This is a paste made from the purest wheat flour and water; it is generally known as a rather luxurious dish among the wealthy; but it should become one of the chief foods of the people, for it contains more gluten, or the nutritious portion of wheat, than bread. It is one of the most wholesome and economical of foods, and can be varied so as to give a succession of palatable dishes at a very small cost. The imported macaroni can be bought at Italian stores for about fifteen cents a pound; and that quantity when boiled yields nearly four times its bulk, if it has been manufactured for any length of time. Good macaroni is yellow or brownish in color; white sorts are always poor. It should never be soaked or washed before boiling, or put into cold or lukewarm water; wipe it carefully, break it in whatever lengths you want it, and put it into boiling water, to every quart of which half a tablespoonful of salt is added; you can boil an onion with it if you like the flavor; as soon as it is tender enough to yield easily when pressed between the fingers, drain it in a colander, saving its liquor for the next day's broth, and lay it in cold water until you want to use it. When more macaroni has been boiled than is used it can be kept perfectly good by laying it in fresh water, which must be changed every day.

After boiling the macaroni as above, you can use it according to any of the following directions. Half a pound of uncooked macaroni will make a large dishful.

Macaroni, Farmers' Style

Boil half a pound of macaroni as above, and while you are draining it from the cold water, stir together over the fire one ounce each of butter and flour, and as soon as they bubble gradually pour into the sauce they make, a pint of boiling water, beating it with a fork or egg whip until it is smooth; season it with a level teaspoonful of salt and a level saltspoonful of pepper, and put the macaroni in it to heat; then cut an onion in small shreds, and brown it over the fire in a very little fat; when both are done dish the macaroni, and pour the onion out of the frying pan upon it. It is excellent; and ten cents will cover the cost of all of it.

Macaroni With Broth

Put half a pound of macaroni, boiled as above and washed in cold water, over the fire with any kind of broth, or one pint of cold gravy and water; season it to taste with pepper and salt, and let it heat slowly for an hour, or less if you. are in a hurry; then lay it on a flat dish, strew over it a few bread crumbs, which you will almost always have on hand if you save all the bits I speak of in the article on bread; then set the dish in the oven, or in front of the fire to brown. It will cost less than ten cents, and be delicious and very hearty.

Macaroni With White Sauce

Warm half a pound of macaroni, boiled and washed in cold water, as above, in the following sauce, and use it as soon as it is hot. Stir together over the fire one ounce each of butter and flour, pouring in one pint of boiling water and milk, as soon as the butter and flour are mixed; season it with salt and pepper to taste, and put the macaroni into it. This dish costs less than ten cents, and is very good and wholesome.

Macaroni With Cheese

Boil half a pound of macaroni, as above, put into a pudding dish in layers with quarter of a pound of cheese, (cost four cents,) grated and mixed between the layers; season it with pepper and salt to taste; put a very little butter and some bread crumbs over it, and brown it in the oven. It will make just as hearty and strengthening a meal as meat, and will cost about twelve cents.

Macaroni Milanaise Style

Have ready some sauce, made according to the receipt for Tomato Sauce given below, or use some fresh tomatoes passed through a sieve with a wooden spoon, and highly seasoned, and two ounces of grated cheese; put half a pound of imported Italian macaroni, (cost eight cents,) in three quarts of boiling water, with two tablespoonfuls of salt, one saltspoonful of pepper, and a teaspoonful of butter, (cost one cent;) boil rapidly for about twenty minutes, then drain it in a colander, run plenty of cold water from the faucet through it, and lay it in a pan of cold water until you are ready to use it. Put into a sauce-pan one gill of tomato sauce, (cost two cents,) one ounce of butter, (cost two cents,) and one gill of any meat gravy free from fat, and stir until they are smoothly blended: put a half inch layer of macaroni on the bottom of a dish, moisten it with four tablespoonfuls of the sauce, sprinkle over it half an ounce of the grated cheese; make three other layers like this, using all the macaroni, cheese, and sauce, and brown the macaroni in a hot oven for about five minutes; serve it hot. It will cost about thirteen cents.

Macaroni With Tomato Sauce

Boil half a pound of macaroni as already directed, and lay it in cold water. Make a tomato sauce as follows, and dress the macaroni with it, using only enough to moisten it, and sprinkling the top with an ounce of grated cheese, (cost one cent;) serve it hot.

Tomato Sauce

Boil together for one hour quarter of a can of tomatoes, or six large fresh ones, (cost five cents,) one gill of broth of any kind, one sprig of thyme, one sprig of parsley, three whole cloves, three peppercorns, and half an ounce of onion sliced; (cost two cents;) rub them through a sieve with a wooden spoon, and set the sauce to keep hot; mix together over the fire one ounce of butter, and half an ounce of flour, (cost two cents,) and when smooth incorporate with the tomato sauce. The cost of the tomato sauce will be about ten cents, and of the entire dish about eighteen cents. If you do not wish to use all the tomato sauce, and you do not need to, save it to use with fried chops of any kind.