She complained of being in great want, and asked the shopkeeper to give her some waste paper to light her fire. I felt sorry for her. This woman, thought I, is a representative case of many who are suffering from poverty, and to whom a knowledge of how to spend Sixpence to the best advantage in obtaining that food which is the cheapest and most nourishing, would be an incalculable benefit. After she left the shop, I said to the grocer, if that woman had bought

she would have had food which would have been three times as serviceable to her. To this the shopkeeper agreed. Indeed, many of man's requirements are supplied by his Creator, without money and without price. The Sun, with his revivifying light and heat, shines freely alike on the evil and the good. The air we breathe is boundless and free, and costs man nothing. The water we drink is easily obtained.

Wheat, rightly termed the "Staff of Life," can be bought for 1½d. per lb., Indian Meal for 1d. per lb., Rice, Barley, Peas, Beans, and other kinds of grain are cheap and easily procured.^*

It is strange, yet true, that men lightly esteem these things because they are freely and plentifully supplied, and prefer to spend, or rather waste, their money on that which is not bread, and which destroys, instead of sustaining, human life.

Yet the fact remains that those things most necessary to sustain the life of man are not only the simplest but the cheapest and the best. In order to impart a little knowledge on the very important subject of diet, I subjoin a few simple Recipes showing

"How to Spend Sixpence"

to the best advantage.

1. Durham Pudding.

This pudding, if taken regularly, is a great preventative of rheumatic pains, and can be eaten cold or hot.

2. Oatmeal Porridge.

Mabel Stephenson fed her son, George Stephenson, the great engineer, on porridge. When eaten with Prunes, stewed Gooseberries, Apples, or other Fruits, it is much liked.

Those who take Oatmeal Porridge to breakfast regularly are seldom troubled with toothache.

3. Barley & Apple Pudding.

This Pudding is a great favourite.

4. Groat Pudding.

5. Indian Meal or food Reform Knobs.

Stirring the same with a spoon, and bake in a quick oven in convenient sizes, to which may be added carraway seeds crushed or whole.

These Knobs are much liked by young and old. 24 good sized Knobs can be made, which we will reckon at a halfpenny each.

6. Indian Meal Porridge.

Professor Johnstone says that Indian corn meal is richer in gluten and fatty matter than wheaten flour, with much less starch and water.

7. Indian Meal And Oatmeal Porridge.

This recipe is well worth trying for rich and poor; it makes excellent Porridge for breakfast or supper.

8. Whole Wheat Meal Porridge.

This Porridge was taken three times a day by a man who was laid up with Piles; it brought him out, and he continued to take it for some time after, and gained weight with a general improvement in health.

Consumptive people find this Porridge rest in their stomachs where other foods disagree. See Dr. Nichols' report about this article of diet.

9. Boiled Indian Meal Pudding.

This is usually much enjoyed by children, and is good for health and strength.

10. Batter or "Egg-Bread."

Beat the egg light, and the soaked bread to a smooth batter, melt the butter, stir all together quickly, and bake immediately in shallow tins.

11. Barley Soup.

12. Potatoe Soup.

13. Combination Porridge.

This makes an excellent and sustaining breakfast.

14. Rice Pudding.

15. Stewed Rhubarb.

16. Haricot Bean Soup.

17. Lentil Soup.

18 Hominy Pudding.

19. Hominy Porridge.

Vegetarian Recipes.

Porridge, &c.

20. Oatmeal Porridge.—Twelve ounces of coarse oatmeal; one ounce-and-a-half of salt, and three pints of water.—Dissolve the salt in the boiling water; rub the meal smooth in a little cold water; add it to the boiling water; boil gently about twenty minutes; pour into plates, and serve with treacle, syrup, milk, cream, or stewed fruit.—Wheatmeal Porridge is similarly made.

21. Rice Porridge.—Six ounces of ground rice, and one quart of water.—Steep the rice in a little cold water while the rest of the water is boiling; add it to the boiling water; boil twenty minutes, stirring all the time; pour into plates. To stew in the oven, or boil in a double saucepan, are other methods.

22.—Oatmeal Cake.—Half a pound of Brazil nuts mashed and worked into three small tea-cupfuls of coarse oatmeal, and half a cup of fine, one tea-spoonful of baking powder, a little sugar and allspice; wet with milk and bake.

