RECIPE

_Boston Baked Beans_

1 qt. navy beans 1 tbsp. salt 1/2 tbsp. mustard 3 tbsp. sugar 2 tbsp. mola.s.ses 1 c. boiling water 1/2 lb. fat salt pork Boiling water to cover

Look over the beans and soak them in cold water overnight.

In the morning drain, cover with fresh water, and simmer them until the skins will burst, but do not let the beans become broken.

Scald one-half pound of fat salt pork. Sc.r.a.pe the pork. Put a slice in the bottom of the bean pot. Cut the remaining pork across the top in strips just through the rind, and bury the pork in beans, leaving the rind exposed.

Add one cup of boiling water to seasonings and pour over the beans.

Cover with boiling water. Bake slowly, adding more water as necessary.

Bake from 6 to 8 hours, uncover at the last, so that the water will evaporate and the beans brown on top. Serves twelve.

METHOD OF WORK

Have the beans washed and put to soak the night before the lesson is to be given. a.s.sign to one of the pupils the task of putting them on to simmer early the next morning. Call the cla.s.s together for a few moments when the beans are ready to bake. a.s.sign one of the pupils to attend to the fire and the oven. Let the beans bake all day. If the lesson is to be given late in the afternoon, the beans may be ready to serve, or the cooking may be continued on the second day and the lesson completed then. It would be well to serve the dish at the lunch period. Have the biscuits prepared to serve with the baked beans.

LESSON XVII: b.u.t.tER CAKES--PLAIN YELLOW CAKE--COCOA--COFFEE--TEA

SUBJECT-MATTER

_Cakes._--Cakes made with fat resemble other batters, except that the fat, sugar, and eggs are usually larger in amount and the texture of the baked batter is finer and more tender.

When preparing cake, first get the pans ready. Grease them or line them with greased paper. Make sure that the oven is at the proper temperature. For a small cake, the oven should be hot enough to brown a piece of unglazed paper or a tablespoonful of flour in three minutes.

Bake a small cake from twenty to thirty minutes. When done, the cake will shrink from the sides of the pan; the crust will spring back when touched with the finger; the loud ticking sound will cease; a fine knitting-needle will come out clean if the cake is pierced; and the crust will be nicely browned. When the cake is removed from the oven, let it stand in the pan for about three minutes, then loosen, and turn out gently. Do not handle while hot. Keep in a clean, ventilated tin box in a cool, dry place.

_Cocoa._--Chocolate and cocoa are prepared from the bean of a tropical tree. This bean is rich in protein, fat, carbohydrate, mineral matter, and a stimulant called theobromine. In the preparation of chocolate the seeds are cleaned, milled, and crushed into a paste. In the preparation of cocoa much of the fat is removed, and the cocoa is packed for market in the form of a fine powder. Cocoa is more easily digested than chocolate, because it contains less fat. Though the amount of cocoa used in a cup of this beverage is not large, when prepared with milk it serves as a nutritious food. It is slightly stimulating as well, because of the theobromine present and because it is served hot.

_Coffee and Tea._--Coffee and tea have no food value when prepared as beverages. They contain stimulating properties that are harmful to the body if taken in large quant.i.ties and, on this account, they should be used with discretion. They should never be given to children or to those troubled with indigestion. If carelessly prepared, both coffee and tea may be decidedly harmful to the body. Coffee should not be boiled for more than eight minutes. Tea should never be permitted to boil. Fresh, boiling water should be poured on the leaves and left for three minutes.

It should then be strained off and kept hot until used.

PRELIMINARY PLAN

It may be wise to give this lesson on some special occasion, as it is well adapted to serve for the refreshments for a mother's club or a little cla.s.s party.

RECIPES

_Plain Yellow Cake_

1/2 c. b.u.t.ter 1 c. sugar 2 eggs 1/2 c. milk 2 tsp. baking-powder 1-1/2 c. flour 1 tsp. spice or 1-1/2 tsp. flavouring

Cream the b.u.t.ter, add the sugar gradually, and mix well. Add the well-beaten yolks of eggs, then the flour and baking-powder alternately with the milk. Then add the flavouring and cut and fold in the whites of the eggs carefully. Turn into b.u.t.tered pans and bake at once in a moderately hot oven.

For chocolate cake, 2 ounces of melted chocolate may be added after the yolks of the eggs. Serves sixteen to twenty.

_Gingerbread_

1/4 c. b.u.t.ter 1/2 c. brown sugar 1 egg 1/2 c. mola.s.ses 1/2 c. milk (sour if possible) 1/2 tsp. soda 1-3/4 c. flour 1 tsp. ginger 1/2 tsp. cinnamon Salt

Cream the b.u.t.ter, add the sugar gradually, then a well-beaten egg. Add the mola.s.ses. Sift all the dry ingredients together and add alternately with the milk. Bake in a b.u.t.tered tin or in gem pans in a moderate oven for 25 or 35 minutes. Serves eight to ten.

_Cocoa_

1/4 c. cocoa 1/4 c. sugar 1 c. water 3 c. milk

Mix the cocoa and sugar with the water and boil from 3 to 5 minutes.

Stir into the hot milk and serve at once. If a sc.u.m forms, beat with a Dover egg-beater. Serves eight to ten.

_Tea_

1 tsp. green or 2 tsp. black tea 2 c. boiling water (freshly boiling)

Scald the tea-pot, put the tea in the tea-pot, and pour boiling water over it; steep 3 minutes, strain, and serve. Serves four.

_Coffee_

Take two tablespoonfuls of ground coffee for each cup of boiling water that is to be used. Put the coffee in the coffee-pot and add enough cold water to moisten the coffee and make it stick together--about one teaspoonful of water to each tablespoonful of coffee. Pour the boiling water over the coffee and boil it for 3 minutes. Place it where it will keep hot, but not boil, for 5 minutes or more, and then serve. If a small amount of egg white and sh.e.l.l is mixed with the coffee grounds and cold water, it will aid in clarifying and settling the coffee.

_Note._--The recipes for coffee and tea are given, so that the teacher can discuss their preparation with the pupils and compare their value with that of cocoa. If coffee and tea are both commonly used in the homes, it may be well to have the pupils prepare both in the cla.s.s, to be sure that they understand how to make them properly.

METHOD OF WORK

Begin the lesson period with a discussion of the methods of preparing cakes, and put the cake in the oven as soon as possible. While it is baking, prepare the cocoa. If the cocoa is not to be served for some time, it can be kept hot or re-heated over hot water.

LESSON XVIII: YEAST BREAD

SUBJECT-MATTER

Yeast bread is made light by the presence of a gas produced by the action of yeast in the sponge or dough. Yeast is a microscopic plant which grows in a moist, warm temperature and feeds on starchy materials such as are present in wheat. A portion of the starch is converted into sugar (thus developing new and pleasant flavours), and some is still further changed, giving off the gas upon which the lightness of the bread depends. If the yeast is allowed to work for too long a time or the temperature is very hot, a souring of the dough may result. This souring can be prevented by kneading the dough thoroughly, as soon as it has risen well or doubled in bulk, or by putting it in a very hot oven to bake, when it has reached this stage. The yeast plant thrives in a heat of about the same temperature as our bodies. A little extra heat will only make it more active, but boiling temperature will kill it.