PART II.

THE THINGS MARGARET MADE FOR LUNCHEON OR SUPPER

So many things in this part of Margaret's book call for white sauce, or cream sauce, that the rule for that came
first of all.

White or Cream Sauce

1 tablespoonful of butter.
1 tablespoonful of flour.
1 cup hot milk or cream, one−third teaspoonful of salt.

Melt the butter, and when it bubbles put in the flour, shaking the saucepan as you do so, and rub till smooth.
Put in the hot milk, a little at a time, and stir and cook without boiling till all is smooth and free from lumps.
Add the salt, and, if you choose, a little pepper.

Cream sauce is made exactly as is white sauce, but cream is used in place of milk. What is called thick white
sauce is made by taking two tablespoonfuls of butter and two of flour, and only one cup of milk.

Creamed Oysters

1 pint oysters.
1 large cup of cream sauce.

Make the sauce of cream if you have it, and if not use a very heaping tablespoonful of butter in the white
sauce. Keep this hot.

Drain off the oyster−juice and wash the oysters by holding them under the cold−water faucet. Strain the juice
and put the oysters back in it, and put them on the fire and let them just simmer till the edges of the oysters
curl; then drain them from the juice again and drop them in the sauce, and add a little more salt (celery−salt is
nice if you have it), and just a tiny bit of cayenne pepper. You can serve the oysters on squares of buttered
toast, or put them in a large dish, with sifted bread−crumbs over the top and tiny bits of butter, and brown in
the oven. Or you can put them in small dishes as they are, and put a sprig of parsley in each dish.

Panned Oysters

Take the oysters from their juice, strain it, wash the oysters, and put them back in. Put them in a saucepan
with a little salt,−−about half a teaspoonful to a pint of oysters,−−and a little pepper, and a piece of butter as
large as the end of your thumb. Let them simmer till the edges curl, just as before, and put them on squares of
hot buttered toast.

Scalloped Oysters

1 pint of oysters.
12 large crackers, or 1 cup of bread−crumbs.
1/2 cup of milk.
The strained oyster−juice.

Butter a deep baking−dish. Roll the crackers, or make the bread−crumbs of even size; some people like one better than the other, and you can try both ways. Put a layer of crumbs in the dish, then a layer of oysters, washed, then a sprinkling of salt and pepper and a few bits of butter. Then another layer of crumbs, oysters, and seasoning, till the dish is full, with crumbs on the top. Mix the milk and oyster−juice and pour slowly over. Then cover the top with bits of butter, and bake in the oven till brown−−about half an hour.

You can put these oysters into small dishes, just as you did the creamed oysters, or into large scallop−shells,
and bake them only ten or fifteen minutes. In serving, put a small sprig of parsley into each.

Pigs in Blankets

These were great fun to make, and Margaret often begged to get them ready for company.

15 large oysters.
15 very thin slices of bacon.

Sprinkle each oyster with a very little salt and pepper. Trim the rind from the bacon and wrap each oyster in
one slice, pinning this ``blanket'' tightly on the back with a tiny Japanese wooden toothpick. Have ready a hot
frying−pan, and lay in five oysters, and cook till the bacon is brown and the edges of the oysters curl, turning
each over once. Put these on a hot plate in the oven with the door open, and cook five more, and so on. Put
them on a long, narrow platter, with slices of lemon and sprigs of parsley around. Or you can put each one on
a strip of toast which you have dipped in the gravy in the pan; this is the better way. This dish must be eaten
very hot, or it will not be good.

Creamed Fish

2 cups of cold fish.
1 cup of white sauce.

Pick any cold fish left from dinner into even bits, taking out all the bones and skin, and mix with the hot white
sauce. Stir until smooth, and add a small half−teaspoonful of chopped parsley.

You can put this in a buttered baking−dish and cover the top with crumbs and bits of butter, and brown in the
oven, or you can put it in small dishes and brown also, or you can serve it just as is, in little dishes.

