One table spoon of cinnamon, some coriander or allspice, put to four tea spoons pearl ash, dissolved in half pint water, four pound flour, one quart molasses, four ounces butter, (if in summer rub in the butter, if in winter, warm the butter and molasses and pour to the spiced flour,) knead well 'till stiff, the more the better, the lighter and whiter it will be; bake brisk fifteen minutes; don't scorch; before it is put in, wash it with whites and sugar beat together.
Prepare a raised pie case (see Pastry), put in a layer of cooked haricot or butter beans, a layer of sliced tomatoes, and one of hard-boiled eggs. Put on the lid, which should have a hole in the centre. Bake, and with a funnel fill in with dissolved savoury jelly. This is delicious to eat cold, and is very useful for pic-nics. The same ingredients may also be made into small pies or bridies.
This conserves all their own juices which contain the various valuable natural salts, alkalies, &c., so necessary to health, and which we so vainly try to make up by the addition of crude minerals.
Set some mulberries over the fire in a skillet, and draw from them a pint of juice, when 'tis strained. Then take three pounds of sugar, beaten very fine; wet the sugar with the pint of juice; boil up your sugar, and scum it, and put in two pounds of ripe mulberries, and let them stand in the syrup till they are thoroughly warm; then set them on the fire, and let them boil very gently; do them but half enough, so put them by in the syrup till next day; then boil them gently again, and when the syrup is pretty thick, and will stand in a round drop when 'tis cold, they are enough; so put all together in a gallipot for use.
1 cup flour 2 teaspoons baking powder 1 tablespoon powdered sugar 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 egg 1/4 cup milk 1 tablespoon lemon juice 3 bananas
Mix and sift dry ingredients. Add others in order. Force bananas through a sieve before adding. Beat thoroughly. Drop by spoonfuls into hot fat. Drain and sprinkle with powdered sugar and few drops of lemon juice.
Put sugar in frying pan. Stir over slow fire. It will lump, then gradually melt. When pale yellow, and clear, add nuts and pour quickly on greased tin. When cold break into pieces.
All made the same as "Cherry Pie." Line your pie-tin with crust, fill half full of berries, shake over a tablespoonful of sifted flour (if very juicy) and as much sugar as is necessary to sweeten sufficiently. Now fill up the crust to the top, making quite full. Cover with crust and bake about forty minutes. Huckleberry and blackberry pies are improved by putting into them a little ginger and cinnamon.
One quart of stewed pumpkin pressed through a sieve, nine eggs, whites and yolks beaten separately, two scant quarts of milk, one teaspoonful of mace, one teaspoonful of cinnamon and the same of nutmeg, one and one-half cupfuls of white sugar, or very light brown. Beat all well together and bake in crust without cover. A tablespoonful of brandy is a great improvement to pumpkin, or squash pies.
Split the kernels lengthwise with a knife, then scrape with the back of the knife, thus leaving the hulls upon the cob. Fill cans full of cut corn, pressing it in very hard. To press the corn in the can, use the small end of a potato masher, as this will enter the can easily. It will take from ten to a dozen large ears of corn to fill a one-quart can. When the cans are full, screw cover on with thumb and first finger; this will be tight enough, then place a cloth in the bottom of a wash boiler to prevent breakage. On this put a layer of cans in any position you prefer, over the cans put a layer of cloth, then a layer of cans. Fill the boiler in this manner, then cover the cans well with cold water, place the boiler on the fire and boil three hours without ceasing. On steady boiling depends much of your success. After boiling three hours, lift the boiler from the fire, let the water cool, then take the cans from the boiler and tighten, let them remain until cold, then tighten again. Wrap each can in brown paper to exclude the light and keep in a cool, dry cellar and be very sure the rubber rings are not hardened by use. The rings should be renewed every two years. I would advise the beginner to use new rings entirely, for poor rings cause the loss of canned fruit and vegetables in many cases. You will observe that in canning corn the cans are not wrapped in a cloth nor heated; merely filled with the cut corn. The corn in the can will shrink considerable in boiling, but on no account open them after canning.
