A Comprehensive Guide-Book to Natural, Hygienic and Humane Diet

RELATIVE VALUES OF FOODS

How to Regulate our Diet

Our food must contain certain elements, and in proper quantity, if the body is to be well sustained, renewed and nourished. These are mainly as follows:

1. Protein to form flesh, build muscle, and produce strength.

2. Fat and Carbohydrates, to provide heat and energy.

3. Salts and minerals (such as phosphates, lime, iron, citrates, etc.) to build bones and teeth, feed the brain and nerves, and purify the body.

No hard-and-fast table or rule can be laid down concerning the proper proportions in which these elements should be combined, because the amount needful for each individual varies according to his size, the sort of work he does, the amount of physical or mental energy he puts forth, and the temperature of the atmosphere surrounding him.

Until Professor Chittenden made his extensive and conclusive series of experiments in America, in 1903-4, to determine the real amount of Protein and other elements required to keep the body in perfect health, the average estimate for a person of average size, who does a moderate amount of physical labour, was about 4-ozs. of Protein per day.

But these official experiments, conducted with scientific precision, extending over a long period, and made with thirty-four typical and carefully graded representatives of physical and mental work, demonstrated that half this amount of Protein is sufficient, and that strength and health are increased when the quantity is thus reduced; also that a smaller amount of Carbohydrate food (bread, etc.), than was previously thought necessary, is enough.

One may therefore now safely reckon that men of average size and weight (say 10 to 12 stone) doing a moderate amount of physical and mental work, can thrive under ordinary circumstances on a daily ration containing about 800 grains of Protein (nearly 2 ozs).

The following food chart will enable the reader to calculate (approximately) how much food of any particular kind is necessary to provide the above amount. Adult persons below the average size and weight, and living sedentary rather than an active physical life, will naturally require less than this normal standard. The relative cost and economy of the different foods can also thus be ascertained.

If care is taken to secure a sufficient quantity of Protein the requisite amount of Carbohydrates is not likely to be omitted, and hunger will prove a reliable guide in most cases. It is advisable, however, to see that enough Fat is taken, especially in winter, and by persons lacking in nerve force.

The table of food-values will easily enable the reader to ascertain the proportion of Fat in each kind of food.

The following indications of dietetic error may prove useful: —

Signs of Dietetic Mistakes. Excess of proteid matter causes a general sense of plethora and unbearableness, nervous prostration or drowsiness after meals, a tendency to congestion (often resulting in piles, etc.), headache, irritability, and bad temper. A continuous deficiency of it would tend to produce general weakness and anæmia.

Excess of carbohydrate matter (starch), especially if not sufficiently cooked and not well masticated, produces dyspepsia, flatulence, pain in the chest and abdomen, acidity (resulting in pimples and boils), and an inflammatory state of the system. Deficiency of it (or its equivalent, grape sugar) would produce lack of force and physical exhaustion.

Excess of fat tends to cause biliousness. Deficiency of it results in nervous weakness, neuralgia, and low temperature of the body.

Food for Brain Workers. It is important to remember that the more physical energy we put forth, the larger is the amount of proteid we require in our diet – and vice versa. Brain workers of sedentary habits require but little proteid, and quickly suffer from indigestion if this is taken too freely. For such, a very simple dietary consisting largely of dried and fresh fruits, nuts (flaked or ground), milk, eggs and cheese, and super-cooked cereals (such as wholemeal biscuits, and toast, Granose and Kellogg flakes, and well baked rice dishes) will be found to be the most suitable.

In order to supply the brain with phosphates it is very important that mental workers should take whole wheat bread instead of the emasculated white substitute which is provided almost everywhere. It is the outer part of the grain that provides brain-food (combined with an easily assimilable form of protein), and many of our urban bread winners break down because they are deprived of the essential food elements therein contained. To take 'standard' bread does not meet the case, and every food-reformer who wants to keep really fit should demand and obtain well baked and unadulterated wholemeal bread. I feel convinced that if every growing child and every mental toiler could always be supplied with bread of this type, the deterioration of our British race would soon be arrested and we should witness signs of physical regeneration. 'Artox' and 'Ixion' brands of pure whole wheatmeal are the most perfect I know of at the present time, and delicious bread can easily be made from them if the recipe printed on page 114 is followed.