Creamed Lobster

1 lobster, or the meat from 1 can.
1 large cup of white or cream sauce.

Take the lobster out of the shell and clean it; Bridget will have to show you how the first time. Or, if you are
using canned lobster, pour away all the juice and pick out the bits of shell, and find the black string which is
apt to be there, and throw it away. Cut the meat in pieces as large as the end of your finger, and heat it in the
sauce till it steams. Put in a small half−teaspoonful of salt, a pinch of cayenne, and a squeeze of lemon. Do not
put this in a large dish, but in small ones, buttered well, and serve at once. Stand a little claw up in each dish.

Creamed Salmon

1 can salmon.
1 cup of white sauce.

Prepare this dish exactly as you did the plain creamed white fish. Take it out of the can, remove all the juice,
bones, and fat, and put in the white sauce, and cook a moment till smooth. Add a small half−teaspoonful of
salt, a little pepper, and a squeeze of lemon, and put in a baking−dish and brown, or serve as it is, in small
dishes.

Scalloped Lobster or Salmon

1 can of fish, or 1 pint.
1 large cup of cracker or bread crumbs.
1 large cup of white sauce.

Prepare this dish almost as you did the scalloped oysters. Take out all the bones and skin and juice from the
fish; butter a baking−dish, put in a layer of fish, then salt and pepper, then a layer of crumbs and butter, and a
layer of white sauce, then fish, seasoning, crumbs and butter again, and have the crumbs on top. Dot over with
butter and brown in the oven, or serve in small dishes.

Crab Meat in Shells

You can buy very nice, fresh crab meat in tins, and the shells also. A very delicious dish is made by mixing a
cup of rich cream sauce with the crab meat, seasoning it well with salt and pepper and putting in the
crab−shells; cover with crumbs, dot with butter, and brown in the oven. This is a nice thing to have for a
company luncheon.

Creamed Chicken or Turkey

2 cups of cold chicken.
1 large cup of white or creamed sauce.
1/2 teaspoonful of chopped parsley.
Salt and pepper.

Pick the chicken or turkey off the bones and cut into small bits before you measure it. Heat it in the sauce till
very hot, but do not let it boil, and add the seasoning,−−about half a teaspoonful of salt, and a tiny bit of
cayenne, or as much celery−salt in the place of the common kind. Put in a large buttered dish and serve, or in
small dishes, either with crumbs on top or not.

A nice addition to this dish is half a green pepper, the seeds taken out, chopped very fine indeed, and mixed
with the white meat; the contrast of colors is pretty and the taste improved.

Scalloped Eggs

6 hard−boiled eggs.
1 cup cream or white sauce.
1 cup fine bread−crumbs.
Salt and pepper.

Cook the eggs twenty minutes, and while they are cooking make the white sauce, and butter one large or six
small dishes. Peel the eggs and cut them into bits as large as the end of your finger. Put a layer of
bread−crumbs on the bottom of the dish, then a layer of egg, then a sprinkling of salt, pepper, and bits of
butter, then a layer of white sauce. Then more crumbs, egg, and seasoning, till the dish is full, with crumbs on
top. Put bits of butter over all and brown in the oven.

Eggs in Double Cream

This is a rule Margaret's Pretty Aunt got in Paris, and it is a very nice one. Have half a pint of very thick
cream−−the kind you use to whip; the French call this double cream. Cook six eggs hard and cut them into
bits. Butter a baking−dish, or small dishes, and put in a layer of egg, then a layer of cream, then a sprinkling
of salt, and one of paprika, which is sweet red pepper. Put one thin layer of fine, sifted crumbs on top with
butter, and brown in the oven. Or you can put the eggs and cream together and heat them, and serve on thin
pieces of buttered toast, with one extra egg put through the ricer over the whole.

Creamed Eggs in Toast

Make small pieces of nice toast and dip each one in white sauce. Boil hard four eggs, and cut in even slices
and cover the toast, and then spread the rest of the white sauce over all in a thin layer.

