Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1912-04-02

~ fOO0 OtaBtoms
Almost al househsspsrs tell the sans
story Of forgetting what food products
are available at given time. ! remem-
Der being much amused one day when .
friend dropped In to lunch and we hap.
pened to have boiled rico served with
milk and sugar. She ate this common.
place dish with great selish, - u Il were
: now discovery, declaring that she had
entirely forgotten about rice! TO stlmu-
late our memories, - we'll - to imbibe
new ideas, We sre all wont to pore over
cook books on occasion. But we do not
have time every day for such researches.
and I have devised . simple diagram
which find Of much practical help to
my poor memory. On . card about
eight or ten inches square, ! haxe type
written lists Of practically all the dishes
I ordinarily use, 20 arranged that can
see ut q glance tho range OF choices ct
my command. Az long - / have this
before me am not likely to forget that
there Ii such an article - rice.
Ny diagram hangs conspicuousiy IN
the pantry beside the table of thine for
cooking meats and vegetables" both
close By the cabinet containing my card
catalogue of recipes. 1t Is divided into
four columns: Meat and Fish; vegeta-
bles; Sweets; and Luncheon and Break.
fast Dishes. 1t 10 not at all scheme OF
menus, but q collection OF lists to sug-
pest meal possibilities. OF course 1t Ia
not complete. 1t does not include tho
special fancy dishes reserved for great
occasions, which l can find In my card
catalogue "a needed. Nor does 1t show
any Of the things which We do not like,
or have no use for, or cannot afford. 1t
10 merely q plain, working, everyday
scheme. No doubt my lists would seem
very homely and meagre TO culinary
OF pert, but any housekeeper may shape
such diagram to her own abilities and
tastes. The beauty Of 1t 10 its fitness
for our own needs. To my mind q
home made affair Is the only practicable
kind. No ready made printed lists, COM
piled BY an outsider and sold 10 the
sh IDS, would be of any value to me. In
fact list In any sense exhaustive would
far exceed the limits Of my small card
II ia understood, of course, that one can
readily turn elsewhere for lists Of small
accessories, like pickles, rel:shes, jelliee,
conserves, fancy crackers, etc.
The column of Meats and Fish begins
with Beef, In the several forms IN which
We serve 1t; roast, corned, steak, stew,
beef loaf, and meat pie. Then lamb and
veal in several styles, and so on with
pork, which includes ssusages, and then
the fish products.
Under Vegetables, I enumerate, first,
the fresh vegetables We are using, then
the canned products that We like. Start
| ing of with potatoes, l enumerate few
styles of serving; boiled, baked, mash
ed, fried, scallOped, creamed, and 90 or
with other things, including macaron
and spaghetti.
The column OF Sweets contains il
order, the pies, buildings and cakes W
ordinarily have, including, of course
gingerbread and cookies. These are fol-
lowed BY what call "Fruit sauces,
rather q vague term, perhaps, to the
uuinitisted, but it covers baked apples
apple sauce, oranges and bananas, april
cots, prunes, canned peaches, pineapples
and cherries.
Lunch and breakfast dishes are class
ed together because 80 many are suit.
able for either meal, ~, for instance
eggs, with which the list starts In, gives
several styles of cooking: boiled, baked
scrambled, shirred, fried, omelet and
French toast. Muffius and griddls
cakes now follow, also, common to che
two meals. Then / mention breakfas
foods; not all there are In the market
but the few we depend upon, including
rice. And beside this list are the words
hot or fried, because do not want to for
get that slices of left over breakfast
food, may be fried for delicious lunct
dish.
The place for soups and salads may be
decided by tho length of the columns
From time to time have to revise and
reprint the entire scheme, to fit th'
changes of season and market. Fo
instance We do not have fresh msckerel
asparagus, or strawberry shortcake IL
mid. winter, or oyster stow, apple ant
celery salad, and suet pudding in sum
mer. The diagram idea Is not at oil new
or original. | can only claim for my
own plan that it is much simpler thar
any have seen, avoiding superfuities
and containing mass of data in nut
shell.-Cooking-Scbool Magazine.