Soups.

23. Peas Soup.—One pint of split peas; one turnip, one carrot, one onion, and one ounce of butter.—Drop the peas, adding the other vegetables, into three quarts of boiling water with a little salt, and a piece of soda the size of a pea; boil the whole till quite soft; rub through a sieve; return it to the pan to be made hot; add butter, season with pepper and salt; serve with toasted bread.

24. Green Peas Soup.—One pint and a half of dry green peas, half a pint of boiled spinach, one lettuce, four ounces of butter, and one tea-spoonful of flour.—steep the peas twelve hours in soft water; set them on the lire with a quart of boiling soft water, a tea-spoonful of salt, half the butter, and a piece of soda the size of a pea; simmer gently till the peas are soft; pass through a fine colander; add the lettuce, the boiled spinach and two quarts of boiling water; simmer till nearly ready; remove the lettuce add some heads of asparagus, cut small, the flour mixed with the rest of the butter, pepper, salt, and a piece of sugar; boil twenty minutes.

25. Barley Soup.—Soak four table-spoonfuls of Scotch barley in cold water for an hour. Put it in a stew-pan with about a pint of cold water. Stew it gently on a moderate fire; and add three good-sized onions, two small turnips, a carrot, and a head of celery. Season to taste with salt and pepper. When quite soft, add a table-spoonful of mushroom ketchup.

26. Kidney Bean Soup.—Half a pint of dry kidney beans, and one quart of water.—Stew the beans about six hours in an oven; strain the soup without mashing the beans; season with pepper and salt, and serve with toasted bread. This soup, being highly nutritive, should be diluted with warm water if found too rich. It may be used with advantage to supersede the ordinary "beef tea."

27. Brown Soup.—Six moderate sized onions, two turnips, and three carrots; cut these up into small pieces, sprinkle them with com flour, and fry them brown in salad oil; then place them in a saucepan, together with three pints of water, a table-spoonful of dried herbs, some pepper and salt; keep the vegetables stewing for two hours, then strain; and, if you wish to make the soup firmer, add a tea-cupful of tapioca.

This is also a good brown stock.

28. Haricot Bean Soup.—One pound of haricot beans, wash them and steep all night in one quart of water.—Put the same into a pie dish or earthenware pot, put them into the oven with the water they have been steeped in, adding a little butter, parsley or mint, pepper and salt, two onions, and two apples, cut up line and stew for two hours.—Peas and lentils can be treated in the same way, which is better than boiling in a pan.

29. Lentil Soup.—One pound of crushed lentils, wash them, pouring off the water, and steep all night. Put into an enamelled pan with the water, boil for one hour.—Take four onions, cut up into small pieces; fry in butter or olive oil, and add to the lentils, along with bread crusts, half a pound of Indian meal, a spoonful of brown sugar, and pepper and salt, and boil for another hour.—If Indian meal cannot be had, use rice, barley, oatmeal, or Hour.

30. Lentil Soup.—Half a pound of whole lentils, wash them, add a small piece of soda, then soak them in water all night. Boil in a saucepan for one hour, adding one carrot, three onions, one leek, two pounds of parsnips, an ounce of parsley, all chopped up, pepper and salt, a spoonful of brown sugar, and half a pound of bread crusts, and boil for one hour altogether.—(Lentils are turned black if boiled in an iron pan.)

Fruit Preparations.

31. To Prepare Apples.—Let the apples be pared, cored, and sweetened, and placed in a deep dish, on the upper part of a stove; a large teacupful of boiling water poured over them, and a plate laid over the dish. Simmer until soft. There is no trouble about removing the skins when eating them.

32. To Stew Apples.—Three pints of water, and a pound and a half of sugar; boil this syrup thoroughly. Then peel your apples, core them, and put in as many as the syrup will allow; let them stew slowly till they are done.

33. Rhubarb Pudding.—One pound of rhubarb, 12 ounces of bread without crust, and sugar.—Lay the rhubarb in water ten minutes; cut the bread into slices a quarter of an inch thick; toast the slices, and soak a few minutes in boiling water, pour on a plate, and mix with two table-spoonfuls of sugar; place some of the slices at the bottom of the dish; cut the rhubarb into pieces an inch long; till the dish; mix the sugar with it; place the other slices over the top; bake the whole in a moderate oven, and serve either hot or cold. Various kinds of fruit may be used instead of or with the rhubarb.