Devilled Eggs

6 eggs.
2 saltspoonfuls of dry mustard.
1/2 teaspoonful of salt.
1 saltspoonful of cayenne pepper.
1 teaspoonful of olive−oil or cream.
1 large tablespoonful of chopped ham.
1/2 teaspoonful of vinegar.

Boil the eggs hard for twenty minutes, and put them in cold water at once to get perfectly cold so they will not
turn dark. Then peel, cut in halves and take out the yolks. Put these in a bowl, and rub in the seasoning, but
you can leave out the ham if you like. With a small teaspoon, put the mixture back into the eggs and smooth
them over with a knife.

If you do not serve these eggs with cold meat it is best to lay them on lettuce when you send them to the table.

Eggs in Beds

Chop a cup of nice cold meat, and season with a little salt, pepper and chopped parsley. Add enough stock or
hot water just to wet it, and cook till rather dry. Put this in buttered baking−dishes, filling each half−full, and
on top of each gently slip from a cup one egg. Sprinkle over with salt and pepper, and put in the oven till firm.

Shepherd's Pie

This was a dish Margaret used to make on wash−day and house−cleaning day, and such times when
everybody was busy and no one wanted to stop and go to market to buy anything for luncheon.

1 cup of chopped meat.
1 cup of boiling water.
1 teaspoonful of chopped parsley.
1/2 teaspoonful of salt.
1 teaspoonful of lemon juice, or 1/2 teaspoonful Worcestershire sauce. Butter the size of a hickory−nut.
2 cups hot mashed potato.

If the potato is cold, put half a cup of hot milk in it, beat it up well, and stand it on the back of the stove. Then
mix all the other things with the meat, and put it in the frying−pan and let it cook till it seems rather dry.
Butter a baking−dish, and cover the sides and bottom with a layer of potato an inch thick. Put the meat in the
centre and cover it over with potato and smooth it. Put bits of butter all over the top, and brown it in the oven.
Serve with this a dish of chow−chow, or one of small cucumber pickles.

Chicken Hash

1 cup of cold chicken, cut in small, even pieces.
1/2 cup chicken stock, or hot water.
1 teaspoonful chopped parsley.
1/2 teaspoonful salt.
A pinch of pepper.
Butter the size of a hickory−nut.

Put the chicken stock,−−which is the water the chicken was cooked in, or chicken broth,−−or, if there is none,
the hot water, into the frying−pan, and mix in the chicken and seasoning, and cook and stir till it is rather dry.
Serve as it is, or on squares of buttered toast. You can make any cold meat into hash this way, having it
different every time. Sometimes you can put in the chopped green pepper, as before, or a slice of chopped
onion, or a cup of hot, seasoned peas; or, leave out half the soup or water, and put in a cup of stewed tomato.

Broiled Sardines

These little fish are really not broiled at all, but that is the name of the nice and easy dish. Take a box of large
sardines and drain off all the oil, and lay them on heavy brown paper while you make four slices of toast.
Trim off the edges and cut them into strips, laying them in a row on a hot platter. Put the sardines into the
oven and make them very hot, and lay one on each strip of toast and sprinkle them with lemon juice, and put
sliced lemon and sprigs of parsley all around.

Cheese Fondu

This was a recipe the Pretty Aunt put in Margaret's book out of the one she had made at cooking school.

1 cup fresh bread−crumbs.
2 cups grated cheese.
1 cup of milk.
1 bit of soda as large as a pea.
1/2 teaspoonful of salt.
1 pinch of red pepper.
1 teaspoonful of butter.
2 eggs.

Put the butter in a saucepan to heat while you beat the eggs light without separating them; let these stand
while you stir everything else into the pan, beginning with the milk; cook this five minutes, stirring all the
time, and then put in the eggs and cook three minutes more. Put six large crackers on a hot platter and pour the
whole over them, and send at once to the table to be eaten very hot. Sometimes Margaret made three or four
slices of toast before she began the fondu, and used those in place of the crackers, and the dish was just as
nice.

