70 AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 
SOMETHING ABOUT THE LUNCHEON 
By Elizabeth Atwood 
Photographs by Jessie Tarbox Beals and T. C. Turner 
HERE are very few women, given the in- 
spiration of opportunity and money to pay 
the bills, who would not be equal to giving a 
perfectly appointed luncheon. If they do 
not possess individual resources, there are 
those to whom they may turn who make a 
living out of planning such things for others. From those 
who plan the color scheme for the day, with its myriad of 
details carefully looked after, and those who prepare the 
various delectable dishes called for in the plan, a complete 
and artistic whole can surely be developed. 
But what about the daily luncheon, six days of the week? 
What must the resources be of the mother who watches over 
and cares for her growing children, whether they are two 
years old or in the football field? I think that here is a 
very important part of the housekeeper’s responsibilities, 
not that any part is unimportant, but so many women feel 
that anything will answer for that meal, unless company is 
there. How about treating one’s family with the same con- 
siderationone’s guests 
are treated with? The 
family will not care 
for darkened win- 
dows and _ prettily 
shaded candles, may- 
be, nor will they care 
for calf-s head-a la 
vVinarernette’’.or 
“hashed sturkey a Ja 
royale; (with its 
mushroom liquor and 
paté de foies gras, but 
they do care for the 
little attentions from 
Mother quite as much 
ash het | guests. “I 
know this to be so 
from various sources. 
We are given over 
to the idea of a “‘light 
breakfast,’ we of the 4 
average ‘middle-class,’ as well as those of the “‘upper- 
class.” It is also generally the habit to serve our fresh meat 
in whatever form, for dinner. Dinner, at least in and 
around the cities, is usually an evening meal. ‘This means 
that luncheon becomes the meal where the “‘left-overs”’ are 
disposed of, and it is up to the cook—whether she is Mother, 
or Margaret, or maid—to see that these ‘‘left-overs” are 
treated with proper and respectful attention. Right here 
HELPS POmnits 
OS al 
TABLE AND HOUSEHOLD SUGGESTIONS OF INTER- 
EST TO EVERY HOUSEKEEPER AND HOUSEWIFE 
WEEN ALE Bit os ti é 
TieeEee of a anaes ee cut-glass breakfast set. 
market the 
February, 1912 
Ee nee 
a 
let me tell you that it is far easier to cook your fresh foods 
than it is to make “‘scraps” pretty to look at and palatable 
as well. 
In these days of exorbitant prices, all scraps should be 
looked after. Nothing should be despised, and absolutely 
nothing should be thrown away. When living in an apart- 
ment in the city of New York, it used to hurt me to see the 
good foods which went down each morning in the garbage 
pails. Surely such waste must bring its punishment sooner 
or later. Bread enough to keep a family went down every 
week. Part of this waste is due to ignorance, but a greater 
part is due to simon-pure laziness. It does take time to 
work over scraps into dainty dishes; it does take thought 
and inclination, too. But, my! doesn’t it pay? Just try it 
and find out for yourself. 
My football hero loves to bring his friends home to 
lunch, and they never refuse his invitation. The mother of 
one of these friends called me up by telephone the other day 
to ask me what I had given her boy to eat. “I can’t get him 
to eat luncheon at home,” she said, ‘“‘and I thought I would 
like to know what you give the boys.” It happened that this 
time I was not prepared for one guest, at least as to quan- 
tity, and it means quantity when you feed boys. I had some 
bits of steak and a 
few potatoes, not 
enough for more than 
three, and there were 
six! I had prepared 
this for hash, but I 
had some pieces of 
toast left from break- 
fast, which I dipped 
in salted water, 
placed these in the 
center of a large plat- 
ter, and put the hash 
in mounds on _ the 
toast. I had a few 
peas left from the 
night before, which I 
had warmed up to 
serve the three plan- 
ned for; I put these 
as a frame around 
hash on toast. 
I knew these would not be enough for these hungry boys, 
so I scrambled four eggs, adding half a cup of milk for 
bulk. I cut some fingers of toast, put these around the edge 
of the platter, with a small spoonful of egg on each. In 
this way a poor little lot of scraps were converted into a 
pretty dish, for the color scheme of it made it attractive to 
the eye. And, also, things that would have been useless had 
it not been for a little thought and trouble, were made a 
the recent novelties in the 
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