Evening star., 1903-07-11

they now watch FIR tn announcement iv tn new
breakfast foOd-'-Mr. Dooley.
MENU, SUNDAY JULY II.
BREAKFAST
CantelOupc.
Cereal and Cream.
Frizzled Dried Beef :
Creamed Potatoes.
Toast.
Coffee
DINNER
Tomato Soup.
ndss Breast Of Lamb salted Ms saace
New Carrots, Buttered
Cucumbers French Dressing.
Olives and Cheese Waters.
Red Raspberry Ice: Delicate Cake.
Saratoga Chips olives.
Nut-bread Sandwiches.
Stewed Plums. Chocolate Cake.
Iced Tea.
At @ o'clock this morning I watched a
gang of Italian laborers eating their break
fast They were going to dig up the as
phalt paving to lay pipes Of some sort. but
work did not begin until near Z. Mean
while. seated in a long row on the curb
they proceeded to enjoy their frugal meal
Each man had a paper bag containing
substantial Chunk of bread and a ba-
a number of two-quart pals of milk were
brought and set at regular intervals along
the line.
Slowly the dark-browed men munched
away on their hard bread with their splen-
did teeth, alternating occasionally with a
small bite of banana. They did not bolt
their food q la Americaine. and though
they may never have heard Of Gladstone
and his oft-auoted twenty bites to a mouth
full that was about the number they gave.
When ready to drink each man in turn
wiped his mouth carefully on his shirt
sleeve, then slipped from the pail as delib-
erately as he had eaten his bread AS for
digestion. it is safe to assume that not
man there knew the pangs Of dyspepsia,
the great national disease of this country,
brought on nine cases in ten by swallow
ing heterogeneous mixture of food and
drink without the formality OF mastica-
ton prelude. Small wonder that our sani-
tariums are filed with nervous, anaemic
persons who have been improperly nour
ished, and are. therefore. blue irritable,
pessimstic''-and that manufacturers of
health foods who spend fortunes in adver-
tising Sunny Jims," "Almostfood" and
"Sawd Ust." to quote Mr.. Dooley. and all
the other rank and file of predigested or
lightning express foods, still go on to roll
up enormous fortunes.
1t is stated (possibly with poetic license)
that twenty-elght new preparations of
health foods were launched upon the mar
hct III d sing Udy III u INlQUlc western
town. and not all from the original manu-
facturers either. The phenomenal success
of the first physician manufacturer who
in the interest of his patients studied out
a wholesome combination of food products
has inspired a host of other men, skilled
and unskilied. to throw their proprietary
foods. good. bad and Indifferent, upon a
waiting market. The patent medicines Of
ten years ago have practically retired be-
fore the onslaught of the patent foods that
now monopolize the advertising space in
street cars and on all available buildings
and fences.
may not in the end be worse than their
first remains to be seen. For many peo-
pie coffee substitutes made Of roasted
bran and molasses are far more harmful
than the genuine berry, while q stomach
that gets used to depending upon pre-
digested foods loses its own ability to
digest and assimilate.
Although justly appreciative of the many
excellent preparations of fruit, grain and
nuts put upon the markets, the fact re-
mains that the sooner we a people
bark back to natural foods-simply cooked
and then eat them deliberately and cheer
fully (and therein lies an essential not
to be overlooked)-the better AS rule,
we eat too much. More people die from
overeating than not eating enough say
all the doctors. Children should be train
ed to eat slowly and drink slowly with
bites. not '.gobbles;' sips, not "guzzles.
In eating or drinking rapidly one is apt
to take too much. Milk swallowed rap
idly in quantity coagulates in the stom-
ach. One of the difficulties in getting
a child to take its mush slowly may be
overcome by having a slice of dry toast
or a handful Of crispy croutons dried in
the oven to go along with it. These can
not be swallowed without mastication. and
by alternating muSh and toast the object
Is accomplished In the matter of toasts,
by the way, there is toast and toast. While
slice of toast seems a most common
place thing. every housekeeper knows how
difficult 1T Is to get the ordinary cook to
make 1t properly: Thick toast burned or
carelessly Drowned on the outside and still
soft and feshy on the inside is far cry
from the crisp. light, fragrant. evanes
lied by The Spectator nearly thirty years
ago. The ideal toast must be slowly made
as its crlspness is its chief virtue New
bread does not make good toast. Prefera-
bly,, 1t should be two days old Cut even
and thin between quarter and a half
inch thick. Trim into shape. If you
have a gas stove, heat the broiler about
five minutes. place the slices of bread
on the rack about two inches from the
fame. brown and turn. Watch care
fully, as it toasts delicate golden brown
in an incredibly short time and the next
stage is burn. Failing gas, put the
bread on toasting fork over a clear fire
and move constantly until nicely color
ed. When one side is brown turn to
the other. If toast is to be made in
quantity several slices can be laid at once
in wire broiler, all the covers over the
fire box removed and the broiler turned
and manipulated the same as with the
fork. If the bread seems too moist to
toast properly dry out first in the oven.
Do not butter before sending to the table.
unless the family blessed with super
latively good digestions. In buttered toast
the butter forms a coating which pre-
vents the gastric juice reaching the parti-
cles of bread.
The crouton habit Is easily formed and
should be encouraged. The dried bread,
brown or white, baked in the oven until
crisp, golden and friable, should be one OF
the household constants-always on hand
for use with soup or for the children to
'munch" on. Keep in tins or glass Jars.
Coarsely ground in coffee mill or put
through the meat chopper these Drowned
crumbs make most delectable food to
be served with milk for children, old
people or dyspeptics. This was a popu-
lar dish in colonial days-the powdered
croutops being known then as ''rusks"
Milk toast made by covering crispy slices
of toast with thin cream sauce or new
milk scalded-not boiled-then seasoned to
taste with salt. butter, pepper or honey.
is nutritious and excellent dish for
breakfast or supper.
10 Of fbo oyp