Easy Welsh Rarebit

2 cups of rich cheese, grated.
Yolks of two eggs.
1/2 cup of milk.
1/2 teaspoonful of salt.
Saltspoonful of cayenne.

Make three nice slices of toast, cut off the crusts, and cut each piece in two. Butter these, and very quickly dip
each one in boiling water, being careful not to soak them. Put these on a hot platter in the oven. Put the milk
in a saucepan over the fire, being careful not to have one that is too hot, only moderate, and when it boils up
put in the cheese and stir without stopping, until the cheese all melts and it looks smooth. Then put in the
beaten yolks of the eggs and the seasoning, and pour at once over the toast and serve very hot. Many people
like a saltspoonful of dry mustard mixed in with the pepper. You can also serve this rarebit on toasted and
buttered crackers.

Scalloped Cheese

6 slices of bread.
3/4 of a pound of cheese.
2 eggs.
1 tablespoonful of butter.
1 cup of cream.
1/2 teaspoonful of salt.
1/2 teaspoonful of dry mustard.
1/4 teaspoonful of paprika.
Butter the bread and cut it into strips, and line the bottom and sides of a baking−dish with it. Then beat the
eggs very light without separating them, and mix everything with them; put in the dish and bake half an hour,
and serve at once.

Veal Loaf

1 1/2 pounds of veal and
2 strips of salt pork, chopped together.
1/2 cup of bread−crumbs.
1 beaten egg.
1/2 teaspoonful of grated nutmeg.
1/2 teaspoonful of black pepper.
1 1/2 teaspoonfuls of salt.
Bake three hours.

Have the butcher chop the meat all together for you; then put everything together in a dish and stir in the egg,
beaten without separating, and mix very well. Press it into a bread−pan and put in the oven for three hours by
the clock.

Every half−hour pour over it a tablespoonful hot water and butter mixed; you can put a tablespoonful of butter
into a cup of water, and keep it on the back of the stove ready all the time; after the meat has baked two hours,
put in a piece of heavy brown paper over the top, and keep it there till it is done, or it may get too brown. This
is to slice cold; it is very nice for a picnic.

Pressed Chicken

This was one of the things Margaret liked to make for Sunday night supper. Have a good−sized chicken cut
up, and wipe each piece with a clean, damp cloth. Put them in a kettle or deep saucepan and cover with cold
water, and cook very slowly and gently, covered, till the meat falls off the bones. When it begins to grow
tender, put in a half teaspoonful of salt. Take it out, and cut it up in nice, even pieces, and put all the bones
back into the kettle, and let them cook till there is only about a pint and a half of broth. Add a little more salt,
and a sprinkling of pepper, and strain this through a jelly bag. Mix it with the chicken, and put them both into
a bread tin, and when cold put on ice over night. After it has stood for an hour, put a weight on it, to make it
firm. Slice with a very sharp knife, and put on a platter with parsley all around. This is a nice luncheon dish
for a summer day, as well as a supper dish.

When you have bits of cold meat which you cannot slice, and yet which you wish to serve in some nice way,
make this rule, which sounds difficult, but is really very easy:

Meat Soufflé

1 cup of white sauce.
1 cup of chopped meat.
2 eggs.
Teaspoonful of chopped parsley.
Half a teaspoonful minced onion.

Put the parsley and onion in the meat, and mix with the white sauce. Beat the yolks of the eggs and stir in, and
cook one minute, and then cool. Beat the whites of the eggs and fold in, and bake half an hour, or a little more,
in a deep, buttered baking−dish. You must serve this immediately, or it will fall.

Cold Meats

Of course, like other people, Margaret's mother often had cold meat for luncheon or supper, and one of the
things her cook−book told her was how to make it look nice when it came on the table.

