The Myrtle Reed Cook Book Part 3

x.x.x. _Jellied._--Cut tart apples in halves, core, place in b.u.t.tered baking-dish, skin side down, measure the water and add enough barely to cover; add twice as much sugar as water, cover and boil slowly till the apples are tender. Skim out, drain, boil the syrup rapidly till reduced one half; pour over the apples and let cool. Flavorings referred to before can be added to the syrup if desired.

x.x.xI. _Mock Pineapple._--Arrange alternate slices of sweet apples and oranges, peeled, on a chilled plate, one above the other. Sprinkle with powdered sugar, pour over the orange-juice and serve immediately.

x.x.xII. _Sauce._--Peel, quarter, and core quick-cooking apples. Sweeten slightly, and when very tender, rub through a sieve and let cool. Any flavoring recommended before may be used.

x.x.xIII. _Snow._--Peel white-fleshed, firm apples, grate quickly on a coa.r.s.e grater, and serve in roughly piled heaps on small plates immediately. Use sugar or not.

x.x.xIV. _Southern, Fried._--Core and cut in thick slices, but do not peel. Dip in egg and crumbs and fry in ham or bacon fat and serve with those meats.

x.x.xV. _Stewed._--Pare, core, and halve large cooking-apples. Put into an earthen dish, cover with water, sprinkle with sugar, cover tightly, and cook slowly. If flat in taste, sprinkle with lemon-juice, cinnamon, or nutmeg.

x.x.xVI. _Stewed with Dates._--Add washed and stoned dates to stewed apples when partially cooked, and finish cooking. Dried apricots, fresh or dried cherries, rhubarb, figs, plums, dried peaches, pears, or quinces, may be used in the same way.

x.x.xVII. _Stewed with Rice._--Boil rice as usual in boiling water, adding a little salt. When partly done, add pared, cored, and quartered quick-cooking apples. Finish cooking. Serve very cold with cream and sugar. Flavorings noted above may be added at discretion.

APRICOTS

I. Wipe with a dry cloth and serve with fruit-knives. A green leaf on each plate is a dainty fruit doily.

II. _Canned._--Drain, rinse in cold water, arrange on plates, and let stand several hours before serving. Sugar or not, as desired. Save the syrup to flavor syrup for pancakes, or to use for puddings, fritters, etc.

III. _Dried._--Soak over night, cook very slowly in the water in which they were soaked, adding very little sugar. Serve with cereal, or separately.

IV. _Sauce._--Cook as above, and rub the fruit through a sieve. The canned, drained, and freshened fruit may be used in the same way.

BANANAS

I. Serve in the skins with fruit-knives, one to each person.

II. Skin and sc.r.a.pe and serve immediately. People who cannot ordinarily eat bananas usually find them harmless when the tough, stringy pulp is sc.r.a.ped off.

III. _Baked._--Bake without peeling, basting with hot water and melted b.u.t.ter occasionally. Let cool in the skins.

IV. _Baked._--Skin, sc.r.a.pe, and bake, basting with lemon-juice and melted b.u.t.ter. Sprinkle with sugar if desired.

V. _Au naturel._--Slice into saucers, sprinkle with lemon-juice and sugar.

VI. _With Sugar and Cream._--Slice, sprinkle with powdered sugar, pour cream over, and serve at once.

VII. _With Oranges._--Slice, add an equal quant.i.ty of sliced oranges, and sprinkle with sugar.

VIII. _With Cereal._--Slice fresh bananas into a saucer, sprinkle with sugar, cover with boiled rice or with any preferred cereal.

IX. Equally good with sliced peaches.

BLACKBERRIES

Serve with powdered sugar, with or without cream. A tablespoonful of cracked ice in a saucer of berries is appreciated on a hot morning.

BLUE PLUMS

See Green Gages.

CHERRIES

I. Serve very cold, with the stems on. A dainty way is to lay the cherries upon a bed of cracked ice, and serve with powdered sugar in individual dishes.

II. Pit the cherries, saving the juice, and serve in saucers with sugar and plenty of cracked ice.

III. _Iced._--Beat the white of an egg to a foam. Dip each cherry into it, then roll in powdered sugar, and set on a platter in the refrigerator. Must be prepared overnight.

IV. _Crusts._--b.u.t.ter rounds of stale bread, spread with pitted cherries and their juice, sprinkle with sugar, and bake. Serve very cold.

CURRANTS

Serve in cracked ice with plenty of sugar. These are also served iced, and on crusts. See Cherries III and IV.

FIGS

May be served from the basket. This, of course, applies only to the more expensive varieties, which are clean. The ordinary dried fig of commerce must be washed many times, and is usually sweet enough without adding more sugar.

II. _Steamed._--Set a plate of figs in a steamer over boiling water until plump and soft, then set away to cool.

III. _Stewed._--Clean, soak, and cook slowly till tender in a little water. Skim out, drain, sweeten the syrup slightly, reduce one half, pour over the figs, and cool. A bit of vanilla or wine may be added to the syrup.

IV. _With Cereal._--Cover a saucer of steamed or stewed figs with any preferred cereal. Serve with cream if desired.

V. _In Rice-Cups._--See Apples XXIX.

VI. _In Crumbs._--See Apples XXVIII.

GOOSEBERRIES

These berries must be stewed in order to be acceptable. The fruit, after stewing, may be rubbed through a sieve fine enough to keep back the seeds, or it may be baked on crusts. See Cherries IV.

GRAPES

This luscious fruit is at its best when served fresh from the vines, with the bloom still on. Never wash a bunch of grapes if it can be avoided. Serve with grape scissors to cut the bunches apart. People who fear appendicitis may have the grapes squeezed from the skins and the seeds afterwards removed. They are very nice this way, with sugar and pounded ice.