158 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
i;mat, 
have lately seen, the carpet did not reach within 
two or three feet of the sides of the room. A car- 
pet like this can be frequently taken up and shaken, 
and much of the dust which anuoys the house- 
keeper be avoided. Who will inaugurate an eco- 
nomical and healthful reform and abolish the 
slavery to carpets ?" 
—I — ■♦^ ■ ■ 
Our Bachelor's Wish Realized. 
Onr bachelor's desire, expressed in April, that 
some one would found a school of cookery, is at 
length realized, and he erpresses himself as follows : 
" Blessed be Blot, (pronounce that Mow, if yon 
please,) for he has opened a Cooking Academy, and 
some sixty of the ladies of New York attend his 
lectures. Now I find by accurate computation, 
that there are to beat least one hundred and twenty 
people made happy — 60 ladies will gratify 60 lords 
— by presenting them with something eatable. The 
thing will spread, these ladies will each show their 
friends, and from this time we h.ive hope for the 
American stomach. For this select sixty and their 
disciples there will be no more beef-steaks Biddy- 
fied in the frying pan, and that which goes on to 
the Are as mutton, will not be leather, when it comes 
to the table. No more " one hundred creeds and 
only one sauce," for Mr. Blot is great on sauces. 
There is a popular erroneous idea in regard to 
French cookery, that ought to be dispelled. The 
general notion is, that French dishes are of course 
complicated, elaborate, and highly seasoned ; never 
■was a greater mist.ake. The French excel simply 
in this : they study the best way to cook each thing, 
and do not cook every thing in one way. No more 
plain, healthful, and eatable cooking can be found 
than that of the French. They bring thought and 
experience to the subject, and the result is paLat- 
able and economical food. The daily papers give 
accounts of Mr. Blot's lectures, and I wish him 
much success in his enterprise," 
Valuable Plain Recipes. 
■ 
Since the Bachelor's onslaught upon Recipes, in 
the February No., he has been receiving especial 
attention from the ladies, as was expected, and as 
he deserved. The following from " Nymphea," 
will interest the readers as well as the offender. 
" I, too, pity your Bachelor editor of the House- 
hold Department. I always do pity the b.achelors 
a little (on paper,), and to show the sincerity of my 
commiseration I have written out some recipes so 
carefully that I doubt whether even he can find 
much in them to grumble at. (I am not certain, 
though, that he will consider (hat any charity, for 
I am privately of the opinion that he likes to grum- 
ble.) First of all I would like to find fault with 
the millers. I think they are about as blameworthy 
as the bakers. For my part, I find it almost impos- 
sible to get hold of any good Corn Meal. This 
article should be about half rfaj between the or- 
dinary fine meal and that caPed "Horse feed," so 
coarse that when pressed between the thumb and 
finger, it will not retain the impression. Only the 
coarsest part of the bran should be removed. This 
article retains its sweetness longer, makes lighter 
bread, and is in every way more wholesome. When 
I can not have my corn ground to order, I get the 
best ' feed' and run it through a large Iron coflfeo 
mill, or grind up whole corn and mix this coarse 
meal in equal quantities with the fine meal. This 
is the kind used in the following recipes. 
Vnlca-Fcned Rye and Indian Bread. 
Take 2 parts coarse corn meal, scald thoroughly 
with boiling water ; add 1 part rye meal or rye fiour, 
and more water if necessary to moisten it. Stir 
thoroughly together. It should be made as stiff as 
it can be managed with a large iron spoon. Make 
it into a loaf three or four inches deep and set it 
upon a stove or r.ange hot enough to cook it slowly 
upon tlie bottom. In an hour or more it will rise 
some and crack the upper surface slightly. Then 
b.ake in a slow oven three or four hours. I usu.ally 
put it in about 7 P. M., let it acquire a rich brown 
crust by 10 o'clock, then cover up the fire so that 
it will keep all night and in the morning I take out 
a nice warm breakfast loaf. It usually improves by 
keeping three or four days, when it is delicious 
sliced and toasted. Many prefer to have this bread 
sweetened with molasses stirred in with rye flour. 