Always trim off all bits of skin and ragged pieces from the meat, and remove the cold fat, except on ham, and
then you must trim it to a rather narrow edge. If you have a rather small dish for a large family, put slices of
hard boiled eggs around the edge, or make devilled eggs, and put those around in halves. Sometimes you can
cut lettuce in very narrow ribbons by holding several leaves in your hand at once, folding them lengthwise,
and using a pair of scissors. Sometimes a dozen pimolas may be sliced across and put about the meat,
especially if it is cold chicken or turkey. Always use parsley with meat, cold or hot. Saratoga potatoes make a
good border for lamb or roast beef, and cold peas mixed with mayonnaise are always delicious with either
chicken or lamb. If only the dish looks pretty, it is almost certain to taste well.

Sliced Meat with Gravy

When there are a few slices left from a roast, put them in a frying−pan with some of the gravy left also, and
heat; serve with parsley around.

If there is not gravy, take a little boiling water, add a little salt, pepper, and half−teaspoonful of minced onion,
and as much chopped parsley. Lay in the meat in the frying−pan, cover, and let it simmer, turning
occasionally. A few drops of Kitchen Bouquet will improve this; it is a brown sauce which comes in small
bottles.

Some of the things Margaret made for breakfast she made for lunch or supper, too, such as frizzled beef, and
scalloped eggs and omelettes. She had some vegetables besides, such as−−

Baked Tomatoes

6 large tomatoes.
1 cup bread−crumbs.
1/2 teaspoonful of salt.
1 tablespoonful of butter.
1 slice of onion.

Put the butter in the frying−pan, and when it bubbles put in the bread−crumbs, the salt and onion, with a
dusting of pepper, and stir till the crumbs are a little brown and the onion is all cooked; then take out the onion
and throw it away. Wipe the tomatoes with a clean wet cloth, and cut out the stem and a round hole or little
well in the middle; fill this with the crumbs, piling them up well on top; put them in a baking−dish and stand
them in a hot oven; mix a cup of hot water with a tablespoonful of butter, and every little while take out the
baking−dish and wet the tomatoes on top. Cook them about half an hour, or till the skins get wrinkled all over.
Serve them in the dish they are cooked in, if you like, or put each one on a small plate, pour some of the juice
in the baking−dish over it, and stick a sprig of parsley in the top.

Stuffed Potatoes

Wash six large potatoes and scrub them with a little brush, till they are a nice clean light brown, and bake
them for half an hour in a hot oven; or, if they are quite large, bake them till they are soft and puffy. Cut off
one end from each and take out the inside with a teaspoon, holding the potato in a towel as you do so, for it
will be very hot. Mix well this potato with two tablespoonfuls of rich milk or cream, a half−teaspoonful of salt
and just as much butter, and put this back into the shells. Stand the potatoes side by side in a pan close
together, the open ends up, till they are browned.

SALADS

The Other Aunt said Margaret could never, never make salads, but her mother said they were the easiest thing
of all to learn, so she did put them in just the same; she bought a tin of olive oil from the Italian grocery,
because it was better and cheaper than bottled oil, and she gave Margaret one important direction, ``When you
make salads, always have everything very cold,'' and after that the rules were easy to follow, and the salads
were as nice as could be.

French Dressing

3 tablespoonfuls of oil.
1/2 teaspoonful lemon juice or vinegar.
1/2 teaspoonful of salt.
3 shakes of pepper.
Stir together till all is well mixed.
Many people prefer this dressing without pepper and with a
saltspoonful of sugar in its place; you can try it both ways.

Tomato and Lettuce Salad

Peel four tomatoes; you can do this most easily by pouring boiling water over them and skinning them when
they wrinkle, but you must drain off all the water afterward, and let them get firm in the ice−box; wash the
lettuce and gently pat it dry with a clean cloth; slice the tomatoes thin, pour off the juice, and arrange four
slices on each plate of lettuce, or mix them together in the large bowl, and pour the dressing over.

