From the 1881 book, Miss Parloa’s New Cook Book and Marketing Guide.

EDITORS NOTE: This article is decorated with drawings from the “Kitchen Furnishing” chapter.

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Hominy.

Wash a cupful of hominy in two waters; then stir it into one quart of boiling water, with a teaspoonful of salt, and boil from thirty to sixty minutes. The latter time is the better.

Be careful that the hominy does not burn. It can be used more than oatmeal, as it is good with any kind of meat. It is appropriate for any meal, and is nice eaten warm or cold with milk.

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Oatmeal.

Oatmeal, Indian meal and hominy all require two things for perfection—plenty of water when put on to boil, and a long time for boiling.

Have about two quarts of boiling water in a large stew-pan, and into it stir a cupful of oatmeal, which has been wet with cold water.

Boil one hour, stirring often, and then add half a spoonful of salt, and boil an hour longer.

If it should get too stiff, add more boiling water; or, if too thin, boil a little longer. You cannot boil too much. The only trouble in cooking oatmeal is that it takes a long time, but surely this should not stand in the way when it is so much better for having the extra time.

If there is not an abundance of water at first the oatmeal will not be very good, no matter how much maybe added during the cooking. Cracked wheat is cooked in the same way.

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English Muffins.

- one quart of flour,
- one teaspoonful of salt,
- one-third of a cake of compressed yeast, or one-third of a cupful of liquid yeast;
- one cupful and a half of water.

Have the water blood warm. Dissolve the yeast in one-third of a cupful of cold water. Add it and the salt to the warm water, and gradually stir into the flour. Beat the dough thoroughly; cover, and let it rise in a warm place until it is spongy (about five hours).

Sprinkle the bread board with flour. Shape the dough into balls about twice the size of an egg, and drop them on the floured board.

When all the dough has been shaped, roll the balls into cakes about one-third of an inch thick. Lay these on a warm griddle, which has been lightly greased, and put the griddle on the back of the stove, where there is not much heat.

When the cakes have risen a little, draw the griddle forward and cook them slowly, turning often, to keep the flat shape. It will take about twenty minutes for them to rise on the griddle, and fifteen to cook. Tear them apart, butter them, and serve.

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Muffins, No. 1.

- one quart of flour,
- two cupfuls of milk,
- half a cupful of sugar,
- two eggs,
- two teaspoonfuls of cream of tartar,
- one teaspoonful of soda,
- half a teaspoonful of salt,
- butter the size of an egg.

Mix the other dry ingredients with the flour, and rub through a sieve.

Melt the butter with four table-spoonfuls of boiling water.

Beat the eggs light, and add the milk. Stir into the flour, and add the butter. Beat thoroughly.

Bake in buttered muffin pans from twenty-five to thirty minutes, in a quick oven.

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Muffins, No. 2.

- one cupful of milk,
- one cupful of flour,
- one teaspoonful of sugar,
- a scant half teaspoonful of salt,
- two eggs

Beat the eggs light, and add the milk, salt and sugar. Pour gradually on the flour. Beat till light and smooth.

Pour into buttered muffin pans and bake in a hot oven for twenty minutes.

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Raised Muffins.

- one pint of warm milk,
- half a cake of compressed yeast, or half a cupful of liquid yeast;
- one quart of flour,
- one tablespoonful of butter.

Beat two eggs well, and add them and the salt, butter and yeast to the milk. Stir gradually into the flour.

Beat until the batter is light and smooth. Let it rise four hours in a warm place.

Fill buttered muffin pans two-thirds to the top with the batter, and let them stand until the batter has risen to the brim. Bake half an hour.

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Graham Muffins.

Into a bowl put:
- one and a half pints of Graham,
- half a cupful of sugar, and
- a teaspoonful of salt.

Into a sieve put:
- half a pint of flour,
- a teaspoonful of saleratus and
- two of cream of tartar.

Mix thoroughly with the flour, and sift on to the material in the bowl.

Mix all thoroughly while dry, and add two well-beaten eggs and a pint of milk. Fill muffin cups about two-thirds to the top, and bake in a quick oven.

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Raised Graham Muffins.

These are made the same as Graham bread. Fill tin muffin pans two-thirds to the brim and let the mixture rise to the top. This will take an hour. Bake in a rather quick oven for twenty minutes.

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Corn Muffins.