34. Apple And Bread Pudding.—Three-quarters of a pound of bread-crumbs, one pound and a half of apples, sugar, and butter. Pare and cut the apples as for a pie; put a little butter into a deep pie dish; then a layer of apples, with a little sugar; then a thick layer of bread crumbs; then another layer of apples, sugar, and bread crumbs. Lay a few small pieces of butter on the top and bake in a moderately hot oven. Cooked rice is a good substitute for bread-crumbs.

35. Plum Pudding.—Three pounds of raisins, stoned and chopped; three pounds of currants, three pounds of moist sugar, one-and-a-half pounds of apples chopped line, one-and-a-half pounds of carrots, grated, three pounds of flour, three pounds of bread crumbs, half a pound of lemon peel, cut fine, half an ounce of mace, one-and-a half pounds of butter melted, seven or eight eggs well beaten, and a little salt; mix all together with a gill of milk, put into buttered moulds, and cover with a cloth; then boil for eight hours.

36. Stewed Apples.—Take six pounds of apples, pare, cut into halves, and core; place in a pie dish two lemons, sliced and boiled in half-a-pint of water with half a pound of sugar until tender; then pour out the apples and stew in an oven.

Vegetarian Preparations.

37. Fried Beet Root.—Boil till tender, then plunge into cold water and rub off the skin; cut into slices and fry them in butter, with seasoning. Keep very hot.—A few onions fried along with it are a great improvement.

37. Roasted Potatoes.—Pare the potatoes; melt a little butter in a dish or tin in the oven; put in the potatoes, sprinkle with a little salt, dredge a little flour over them, and turn frequently till they are enough. They should be roasted in a quick oven.

30. Boiled Potatoes.—They should be as nearly as possible of one size, well washed, but not pared.—Put them into cold water for an hour, then into fresh water, and boil quickly in a covered kettle, with no more water than will cover them. When done, the water should be instantly poured off, and the kettle, with a cloth over the potatoes, placed on the side of the fire until the steam is absorbed, and the potatoes will be dry and mealy: or they may be steamed, which is the best plan.

40. Potato Balls.—Boil quarter stone of potatoes; when enough, mash with two ounces of butter, and a little salt; then make into balls, baste with butter and put into a buttered tin in the oven to brown.

41. Turnip Hash.—Three quarters of a pound of turnips, three quarters of a pound of potatoes, two table-spoonsful of flour, one large onion, and one table-spoonful of salt. Put two quarts of water into a well-tinned pan; set it over the fire; put in the turnips, cut into small square pieces, the onion, cut small, and the salt; let it boil for an hour; then put in the page 16 potatoes, also cut in pieces, and boil three quarters of an hour longer. Rub the flour in a quarter of a pint of cold water till perfectly smooth; pour it into the pan, and let it boil slowly a quarter of an hour longer; boil two hours, and serve with toasted bread.

42. Hotch Potch.—Four large turnips, one pound of carrots, one onion, one lettuce, and parsley.—Put four quarts of water in a pan, set it on the fire, and put in the carrots and turnips, part of which must be grated, and the remainder cut into small square pieces, with the other vegetables, all cut small; season with pepper and salt, and let all boil well together slowly. Young green peas may be added, part of them to be put in with the other vegetables, and the remainder about an hour before the soup is ready.

43. Fried Cauliflower.—Boil the cauliflower till nearly enough; slice, and fry in butter, or olive oil, till light brown.

44. Stewed Onions.—Peel and slice the onions, and put them in a dish with some butter browned. Put them into a brisk oven; when nicely browned, pour some thin butter sauce on them, add pepper and salt, and let them stew a little longer; they are then ready.

45. Stewed Celery.—Five ounces of celery, half a pint of new milk, half an ounce of Hour, and one ounce of butter. Cut the celery into pieces one inch in length; place it in a pan with as much milk as will cover it; boil gently till tender; drain it; season with pepper and salt; thicken with the flour and butter; boil the whole a few minutes, and serve on a fiat dish, with toast.