Egg Salad

Cut up six hard−boiled eggs into quarters, lay them on
lettuce, and pour the dressing over. Or pass a dish of
them with cold meat.

Fish Salad

Pick up cold fish and pour the dressing over it, and put two sliced hard−boiled eggs around it; a few tips of
celery, nice white ones, are pretty around the whole.

Cauliflower Salad

Take cold boiled cauliflower and pick it up into nice pieces; pour the dressing over, and put on the ice till you
need it.

String Bean Salad

Take cold string beans, either the green ones or the yellow, pour the dressing over, put on ice, and serve on
lettuce. Any cold vegetables can be used besides these, especially asparagus, while lettuce alone is best of all.

Pineapple Salad

Put large bits of picked−up pineapple on white lettuce, and pour the dressing over.

Orange or Grapefruit Salad

Peel three oranges or one grapefruit, and scrape off all the white lining of the skin. Divide it into sections, or
``quarters,'' and with the scissors cut off the thin edge; turn down the transparent sides and cut these off, too,
scraping the pulp carefully, so as not to waste it. Take out all the seeds; lay the pieces on lettuce, and pour the
dressing over. White grapes, cut in halves, with the seeds taken out, are nice mixed with this, and pineapple,
grapes, and oranges, with a little banana, are delicious.

Mayonnaise

Yolk of 1 egg.
1/2 cup of olive−oil.
1 tablespoonful of lemon juice or vinegar.
1/2 teaspoonful of salt.
Pinch of red pepper.

Put the yolk of the egg into a very cold bowl; it is better to put the bowl, the egg, the oil, and the beater all on
the ice a half−hour before you need them, for then the mayonnaise comes quicker. With a Dover egg−beater
beat till the yolk is very light indeed; then have some one else begin to put in the oil, one drop at a time, till
the mayonnaise becomes so thick it is difficult to turn the beater; then put in a drop or two of lemon or
vinegar, and this will thin it so you can use the oil again; keep on doing this till you have nearly a cup of the
dressing; if you need more oil than the rule calls for, use it, and toward the last add it two or three drops at a
time. When you have enough, and it is stiff enough, put in the pepper and salt and it is done. Never use
mustard except with lobster, as this will spoil the taste. Some salads, especially fruit and vegetable, need very
thick mayonnaise, and then it is better to make it with lemon juice, while a fish salad, or one to use with
meats, may be thinner, and then the vinegar will do; the lemon juice makes it thick. Always taste it before
using it, to see if it is just right, and, if not, put in more salt, or whatever it needs. You will soon learn. Most
people think mayonnaise is very difficult to make, but, really, it is as easy as baking potatoes, after you have
once learned how. Every salad given before is just as nice with mayonnaise as with French dressing, and you
can try each one both ways; then there are these, which are better with mayonnaise.

Chicken Salad

1 cup of chicken cut in large bits.
1/2 cup of celery, cut up and then dried.
2 hard−boiled eggs, cut into good−sized pieces.
6 olives, stoned and cut up.
1/2 cup mayonnaise.

Mix all very lightly together, as stirring will make the salad mussy; put on lettuce.

Lobster Salad

1 cup of lobster, cut in large bits.
2 hard−boiled eggs, cut in pieces.
1/2 teaspoonful of dry mustard, stirred in.
1/2 cup of mayonnaise.

Mix and put on lettuce.

Celery Salad

2 heads of celery.
3 hard−boiled eggs (or else
1 cup of English walnuts).
1/2 cup very stiff mayonnaise.
Wash, wipe, and cut the celery into pieces as large as the first joint of your little finger, and then rub it in a
clean towel till it is as dry as can be. Cut up the eggs, sprinkle all with salt, and add the mayonnaise and lay on
lettuce. Or mix the celery and the walnuts and mayonnaise; either salad is nice.

