Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1884-08-21
SUMMER EATING.
Suggestions Concerning Economy in
the Kitchen During the Hot
Season.

| Season.
Food should be seasonable. AS
clothes are changed according to the
weather variations, so should the
equally important diet be regulated.
In many wisely-ordered households.
the system of arranging summer foods
after new and approved methods has
been adopted, insuring the saving of
money, fire, time and labor, with the
additional advantage Of having most
desirable and healthful dishes to tempt
and satisfy the appetite, without PROV
ing a tax to the digestive organs.
Science is hand-maiden to conyen-
fence, and there is actually no limit to
the supply of canned, potted and pre-
served food. All manner of soups,
fish, meats, fowl. sauces, buildings, and
fruit are prepared, excellent in quality
and at low cost, considering the fact
that every atom of the put off, arti-
Gle is eatable, and the extent to which
the air-tight method of preparation is
employed amazes one who has not
kept pace with the ingenuities brought
to bear upon methods of table man
agement.
The soups vary in character; there
are extracts for clear soup, powders so
rich and concentrated that table
spoonful or SO will thicken and make
tasteful q full quart of soup; and then
there are jars or bottles of juices with
vegetables requiring only the boiling
water to make regular French soups.
The meats too, are so convenient, for
in summer one would sooner forego
the delights Of a juicy roast than to
heat the range and the house, except
on extra occasions, and most desirable
substitutes are the Holsters and sal
canned and potted meats and game,
which should always be kept on hand
to meet the unpleasant emergencies
which often ar1se-a rainy day or the
arrival of an unexpected guest, when
no one is at leisure to run to the gro
ceryman or to order from the market
man.
The patient and obliging baker,
whose daily task is to supply the rolls,
bread, tea-biscuit, and sometimes cake,
saves q great amount of annoyance.
His pies at this season can be dispens-
ed with, for the summer fruits, each in
its season are wise substitutes for pas
try, for fruit aids instead of retardinc
the assimilative processes, and when
ripe fruit cannot be procured, the
canned, dried, and sugared fruits prove
most acceptable, and when all prepar-
ed they really prove panacea for
many of the summer complaints which
so much annoy children.
There are also many vegetables
which tend to lubricate the system and
supply at the same time elements Of
sustenance. Tomatoes, sliced or
cooked, are excellent, and everyone
knows how delicious they are with the
Mayonnaise accessory. Asparagus,
too, covers the widest ground of ma
terial demand. Like celery and on
ions, it is good nervine and may be
served on toast with drawn butter sauce
or simply boiled tender in sailed wa
ter and eaten as salad with sauce of
vinegar, salt, and pure oil.
Few persons understand the capaci-
ties of the cucumbers, which is usually
lpick1ed. served raw or grated, and
mixed with vinegar for sauce. The
larger specimens can be sliced length
wise, seasoned with salt and pepper,
rolled in flour, and fried to dainty
brown in lard or butter, forming an &C
ceptable breakfast or tea dish, with a
meaty taste added to flavor of the
vegetable.
As little force and fire as possible
should be called into service III pre-
pairing summer foods. The cereal ele-
ment predominates in the constitution
of the modern diet. Corn, oats, and
wheat, in some form, are found upon
every breakfast table, and are praised
for their muscle building properties.
The Scotch and Irish oat meals are
undoubtedly superior to the domestic,
but the American method of furnish
ing it steamed or partly cooked saves
time and trouble. Every mill has of
course its own way of grinding its
grits and samp and different meals,
but all agree concerning the best and
simplest way of serving them-have
the grains well done, eat with a meas
ure of milk and sugar, if desirable,
when cold, and with butter or cream
and sugar when hot.
Milk is not only an accessory, but is
\ splendid substitute for heavier ar
ticles of diet, for it is nourishing to
high degree. Tea and coffee have
each their niche in the archives of Ia
BILE furnishing, and one must not lose
sight of the fact that warm drinks
neutraliEe the effects of cold food for
the system; but milk in sickness and in
health has character and qualities
peculiarly to its own. Sour milk or
buttermilk is healthful drink, and
lemonade is specially grateful on a
warm day or evening. A glass of lem
onade taken hot before breakfast is
swift to correct irregularities.
Salt or smoked fish is most relisha-
bic for breakfast either broiled or boil
ed, eaten with stewed, boiled or fried
potatoes, and eggs are an excellent
warm weather diet. They supply the
phosphorus requisite to the system,
and prove a most convenient substitute
for all kinds of meats. Herb omelettes
are a benefaction to the busy house
keeper, as are the gas and kerosene
stoves on which they NAV be Drenar-