- one pint of flour,
- one pint of Indian meal,
- one-third of a cupful of sugar,
- one teaspoonful of soda,
- two teaspoonfuls of cream of tartar,
- two eggs,
- a pint of milk,
- one table-spoonful of melted butter.

Mix the dry ingredients together, and sift them. Beat the eggs light, add the milk to them, and stir into the dry ingredients. Bake twenty minutes in buttered muffin pans. Two dozen muffins can be made with the quantities given.

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Fried Indian Muffins.

- one pint of Indian meal,
- one pint of boiling water,
- two eggs,
- one teaspoonful of salt,
- one table-spoonful of sugar,
- one heaping table-spoonful of flour.

Pour the boiling water gradually on the meal, salt and sugar. Beat thoroughly, and set away in a cool place.

In the morning add the eggs, well beaten, and the flour. Dip a table-spoon in cold milk, fill it with batter, and drop this into boiling fat. Cook ten minutes.

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Corn Cake.

- one quart of milk,
- one pint of Indian meal,
- two eggs,
- one teaspoonful of salt,
- butter the size of an English walnut.

Let the milk come to a boil, and gradually pour it on the meal. Add the butter and salt, and beat well, and set away in a cool place. Do this at night.

In the morning beat thoroughly. Beat the eggs well, and add them.

Pour the mixture into buttered deep earthen plates. Bake from twenty to thirty minutes. Success depends upon a good beating of the cake in the morning.

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Corn Cake, No. 2.

- two tea-cupfuls of corn meal,
- one of flour,
- three of sour milk,
- two eggs,
- one table-spoonful of sugar, or of molasses, if you prefer;
- one teaspoonful of soda,
- one of salt.

Mix together the sugar, salt, meal and flour.

Beat the eggs light.

Dissolve the soda in two table-spoonfuls of boiling water, and pour into the sour milk. Stir well, and add to the other mixed ingredients. Add the eggs, and mix thoroughly.

Pour into buttered tins to the depth of about an inch and a half. Bake twenty-five minutes in a quick oven.

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Raised Corn Cake.

- one pint of Indian meal,
- one pint and a half of boiling milk or water,
- one table-spoonful of sugar,
- two table-spoonfuls of butter,
- an egg,
- one teaspoonful of salt,
- one-fourth of a cake of compressed yeast, or one-fourth of a cupful of liquid yeast.

Pour the boiling milk, gradually, on the meal; then add the salt, sugar and butter, and beat well. Set away to cool.

When blood warm, add the compressed yeast, dissolved in two table-spoonfuls of cold water, or the liquid yeast, and the egg, well beaten.

Let the batter rise five hours. Turn into buttered pans to the depth of about two inches. Let it stand in a warm place for half an hour, and then bake it from thirty-five to forty-five minutes.

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Thin Corn Cake.

- one cupful of Indian meal,
- one-fourth of a teaspoonful of salt,
- butter the size of an egg,
- one cupful and a half of boiling water,
- one teaspoonful of sugar.

Pour the boiling water on the meal, sugar and salt. Beat thoroughly. Add the butter, and, when well mixed, spread very thin on buttered tin sheets. Bake slowly for about twenty minutes.

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Rye Muffins.

- one pint of rye meal, not flour;
- one pint of wheat flour,
- one pint of milk,
- half a cupful of sugar,
- one teaspoonful of salt,
- one teaspoonful of soda,
- two teaspoonful of cream of tartar and
- two eggs.

Put the meal in a mixing bowl. Put the flour and other ingredients in a sieve, and mix thoroughly, and sift.

Beat the eggs light. Add the milk to them and pour on the dry ingredients.

Beat well. Butter the muffin tins and bake twenty minutes in a quick oven.

The quantities given will make twenty-four muffins. To make a less quantity, divide the dry mixture after it is prepared (it can be used whenever it may be wanted if it is kept dry); then halve the other ingredients.

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Fried Rye Muffins.

- one cupful and a half of rye meal,
- one cupful and a half of flour,
- one cupful of milk,
- two eggs,
- one teaspoonful of soda,
- two teaspoonfuls of cream of tartar,
- two generous table-spoonfuls of sugar,
- half a teaspoonful of salt.

Put the meal in a large bowl. Put the flour, cream of tartar, soda, sugar and salt in the sieve, and rub through on to the meal.

Beat the eggs well, add the milk to them, and stir into the dry ingredients. Fry the same as Indian muffins.

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Rice Muffins.

