saucepan with boiling water to barely cover, a little salt, pinch sugar, and a little mint, sage, or parsley. Cook gently for half an hour, then add the white cut in rings, and stew till quite tender. Stir in 1/2 oz. b.u.t.ter, a little ketchup or extract, and serve on prepared S.W. Biscuits.
Craigie Toast
will commend itself to those who wish for a quickly made dish. Allow one egg and a small tomato to each person. Beat up the eggs and add the tomatoes minced, also seasoning--a few capers or a little gherkin finely chopped is very good--and a little milk, ketchup and water, or diluted extract--half a teacupful to 4 eggs. Melt a good piece of b.u.t.ter in saucepan, pour in the other ingredients, and mix over the fire till thoroughly hot. Cover, and allow to cook by the side of the fire for a few minutes, then serve piled up on crisp toasted S.W. Biscuits.
All the recipes I have given for using these biscuits are designed to have them dry and crisp. I think they are much nicer in that way, but those who like them soft or as a mush can have them so with even less trouble. Put a little milk, tomato juice, extract, sauce, &c., &c., in a soup plate. Dip in each biscuit lightly and drain, place on b.u.t.tered tin or dish to warm through. For a
Bachelor"s Mush
which might suitably take the place of porridge where the preparation of that is inconvenient, toast one or two Shredded Wheat Biscuits on a deep plate. Pour boiling milk over and serve with sugar or stewed fruit.
With stewed fruit, also, one might use
Triscuits
toasted or plain. These are flat filamented biscuits which can be used to advantage in many ways. They can be used in place of toast, and are very suitable to eat with porridge or any food which may be rather mushy alone.
One might go on for pages with suggestions for using these handy biscuits, but one has only to begin using them to find out innumerable ways of one"s own. These are not always what _I_ would suggest. One "unreformed"
friend of mine who had begun to use them on my recommendation, told me she put them to fry every morning, after dipping in egg or batter, among the fat of the breakfast bacon!
Grain Granules.
This also is a very handy and sustaining breakfast dish, and needs little or no cooking. To make a hot mush put a few spoonfuls in a plate or saucer, and pour hot milk over. It may be eaten at once or allowed to remain in the oven for a few minutes. If to be eaten with cream or stewed fruit, crisp for a few minutes in the oven.
Nutgraino
is another excellent breakfast dish, composed of the whole wheat berry blended with nuts, and is most nourishing and digestible. It may be used as Grain Granules.
Wheatose
is a food which is recommended by eminent authorities on the food question.
It is not so quickly prepared as the foregoing foods, but with a little forethought costs very little trouble. One teacupful should be soaked with rather less than twice that quant.i.ty of water for 10 hours, then it should be steamed in Queen pudding bowl, "Gourmet" boiler, &c., for 4 or 5 hours.
It might thus be put on to soak in the morning, then put on to steam in the evening, or it might be put in covered jar in the oven all night. It can easily be warmed up in the morning, and when cold it will be quite firm, and may be cut in slices and fried. As a mush it should be eaten with dry toast or triscuits and stewed fruit.
COLD SAVOURIES.
"Reform" Mould.
(Mrs W., Dundee.)
Take 1 lb. yellow lentils, wash well, and boil with as little water as possible and any suitable seasoning, such as chopped onion, pinch herbs, salt, pepper, and a little b.u.t.ter; also about 2 tablespoonfuls of tapioca which has been soaked all night or longer. Cook very gently till the tapioca is quite clear, and turn into wetted or oiled mould. Turn out when quite firm and serve with any suitable garnish-cooked beetroot, &c.