Food Value Of Cheese

Compared with other foods, cheese ranks high in nutriment value. It contains nearly twice as much protein, weight for weight, as beef of average composition, and its fuel value is twice as great. It is also rich in fat, excelling beef, eggs, milk, bread and potatoes. It is an error to consider cheese difficult of digestion. In this respect it ranks favorably with other staple foods, and is quite as thoroughly assimilated as others. Cheese should be a favorite with the housekeeper who wishes to furnish nourishing meals at low cost.

Cheese Fondue

1 cup cheese cut into small pieces. 1 cup milk. 3 eggs. 1 cup soft stale bread crumbs. 1/2 teaspoon salt.

Scald the milk and add the bread crumbs. Beat the egg yolks; add these and the cheese and salt. Lastly, fold in the egg whites beaten stiff. Bake 20 minutes in a moderate oven. Serve at once.

Creole Rice

1 cup rice. 1 large onion, sliced. 1/2 cup cheese grated. 2 tablespoons chopped parsley. 2 cups canned tomatoes.

Wash rice and boil 30 minutes in 2 quarts boiling salted water. Drain. Grease a baking dish. Place 1/2 the rice in the bottom. Cover with tomato, parsley and onion. Add the remaining rice and sprinkle the grated cheese on top. Place in the oven to brown the cheese.

Macaroni

Macaroni or spaghetti, when prepared with milk, cheese or eggs, should not be accompanied in the menu with meat. These dishes contain sufficient proteid. The most popular dish of macaroni is au gratin.

Macaroni Au Gratin

2 cups macaroni. 2 cups milk. 2 tablespoons butter. 1 teaspoon salt. 1/2 cup cheese grated. 1 tablespoon flour.

Boil the macaroni 45 minutes, drain and stand in cold water 15 minutes. Make a sauce of the butter, flour, salt and milk. Put a layer of macaroni into a buttered baking dish, then a layer of sauce and cheese, then macaroni again, and so on in layers, until the dish is full, reserving enough of the cheese to cover the top. Brown in the oven. As a variation melt the cheese in the sauce; add macaroni, pour into dish and place crumbs upon the top.

Macaroni With Tomato Sauce

Prepare the dish as macaroni au gratin, using tomato sauce instead of the white sauce. To make tomato sauce, let the tomatoes from 1 can stew slowly with 1 onion sliced, 3 sprigs of parsley and 1 bay leaf. When reduced one-half, strain and use.

Lentils

Lentils contain a high percentage of proteids, or muscle-building material. They are grown largely in Europe, where they form the main fare of the peasants. Usually they are to be found in our markets dried. One pound of lentils is sufficient for a meal for six persons.

Lentil Puree

When made thick, this soup, supplemented with bread and butter, is almost a meal in itself. Wash 1 cup of lentils, soak several hours, then boil slowly until the skins break, allowing the liquor to become reduced to 1 pint. Press all through a strainer, add salt, 1 tablespoon catsup, 1 tablespoon butter, or other fat, and hot milk to thin to desired consistency.

Lentils Baked

Wash 1 cup of lentils and soak in 2 quarts of cold water over night. In the morning put the lentils on to boil in cold water. Boil slowly until they can be pierced with a needle. The length of time will depend upon the age of the legumes. Drain the lentils, saving the water for soup, and place in a greased baking dish, with 2 large tablespoons of drippings, salt, pepper, 1 tablespoon of vinegar, and 1 tablespoon of sugar. Bake in the oven until tender.

Lentil Croquettes

Wash, soak and boil the lentils as in the preceding recipe, allowing them to boil until quite tender. Strain and press through a sieve. To the pulp add 1/2 cup of the liquor in which they were boiled, 1/2 teaspoon salt, a dash of pepper, 2 tablespoons of drippings, 1 tablespoon parsley, chopped fine. Beat well and mould into croquettes, adding milk if the mixture appears too dry. A well-beaten egg is an improvement. When firm, roll the croquettes in fine dry crumbs, dip in egg (1 slightly-beaten egg and 2 tablespoons cold water), then in crumbs again and fry. The covering serves to form a shell which prevents the croquettes from soaking fat.

Split Pea Soup

Soak 2 cups of split peas over night. In the morning place over the fire in 2 quarts of water, with a good-sized onion cut into slices. Allow to simmer until quite tender. Add 1 cup of milk, 1 tablespoon butter, pepper, and salt, and serve.

Savory Black Soup

Soak over night 1 pint black beans and 1 pint lentils. Next day boil them (water enough to cover) for 4 hours with 1 onion and 1 stalk of okra. Then mash all together through a colander. Tie up in a piece of cheesecloth a little thyme, summer savory and parsley, and let boil in the strained soup for 10 minutes. Add a tablespoon of butter, salt and pepper.

Peanut Dumpling

Make a pastry as for apple dumplings. Cut into squares, butter each, sprinkle with sugar and a few shelled roasted peanuts. Fold over the dough. Tie each dumpling in a cloth, drop into boiling water and cook 20 minutes. Serve with sweet sauce.