- one pint of milk,
- one quart of flour,
- one pint of boiled rice,
- three eggs,
- two table-spoonfuls of sugar,
- one teaspoonful of salt,
- one of soda,
- two of cream of tartar.

Mix the sugar, salt, soda and cream of tartar with the flour, and rub through a sieve.

Beat the eggs and add to the milk. Stir gradually into the flour. When a smooth, light paste, add the rice.

Beat thoroughly. Bake thirty-five minutes in buttered pans. Three dozen muffins can be made from the quantities given.

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Raised Rice Muffins.

- one pint of warm milk,
- two cupfuls of warm boiled rice,
- one quart of bread flour,
- one teaspoonful of salt,
- two tablespoonfuls of butter,
- one-third of a cake of compressed yeast.

Mix the butter, rice and milk together. Pour the mixture on the flour, and beat till a light batter is formed.

Mix the yeast with four table-spoonfuls of cold water, and add it and the salt to the batter, which let rise over night in a cool place.

In the morning fill buttered muffin pans two-thirds to the top, and set them in a warm place till the batter has so risen as to fill the tins. Bake thirty-five minutes. One-third of a cupful of liquid yeast may be substituted for the compressed yeast.

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Hominy Muffins.

- one pint of milk,
- one quart of Haxall flour,
- one teaspoonful of salt,
- two table-spoonfuls of butter,
- one-third of a cake of compressed yeast, or one-third of a cupful of liquid yeast;
- half a cupful of hominy, measured before cooking.

Wash the hominy, and add a pint of boiling water. Boil one hour, stirring often.

Then add the milk, salt, yeast and butter. Pour this, gradually, on the flour, beating well. Let it rise over night.

In the morning put in buttered muffin pans and let rise from half to three-quarters of an hour. Bake thirty-five minutes. The muffins may be put to rise in the morning for tea.

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Gems.

- one pint of flour,
- one pint of milk,
- an egg,
- half a teaspoonful of salt.
Beat the egg until light, add the milk and salt to it, and beat, gradually, into the flour. Bake twenty minutes in hot gem pans. A dozen cakes can be made with the quantities given.

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Hominy Drop-Cakes.

- one pint of fresh boiled hominy (or, cold hominy may be used; if the latter, break into grains, as lightly as possible, with a fork, and heat in a farina kettle without adding water),
- one table-spoonful of water,
- two eggs—whites and yolks beaten separately.

Stir the yolks into the hominy first, then the whites, and a teaspoonful of salt, if the horniny has not been salted in cooking; or, if it has, use half a teaspoonful.

Drop, in table-spoonfuls, on well-buttered tin sheets, and bake to a good brown in a quick oven.}

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Squash Biscuit.

- one cupful and a half of sifted squash,
- half a cupful of sugar,
- half a cake of compressed yeast, or half a cupful of liquid yeast;
- one cupful of milk,
- half a teaspoonful of salt,
- four table-spoonfuls of butter,
- five cupfuls of flour.

Dissolve the yeast in a scant half cupful of cold water. Mix it and the milk, butter, sugar, salt and squash together, and stir into the flour. Knead well, and let it rise over night.

In the morning shape into biscuits. Let these rise an hour and a half, and bake them half an hour.

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Sally Lunn.

- one quart of flour,
- one generous pint of milk,
- two tablespoonfuls of sugar,
- two eggs,
- three table-spoonfuls of butter,
- one teaspoonful of salt,
- half a cake of compressed yeast.

Have the milk blood warm, and add the butter, melted; the eggs, well beaten; and the yeast, dissolved in three tablespoonfuls of cold water.

Pour, gradually, on the flour, and beat into a smooth batter; then add the salt and sugar.

Butter baking pans, and pour in the batter to the depth of about two inches. Let it rise two hours in a warm place. Bake half an hour.

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Snow Pancakes.

- half a pint of milk,
- an egg,
- an apple, pared, quartered, and chopped very fine;
- a cupful and a half of flour,
- one-fourth of a teaspoonful of salt,
- a bowl of snow.

Beat the egg light, and add the milk to it. Pour gradually on the flour, and beat until smooth and light.

Add the apple and salt, and at the last moment the snow. Drop by spoonfuls into boiling fat, and cook until a rich brown.

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Waffles.

- one pint of sifted flour,
- milk enough to make a thin batter (about two-thirds of a pint),
- two eggs, beaten very light;
- a table-spoonful of melted butter, and
- a little salt.