FOOD CHART

Showing how to obtain sufficient (1) Protein – for body building. (2) Carbohydrates and Fat – for providing heat and energy

A man of average size and weight (10 to 12 stone) doing a moderate amount of physical labour requires about 800 grains of Protein per day (nearly 2 ozs.). Women and sedentary workers require about 1½ ozs. (655 grains), and hard physical labourers about 1000 grains.

TABLE OF FOOD VALUES

Compiled from such authorities as Church, Payer, Letheby, Blyth, Hemmeter, Pavy, Holbrook, Oldfield, Miles, and Broadbent, etc

VEGETARIAN SOUPS

VEGETABLE STOCK

The best stock for vegetable soups is made from haricot beans. Take a pound of these, pick and wash well, and soak for 10 or 12 hours in cold water. Put them in a saucepan with the water in which they were soaked, add a few of the coarser stalks of celery, 1 or 2 chopped Spanish onions, a blade of mace, and a few white peppercorns. If celery is not in season, use celery salt. Bring to a boil, skim, and cook gently for at least 2 hours. Then strain, and use as required.

1. Artichoke Soup

Take 2-lbs. of white artichokes, 3-pts. of water, 3 large onions, a piece of celery (or some celery salt), ¼-pt. of raw cream or 1-pt. of milk. Boil together for 45 minutes, strain through a fine sieve and serve. If cream is used it should not be added until after the soup is cooked.

2. Chestnut Soup

Take 1-lb. chestnuts, 1 or 2 onions, 1½-pints vegetable stock, 1-oz. nut-butter.

Boil the chestnuts for 15 minutes and peel them; put these with the onions (sliced) into a roomy stewpan, with the butter, and fry briskly for 5 minutes; now add the stock, with seasoning to taste, and bring to the boil. Simmer gently until onions and chestnuts are quite soft, and pass all through a hair sieve. Dilute with milk until the consistency of thin cream, and serve with croûtons.

3. Rich Gravy Soup

To 3-pts. of haricot stock add 1 onion and 1 carrot (fried with butter until brown), 1 stick of celery, 2 turnips and 6 peppercorns, and thicken with cornflour. Boil all together for 1 hour, strain, return to saucepan, and add 3 small teaspoons of Marmite. Warm it up, but not to boiling point. Serve with fried bread dice. This soup, if well made, is equal to anything that a French chef can produce.

4. Mock Turtle Soup

Fry 6 good-sized onions in 1-oz. of butter till nicely browned, then add 2 breakfastcups of German lentils, a good handful of spinach leaves, a few capers, about 6 chillies, and 3 pints of water. Let this simmer for 2 or 3 hours, then strain off, add 2 tablespoons of tapioca which has been soaked for an hour or two. Boil till perfectly clear. When ready for serving add salt to taste and 1 teaspoonful of Nutril. Some small custard quenelles should be put in the tureen – made by beating 1 egg in 2-ozs. flour and adding ¼-pt. milk. Bake until firm and cut into dice.

5. Brown Haricot Soup

Boil ½-lb. beans in 2-qts. of water. When the beans crack, add a few tomatoes, 1 leek sliced, or a Spanish onion, and a bunch of herbs. Boil until the vegetables are tender, adding a little more water if necessary. Rub all through a sieve, and return to pan, adding seasoning, a good lump of butter, and the juice of half a small lemon after the soup has boiled. If a richer soup is required add two teaspoonfuls of Nuto-Cream or Marmite just before serving.

6. Tomato Soup

Take a pound of tomatoes, a sliced onion, and 2-ozs. of tapioca (previously soaked for some hours). Boil for an hour, then add salt, pepper, and a little butter. Mix ½-pt. of milk with a teaspoonful of flour; add this to the soup, stir and boil for 5 minutes.

7. Egyptian Lentil Soup

Wash and pick ½-lb. Egyptian lentils and put on to boil in about 1-qt. of water. Add 1 sliced onion, 1 carrot, 1 turnip, a small bunch of herbs, and celery salt, and boil gently about 1 hour. Rub through a sieve, return to pan, add 1-oz. butter and a cupful of milk. Bring to boil and serve.

