January, 1912 
CONCERNING THE BREAKFAST 
By Elizabeth Atwood 
Photographs by Jessie Tarbox Beals and others 
has pce a somewhat ae meal. 
We have acquired the habit of late hours in 
city living, which has crept into country liv- 
ing as well, and eleven o'clock for re- 
tiring is no longer considered very late, 
as it was two generations ago. Under the conditions 
of the trend of habits in our civilization it is small wonder 
that breakfast becomes a lively scrabble. This is all wrong. 
Breakfast should be a meal where the family come together 
for inspiration for the day. Commuters form a large por- 
tion of our city workers, and the conclusion one comes to 
most naturally is this—they would not be commuters if they 
did not have children to be benefitted by a life in the country. 
OW breakfast is the only meal where the family, as a 
whole, can come together. Late dinners being neces- 
sary, the young children are 
in bed, or should be at such 
an hour. Breakfast-time is 
the only part of the day, for 
six days of the week, when 
the father can become really 
acquainted with these young 
members of his household. 
As for families where there 
are no children—well, the 
same rule holds good. I have 
always had a feeling that the 
man who takes his coffee 
alone has a pretty poor start 
for his day’s work. Even 
the guests under my roof 
came under this influence of 
breakfasting together. Fif- 
teen minutes or half an hour 
do not make a large differ- 
ence in one’s rest, but utilized 
in preparing for the family reunion in the morning, the time 
means just the difference between a jolly, sociable meal to 
put the traveler on his way, or a scrappy, one-at-a-time kind 
of an enforced “feed.” Our English homemakers surely 
felt this regard for the breakfast-time, for they always had 
a breakfast-room, where a more intimate and social meal 
could be enjoyed than in the more formal dining-room. 
HE Continental “rolls and coffee’ have invaded this 
country, and frequently they are served to one in bed, 
or in the chamber. This is the case in homes where cor- 
responding luxury does not exist. The least that a house- 
wife can do is to be up and see that the breakfast-time is 
HELPS TO THE 
HOUSEWIFE 
TABLE AND HOUSEHOLD SUGGESTIONS OF INTER- 
EST TO EVERY HOUSEKEEPER AND HOUSEWIFE 
The well-laid table of an inviting breakfast suggests the day’s start in 
the right direction 
AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS ry; 
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to see that the meal is served 
made sweet and cheerful; 
neatly; see that the “rolls and coffee” are served hot. The 
guests should feel this same responsibility to their host, and 
in this way show their appreciation of his hospitality. I 
know this can be done, for I have lived it. We were an 
hour’s ride from the city and a mile from the station, with 
few trains. It was necessary to have breakfast early, and 
we were always ready to sit down together when the family 
numbered a baker’s dozen. Even people of lazy habits fell 
in line—and enjoyed it. 
AVING settled that all people under one roof should 
meet at breakfast in the morning, the next thing is that 
the table and food be as carefully prepared as the more 
formal dinner. There are many homes of fair exterior 
where dinners are given with exquisite care and taste, and 
yet where breakfast is served in ‘‘any old way’’—sometimes 
even in the kitchen. This may help the housewife in the 
saving of steps, but she loses more than she gains. If there 
is a maid, the housewife should be on hand to make sure 
that whatever is served is served in the best possible man- 
ner. How can a maid be ex- 
pected to have this interest if 
the housewife does not? 
REAKFAST is now a 
lighter meal than we used 
to make it. Cereals have be- 
come so common that all can 
have them. It is within my 
recollection that we had to 
go to a druggist for oatmeal, 
used only in cases of illness, 
and then the price was much 
more than it is now. Few 
young cooks realize that 
there is an art in cooking 
even oatmeal. It is not all 
when you mix it with water 
and leave it in the double- 
boiler to do the rest. On 
your package you are told to 
mix it in boiling water, salted 
to taste. Who knows how salted water should taste? And 
who cares to taste uncooked porridge? ‘This is a safe rule 
to go by: To one cup of oatmeal, add two and a quarter 
cups of hot water, in which a small teaspoon of salt has 
been dissolved. You are told that you do not need to stir 
it. I think you do. At least I find it necessary to do so. 
You are told that twenty-five minutes is enough to cook it; 
I do not think less than an hour is enough. If you are not 
an early riser, cook your oatmeal the afternoon before and 
leave it in the double-boiler; then a few minutes in the 
morning will heat it for serving, or a thorough soaking over 
night will materially reduce the time required for boiling it. 
