Fifteen-Minute Meals for Midsummer
MARY JANE McCLURE
When meal-time comes in midsummer, the housewife is seized with a langorous disinclination to go into the hot kitchen and cook. The mere thought of preparing the meal drives away the appetite. The up-to-date, commencement de siecle housewife is prepared for occasions of this sort. Her larder is stocked with materials which make it possible for her to prepare an appetizing meal on short notice, with never a thought of sweltering and broiling over a hot kitchen stove.
FROZEN BEEF DAINTIES
One of the greatest secrets of quick-meal cookery is hidden in the little jar of Armour’s Extract of Beef. It has proved to be one of the most successful beauty remedies on the market, for it smooths away wrinkles of worry and care more effectually than a massage roller, and replaces them with smiles of happiness which transform the woman before the stove into a laughing Hebe.
American women do not place a proper value upon Extract of Beef. They consider it merely a part of invalid diet. They will cook a shin of beef for hours in an effort to secure the essence of it, when they could buy the soul of the shin ready to be transmuted into delicious dainties with the mere addition of hot water. Italian, German and French women give Extract of Beef the place of honor in their kitchen closet. They know that it doubles the resources of the woman who desires to have things taste a little better than “ Mother used to make.” A jar of Extract of Beef (if it is Armour’s) is a necessary concomitant of things culinary— soups, entrees, roasts or vegetables. It is so concentrated from the richest and best of beef that it is spicy with the absolutely pure beef flavor. Just a bit of it on the tip of a spoon transforms an insipid dish into a gastronomical delight.
I have found that Armour’s Extract of Beef solves the summer soup problem. On a hot day the stomach rebels at the very thought of steaming dishes. One eats more from a sense of duty than because of real hunger. Iced bouillon or consomme teases the flagging appetite Into activity and satisfies that gnawing feeling in the pit of the stomach which is at the same time hunger and disgust. The bouillon may be made in the morning and set away until dinner time is at hand. Make it this way:
ICED BOUILLON
Three teaspoonfuls of Armour’s Extract of Beef.
Two quarts of hot water.
One sprig of parsley.
One tablespoonful of salt
One-half bay leaf.
One-fourth tablespoonful of whole pepper.
One tablespoonful of butter.
One-fourth cup each of carrots, onions and celery cut in dice.
To the boiling water add the Extract, vegetables and seasonings ; cook 30 minutes. Strain, and when cool add a small quantity of sherry or Madeira wine. Chill and serve cold. If the wine is not desired it may be omitted without detracting materially from the palatability of the bouillon; but it will be found to give a tantalizing flavor which will add greatly to its merits as a hot weather appetite-tempter.
Frozen Beef Tea is another novel mid-summer tit-bit. Make it in the proportions of one-fourth teaspoon of Armour’s Extract of Beef to each cupful of hot water. Season it with salt and pepper to taste. Add to it a small quantity of gelatine previously dissolved in water, and set the mixture on ice until it is jellied. Serve very cold in place of soup.
Aspic Jelly seems peculiarly a part of hot weather cookery. To make it, take;
One teaspoonful of Armour’s Extract of Beef.
One-half package of acidulated gelatine.
One pint of hot water.
One cup of cold water.
One-half cup of sherry wine.
Two teaspoonfuls of sugar.
Cover the gelatine with cold water; let it stand for five minutes, then add the hot water, sugar and wine. Strain and put into a mold until cold. Use as a garnish for salads or entrees.