8. Brazil Nut Soup

Pass 1 pint of shelled Brazil nuts through a nut mill, fry these with one or two chopped onions in 1-oz. of nut-butter, keeping them a pale yellow colour; add 1-oz. flour, and gradually 1½-pts. of white stock; bring slowly to the boil and simmer gently until the onions are soft. Pass through a hair sieve, and dilute with milk.

9. Julienne Soup

Cut some carrots, turnips, onions, celery, and leeks into thin strips, using double quantity of carrots and turnips. Dry them and then fry slowly in 2-ozs. of butter until brown. Add 2-qts. of clear vegetable stock and simmer until tender. Season with salt and a teaspoonful of castor sugar. Chop some chervil or parsley finely, add and serve. The addition of some green peas is an improvement – and also quenelles (see 4).

10. Green Lentil Soup

Fry 5 onions in a large saucepan until brown. Add ¾-lb. of green lentils, 1-qt. water, and 2 sticks of celery. Stew for 2 hours, and pass through a strainer. Add ¼-lb. of cream and ½-pt. of milk, bring to the boil, flavour with salt, and serve.

11. White Soubise Soup

(A French Recipe)

Take 2-ozs. butter, 4 good-sized onions, about 1-pt. cauliflower water, and 1-pt. of milk, sufficient bread (no crust) to very nearly absorb the liquor. Cut up the onions, put into the saucepan with the butter, and cook slowly till tender – it must not be brown. Now add the bread, the cauliflower water, and half the milk, and boil slowly for an hour. Take it off the fire, pass it through a sieve, add the rest of the milk, and heat it again, taking care it does not actually boil, as it may curdle. Serve.

12. Green Pea Soup

One quart shelled peas; 3 pints water; 1 quart milk; 1 onion; 2 tablespoonfuls butter; 1 tablespoonful flour. Salt and pepper to taste.

Put the peas in a stewpan with the boiling water and onion and cook until tender (about half an hour). Pour off water, saving for use later. Mash peas fine, add water in which they were boiled, and rub through purée sieve. Return to saucepan, add flour and butter, beaten together, and the salt and pepper. Gradually add milk, which must be boiling hot. Beat well and cook 10 minutes, stirring frequently. This recipe is useful when green peas are getting old and are not tender enough to be enjoyable if served in the usual way.

13. White Haricot Soup

Stew ½-lb. of beans in 2-qts. of water, adding 5 chopped onions, some chopped celery and a carrot which have been fried in some butter until well cooked; stew until the beans are tender, and strain if clear soup is required, or pass through a sieve for thick soup; add some cream and milk, bring to the boil, flavour with salt, and serve.

14. Marmite Vegetarian Soup

Take a dessertspoonful of Marmite, 1-pt. of water or vegetable stock, a tablespoonful of fine sago or tapioca, a slice or two of any vegetables, with a sprig of parsley and a little salt. Boil the vegetables for a few minutes in the water, skim well, add the sago or tapioca, and boil for an hour or over, then strain; stir the Marmite in and serve hot. A delicious and cheap soup. A gill of milk or cream boiled and added at the end – omit the same measure of water – is an improvement in some cases.

15. Almond Soup

(A nice Summer Soup)

One pint of white stock, 1 pint milk, 1 small breakfastcup of ground almonds, 1-oz. butter, 3-ozs. minced onions, 1-oz. flour. Fry the onion in the butter in a stewpan till a pale yellow colour, stir in the flour, and when well blended, moisten with some of the stock, adding the almonds, broth and milk by degrees till all are exhausted, bring to the boil, skim, and simmer gently for half an hour, pass through a hair sieve. Serve with nicely cooked green peas.

16. Celery Soup

Six heads of celery, 1 teaspoon of salt, a little nutmeg, 1 lump sugar, 1 gill of stock, ½-pint of milk, and two quarts of boiling water.

Cut the celery into small pieces and throw it into the boiling water seasoned with nutmeg, salt and sugar, boil until sufficiently tender, pass it through a sieve, add the stock, and simmer for half-an-hour, then add the milk, bring it up to the boil and serve.

17. Potato Soup

Four middle sized potatoes, a thick slice of bread, 3 leeks peeled and cut into slices, a teacup of rice, salt and pepper to taste, 2 qts. of water.

Bring the water up to boil, then put in all the ingredients except the rice, pepper and salt, cover and let them come to a brisk boil, add the rice and boil slowly for one hour.

