FOOD, PURE FOOD, AND FRESH FOOD 45 



It made it possible for us to go into the winter with 

 jar after jar of delicacies such as chicken breasts, veal 

 gelatine, and genuine mint jelly. These cost us so little, 

 aside from labor, which the pressure cooker and the 

 kitchen mixer reduced to a minimum, that we soon 

 abandoned the task of making detailed comparisons 

 between the cost of the home-made product and the 

 high-priced and inferior canned goods we formerly 

 consumed. 



As time went on we kept adding to the kitchen a 

 good many appliances which are usually considered 

 luxuries. I have mentioned that we purchased an elec- 

 tric range for use in the country. There was no gas 

 available on "Sevenacres"; to cook with oil seemed 

 out of question, while the old-fashioned kitchen range, 

 however desirable in the winter, made kitchens an 

 inferno in summer. Our old electric range, which cost 

 us $75 ten years ago, was finally replaced by a $250 

 range a few years ago a range equipped with all the 

 modern controls developed during that period of 

 time. But even here we refused to concede that we 

 were going in for luxuries; we were merely bringing 

 our productive kitchen machinery up to date. A test 

 made at the time the new range was installed con- 

 firmed us in our belief that the new range, the $200 

 kitchen mixer with all sorts of attachments, and the 

 electric refrigerator were all dividend-paying invest- 

 ments. Two complete meals consisting of chicken, 

 string beans, diced carrots, prunes, and chocolate 