Well boiled white beans make a very wholes^fne 
addition. Even without these improvements the 
bread is far better than the Boston brown bread of 
the shops. No one who tries this recipe thor- 
oughly will ever ag.ain put in yeast, which always 
sours and spoils com meal. 
Roiled Indian Pnddtng:.— (Good 
enough for ab.achelor.) Scald half the meal and add 
the other half, with cool water enough to reduce the 
whole to quite a thick batter. Don't put in too 
much salt. Add fruit, dried or fresh, whortleber- 
ries, or currants, or cherries, or best of all, dried 
pears. Put into a bag with room to swell, drop 
into hot water and boil 2 or 3 hours. It is well to 
put some bits of crockery under it to prevent its 
sticking lo the pot. Then turn it out and eat with 
cream, or maple mol.asses, or a dressing made of 
the thickened liquor in which it was boiled, sweet- 
ened, and seasoned with a dash of cinn.amon. If 
no fruit was put into the pudding it can be eaten 
■with a fruit syrup. 
Scalded 9Ieal Johnny Cake. — Scald 
half the meal and add the other half with cold wa- 
ter BufBcicnt to make a batter, the required con- 
sistence of which will vary with different kinds of 
me.al. " Bake before the fire on the middle piece 
of the head of a particular kind of flour barrel." 
Or if that can not be obtained ladies may try it on 
shallow tins in a quick oven. 
'Wheat and Indian Cake. — Scald one 
part Indian meal as above, add one part wheat 
meal (Graham flour) with water suflicient to make 
a thick batter. Drop by the spoonful on a large 
pan, or into muffin rings, and balce in a quick oven. 
When taken out, cover close for 20 or 30 minutes. 
This makes a most wholesome and palatable bread, 
much lighter than the Johnny cake, and much bet- 
ter when cold. It Is also very nice when rye is 
substituted for wheat meal. 
Apple and Pic Plant. — Stewed dried 
apples, especially sweet apples, are greatly improved 
by the addition o( 14 or }{ of the quantity of pie- 
plant, either fresh, dried or canned. (Mem. Be sure 
to put up a few cans of pie-plant in its season.) 
Rye and Indian Apple Pudding. — 
T.ake the crusts of your rye and Indian loaf and 
steep them slowly in apple sauce until thoroughly 
softened. This makes a delicious side dish to eat 
with beans, or it may serve as a dessert to a hearty 
farmer's dinner. 
Bag's Ibr Keeping Hams.— T. Ray- 
mond of Fairfield County, Ct., writes: " In the 
March number of the Agriculturist I find three 
ways for ' keeping smoked meats in Summer ;' let 
me add a fourth. Take old muslin or any kind of 
fabric, make a bag sufficiently large to admit the 
ham easily, wet it thoroughly in pork or other 
strong brine, wring and dry it ; repeat this once or 
twice, then ■n-hen it is dry, drop the ham, (which 
must have a cord attached to hang it by) into the 
bag, tie the mouth closely around the cord, and 
hang in a dry place. If the meat does not come 
out all right, do not charge it to the fiies." An ad- 
ditional precaution practised by some is to wrap 
the meat in brown paper before inclosing in the bag. 
DouBLK Heeling a Stocking.— Knit the first 
stitch, slip off the next without knitting, knitting 
every alternate stitch on the right side of heel, and 
every stitch when knitting on the wrong side. 
This makes the heel very thick. 
•-. — ■■■ >-« 
Famtlt Jars.—" Jars of jelly, jars of jam, jars 
of potted beef .and ham, jars of early gooseberry, 
nice jars of mince-meat, jars of spice, jars of 
orange marmalade, jars of pickles, all home-made, 
Jars of cordial, home-made wine, j.ars of honey 
superfine — would the only jars were these, that 
were found in families." 
Hints on Cooking, etc. 
Cooking Tiithout Milk.— A California 
subscriber "Aunt Lina," who lives where milk is 
scarce, contributes the following to the Agncnltur- 
ist. " Tea Cakes. — Stir to a cream \}4 teacupfuls of 
sugar, }4 teacupful butter, half a nutmeg. Then 
add 1 teacupful of water, 2 tcaspoonfuls of cream 
of tartar, 1 teaspoonful of soda, to 1 quart of flour, 
which should be put through a seive. Add flour 
till stiff enough to roll thin ; cut into cakes, bake 
in buttered pans, in a quick oven. This is econom- 
ical, at least in California, where eggs are from 75 
cents to $1 per dozen, and milk scarce. 