18. Pea Soup

Take 1½ pints of split peas and 3 onions. Put the peas to soak overnight, then cook with the onions until quite soft – pass through a sieve, add 1 gill of milk, bring to the boil. Serve with squares of fried bread or toast. Celery, salt, pepper and chopped mint may be added to taste.

19. Mock Hare Soup

Soak some haricot beans over night in boiling water, then stew them for 2 hours in water with 2 onions, salt and pepper. When quite tender pass them through the sieve, add 1-oz. ground walnuts, boil again for 5 minutes, add forced meat balls, and serve.

20. Carrot Soup

Two lbs. carrots, 3-ozs. butter, seasoning to taste, 2 quarts of bean stock or water.

Scrape the carrots, wash and wipe them quite dry, and cut in thick slices; put the butter in a large stewpan and when melted put the carrots in and stew gently for one hour without browning, then add the stock or water and simmer until tender (about an hour). Pass them through the sieve, add the seasoning and boil for 5 minutes; skim well and serve.

21. Onion Soup

Put about 2 doz. small onions in a stewpan with 1-oz. butter, cover and let them stew for about 20 minutes, then add sufficient boiling water to cover them, boil till quite tender, pass through a sieve, boil up again, add the savoury seasoning and 1 gill of milk. A little boiled macaroni chopped up fine may be added before serving.

22. Carnos Soup

Two tablespoons of Carnos in a pint of boiling water makes a very nourishing soup; it may be thickened with rice, vermicelli, spaghetti, etc., if required, and served with fingers of toast.

23. White Windsor Soup

Take 4 breakfastcups of white stock, then add 6 tablespoons of mashed potatoes, and 1-oz. of sago. Stir over the fire till clear, then add 1 breakfastcupful of milk, and a little minced parsley. Let it come to boiling point, but no more. Serve in a very hot tureen.

SUBSTITUTES FOR FISH

24. Mock Scallop Oysters

Scrape some salsify roots, boil them until tender, drain. Beat with wooden spoon to a smooth paste free of fibre. Moisten with cream, add a teaspoonful of butter or a thick white sauce. Serve in fireproof china, or in scallop shells. Put breadcrumbs on top, which have been steeped in butter and browned.

25. Mock Oyster Patties

Make the above mixture, put it into short puff paste made into patties, and bake until a nice brown tint.

26. Green Artichokes

(A substitute for Oysters)

Boil some green artichoke heads until tender (about 1 hour) and serve hot. Mix some French wine vinegar and pure olive oil (one teaspoonful of vinegar to three of oil) with a pinch of salt and pepper.

Strip off the leaves one by one and dip the fleshy ends in the dressing; then scrape off the tender part of the leaf with the teeth. When the leaves are stripped, cut out the centre of the 'crown' and cut off its stalk quite short. Remove the seeds, and the crown itself will then be found a bonne bouche.

27. Fried Chinese Artichokes

Boil the artichokes until tender. After draining, drop them into batter of fine breadcrumbs and egg. Fry crisp and serve with parsley sauce and slices of lemon.

28. Mock Fish Cutlets

Two ozs. rice, 4-ozs. white haricot beans, ½-gill of thick curry sauce, pepper and salt, egg and breadcrumbs.

Make a thick curry sauce, add to it the boiled rice and beans chopped up fine, pepper and salt. Cook together for a few minutes, then turn out on a plate and leave to cool. Form into balls or small flat cakes, dip in egg, then crumbs, and fry in boiling oil.

29. Fillets of Mock Sole

Bring to a boil half a pint of milk, and stir in 2-ozs. of ground rice. Add 1-oz. of butter, a teaspoonful of grated onion, and a pinch of mace; also 3 large tablespoonfuls of potato which has been put through a fine sieve. Mix and let all simmer slowly in the saucepan for 15 minutes. The mixture should be fairly stiff. When removed from the fire, add 1 egg and 1 yolk well beaten. Mix thoroughly, and turn out on a flat dish not quite half an inch thick, and allow it to get quite cold. Then divide into fillet-shaped pieces, brush over with the beaten white of egg, toss in fine breadcrumbs, and fry in plenty of smoking-hot fat. Drain, and serve very hot, garnished with slices of lemon, and with Hollandaise sauce.

