DINNER MKNU

Carrot Soup.

Potato Balls. Nut Gravy.

Steamed Graham Bread.

Surprise Dessert. Cocoanut Cream. Peanut Coffee. RECIPES. From Guide for Nut Cookery.

Nut Gravy. — Heat i pt. of water to boil- ing. Take a little of the boiling water and I tablespoonful of nut butter, and nib smooth: then add it to the water. To this add 2 level tablespoon fuls of flonr which has been lightly browned, rubbed smooth in a little cold water. Salt to taste and let boil a few minutes.

Peanut Coffee. — Look over the peanuts, rejecting all the poor ones and foreign sub- stances, and roast in the oven until they are a dark brown, the color of Java Coffee when roasted. Remove the skins, as they will make it bitter; grind, but not too fine. Use the same as any coffee.

Surprise Dessert. — ^Take slices of white bread and cut out some stars of ^edium size. Spread them with ground dates which have been stirred to a paste with water. When spread, put two of the stars together. If desired, the bread may be spread with nut butter before putting on the dates. Put on the top of each a little pyramid of jelly, cut by turning a teaspoon in the jelly. Serve with cocoanut cream. From Eliza R. Skier, Landrum, S. C.

Tomato Bisctiits. — ^Take good ripe toma- 1899

toes; stew, strain and then squeeze them through a cheese cloth. Then boil down until quite thick. Use instead of sour milk and make the biscuits exactly as with sour milk, only with tomato juice ; use less soda than when milk is used. Half a tea- spoonful to a quart of flonr .

Tomato Granola. — Rebake until quite dry and then pound into small pieces the tomato biscuits as above made, and grind in the Vegetarian Society Mill. It will keep good in tin cans all winter. We say tin cans to keep it free from attacks of mice, etc.

Peanut Sticks.—Shell and blanch the nuts : soak them over night ; then boil until they can be put through a sieve or tin fruit presser or are like mush. Then knead in flour until like beaten biscuit dough ; roll into long sticks and bake.

I have never heard of anyone making Tomato Biscuits but myself. I am very fond of tomatoes, but can only eat them in summer-time, so I invented these biscuits and the Granola made from them and I can now enjoy the tomato all the year round without much expense The Tomato Gra- nola is nice for soups or soaked in a very little water and then steamed and eaten as a vegetable. I use fruit juices in the same way for biscuits and granola.

The white of one egg, well beaten, for each pint of flour, is an important addition to any kind of biscuit.

139 Dbi-zsdbyGoOgle

We think the Nutcoa is No. i for frying doughnuts. They reuln their freshness several days after cooking. Many of my friends say they are the sweetest doughnuts they ever ate. — Mrs, Annie B. Ballou, Attleboro Falls, Mass.

DATES. BV T. R. ALLlfJSOM, L. R. C. S.

The date palm is known to the botanist as the Phoenix Daclylifera. It grows in tropi- cal and sub-tropical parts of Asia and Africa. The tree grows from loo to 120 feet high, the fruit is found in bunches of about 20 to 25 pounds each. When dates are allowed to ripen on the tree, they must be eaten shortly after gathered, or they will soon tot. The dates we know are gathered a little before they are ripe, and dried in the sun. For home use, the Arabs pound and press the dates into big cakes. These cakes are called the "bread of the desert."

Dates have been used as food from time out of mind. They are still the staple food of the desert Arabs. The date grows in hot, barren and dry desert places which practically produce no other fruit or vege- table. This tree is made much use of by the Arabs ; the unopened bunch of leaves at the top of the tree is sometimes cut off, boiled and eaten as we est cabbage. Then from the cut made a juice Hows out, which, if gathered and allowed to ferment, produces an intoxicating drink, and if this is left, it further ferments and makes excellent vine- gar. The tree dies when its crown of leaves is cut off, and the trunk is used for many purposes. Cordage is made Irom the leaves. From the pith inside the trunk, an inferior sago can be made. The sago of commerce comes from the sago palm,- and not ft'om the date palm.

Uses. Datps are very noarishing, almost as much so as oatmeal, and they need no

cookmg. In their dried condition, they

are the chief food of many people. Here is an analysis of them :

Water, - - - - 20

Flesh formers, . - . y

Heat and force formers, - 71

Mineral matters, ... 2

The heat and force . forming matter is in the form of sugar. Dates practically con- tain no starch or fat. Being sweet, palm wine and arrak spirit may be made from them after they are crushed, mixed with water and fermented. The date is a good food, but its use is forbidden to some. Its daily use tends to prevent constipation. Being so rich in sugar, it must not be used by persons suffering from diabetes, by those liable to skin disease, to sufferers from toothache, and those who complain of want of energy. Dates may be eaten with bread, fresh fruit, cheese or nuts.

When dates are stoned, passed through a sausage machine and mixed with ground cocoanut, or other nut meal, they form a fruit and nut bread which is very noarishing and can be made use of by cyclists, ex' plorers, travellers, etc. This is also a more wholesome aud nourishing sweetmeat than the usual toffee bought by children . Stewed dates may form a second dish at dinner. Or, stoned and cut up, they may be put in puddings or moulds instead of currants and raisins.. A baked date pudding can be made from stoned and quartered dates, bread crumbs, cinnamon and a batter : it will be found a tasty and nourishing dish. A steamed date pudding is every bit as good as a plum pudding. When dates are eaten raw they should be washed, if possi- ble, or thread worms may result. The eggs ot these little pests may be left on the skin of the date by the Arab packer, and if not washed off, may infect those who eat them.

DigiTizsdbyGoOgle

The present consumption of peanuts in America for eating purposes alone reaches 4,000,000 bushels

Pecan nut oil is of a very fine quality and is used by clockmakers and gunsmiths and also f(H- table purposes.

The Commonwealth, Georgia, have raised 1000 bushels of peanuts and have sent for a Vegetarian Society Power Mill to shell, blanch and grind the nuts into peanut butter.