" Pumpkin and Squash Pies, can be prepared also 
without milk by using water and corn starch, say 
for 3 pies, 2 teacupfuls of pumplvin, 2 eggs, 2 table- 
spoonfuls of corn starch, allspice, and sugar to taste. 
" Custard Pies, 4 eggs, 4 tablcspoonfuls corn 
starch, 2 teacups water, sugar and nutmeg to taste: 
this will make 2 pies. Mix the starch with a small 
qu.autity of the water. Custards may bo made in 
the same way. I use Oswego corn stai-ch. Ruta- 
b.igas cost less per lb. than pumpkins or squashes, 
with us, and make good pics, also can'ots and pars- 
nips, by usiug the same as pumpkin, with the ad- 
dition of a little flour, molasses and ginger." 
Orahani Riscnit. — " Lizzie" writes that 
these are recommended by a bachelor, and, there- 
fore, must be good. Wet up Graham flour with 
cold w.ater, adding a little salt, knead as stiff as 
possible, make into small biscuits, and bake in a 
very hot oven. 
Poor Man's Pudding. — Three teacup- 
fuls flour, one teacupful millc, one of chopped 
raisins, one of snet, one of molasses, one teaspoon- 
ful saleratus, nutmeg. Put in a bag and boil an 
hour and a half. Serve with sauce to taste. 
Steam Pudding. — Two cups flour, one of 
milk, one-half cup each of molasses, chopped 
rtiisins and suet, one egg, one teaspoonful saleratus, 
one-h.alf teaspoonful soda. Steam one hour. 
Mock Sponge Cake. — Two cups flour, 
one of sugar, one of milk, one egg, one teaspoonful 
saleratus, two tcaspoonfuls cream of tartar. 
Apple Jonathan.— Fill a baking dish % 
full of sliced tart apples, sweeten to taste; mix 
wheat meal with water and milk (a little cream will 
make it more tender) into a batter, pour over the 
fruit until the dish is full. Bake until the crust is 
of a handsome brown color. 
Potato Cake. — Contributed by Miss Loui- 
sa J. Wilson. Take a dozen of cold boiled potatoes 
and mash them, add a small piece of dough, one egg, 
and a little salt. Work it well with flour, cut in 
squares, let it stand to rise, and bake half an hour 
in moderate oven. 
Rrcalcfast Cake. — Contributed by Mrs. 
A. H. Bryant. Take 1 quart sifted flour, 1 table- 
spoonful of butter, 3 tcaspoonfuls of baking pow- 
der (which is soda and cream of tart.ar properly 
combined), mix these thoroughly into the flour 
with a tablespoonful of sugar, then add 2 well beat- 
en eggs, and sweet milk sufficient to form a thin 
batter. Bake in a moderately hot oven ; and with 
a cup of coffee or cocoa and a boiled egg you will 
find you have made a good breakfast. 
1^'ice Rreakfast Wish. — Slice a few cold 
biscuit, or some dry light bread, fry them slightly, 
in a little butter, or nice gr.avy. Beat 3 or 4 eggs, 
with half a teacupful of new milk, and a pinch of 
salt. When the bread is hot, pour the eggs over it, 
and cover for a few minutes, stir slightly, so that all 
the eggs may be cooked. This is a nice dish, be- 
sides saving the dry bread. 
Substitute for Cream, for puddings, 
cold rice, etc. Boil % of a pint of sweet milk, 
new milk is best. Be.at the yolk of 1 egg, and a lev- 
el teaspoonful of fiour, with sugar enough to make 
the cream very sweet. When the milk boils, stir 
this into it, and let it begin to simmer, stirring it, 
let it cool and flavor to taste. For any pudding in 
which eggs are used, this is almost as good as rich 
cream (which many prefer to any other dressing), 
and much better than thin cream. 