30. Mock Fish Roe

Peel and slice 3 or 4 tomatoes, and put in a saucepan with nearly half a pint of water, and some grated onion. Cook until the tomato is soft and smooth; then sprinkle in sufficient maize meal to make the mixture fairly stiff, add pepper and salt and one heaped tablespoonful of grated cheese. Form into fillets or cutlets, and fry in the usual way.

31. Filleted Salsify

Cook some salsify until tender, slice it into quarters lengthways, and cut it into 3-in. lengths; dip in egg and breadcrumbs, and fry crisp; serve with parsley sauce (recipe 164), and garnish with slices of lemon and parsley.

32. Mock White Fish

Boil ½-pt. milk and thicken with rather more than 1-oz. of semolina, to make a little stiffer than for rice mould. Add a lump of butter, salt, a little grated onion and a saltspoonful of mace, and let all cook together for 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Boil 3 potatoes and put through masher, and whilst hot add to the semolina or it will not set well. Pour into dish to stiffen, and when quite cold cut into slices, roll in egg and white breadcrumbs, fry crisp in Nutter and serve with parsley sauce as a fish course. The mixture must be stiff, for the frying softens the semolina again.

33. Mock Hake Steaks

Put in a pan 3-ozs. breadcrumbs, with ½-pint of milk and a pinch of salt. Stir over a slow fire for a few minutes; then add 2-ozs. flour, the yolk of 1 egg, 3-ozs. grated cheese, 1-oz. butter, and a pinch of mace. Cook for fifteen minutes; when quite cold form into fritters, dip in egg and breadcrumbs, and fry in boiling oil till a nice golden brown. Serve with piquante sauce.

SUBSTITUTES FOR MEAT DISHES

34. Walnut Cutlets

Put a small cap of milk and ½-oz. of butter in a saucepan on the fire. When it boils add 3-ozs. of dried and browned breadcrumbs and a little dredging of flour. Let it cook until it no longer adheres to the pan, and remove from the fire. When it is cool add 2 eggs, beating until smooth, a large tablespoonful of shelled walnuts (previously run through the nut mill), seasoning, and a little grated onion juice. Mix well and shape into cakes about ½-in. thick on a floured board. Roll in flour or egg and breadcrumbs, and fry. Serve with walnut gravy, or round a dish of grilled tomatoes.

35. Brown Bean Cutlets

Boil one pint of brown haricot beans until soft, strain and keep the stock; pass the beans through a sieve and add a tablespoonful of chopped parsley, a little grated onion, pepper, salt, a small piece of butter, and, if liked, a few drops of A1 Sauce. Add breadcrumbs until the right consistency is obtained for moulding into cutlet form. Egg, crumb, and fry as usual. Serve with tomato sauce or a rich gravy.

36. Green Pea Cutlets

Green pea cutlets, either fresh or dried, may be made the same way as stated in the previous recipe, substituting a little chopped mint for the parsley and onion, and serving with mint sauce, and a nice brown gravy made from the green pea stock.

37. Haricot Cutlets

Boil 1-pt. of brown or white haricot beans with one or two onions till quite soft, strain and pass through a sieve, add some chopped parsley, a tablespoonful of grated pine kernels, a little tapioca (previously soaked in cold water), pepper and salt and a few breadcrumbs. Mould into cutlets, egg, crumb, and fry. Serve with sliced lemon and parsley sauce, or with brown gravy.

38. Walnut Rissoles

Take ½-pt. ground walnuts, ½-pt. breadcrumbs, 1-oz. butter, 1-oz. flour, a little milk, chopped parsley, and pepper and salt to taste. Make a thick white sauce with butter, flour and milk, add all the other ingredients. Mix well and form into rissoles, dip in egg, then in crumbs, and fry crisp in boiling oil. These may be glazed and eaten cold with a salad and mint sauce.

39. Stuffed Vegetable Marrow

Peel a medium sized marrow, and remove the seeds, keeping the marrow whole. Prepare the following stuffing: —

Mix 2 or 3 chopped and fried onions, 6-ozs. pine kernels (these should be ground and also fried with the onions), 6-ozs. breadcrumbs, pepper and salt, 1 chopped hard boiled egg, and 1 raw egg to bind. Fill the marrow with this mixture, and steam for half an hour to partly cook the marrow. Now place in a baking tin, cover with breadcrumbs, place some small pieces of butter on top, and bake for another half hour until the marrow is quite soft and a nice rich brown. Serve with brown gravy.

