DELICATE DIGESTIONS NEED DAINTY DISHES

New Zealand Listener, Volume 5, Issue 108, 18 July 1941, Page 45

DELICATE DIGESTIONS NEED DAINTY DISHES

ANY people find it a real problem to cater for one of the family who has been ordered a "light diet." The person may have returned home after a period in hospital-perhaps recovering from an operation-or perhaps a_ soldier-man whose health has been impaired on active service. The housewife is anxious to "build him up," and get him back to normal, and any suggestions from women who have coped successfully with this kind of cooking will be welcomed by readers of this page.

Light Diet The essentials of light diet are maximum nourishment with easy digestibility. Among the foods covered by these terms are fish, eggs, chicken, soups, jellies, and milk in all kinds of ways; grilled chops, green vegetables, oranges. Fried food is very unsuitable, so are highly flavoured dishes. Steamed fish sounds uninteresting, but served with a sprig of parsley and a slice of lemon, and with a spreading of butter upon it, and a shake of paprika (the Mexican red pepper), it will look so nice that the invalid will be tempted. Try to introduce a little colour when serving these dishes, thus making them as attractive as possible. Don’t serve anything that looks " fatty," and always stir invalid food with a silver spoon. A " cooking" spoon may give a " brassy" taste to a dish, and a semi-sick person with no appetite can’t help being fussy. Tasty Scraped Beef A thick iron frying pan is necessary for this-or a girdle may be used. This pan must be made very hot, but do not grease it at all. Have ready half a pound of rump or beef steak, and with a blunt knife scrape the meat away from the connecting tissues. Hold the beef firm on the board or bench with the left hand, and with the knife in the right hand, scrape briskly away from you, and against the grain. Form the scraped meat into small flat cakes; put them on the very hot pan, and cook quickly on one side until brown-it will take only a minute or two. Then turn the cakes over and brown on the other side. The juice must not run out of the meat-if it does, the pan is not hot enough. Add a seasoning of salt after the cakes are cooked, and serve immediately on a hot plate, with a spread of butter on top, and a sprig of parsley to garnish. Green vegetables, and a little very well mashed

potato can be served with them. These are very tasty, and are generally well liked. Any scraped beef left over can be used raw in dainty sandwiches of wholemeal bread and butter. Chicken Broth Cut the chicken into joints. Keep out the breast to be used geparately. Put into a saucepan, cover with cold water, add a little salt, and bring slowly to boiling

point. Simmer very slowly and gently till the meat is tender-about 2 hours or more, according to the age of the chicken. Strain off and allow to cool, then skim off any fet. An ounce of lean bacon may be simmered with it, which gives a nice flavour. This broth is really nicer if cooked in the oven in a casserole. If not convenient to use oven, it is good to use a double saucepan, or a basin covered over well, standing in a saucepan of water. It takes longer to cook, but is better. Breast of Chicken Roll the breast of chicken (saved out when making the above broth), in wholemeal, slightly salted, place it in a casserole and just cover with boiling milk or chicken broth. Cook slowly in a very moderate oven, with the lid on, till tender-depending on the age of the bird. Cut the meat neatly off the bone before serving, and add a little finely chopped parsley to the gravy. Creamed Fish Take a nice flounder or sole, skinned. on both sides, with tail and fins cut

off, head as well. Put into a buttered pie-dish or casserole, with about half a cup of milk, a seasoning of salt, and a teaspoon of butter on top. Cover with another pie-dish or lid, and bake in a moderate oven until tender and cookedabout 20 to 30 minutes. Serve with a sprinkling of paprika and finely chopped parsley, and half a slice of lemon on each side. Steamed Fish This can be flounder (skinned and filleted), or John Dory, or hapuka. Put a fillet on a buttered plate, with a squeeze of lemon, and salt, and pepper to taste. Cover over with another plate, or a lid of some sort, and stand over a saucepan of boiling water. Steam it for about 20 minutes, or till cooked. Serve with melted butter or a good white sauce, and chopped parsley. Arrange the help-: ing daintily, and have the parsley very (Continued on next page)

me (Continued from previous page) fine, and don’t serve too big a helping as this often "puts off" the patient, altogether, Beef Tea Cut up a pound of gravy beef very finely, put it in a basin, or jar, or double | boiler, and cover it with cold water. Cook gently for two hours. Strain, season with a little salt, and serve very hot, with fingers of toast. Quickly Made Beef Tea Cut up half a pound of gravy beef very finely, sprinkle with a dessertspoon of flour evenly, and put it in a small saucepan, just covering with lukewarm water. Put it over a low gas or a slow heat, and heat it slowly, pressing out the juice with a silver fork. Do not leave it at alljust press and turn until the "tea" gets hot; and you will notice the meat getting pale and white, as the water becomes coloured with the juice you are squeezing out of the meat. Every now and then take it away from the heat for a few seconds, while you press more juice out. Work slowly. In about 20 minutes the "tea" will be ready and the meat exhausted of the juices, Season with salt and serve. This is very useful to know, in case some beef tea is needed in a hurry. Malted Beef Tea A teaspoon of malt extract may be stirred into a breakfast cup of beef tea. Beef Tea Custard

Break an egg into a breakfast cup and beat it well. Add enough cold beef tea to fill the cup. Season with salt and a little pepper. Place the cup into a basin containing a little boiling water, and bake in a moderate oven till the custard is just set, or cover the custard over and stand it in a saucepan of hot water over low gas, and steam it till just set. May be served hot or cold. Mutton Broth _ This is best made by having boiled mutton for the family and saving the liquid. Boil a neck or breast of mutton with carrots and onions, turnips and a little rice, strain the liquid carefully and leave it to get cold. Then skim off all ‘the fat, and re-heat, adding a little of the rice, and thickening with a little cornflour mixed with milk. Season to taste, and just before serving, add a teaspoon of very finely chopped parsley. Raw Beef Tea Half a pound of raw beef, shredded finely; cover with cold water with. a pinch of salt, and stir well. Cover and

leave to stand for 2 or 3 hours, then strain through muslin or a fine sieve, It should be clear, Serve in a red glass so that the patient may not be "put off" by the appearance of the tea. Buttered Whitebait Wash whitebait, drain, and dry in a cloth. Put a little flour in a paper, and shake the whitebait in it, a few at a time. Heat an ounce of butter in a pan, put in the whitebait and cook them a little, tossing them about all the time. Do not cook them too much or they will be tough. Drain on paper and sprinkle with a little pepper and salt. Serve with brown bread and butter. Garnish with slices of lemon, Steamed Whitebait Just steam them between two plates till cooked, and season with pepper and salt. Put a little butter over them and a squeeze of lemon, Buttered Oysters One dozen oysters, 1 dessertspoon butter; salt to taste and a pinch of paprika. Scald the oysters in their own liquor then strain and beard them. Make the butter very hot, drop in the prepared oysters and cook for a minute or two; add the salt and paprika. Serve on a hot plate with fingers of toast or thin bread and butter.