Dishes for invalids should be served in the daintiest and most attractive way; never send more than a supply for one meal; the same dish too frequently set before an invalid often causes a distaste, when perhaps a change would tempt the appet.i.te.
When preparing dishes where milk is used, the condition of the patient should be considered. Long cooking hardens the alb.u.men and makes the milk very constipating; then, if the patient should be already constipated, care should be taken not to heat the milk above the boiling point.
The seasoning of food for the sick should be varied according to the condition of the patient; one recovering from illness can partake of a little piece of roast mutton, chicken, rabbit, game, fish, simply dressed, and simple puddings are all light food and easily digested. A mutton chop, nicely cut, trimmed and broiled, is a dish that is often inviting to an invalid. As a rule, an invalid will be more likely to enjoy any preparation sent to him if it is served in small delicate pieces. As there are so many small, dainty dishes that can be made for this purpose, it seems useless to try to give more than a small variety of them. Pudding can be made of prepared barley, or tapioca, well soaked before boiling, with an egg added, and a change can be made of light puddings by mixing up some stewed fruit with the puddings before baking; a bread pudding from stale bread crumbs, and a tiny cup-custard, boiled in a small basin or cup; also various drinks, such as milk punch, wine, whey, apple-toddy, and various other nourishing drinks.
BEEFSTEAK AND MUTTON CHOPS.
Select the tenderest cuts and broil over a clear, hot fire. Let the steak be rare, the chops well done. Salt and pepper, lay between two _hot_ plates three minutes and serve to your patient. If he is very weak do not let him swallow anything except the juice, when he has chewed the meat well. The essence of rare beef, roasted or broiled, thus expressed, is considered by some physicians to be more strengthening than beef tea prepared in the usual manner.
BEEF TEA.
One pound of _lean_ beef, cut into small pieces. Put into a gla.s.s canning jar, without a drop of water, cover tightly and set in a pot of cold water. Heat gradually to a boil and continue this steadily for three or four hours, until the meat is like white rags and the juice all drawn out. Season with salt to taste and, when cold, skim.
VEAL OR MUTTON BROTH.
Take a scrag-end of mutton (two pounds), put it in a saucepan with two quarts of cold water and an ounce of pearl barley or rice. When it is coming to a boil, skim it well, then add half a teaspoonful of salt; let it boil until half reduced, then strain it and take off all the fat and it is ready for use. This is excellent for an invalid. If vegetables are liked in this broth, take one turnip, one carrot and one onion, cut them in shreds and boil them in the broth half an hour.
In that case, the barley may be served with the vegetables in broth.
CHICKEN BROTH.
Make the same as mutton or beef broth. Boil the chicken slowly, putting on just enough water to cover it well, watching it closely that it does not boil down too much. When the chicken is tender, season with salt and a very little pepper. The yolk of an egg beaten light and added, is very nourishing.
OATMEAL GRUEL.
Put four tablespoonfuls of the best grits (oatmeal coa.r.s.ely ground) into a pint of boiling water. Let it boil gently, and stir it often, till it becomes as thick as you wish it. Then strain it, and add to it while warm, b.u.t.ter, wine, nutmeg, or whatever is thought proper to flavor it. Salt to taste.
If you make a gruel of fine oatmeal, sift it, mix it first to a thick batter with a little cold water, and then put it into the saucepan of boiling water. Stir it all the time it is boiling, lifting the spoon gently up and down, and letting the gruel fall slowly back again into the pan.
CORN MEAL GRUEL.
Two tablespoonfuls of fine Indian meal, mixed smooth with cold water, and a saltspoonful of salt; add one quart of boiling water and cook twenty minutes. Stir it frequently, and if it becomes too thick use boiling water to thin it. If the stomach is not too weak, a tablespoonful of cream may be used to cool it. Some like it sweetened and others like it plain. For very sick persons, let it settle, pour off the top, and give without other seasoning. For convalescents, toast a piece of bread as nicely as possible, and put it in the gruel with a tablespoonful of nice sweet cream and a little ginger and sugar. This should be used only when a laxative is allowed.
EGG GRUEL.
Beat the yolk of an egg with one tablespoonful of sugar; pour one teacupful of boiling water on it, add the white of an egg, beaten to a froth, with any seasoning or spice desired. Take warm.
MILK PORRIDGE.
The same as arrowroot, excepting it should be all milk, and thickened with a scant tablespoonful of sifted flour; let it boil five minutes, stirring it constantly, add a little cold milk, give it one boil up, and it is ready for use.
ARROWROOT MILK PORRIDGE.
One large cupful of fresh milk, new if you can get it, one cupful of boiling water, one teaspoonful of arrowroot, wet to a paste with sold water, two teaspoonfuls of white sugar, a pinch of salt. Put the sugar into the milk, the salt into the boiling water, which should be poured into a farina kettle. Add the wet arrowroot and boil, stirring constantly until it is clear; put in the milk and cook ten minutes, stirring often. Give while warm, adding hot milk should it be thicker than gruel.
ARROWROOT BLANC MANGE.
One large cupful of boiling milk, one even tablespoonful of arrowroot rubbed to a paste with cold water, two teaspoonfuls of white sugar, a pinch of salt, flavor with rose-water. Proceed as in the foregoing recipes, boiling and stirring eight minutes. Turn into a wet mold, and, when firm, serve with cream and powdered sugar.
TAPIOCA JELLY.
Soak a cupful of tapioca in a quart of cold water after washing it thoroughly two or three times; after soaking three or four hours, simmer it in a stewpan until it becomes quite clear, stirring often; add the juice of a lemon, and a little of the grated peel, also a pinch of salt. Sweeten to taste. Wine can be subst.i.tuted for lemon, if liked.
SLIPPERY-ELM BARK TEA.
Break the bark into bits, pour boiling water over it, cover and let it infuse until cold. Sweeten, ice, and take for summer disorders, or add lemon juice and drink for a bad cold.
FLAX-SEED TEA.
Upon an ounce of unbruised flax-seed and a little pulverized liquorice-root pour a pint of boiling (soft or rain) water, and place the vessel containing these ingredients near, but not on, the fire for four hours. Strain through a linen cloth. Make it fresh every day. An excellent drink in fever accompanied by a cough.
FLAX-SEED LEMONADE.
To a large tablespoonful of flax-seed, allow a tumbler and a half of cold water. Boil them together till the liquid becomes very sticky.
Then strain it hot over a quarter of a pound of pulverized sugar, and an ounce of pulverized gum arabic. Stir it till quite dissolved, and squeeze into it the juice of a lemon.
This mixture has frequently been found an efficacious remedy for a cold, taking a wine-gla.s.s of it as often as the cough is troublesome.
TAMARIND WATER.
Put tamarinds into a pitcher or tumbler till it is one-third full, then fill up with cold water, cover it, and let it infuse for a quarter of an hour or more.
Currant jelly or cranberry juice mixed with water makes a pleasant drink for an invalid.
SAGO JELLY.
Made the same as tapioca. If seasoning is not advisable the sago may be boiled in milk, instead of water, and eaten plain.
Rice jelly made the same, using only half as much rice as sago.
ARROWROOT WINE JELLY.