FOOD FOR THE SICK. 
A LESSON IN PRACTICAL COOKERY GIVEN BY MISS PARLOA. 
“ Food for the sick ” was the topic for the afternoon, 
and Scotch broth was the first dish made. Miss Parloa 
said this was excellent for convalescents, being appetiz¬ 
ing and nutritious. Among the ingredients was a two- 
pound piece of the scraggy part of a neck of mutton. 
Tliis particular cut was employed because the muscles 
of a sheep’s neck are in such constant use as to make 
that part of the animal better flavored and more nutri¬ 
tious than those parts through which the blood has run 
less freely. Miss Parloa cut the meat from the bones 
and removed all the fat. She cut the meat into small 
pieces and put it into a soup kettle, together with two 
slices of carrot, a slice of turnip, a stalk of celery and an 
onion—all cut fine, half a cupful of barley and three 
pints of water; and the broth was allowed to simmer 
gently for two hours. The bones, with a pint of water 
added, also were allowed the same amount of time for 
simmering, and the liquor was strained into the soup 
kettle. A tablespoonful each of butter and flour were 
cooked together until perfectly smooth, and then stirred 
into the broth; after which salt and pepper aud a tea¬ 
spoonful of chopped parsley were added. Rapid cooking 
was cautioned against, as a high temperature hardens 
the fibres of the meat, whereas a slow bubbling renders 
the meat tender and secures a better flavor for the broth. 
The vegetables should be cut very fine. Mutton is so 
nutritious aud so easily digested as to deserve much 
attention as a food during convalescence. If it be prop¬ 
erly cooked the peculiar flavor that is so disagreeable to 
some people is concealed, though the meat remains pala¬ 
table. 
Mutton broth, which was recommended for patients 
whose food must be light, was next made. A pound of 
meat, like that used for the Scotch broth, was freed of 
fat, cut into small pieces, and put into a sauce-pan con¬ 
taining a quart of cold water. When this water had 
become heated to the boiling point it was carefully 
skimmed. A tablespoonful of barley was added, and the 
broth was simmered slowly for two hours. 
In anticipation of making lemon jelly, Miss Parloa 
had soaked one-fourth of a cupful of gelatine in one- 
fourth of a cupful of cold water for two hours. She 
now poured upon the gelatine a cupful of boiling 
water and added half a cupful of sugar and one- 
fourth of a cupful of lemon-juice, and after straining 
the jelly through a napkin into a mold, set it away to 
harden. 
For an oyster stew, the liquor was drained from half 
a pint of oysters aud allowed to heat to the boiling point, 
when it was skimmed. Iu the meantime, half a pint of 
milk was heated to the boiling point in the double¬ 
boiler. Into it were stirred a teaspoonful of butter, the 
proper quantity of salt to give the stew a good flavor, 
and the oysters. The dish was boiled up once, and 
served 1 immediately. 
Over-cooking oysters was also cautioned against. She 
then selected a number of large ones, drained them, 
seasoned them with salt and pepper, dipped them in 
melted butter and dredged them with flour, and broiled 
them over a quick fire until the edges curled, then 
served them on buttered toast. 
After some English snipe had been cleaned the wings 
were cut off, as well as the legs at the first joint. The 
birds were cut open in the back, seasoned with salt and 
pepper, dipped in melted butter and dredged with flour. 
They- were broiled eight or ten minutes, and served on 
buttered toast. 
Cream totas was next made. Half a cupful of cream 
was heated to the boiling point and seasoned with salt. 
In the meantime two slices of bread were nicely browned. 
They were dipped in the cream and placed on a dish, 
and the remaining cream was poured over them. 
For cracker gruel, a scant half pint of boiling water 
was poured upon four tablespoonsful of powdered 
cracker, and after half a pint of milk and half a tea¬ 
spoonful of salt had been added, the mixture was stirred 
until it had boiled up once. 
Last of all, egg-nog was made. The white of an egg 
was beaten to a stiff froth ; next a tablespoonful of 
sugar was beaten in ; then the yolk of the egg, and 
finally a tablespoonful each of milk, water and wine. 
Before closing the lesson, Miss Parloa said that when 
using milk in dishes for the sick the diseases of the per¬ 
sons who are to consume the food should be considered. 
Long boiling hardens the albumen and makes the milk 
constipating, hence, if the patient be already consti 
pated, great care should be exercised not to allow the 
milk or cream to heat above the boiling point, and that 
one could not use seasonings for a sick person that 
would suit a well person. More salt and acid can and 
should be used in most cases when seasoning food for 
the sick, while less sugar or other sweet flavor should 
be used. Advice was also given not to send a too 
bountiful supply of food to the patient, and not to set 
any one dish before him frequently just because it has 
tasted especially good at first. Miss Parloa emphasized 
the desirability of serving all dishes in the daintiest and 
most attractive ways, so as to induce an appetite which 
may be dormant. 
A Useful Recipe. —A journal, which makes a spec¬ 
ialty of matters relating to glass, gives a method which 
it asserts will prevent chimneys from cracking. The 
treatment will not only render lamp chimneys, tumblers, 
and like articles more durable, but may be applied with 
advantage to crockery, stone-ware, porcelain, etc. The 
chimneys, tumblers, etc., are put into a pot filled with 
cold water, to which some common table salt has been 
added. The water is well boiled over a fire, and then 
allowed to cool slowly. When the articles are taken 
out and washed, they will be found to resist afterward 
any sudden changes of temperature. The process is 
simply one of annealing, and the slower the cooling part 
of it is conducted, the more effective will be the work. 
A good housekeeper is not always a good woman, and 
a good woman is not always a good housekeeper. It is 
a pity to have the two separated. A good housekeeper 
can not afford to have that good quality damaged by 
other naughty habits, and a good woman cannot afford 
to be marred by bad housekeeping. It takes the two to 
show off woman in her full perfection and power. 