40. Purée of Walnuts

Make a white sauce with 1-oz. butter, 1-oz. flour, ½-teacup of milk, add ½-pint of ground walnuts, ½-pint breadcrumbs, and 2 dessertspoons of milk, and beat well. About three-quarters-of-an-hour before serving, add the white of 1 egg stirred in lightly and pour into a mould. Steam for half-an-hour, serve with mashed potatoes.

41. Nut Croquettes

Take ½-pint of mixed and shelled nuts, 4 or 5 mashed potatoes, 1 chopped and fried onion, and a pinch of mace. Chop the nuts, or pass through a nut-mill, and add them to the potato, with the onion and seasoning. Form into croquettes, brush over with egg, and cover with fine breadcrumbs and fry in boiling oil. Serve with bread sauce.

42. Mock Chicken Cutlets

A tasty dish to be served with bread sauce is prepared as follows: – Run through the nut mill 2 cups of breadcrumbs and 1 good cup of shelled walnuts. Mix these together with a small piece of butter, a tablespoonful of grated onion juice, and a teaspoonful of mace. Melt a large teaspoonful of butter in a saucepan, with half a teaspoonful of flour and add gradually 2 cups of fresh milk; when this boils add the other ingredients, salt and pepper to taste, add a beaten egg, and when removed from the fire, a teaspoonful of lemon juice. Stir well and turn out into a dish to cool, then shape into cutlets, dip in egg, then in breadcrumbs, as usual, and fry crisp.

43. Mock Sweetbread Quenelles

Put 1 pint of milk in a saucepan to boil with 1 onion chopped fine, when it boils add 3-ozs. of semolina stirring all the time, boil for 15 minutes, then add 1-oz. of breadcrumbs, 1-oz of butter, 1 egg, pepper and salt to taste. Mix well and steam in a buttered basin for half-an-hour, then cut out in pieces the shape of an egg (with a deep spoon), pile them in the centre of the dish, and pour thick white sauce over them, garnish with green peas, and carrots very finely chopped.

44. White Haricot Cutlets

Skin and stew till quite tender ½-pint of white haricot beans in sufficient water to cover them. Add 2 small onions grated, 1 tablespoon of milk or cream, pepper and salt to taste. Simmer a little longer, and beat till quite smooth. Take off the fire, and add enough breadcrumbs to make fairly firm, form into cutlets, dip in egg, then in crumbs, and fry crisp. Serve with brown or tomato sauce.

45. Lentil Cutlets

Take a teacup of Egyptian lentils; boil them in water sufficient to cover until tender. Add 3 grated onions, some chopped parsley and thyme, and enough breadcrumbs to make a stiff mixture. Turn on to large plates and flatten with a knife. Then cut into eight triangular sections and shape them like small cutlets. When cold, roll in egg, then in breadcrumbs, and fry crisp after inserting small pieces of macaroni into each pointed end. Serve with mint or tomato sauce, and with vegetables.

46. Mushroom Pie, with Gravy

Take ¼-lb. butter beans, ¼-lb. mushrooms, 1-lb. chestnuts, 2 onions, 1 hard boiled egg, 1 teacupful tapioca (soaked overnight), some short crust pastry.

Fill a pie dish with alternate layers of above ingredients, with seasoning to taste; the onions and mushrooms should be fried, the chestnuts boiled and peeled, the butter beans cooked the day before until quite soft, and the egg cut into slices. Cover with the pastry made as follows: – ½-lb. of flour, ¼-lb. nut butter, mixed with cold water. Brush over with beaten egg and bake.

Gravy. Melt 1-oz. of butter in a saucepan, stir in a tablespoon of flour, and cook till a rich dark brown, stirring all the time, add half-a-pint of vegetable stock and being to the boil. Before serving add half-a-teaspoonful of Marmite.

47. Baked Nuttoria

Open a tin of Nuttoria, cut into slices ½-inch in thickness, bake for an hour, well dressed with butter. Serve with vegetables and with rich gravy made from brown haricot beans, thickened with arrowroot, and flavoured with fried onion and a good piquant sauce (such as Brand's A1). Yorkshire pudding makes a suitable addition.

