The Cooking Manual of Practical Directions for Economical Every-Day Cookery

through it without sticking, the cake is done. 222. =Strawberry Shortcake.=--Rub two ounces of butter into a pound of prepared flour, mix it stiff enough to mould with about half a pint of milk; put the dough upon a round tin plate, gently flattening with the roller; bake it about twenty minutes in a quick oven, trying it with a broom straw to be sure it is done, before taking it from the oven; let it cool a little, tear it open by first separating the edges all around with a fork, and then pulling it in two pieces; upon the bottom put a thick layer of strawberries, or any perfectly ripe fruit, plentifully sprinkled with sugar; then lay on the fruit the upper half of the shortcake, with the crust down; add another layer of fruit, with plenty of sugar, and serve it with sweet milk or cream. This is rather rich, but a small piece may be given to the children as a treat, at the noon dinner. 223. =Apple Custard.=--Pare and core six apples; set them in a pan with a very little water, and stew them until tender; then put them in a pudding dish without breaking, fill the centres with sugar, and pour over them a custard made of a quart of milk, five eggs, four ounces of sugar, and a very little nutmeg; set the pudding-dish in a baking-pan half full of water, and bake it about half an hour. Serve it either hot or cold, at the noon dinner. CHAPTER XIII. COOKERY FOR INVALIDS. 224. =Diet for Invalids.=--There are three alimentary conditions in illness; the first prevails where the system suffers from the reaction consequent upon over-taxation, when rest is the first demand; then only palliative foods meet the calls of nature, those which give repletion to the sense of hunger, and tide the system over a certain period of relaxation and recuperation; gelatinous soups, and gruels of arrowroot, sago, and tapioca, will do very well at this stage. The second condition, when the body, failing under the pressure of disease, needs an