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Twenty-Five Cent Dinners for Families of Six

<h2>CHAPTER VI.</h2> PEAS, BEANS, LENTILS, AND MAIZE. Before giving you receipts for cooking peas, beans, and lentils, I want to show you how important they are as foods. I have already spoken of the heat and flesh forming properties of food as the test of its usefulness; try to understand that a laboring man needs twelve ounces and a half of heat food, and half an ounce of flesh-food every day to keep him healthy. One pound, or one and a quarter pints of dried peas, beans, or lentils, contains nearly six ounces of heat food, and half an ounce of flesh food; that is, nearly as much heat-food, and more than twice as much flesh food as wheat. A little fat, salt meat, or suet, cooked with them, to bring up their amount of heat-food to the right point, makes either of them the best and most strengthening food a workingman can have. The only objection to their frequent use is the fact that their skins are sometimes hard to digest; but if you make them into soup, or pudding, rubbing them through a sieve after they are partly cooked, you will be safe from any danger. Oatmeal and Peas.—Cut quarter of a pound of fat pork or bacon, (cost four cents,) into pieces half an inch square; put it in the bottom of a pot with two sliced onions, (cost one cent,) and fry ten minutes without burning; season with two teaspoonfuls of salt, one of sugar, and one saltspoonful of pepper; (cost of seasoning one cent;) then add three quarts of cold water, and one pint of peas, (cost five cents,) and[Pg 39] boil the whole gently until the peas become quite soft; then stir in enough oatmeal to thicken, about a quarter of a pound, (cost two cents or less;) simmer for twenty minutes, and then eat hot. It is the healthiest kind of a meal, and costs thirteen cents, or less. Peas-Pudding.—Soak one pint of dried peas, (cost five cents,) in cold water over night; tie them loosely in a clean cloth, and boil them about two hours in pot-liquor or water, putting them into it cold and bringing them gradually to a boil; drain them, pass them through a sieve with a wooden spoon, season them with a level tablespoonful of salt, half a saltspoonful of pepper, one ounce of butter, and one egg, (all of which will cost five cents,) mix, tie in a clean cloth, and boil half an hour longer; then turn it from the cloth on a dish, and serve hot. This receipt makes a good large pudding for ten cents; or you can leave out the egg and it will cost less. Peas and Bacon.—Put one pound of bacon, (cost twelve cents,) to boil in two and a half quarts of cold water, with one pint of dried peas, (cost five cents;) when the peas are soft, drain them, press them through a sieve, lay them neatly on a flat dish, place the bacon on them, and set them in the oven to brown. Meantime strain any water which may remain after boiling them, and thicken it over the fire with Indian meal, in the proportion of four or five tablespoonfuls to each pint, so as to make it thick enough to cut and fry when cold; boil it about one hour, and then cool it. As soon as the peas and bacon are brown, serve them with boiled potatoes or bread, (about five cents' worth of either;) they make a good dinner, and with the hasty pudding, cost only about twenty-five cents. Baked Peas.—Proceed as directed for peas-pudding, only instead of putting the peas again in the cloth put them in a pudding-dish, and brown them in the oven. A large dish costs only ten cents. Peas and Onions.—Proceed as directed for peas pudding, omitting the egg, and substituting for it an onion chopped and fried in an ounce of drippings; bake as in the previous receipt. The cost will be about ten cents, and the dish is exceedingly nutritious. Baked Beans.—Put one pint of dried beans, (cost six cents,) and quarter of a pound of salt pork, (cost four cents,) into two quarts of cold water; bring them to a boil, and boil them slowly for about twenty minutes; then put the beans, with about a teacupful of the water they were boiled in, into an open jar, season them with salt and[Pg 40] pepper to taste, and one tablespoonful of molasses, (cost of seasoning one cent,) lay the pork on the top, and bake two hours, or longer. The dish will cost about ten cents, and is palatable and nutritious. The liquor in which the beans were boiled should be saved, and used the next morning as broth, with seasoning and a little fried or toasted bread in it. Stewed Beans.—Soak a pint of dried beans, (cost six cents,) over night in cold water; put them to boil in a quart of cold water with one ounce of drippings, a level tablespoonful of salt, and quarter of a teaspoonful of pepper, and boil them gently for two hours. Then drain them, put them into a sauce pan with one ounce of butter and a tablespoonful of chopped parsley, and after heating them through, serve them at once. The drippings, butter, and seasoning, will not cost more than four cents, and the whole dish can be made for ten. Fried Beans.—Proceed as above, omitting the parsley, and letting the butter get hot in a frying pan, before putting the beans in; fry them a little, stirring them so that they will brown equally, and then serve them. The dish will cost ten cents. Beans and Bacon.—Soak a pint of dried beans, (cost six cents,) over night in cold water; put them over the fire in one quart of cold water, with quarter of a pound of bacon, (cost three cents,) and boil them gently for about two hours; then stir in two tablespoonfuls of flour mixed smooth with a little cold water, season to taste with pepper, salt, and if you like it a little chopped onion, and let them stew gently for about ten minutes; they will then be ready to serve. The dish will cost ten cents. Lentils.—Lentils have been used for food in older countries for a long time, and it is quite necessary that we should become acquainted with their merits if we want to save; I give a lentil soup, and some excellent directions for cooking this invaluable food. One quart of lentils when cooked will make four pounds of hearty food. There are two varieties in market; the small flat brown seed, called lentils à la reine; and a larger kind, about the size of peas, and of a greenish color; both sorts are equally well flavored and nutritious; they cost ten cents a pound, and can be bought at general groceries. The seed of the lentil tare, commonly cultivated in France and Germany as an article of food, ranks nearly as high as meat as a valuable food, being capable of sustaining life and vigor for a long time; this vegetable is[Pg 41] gradually becoming known in this country, from the use of it by our French and German citizens; and from its nutritive value it deserves to rank as high as our favorite New England Beans. Lentils boiled plain.