The Laurel Health Cookery: A Collection of Practical Suggestions and Recipes for the Preparation of Non-Flesh Foods in Palatable and Attractive Ways

For salads, let that thin rind stand in the lemon or other fruit juices for a time and then remove. When obliged to use lemon or orange extracts, use only a few drops instead of the teaspoonful of the average recipe. Rose is another of the delightful flavors to be used sparingly. To flavor with cocoanut, when the fibre is not desired, steep (do not boil) the cocoanut in milk for 15-20 m., then strain it out. SALAD FLAVORINGS To flavor lemon juice for cooked or uncooked dressings, take to each three tablespns. of lemon juice and one of water, a slice of onion, a bay leaf, and ¼ teaspn. of celery seed or 1 tablespn. of chopped celery leaves. Boil a moment, then cool and strain. Tarragon and chives may be used for the flavorings. Onion, bay leaf, thyme, a trifle of garlic if liked, and a few thin yellow-slices of orange peel make another combination. The salad dish is sometimes rubbed with the cut surface of a clove of garlic or a slice of onion, or onion may be chopped or grated. Crushed celery seed is liked by some in salad dressings. Spearmint is very refreshing. Delicate tender sassafras leaves may be used in fruit and nut meat salads. Shredded fresh mint combines well with orange or grape fruit or with currant juice; tarragon with red raspberries and currants, and basil with peaches. In closing the subject of flavorings, I quote the words of a lady visitor after sampling some of the dishes prepared by a class in cookery: “Any one can give a taste to foods by adding condiments and flavorings, but to develop the flavors of the foods themselves is an art.” GARNISHING The saying that “some people eat with their eyes” is true to a great extent of all of us. I believe that the veriest savage would better enjoy his dinner, however rude, if somewhere there were tucked into it a bit of green. The busy farmer’s wife as she goes to the wood pile for an armful of wood can quickly pick off