Rice Balls, With Custard

One cupful of rice. Two and a-half cupfuls of milk. One tea-spoonful of salt. Jelly for decorating.

Wash the rice well, and soak it for an hour in enough water to cover it. Pour off the water, add the milk, and cook for an hour in a double boiler; then put in the salt, and cook half an hour longer. Dip small custard cups into cold water, "fill them with the cooked rice, and set them where they will become cold. At serving time turn the mounds of rice out upon a flat dish, and after putting a bit of bright jelly upon each, pour about them a soft custard, which will have been made by the following recipe :

Soft Custard

One quart of milk.

Four eggs (yolks).

One-half cupful of sugar.

One table-spoonful of corn-starch.

One tea-spoonful of vanilla.

One-quarter tea-spoonful of salt.

Beat the yolks light, and add to them two table-spoonfuls of the cold milk. Thoroughly mix two table-spoonfuls of the milk with the corn-starch, and add the eggs. Place the rest of the milk on the fire in a double boiler, and when it is hot, stir in the mixture of egg and cornstarch. Cook the whole for five minutes, stirring well; then remove the custard from the fire, add the salt, and when cold, flavor with vanilla. This is a cheap custard, and it is not, of course, as good as if made wholly of eggs, in which case the yolks of six eggs should be used and the corn-starch omitted. The rice may be served hot and the custard cold, if desired.

How To Boil Puddings

Puddings may be boiled in a bowl, a mould or a cloth. The mould should have a closely fitting top and be well buttered, top and all, before the batter is poured in. Pudding moulds are usually made with hasps or other fastenings, but if these are lacking, tie the cover down securely. A tin pail may be used in an emergency; but in such a case the top of the pudding should first be covered with a cloth that has been wrung from hot water and well dredged with flour, and the cover of the pail should then be put on securely. If a bowl is used, butter it well, and tie a flannel cloth tightly over the top. The cloth should be wrung out of hot water, so the flour will adhere to it thickly. But whatever utensil is used in which to boil a pudding, it should only be two-thirds full when the pudding is first put in : this is to allow for the increase in size caused by the boiling. A pudding bag should be made with felled seams at the sides and bottom, the better to exclude the water. When about to use it, wring the bag out of hot water, turn it inside out, and dust it very thickly with flour on both sides. Turn it back again, put in the pudding, and tie the top of the bag securely. The water in the kettle must be boiling when the pudding is put into it and should not cease boiling for one instant until the pudding is done. The bag, mould or bowl should be turned several times under the water to prevent it sticking to the kettle. The bag should be entirely covered with water, but if a mould is used, the water need not reach quite to its top.

When the proper time of boiling is finished, remove the mould or bag from the water, plunge it instantly into cold water, and then turn it out. without losing a second. This prevents sticking, and causes the mould to make a clearer impression upon the pudding. Boiled puddings must always be served immediately, or they will soon grow heavy. Many of the puddings that are baked can be more successfully boiled, but twice as much time is required for boiling as for baking.