makes the water black, but the nutriment of the bread, intended to relieve the chest, has evaporated in smoke by being burnt.
Puddings for Invalids.
103. Apple and Rice.—Boil half an ounce of Carolina rice in a gill of milk until very tender, then add a very small piece of butter, sugar, a little cinnamon, and a grain of salt; then peel, core, and slice a middling-sized apple, which put into a stewpan, with a small piece of butter, a little sugar, and a drop of water, and stew it until tender; when done, put the apple in a small tart-dish, mix an egg with the rice, which pour over the apple, and bake ten minutes in a moderate oven; it may also be made quite plain, if preferred.
104. Custard Pudding.—Boil one pint of milk, with a small piece of lemon-peel and half a bay-leaf, for three minutes; then pour these on to three eggs, mix it with one ounce of sugar well together, and pour it into a buttered mould: steam it twenty-five minutes in a stewpan with some water (see No. 112), turn out on a plate and serve.
105. Rice Puddings.—Wash well two ounces of rice in some water, strain, then put it into a pint and a half of boiling milk, with a small piece of lemon-peel, cinnamon, and half a bay-leaf, tied together; let it boil gently, stirring it occasionally, until quite tender; then put to it one ounce of butter, a little grated nutmeg, a tablespoonful of sugar, and two eggs; pour it into a buttered tart-dish, and bake it half an hour.
106. Macaroni Pudding.—Blanch two ounces of Naples macaroni in some water for eight or ten minutes; strain it, add it to one pint of boiling milk, in which you have previously boiled a piece of lemon-peel, cinnamon, and one ounce of butter; when the macaroni is quite tender, add two eggs and sugar enough to sweeten it: steam it one hour in a stewpan, in a buttered tart-dish.
107. Vermicelli Pudding.—Boil one pint of milk, with a piece of lemon-peel, half a bay-leaf, and a piece of cinnamon, then add one ounce of vermicelli; when reduced to half, add two eggs, and a little sugar; pour these in a buttered mould, and steam it half an hour.
108. Tapioca Pudding.—Boil one pint of milk, with a piece of lemon-peel and a little cinnamon; then add two ounces of tapioca; reduce to half; add two eggs, and one ounce of butter; pour these in a buttered mould, and steam half an hour.
109. Bread Pudding.—Boil one pint of milk, with a piece of cinnamon and lemon-peel; pour it on two ounces of bread-crumbs; then add two eggs, half an ounce of currants, and a little sugar: steam it in a buttered mould for one hour.
110. Cabinet Pudding.—Boil one pint of milk, with a piece of lemon-peel, pour it on one ounce of sponge biscuit, let it soak half an hour, then add three eggs, half an ounce of currants, and very little sugar: steam it in a buttered mould, lined with raisins, one hour.
111. Bread and Butter Pudding.—Butter a tart-dish well and sprinkle some currants all round it, then lay in a few slices of bread and butter; boil one pint of milk, pour it on two eggs well whipped, and then on the bread and butter; bake it in a hot oven for half an hour.
112. A Small Bread Pudding.—Cut an ounce of the crumb of bread into thin slices, with the least piece of butter spread over each, which place in a small tart-dish; then break an egg into a cup with a teaspoonful of sugar and a little powdered cinnamon, beat well; then add about six tablespoonfuls of boiled milk, mix well together, pour over the bread, and bake in a slow oven, or steam it, if preferred, by standing the dish in a stewpan containing about half a pint of water, that is, the water should be about half way up to the rim of the dish; set the stewpan (covered close) upon the fire, and let it slowly boil about ten minutes or longer, until the pudding is properly set, then take the cover from the stewpan, which let remain a few minutes longer upon the fire; then take out the pudding, wipe the dish, and serve.
Fish for Invalids.—Slips, soles, flounders, whitings, and smelts are the lightest of any fish, and upon that account more to be recommended to invalids in a state of convalescence.
113. Whiting, plain boiled.—Put two quarts of water into a small fish kettle, with about an ounce of salt; when boiling, put in the whiting, draw the kettle to the corner of the fire to keep it just simmering, and no more; a whiting of the ordinary size would take about ten minutes; when done, which you can tell by trying with the point of a knife whether it leaves the bone easily, take it up carefully, and dish it upon a clean napkin, with a few sprigs of parsley round; although the parsley is of course useless as far as the stomach is concerned, nothing can be more pleasing to an invalid than to see his meals carefully cooked and invitingly served.
At any time I prefer a whiting with the skin on, whether boiled, grilled, or fried; a little butter just melted, with a pinch of salt, and the least drop of lemon-juice added, is very excellent to eat as sauce with them. Should you purchase your fish in the country, it will of course require cleaning, by opening the belly and pulling out the gills and interior; but never wash these fish, merely wipe them with a cloth.
114. Broiled Whiting.—Having cleaned your whiting, and wiped it gently dry with a cloth, flour it all over lightly, rub the gridiron over with a little oil, lay the whiting upon it, and put it over a clear fire, but not too close, turn it carefully three or four times, and when it feels firm to the touch of the finger, it is done; if a large one, it will take about twenty minutes; sprinkle a little salt over, if required, and serve with plain melted butter, with a few drops of essence of anchovies in it.
115. Sautéd Whitings.—Put some fat or butter in a frying-pan, which place over a clear but moderate fire; have your whiting floured as in the last, and when the fat or butter is melted, lay it in the pan; let it sauté slowly until it is done, which try as in either of the last two; when done, drain it upon a cloth, sprinkle a little salt over, and serve.
If fried, enveloped in bread-crumbs, dip the fish lightly into flour, then egg it all over with a paste-brush, and dip in some very fine bread-crumbs, and fry it rather longer, but do not let the fat get black, or it will give the fish a black, heavy appearance, and quite spoil the flavor. Fish fried in oil would have a much better appearance than when fried in fat, but probably would be objectionable to a weak stomach. They ought to be completely covered with the fat.
116. Smelts are very delicate fish, but ought never to be plain boiled; being confident of the good use they may be turned to as a diet for the sick, I shall here give two receipts for dressing them very plainly, yet still very palatable. Choose them rather large,—if so, two would be sufficient for a meal,—having previously drawn and cleansed them, put a gill of water into a small stewpan, with a little salt, a saltspoonful of powdered sugar, and four small sprigs of parsley; when boiling lay in your smelts, which let simmer five minutes, or more, if larger than usual, keeping the stewpan well covered; then take them out carefully, lay them upon a dish, and pour the broth over; both fish and broth are excellent. They may be cooked the same way in the oven.
Another way is to add a little arrow-root, mixed with a drop of cold water, to the above, when half cooked; it makes it very soothing to the chest. Be extremely careful not to let the fish or liquor burn at the bottom of the stewpan; there should be about three parts of the quantity of liquor when cooked as you first put in water, allowing one quarter to evaporate whilst boiling.
117. Broiled Smelts.—When cleansed and wiped dry with a cloth, dip them lightly into flour, and put them upon a gridiron over a slow fire, for five, or six minutes, turning them carefully when half done; serve plain, or with a little sauce, if allowed, as many patients are forbidden moist food. I can highly recommend any kind of white fish cooked in this manner; and it is well known that nothing in the way of food