46. Irish Stew.—Into one pint of water, put twelve good-sized potatoes (cut in halves or quarters), six large English onions and one carrot chopped up, a little parsley, two ounces of butter, with pepper and salt. Let them boil till the vegetables are quite done, but not broken; serve with poached eggs. This is very nice baked.

47. Vegetarian Goose.—Take a good-sized vegetable marrow, and boil till tender, then plunge into cold water and peel, taking out the seeds or core; make a stuffing of sage, onions, and bread crumbs, or mashed potatoes, with one egg; put them inside the marrow, replacing the stopper; dredge well with flour and bread crumbs; place some butter in a tin and baste it well; bake the marrow till nicely browned. Serve with a good brown gravy (No. 65) and apple sauce.

48. Wheat Pudding.—Two tea-cupfuls of coarsely ground, or crushed wheat, boiled into a porridge, after which mix with two eggs and one tea-cupfull of milk, sugar to taste, pour into a baking dish, grate a little nutmeg over and bake.

40. Bread And Butter (Paradise) Pudding.—Cover the bottom and sides of a deep baking dish with slices of bread and butter, then a layer of finely sliced apples (pared and cored), a little sugar and nutmeg, another layer of slices, then another of apples until the dish is well filled, boil the parings and cores in water adding the juice produced to the pudding; cover with a plate and bake; this is delicious and cheap.

Peas,; &c.

50. Boiled Haricot Beans.—One pint of beans, two onions, and salt.—Wash the beans; soak over night; put them on the fire in a saucepan of cold water, just page 18 sufficient to cover them; add the salt and the onions; boil gently two or three hours, and serve with the liquid in which they are boiled, as this contains the principal portion of the flavour and nourishment of the beans. Any kind of kidney beans will answer the purpose.

51. Ripe Marrowfat Peas.—Wash one pint of large dry marrowfat peas, and soak twelve hours in soft water; boil three or four hours, either with or without mint, and season with pepper and salt.

52. Potted Lentils.—Stew a tea-cupful of lentils in water with a morsel of butter, and some mushroom powder. Then beat up to a smooth paste. When cold, add an equal quantity of fine brown bread-crumbs, with seasoning of salt, mace, and cayenne, and the size of a walnut of old cheese. Beat all together with two ounces of butter; press firmly into small pots. (Haricot beans may be used instead of lentils.) If to be kept, a little hot butter must be poured over the top.

Vegetable Pies.

53. Savoury Pie.—Cold omelet, three eggs, two table-spoonfuls of tapioca, quarter of a pint of cold water, one ounce of butter, and paste. Steep the tapioca in the water for ten or fifteen minutes; cut the omelet into small pieces; butter a pie dish, and spread a little of the tapioca over the bottom; then the omelet; then another layer of tapioca, adding seasoning, and a few small pieces of butter; cover with paste and bake. Add the eggs when the pie is nearly done. Supply water as needed to keep the tapioca at the bottom from burning.

54. Vegetable Pie.—Ten ounces of potatoes, eight ounces of carrots, eight ounces of turnips, two ounces of onions, two ounces of butter, one table-spoonful of Hour, one pint of water, and celery to flavour.—Cut the vegetables into small pieces; stew them in a pan with the water; place them in a pie-dish; add the butter; cover with paste; bake in a moderate oven, and add water as required. [The same ingredients, boiled in a cloth, make a very excellent pudding.]

55. Potato Pie.—Two pound of potatoes, two ounces of onions (cut small), one ounce of butter, and half an ounce of tapioca.—Pare and cut the potatoes; season with pepper and salt; put them in a pie dish, adding the onion, tapioca, a few pieces of butter, and half a pint of water; cover with paste, and bake in a moderately hot oven.—A little celery or powdered sage may be added.

56. Goose Pie.—Boil a vegetable marrow, of a moderate size, soft enough to stick a fork into; then make a stuffing of four small onions, well scalded, a breakfast-cupful of bread crumbs, a large table-spoonful of powdered sage, some salt and pepper; mix together with a raw egg well-beaten, and a little milk; arrange the stuffing under the slices of vegetable marrow in a pie dish with four small pieces of butter; cover the dish with a plain paste, and bake in a brisk oven.

Sundries.

57. Mince Pie.—One pound of raisins, stoned and chopped, one pound of currants, one pound of moist sugar, one pound of apples, quarter pound of lemon peel, a little mace, half a pound of butter, melted, Mix all together; bake in crusts made with butter.