Gradually mix the milk with the flour until there is a smooth paste then add the salt and butter, and lastly the eggs.

Have waffle irons about as hot as a griddle for cakes, and butter them well, or grease with pork as you would a griddle. Pour in enough of the batter to cover an iron, and put the other side gently down upon it.

Keep over the fire about half a minute; then turn over, and let the other side remain to the fire the same time. Remove, and place the waffles where they will keep warm until enough are cooked to serve.

Many people butter the waffles as they place them on the dish, and others add sugar. This is very well if known to be to the taste of the family, but it is always safe to let each suit himself at the table.

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Waffles, No. 2.

- one pint of milk,
- two eggs,
- two table-spoonfuls of butter,
- one teaspoonful of cream of tartar,
- half a teaspoonful of soda,
- one scant pint and a half of flour.

Mix the other dry ingredients with the flour, and rub through a sieve.

Beat the eggs very light. Add the milk and the butter, which should be melted with two table-spoonfuls of boiling water. Stir into the flour.

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Raised Waffles.

- one pint of milk,
- one pint and a half of flour,
- an egg,
- a teaspoonful of salt,
- one-fourth of a yeast cake, or one-fourth of a cupful of liquid yeast.
Dissolve the yeast in two tablespoonfuls of cold water.
Have the milk blood warm, and add to it the yeast, salt and the egg, well beaten. Stir gradually into the flour.
Cover, and let it rise four hours. Cook as usual.

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Indian Waffles.

- half a cupful of Indian meal,
- two cupfuls of boiling milk,
- two eggs,
- one generous cupful of flour,
- one table-spoonful of butter,
- half a teaspoonful of baking powder,
- half a teaspoonful of salt.

Pour the boiling milk on the meal and butter. Beat well, and set away to cool.

Mix the other dry ingredients with the flour, and sift. Beat the eggs, and add them and the flour to the cold mixture.

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Rice Waffles.

Stir two cupfuls of boiled rice into the mixture for waffles, No. 2. Hominy waffles can be made in the same way.

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Flannel Cakes.

- one cupful of Indian meal,
- two of flour,
- three of boiling milk,
- one-fourth of a yeast cake, or one-fourth of a cupful of liquid yeast;
- one teaspoonful of salt,
- one table-spoonful of sugar,
- two table-spoonful of butter.

Have the milk boiling, and pour it on the meal and butter.

When cool, add the flour, salt, sugar and the yeast, which has been dissolved in four tablespoonfuls of cold water. Let the mixture rise over night.

Fry like griddle-cakes.

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Graham Griddle-Cakes.

- two cupfuls of Graham,
- one cupful of flour,
- two and a half cupfuls of milk,
- one table-spoonful of sugar,
- one teaspoonful of salt,
- one teaspoonful of cream of tartar,
- half a teaspoonful of soda,
- two eggs.

Let half the milk come to a boil. Pour it on the Graham, and stir until perfectly smooth; then add the cold milk, and set away to cool.

Mix the other dry ingredients with the flour, and rub through a sieve. Add with the eggs, well beaten, to the Graham and milk. Rye griddle-cakes are made the same way.

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Squash Griddle-Cakes.

- one pint of flour,
- nearly a pint of milk,
- two eggs,
- one teaspoonful of cream of tartar,
- half teaspoonful of soda,
- four tablespoonfuls of sugar,
- one teaspoonful of salt,
- two cupfuls of sifted squash.

Mix the flour with the other dry ingredients, and rub through a sieve.

Beat the eggs well, add them and the milk to the squash, and pour on the flour. Beat till smooth and light. This gives a thin batter.

If the cakes are liked thick, a little more flour may be used. Fry as usual.

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Indian Griddle-Cakes.

- one cupful of Indian meal,
- one of flour,
- three of boiling milk,
- two eggs,
- one teaspoonful of salt,
- one of cream of tartar,
- half a teaspoonful of soda,
- two table-spoonfuls of sugar.

Have the milk boiling, and, gradually, pour it on the meal.

Put the other dry ingredients with the flour, and rub through a sieve.

When the scalded meal is cool, add to it the flour and the eggs, well beaten.

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Hominy Griddle-Cakes.

To a pint of warm boiled hominy add a pint of milk or water and a pint of flour.

Beat two or three eggs and stir into the batter with a little salt. Fry as any other griddle-cakes. They are delicious.