Celery and Apple Salad

2 sweet apples.
1 head of celery.
1/2 cup of English walnuts, broken up.
1/2 cup mayonnaise.

Peel the apples and cut into very small bits; chop the celery and press in a towel; chop or break up the
walnuts, but save two halves for each person besides the half−cupful you put in the salad. Mix all together, lay
on white hearts of lettuce on plates, and then put the walnuts on top, two on each plate.

Cabbage Salad

1/2 a small cabbage.
1 cup very stiff mayonnaise.
1 teaspoonful celery−seed.

Cut the cabbage in four pieces and cut out the hard core; slice the rest very fine on the cutter you use for
Saratoga potatoes; mix with the mayonnaise and put in the salad−dish; sprinkle over with celery−seed, when
you wish it to be very nice, but it will do without this last touch.

Cabbage Salad in Green Peppers

Wipe green peppers and cut off the small end of each. Take out the seed and the stem; fill each pepper with
the cabbage salad, letting it stand out at the top; put each one on a plate on a leaf of lettuce.

Stuffed Tomato Salad

1 cup of cut−up celery.
1/2 cup of English walnuts.
6 small, round tomatoes.
1/2 cup of mayonnaise.

Peel the tomatoes and scoop out as much of the inside as you can, after cutting a round hole in the stem end;
make a salad with the celery, the cut−up walnuts, and the mayonnaise, and fill the tomatoes, letting it stand up
well on top. Serve on plates, each one on a leaf of lettuce.

Potato Salad

3 cold boiled potatoes.
3 hard−boiled eggs.
1/2 cup English walnuts.
12 olives.

Break up the walnuts, saving a dozen halves unbroken. Cut the potatoes and eggs into bits of even size, as
large as the tip of your finger; stone the olives and cut them up, too; mix them together in a bowl, but do not
stir them much, or you will break the potatoes; sprinkle well with French dressing, and put on the ice; when it
is lunch or supper time, mix quickly, only once, with stiff mayonnaise, and put on lettuce; this is a delicious
salad to have with cold meats.

Margaret's mother liked to have gingerbread or cookies for lunch often, so those things came next in the
cook−book.

Gingerbread

1 cup molasses.
1 egg.
1 teaspoonful of soda.
1 teaspoonful of ginger.
1 tablespoonful melted butter.
1/2 cup of milk.
2 cups of flour.

Beat the eggs without separating, but very light; put the soda into the molasses, put them in the milk, with the
ginger and butter, then one cup of flour, measure in a medium−sized cup and only level, then the egg, and last
the rest of the flour. Bake in a buttered biscuit−tin. For a change, sometimes add a teaspoonful of cloves and
cinnamon, mixed, to this, and a cup of chopped almonds. Or, when the gingerbread is ready for the oven drop
over halves of almonds.

Soft Gingerbread, to Be Eaten Hot

1 cup of molasses.
1/2 cup boiling water.
1/4 cup melted butter.
1 1/2 cups flour.
3/4 teaspoonful soda.
1 teaspoonful ginger.
1/2 teaspoonful salt.

Put the soda in the molasses and beat it well in a good−sized bowl, then put in the melted butter, ginger, salt,
and flour, and beat again, and add last the water, very hot indeed. Have a buttered tin ready, and put it at once
in the oven; when half−baked, it is well to put a piece of paper over it, as all gingerbread burns easily.
You can add cloves and cinnamon to this rule, and sometimes you can make it and serve it hot as a pudding,
with a sauce of sugar and water, thickened and flavored.

Ginger Cookies

1/2 cup butter.
1 cup molasses.
1/2 cup brown sugar.
1 teaspoonful ginger.
1 tablespoonful mixed cinnamon and cloves.
1 teaspoonful soda, dissolved in a tablespoonful of water.
Flour enough to make it so stiff you cannot stir it with a spoon.