58. Savoury Fritters.—Five ounces of onion, one tea-spoonful of powdered sage, four eggs, and four ounces of stale bread.—Soften the bread thoroughly in a dish with a little boiling water, covering it over and letting it soak for an hour; mash it with a fork, picking out the hard pieces; boil the onion in two or three waters, till quite soft; chop small, add the powdered sage, a little pepper and salt, and the eggs, well beaten; mix the whole well together with bread, and fry in fritters half-an-inch thick and three inches broad.

59. Bread Crumb Omelet.—One pint of breadcrumbs, a large handful of chopped parsley, with a large slice of onion minced line, and a tea-cupful of dried marjoram. Beat up two eggs, add a tea-cupful of milk, some nutmeg or mace, pepper and salt, and a piece of butter the size of an egg. Mix and bake in a slow oven till of a light brown colour. Turn out and send to table immediately.

60. Macaroni Omelet.—Two ounces of macaroni, 4 ounces of grated cheese, a quarter of a pint of thin cream.—Break the macaroni into pieces one inch and a half long; soak in water an hour and a half, strain off the water, and place on a flat dish; add a little mustard or cayenne pepper. Brown before the fire afterwards.

61. French Omelet.—Five eggs well beaten, dessert spoonful of chopped parsley, pepper, salt, 3 table-spoonsful of cream, mix all together; then put two oz. of butter in a frying-pan, when melted, pour in the liquid and keep stirring until set, browning on the top with a salamander. Serve hot with onion sauce (No. 63).

62. White Sauce for Vegetables.—A dessertspoonful of Hour, and half-a-pint of milk. Pour on the milk boiling; stir quickly, and season with pepper and salt.

63. Onion Sauce.—Two large onions chopped fine, boiled in a little water until tender, add one pint of milk; mix three table-spoonsful of flour in half a pint of milk; when the former is boiling, pour into a basin containing the latter, then pour all back into the saucepan with a little salt, and stir till boiling.

64. Digestive Biscuits.—An excellent method of unfermented bread is to mix up wheatmeal in as small a portion of water as will cause it, after much kneading or rolling, to adhere; then roll and cut into biscuits about half an inch thick, three inches square, and bake them in a very quick oven. If well baked they will keep many weeks, and improve by keeping.

65. Brown Gravy.—Two ounces of butter, and one ounce of flour.—Melt the butter in a frying-pan or saucepan; add the Hour, stirring it till it is of a brown colour; add as much boiling water as will make the thickness of cream, and season with pepper and salt.—To be served with omelets and fritters.

66. Custard.—Three pints of milk poured into a jug, add halt a pound of lump sugar, and six laurel leaves, then place the jug into a pan of boiling water, beat the yokes of eight eggs until quite thick, add a pint of cold milk; then mix with the ingredients in the jug, stirring briskly until quite thick, taking care to prevent it boiling or it will curd; take out the leaves, then stir till cold. To be used to plum pudding and blancmange.

67. Apple Dumplings.—Peel and core some rather large good boiling apples. Should a corer not be at hand, cut each apple in two, and remove the core. Put a clove in each half, refit the halves together, and enclose in paste. Tie up in a cloth, and boil three-quarters of an hour.—Miss Tanant's Food Reform Cookery Book.

The late Mrs. Simpson's Recipe for Mince-Meat.

68. One pound and a half of apples. Three quarters of a pound of currants. Half-a-pound of sultana raisins. Quarter of a pound of good table raisins. Half-pound of raw sugar. Three ounces of candied lemon. One ounce of candied orange. Quarter of an ounce of candied citron. Two teaspoonsful of allspice. Quarter of a teaspoonful of ground cinnamon. A very little nutmeg. Half-a-pound of fresh butter.

The late Miss Simpson's Recipe for Plum Pudding.

69. Twelve ounces of coarse bread crumbs. Half-a-pound of currants. Half-a-pound of Smyrna raisins. Twelve ounces of moist sugar. Three ounces of butter. Two ounces of candied lemon. Seven eggs. One small tea-cupful of apple sauce, or half a tea-cupful of milk. About a salt spoonful of lemon peel, finely grated, and a very little mace.