_Soda Biscuits_

2 c. flour 1/2 tsp. soda (scant) 1/2 tsp. salt 1 c. sour milk (scant) 2 tbsp. shortening (lard or other fat)

Proceed as for Baking-powder Biscuits.

If the sour milk is not thick enough to curdle, it will not contain sufficient acid to neutralize the soda, and the biscuits will be yellow and bitter. To avoid this, cream of tartar may be mixed with the soda (1 teaspoonful). If there is no cream of tartar at hand, it will be wise to use the recipe for Baking-powder Biscuits.

METHOD OF WORK

Have the oven and pans prepared and all the measurements made.

Demonstrate the mixing of the m.u.f.fins and, while these are baking, the mixing of the biscuits. Have one pupil take charge of the baking of the m.u.f.fins and another of the baking of the biscuits. When the breads are done, have the cla.s.s sit down and serve them to one another, or to all the pupils at the school lunch hour.

LESSON XV: MEATS

_Composition and food value. How to make tough cuts of meat palatable.

Pork chops with fried apples. Beef or mutton stew with vegetables and dumplings. Rabbit stew. Bacon._

SUBJECT-MATTER

Meats are rich in protein and usually in fats, but are lacking in the carbohydrates. They build up the muscular tissue, furnish heat and energy, are more stimulating and strengthening than any other food, and satisfy hunger for a greater length of time. For the most part, meats are a very expensive food. One cannot perform more labour by the use of a meat diet than on a diet of vegetable foods. Those who use large quant.i.ties of meat suffer from many disturbances of the system. Hence it should form a very small part of the diet. The cuts of meat that come from those portions of the animal's body that are much exercised are tough, owing to the development of the connective tissues, but they contain a high percentage of nutrition. For the same reason, the meat from older animals is apt to be tough. The flesh of chickens, turkeys, and other fowls is very nutritious and is easily digested if not too fat.

The flavour of meats is developed by cooking. Dry heat develops the best flavour, hence the tender cuts are cooked by the processes known as broiling and roasting. Tough cuts of meat require long, slow cooking in moist heat, hence they are prepared in the form of stews and pot roasts or are used in meat soups.

PRELIMINARY PLAN

After the teacher has found out what meats are used in the homes or what the school can afford to use, she should determine upon a method of cooking that will make the meat palatable, digestible, and attractive.

If it can be prepared as a stew, she should use a recipe in which vegetables are also used and, if possible, have dumplings prepared to serve with the meat, as a review of the lesson on batters.

RECIPES

_Beef or Mutton Stew_

2 lb. beef or mutton 1 qt. water Salt, pepper, flour to dredge 1 onion, cut in slices 1/2 c. turnip cut in dice 3/4 c. carrot cut in dice 4 potatoes cut in 1/2-inch slices 1 tsp. salt 1/4 tsp. pepper 1/2 c. flour 1/4 c. cold water

Remove the fat and cut the meat into 1-inch pieces. Reserve half of the best pieces of meat, put the rest of the meat and the bone into cold water, soak for one hour, then heat until it bubbles. Season half the raw meat and roll it in the flour, melt the fat in a frying-pan, remove the sc.r.a.ps, brown the sliced onion and then the floured meat in the hot fat, add both to the stew, and cook for 2 hours at a low temperature. To this add the vegetables and cook 1/2 hour; then add the flour and seasonings, which have been mixed with one-half cup of cold water, and cook for 1/2 hour longer, until the meat and vegetables are tender.

Remove the bone from the stew and serve. Serves six to eight.

_Rabbit_

If beef and mutton are not commonly used and are not readily obtainable, but rabbit can be secured, subst.i.tute rabbit for beef in the stew. After the rabbit has been thoroughly cleaned, cut up in eight pieces (four leg and four body pieces), season, and dredge with flour, brown in the fat, and proceed as with Beef Stew.

_Dumplings_

2 c. flour 4 tsp. baking-powder 1/2 tsp. salt 2 tbsp. fat (lard or b.u.t.ter) 3/4 c. milk or water (about)

Sift the dry ingredients together, cut in the b.u.t.ter, and add the milk gradually, to make a soft dough. Roll out on a floured board, cut with a biscuit cutter, lay on top of meat in a stew pan (they should not sink into the liquid), cover the kettle closely, keep the stew boiling, and cook the dumplings for 10 minutes without removing the lid. (Do not put the dumplings in to cook until the meat is tender.)

_Note._--If desired, the rolling may be eliminated and, after mixing, the dough may be dropped by spoonfuls into the stew.

_To Cook Bacon_

Place thin slices of bacon from which the rind has been removed in a hot frying-pan, and pour off the fat as fast as it melts. Cook until the bacon is crisp and brown, turning frequently. Another method of cooking is to lay the bacon on a rack in a baking-pan and bake in a hot oven until crisp and brown.

_Pork Chops_

Wipe the chops with a damp cloth, and place in a hot frying-pan. Turn frequently at first and cook slowly until well browned on each side.

Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

_Fried Apples_

Wash and core the apples and slice to the centre. Roll in flour if very juicy.

After the chops have been removed from the pan, lay the apples in and cook till tender. Serve around the chops.

METHOD OF WORK

If the meat is to require two or three hours' cooking, arrange to have the lesson divided and given at two periods through the day. Half an hour before opening the morning session or a portion of the morning or noon recess may be sufficient time to put the meat on to cook and to prepare the vegetables. When the second cla.s.s period is called, the vegetables should be added to the partially cooked meat and the dumplings should be made. It would be well to serve the completed dish at the lunch period. There should be as much discussion regarding the kinds of meat, their food value, and the methods of cooking as time permits; but it may be necessary to complete this discussion at some other cla.s.s period.

Should it be possible for the teacher to give additional lessons on meat, it might be well to devote one lesson to the preparation and cooking of poultry, directions for which may be secured from any reliable cook-book.

LESSON XVI: BAKED PORK AND BEANS--BAKING-POWDER BISCUITS

SUBJECT-MATTER

Peas, beans, and lentils which are dried for market contain a high percentage of protein, carbohydrate, and mineral matter. They form an excellent subst.i.tute for meat and are much cheaper in price. The digestion of leguminous foods proceeds slowly, involving a large amount of work: on this account they are not desirable for invalids, but they are satisfactory for those who are well and active. The dried legumes must be soaked overnight in water and then cooked for a long time, in order to soften the cellulose and develop the flavour.

PRELIMINARY PLAN

It will be necessary to plan this lesson several days in advance, if the beans are to be baked. As they will be prepared and put on to bake before the lesson period, the Baking-powder Biscuits may be made during the lesson, to serve with them.