—Wash one pound, or one full pint of lentils, (cost ten cents,) well in cold water, put them over the fire, in three quarts of cold water with one ounce of drippings, one tablespoonful of salt, and a saltspoonful of pepper, (cost about one cent,) and boil slowly until tender, that is about three hours; drain off the little water which remains, add to the lentils one ounce of butter, a tablespoonful of chopped parsley, a teaspoonful of sugar, and a little more salt and pepper if required, (cost about three cents,) and serve them hot. Always save the water in which they are boiled; with the addition of a little thickening and seasoning, it makes a very nourishing soup. Stewed Lentils.—Put a pint of plain boiled lentils into a sauce pan, cover them with any kind of pot-liquor, add one ounce of chopped onion, two ounces of drippings, quarter of an ounce of chopped parsley, and stew gently for twenty minutes; serve hot. This dish costs about ten cents. Fried Lentils.—Fry one ounce of chopped onion brown in two ounces of drippings, add one pint of plain boiled lentils, see if they are properly seasoned, and brown them well; serve hot. This dish costs about ten cents, and is very good, and as nutritious as meat. Maize, or Indian Corn Meal.—This native product is a strong and nutritious food, and very economical; in addition to the ordinary hasty-pudding, or mush, it can be cooked with a little pot-liquor, meat, or cheese, so as to be both good and wholesome. Below are some excellent receipts for cooking it. Polenta.—Boil one pound of yellow Indian meal, (cost four cents,) for half an hour, in two quarts of pot-liquor or boiling water, salted to taste, with one ounce of fat, stirring it occasionally to prevent burning; then bake it for half an hour in a greased baking dish, and serve it either hot, or, when cold, slice it and fry it in smoking hot fat. This favorite Italian dish is closely allied to the hasty-pudding of New England, and the mush of the South. It costs five cents. Cheese Pudding.—Into two quarts of boiling water, containing two tablespoonfuls of salt, stir one pound of yellow Indian meal, (cost four cents,) and a quarter of a pound of grated cheese, (cost four cents;) boil it for twenty minutes, stirring it occasionally to prevent burning;[Pg 42] then put it in a greased baking pan, sprinkle over the top quarter of a pound of grated cheese, (cost four cents,) and brown in a quick oven. Serve hot. If any remains, slice it cold and fry it brown. It costs twelve cents. Hasty-Pudding.—Have boiling upon the fire two quarts of water with a level tablespoonful of salt; sprinkle in gradually one pound of Indian meal, (cost four cents,) stirring constantly to prevent lumps; and boil steadily for one hour, stirring occasionally. The secret of making good hasty-pudding is to boil it long enough to thoroughly cook it. Some persons first mix the meal with cold water until it forms a thick batter, and then stir this into the boiling water. The pudding can be eaten with a little milk, butter, or molasses, if they are desirable additions; or with some meat gravy, or melted and seasoned suet. When cold it is good sliced and fried. Johnny Cake.—Mix one pound of Indian meal, (cost four cents,) one ounce of lard, (cost one cent,) and one teaspoonful of salt, with sufficient boiling water to make a stiff batter; put it by the tablespoonful into a greased baking pan, and bake it thoroughly. Five cents' worth makes a hearty meal, with a little butter or molasses. Indian Cakes.—These are prepared in the same way as Johnny Cake, except that the batter is made about as thin as buckwheat cakes, and baked upon a greased griddle over the fire instead of in the oven. The most economical way of greasing the griddle is to put a small piece of fat salt pork upon a fork and rub it over the surface of the griddle after it is well heated. Indian Bread.—Mix into one quart of boiling water enough Indian meal to make a thin batter, about a quarter of a pound, (cost one cent;) when it has cooled, stir into it one pound of wheat flour, (cost four cents,) a level tablespoonful of salt, and one gill of yeast; let it rise overnight, and then bake it in loaves. Boiled Indian Pudding.—Dissolve a level teaspoonful of soda in one pint of sour milk, add to it one pint of molasses, (cost five cents,) quarter of a pound of chopped suet, (cost two cents,) half a pound of Indian meal, (cost two cents,) and a level teaspoonful of salt; if you have no milk use boiling water instead of it; put the pudding into a scalded pudding bag, or a pudding kettle, and this into a pot of boiling water; boil steadily for four hours, adding boiling water as the quantity[Pg 43] decreases. The pudding when cooked may be eaten with sauce or molasses, if desired; it will cost about ten cents. Baked Indian Pudding.—Stir into a quart of boiling milk, (cost eight cents,) quarter of a pound of Indian meal, (cost one cent,) one level teaspoonful of salt, the same of spice, and one ounce of butter, (cost two cents;) last of all add one pint of cold milk, (cost four cents,) or milk and water. Pour the pudding into an earthen dish, and bake slowly for three hours. It will cost about fifteen cents, and be very nice. There is as much difference in the quality of Indian meal as there is in its preparation; Southern meal is undoubtedly finer than Northern, and Southern cooks are proverbial for their skill in using it. I am indebted for some of the preceding receipts to a friend in Maryland, and I advise my readers to buy Southern meal, if they can get it, and test them thoroughly. Meal that is ground by hand or water power is superior to that ground by steam, because it is less heated in the process. Indian corn is an excellent food in temperate and warm climates; and from its abundant yield, and easy cultivation, it is one of the cheapest of cereals. It contains the nitrates, or flesh-forming properties, in an excessive degree. It is a palatable and nutritious diet whether eaten green, parched, or ground into meal. <hr style="width: 65%;" /> <div style="break-after:column;"></div>

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