Melt the molasses and butter together on the stove, and then take the saucepan off and add the rest of the
things in the recipe, and turn the dough out on a floured board and roll it very thin, and cut in circles with a
biscuit−cutter. Put a little flour on the bottom of four shallow pans, lift the cookies with the cake−turner and
lay them in, and put them in the oven. They will bake very quickly, so you must watch them. When you want
these to be extra nice, put a teaspoonful of mixed cinnamon and cloves in them and sprinkle the tops with
sugar.

Grandmother's Sugar Cookies

1 cup of butter.
2 cups of sugar.
2 eggs.
1 cup of milk.
2 teaspoonfuls of baking−powder.
1/2 teaspoonful of vanilla.
Flour enough to roll out easily.

Rub the butter and sugar to a cream; put in the milk, then the eggs beaten together lightly, then two cups of
flour, into which you have sifted the baking−powder; then the vanilla. Take a bit of this and put it on the
floured board and see if it ``rolls out easily,'' and, if it does not, but is soft and sticky, put in a handful more of
flour. These cookies must not be any stiffer than you can help, or they will not be good, so try not to use any
more flour than you must.

They usually had tea for luncheon or supper at Margaret's house, but sometimes they had chocolate instead, so
these things came next in the cook−book.

Tea

1/2 teaspoonful of black tea for each person.
1/2 teaspoonful for the pot.
Boiling water.

Fill the kettle half−full of fresh, cold water, because you cannot make good tea with water which has been
once heated. When it is very hot, fill the china teapot and put it where it will keep warm. When the water boils
very hard, empty out the teapot, put in the tea, and put on the boiling water; do not stand it on the stove, as too
many people do, but send it right to the table; it will be ready as soon as it is time to pour it−−about three
minutes. If you are making tea for only one person, you will need a teaspoonful of tea, as you will see by the
rule, and two small cups of water will be enough. If for more, put in a half−teaspoonful for each person, and
one cup of water more.

Iced Tea

Put in a deep pitcher one teaspoonful of dry tea for each person and two over. Pour on a cup of boiling water
for each person, and cover the pitcher and let it stand five minutes. Then stir well, strain and pour while still
hot on large pieces of ice. Put in a glass pitcher and serve a bowl of cracked ice, a lemon, sliced thin, and a
bowl of powdered sugar with it. Pour it into glasses instead of cups.

Lemonade

Sometimes in the afternoon Margaret's aunts had tea and cakes or wafers, and in summer they often had iced
tea or lemonade. This is the way Margaret made lemonade:

Squeeze four lemons, and add ten teaspoonfuls of powdered sugar; stir till it dissolves. Add six glasses of
water, and strain. Pour in a glass pitcher, and serve with glasses filled half−full of cracked ice. If you want this
very nice, put a little shredded pineapple with the lemons. Sometimes the juice of red raspberries is liked, also.

Lemonade with Grape−juice

Make the lemonade as before, and add half as much bottled
grape−juice, but do not put in any other fruit. Serve with plenty of ice, in small glasses.

Chocolate

2 cups boiling water.
2 cups of boiling milk.
4 teaspoonfuls grated chocolate.
4 teaspoonfuls of sugar.

Scrape the chocolate off the bar, mix it with the boiling water, and stir till it dissolves; mix the milk and sugar
in them and boil for one minute. If you wish to have it nicer, put a small teaspoonful of vanilla in the
chocolate−pot, and pour the hot chocolate in on it when it is done, and have a little bowl of whipped cream to
send to the table with it, so that one spoonful may be put on top of each cup.

Cocoa

6 teaspoonfuls of cocoa.
1 1/2 cups of boiling water.
1 1/2 cups of boiling milk.
1 tablespoonful powdered sugar.

Put the cocoa into the boiling water and stir till it dissolves, then put in the boiling milk and boil hard two
minutes, stirring it all the time; take from the fire and put in the sugar and stir again. If you like it quite sweet,
you may have to use more sugar.