48. Lentil Croquettes

Wash, pick and cook ¼-lb. lentils, with 1 or 2 onions to flavour. When cooked, add about 5-ozs. wholemeal breadcrumbs, a teaspoonful parsley, nutmeg, mace, salt and pepper, and 1 egg beaten. Mix well, and when cold form into balls. Dip in egg, then crumbs, and fry a golden brown. Serve with onion sauce and gravy.

49. Protose Cutlets

Pound a tin of Protose with 1-oz. of fresh butter, some grated onion juice, parsley, thyme, salt and pepper, a few breadcrumbs, and a few drops of lemon juice. Roll the mixture on a floured board until about ½-inch thick, shape into cutlets, roll in egg, then in crumbs and fry. As Protose does not require previous cooking this is a very quickly prepared dish, and if a few tins are kept in stock it is always handy for emergencies. The cutlets may be fried without egg and breadcrumbs, simply rolled in a little flour, if one is very pressed for time. Serve with tomato or onion sauce, or a rich gravy.

50. Savoury Nut-Meat Steaks

Cut some slices of Protose about 3/8-inch thick, and bake in a tin, basted with butter, for an hour. Roll in egg, then in crumbs, and fry in butter for a few minutes. Serve with fried forcemeat balls, red currant jelly, and brown haricot gravy flavoured with fried onion, cloves and some piquant sauce, thickened with arrowroot. Masked potatoes (placed round) complete this dish.

51. Nut-Meat à la Mode

Take a tin of Nuttoria (½-lb.) and pass it through the nut-mill. Beat the whites and yolks of 4 eggs separately. Mix these with the nut-meat, adding 2-ozs. stale brown breadcrumbs, some grated onion, chopped parsley and herbs. Press into a basin and steam until well cooked. Serve with white parsley sauce thickened with arrowroot. This dish tastes exactly as if it were made with minced beef.

52. Nut-Meat Rissoles

Put some Protose, Fibrose (brown), Nuttoria, or other nut-meat through the nut-mill before cooking. Fry slowly with some chopped onion. Cover with brown stock, and cook slowly until nearly all the gravy is absorbed. Then add breadcrumbs, herbs, seasoning, and a little butter, stir thoroughly over the fire, and set aside on a plate to cool. Form the mixture into small rolls, dip in egg, roll in breadcrumbs, and fry. Garnish with parsley, and serve with onion sauce or brown gravy.

53. Jugged Nuttose

Bake some Nuttose (dressed with butter) for half-an-hour, in slices half-an-inch thick; then dip in egg and breadcrumbs, and fry. Also make some forcemeat balls by rubbing ½-oz. of butter in 5-ozs. of breadcrumbs, adding chopped lemon thyme, lemon peel and parsley, some pepper and salt, and 1 egg to bind; fry very brown. Cut up the Nuttose in quarter pieces and stew slowly in remainder of the bean stock with about 10 cloves. Garnish with sprays of parsley and the forcemeat balls. Serve with red currant jelly and mashed potatoes.

54. Nuttose Ragout

A good way to prepare Nuttose is as follows: – Fry a teaspoonful of butter until quite brown, add flour until it absorbs the butter, add gradually any vegetable stock until a nice rich gravy results. Bring to the boil and add very thin slices of Nuttose. Stew very slowly for 1 hour, adding some Worcester or other sauce to taste. Garnish with mashed potatoes and serve with a green vegetable.

55. Minced Nut-meat

Prepare a tin of Protose or other nut-meat by running it through a mincing machine, or mashing it with a fork, and stewing it in vegetable gravy. Serve with a border of green peas or beans, and with mashed potatoes placed round the outside of the dish. It is also nice served as follows, viz.: – Prepare as for minced meat. Boil a cupful of rice as for curry. When cooked stir in one teaspoonful of tomato sauce and seasoning. Put the mince in the centre of the dish with a wall of the rice and tomato round it.

56. Lentil and Potato Sausages

Boil 5-ozs. lentils in very little water, so that when cooked all water is absorbed, then add 1 chopped and fried onion, a tiny pinch of herbs, pepper and salt, 4 boiled and mashed potatoes, and the yolk of 1 egg. Allow to cool a little, then flour the hands, and form into sausage shape. Brush over with white of egg and fry in boiling oil. Decorate with parsley and serve with a border of green peas.