Tag Archives: the domestic scene

In the August 9, 1916 edition of The Chatham Record, a column advises would-be cooks on coping with the summer heat:

Good Cold Dinner: Splendid Meal to Serve When Thermometer Is High

Except the Vegetables, All the Dishes May Be Prepared in the Early Morning and Work in Torrid Kitchen Avoided

There is no reason why the cook should grill and swelter in the torrid kitchen these days, but she must use her brains and be willing to get up early in the morning if the family is to be adequately nourished without the usual holocaust.

A well-balanced summer dinner may begin with simple iced bouillon made by shimmering two pounds of the round of beef in two quarts of water to which is added seasoning of onion, red pepper, bay leaves, salt, and spices tied in a muslin bag. This simmering must continue for two or three hours, but should be done before the heat of the day.  When the liquor is cool it should be strained and set against the ice and only removed to put on the table in bouillon cups of shaved ice.  If a firmer jelly is preferred a half package of gelatine may be mixed with the liquor after it is strained and the whole allowed to boil up once.  Great care should be taken that all the fat is removed before the jelly is served.

Following the iced bouillon pressed chicken may be chosen.  A plump three-pound chicken will make sufficient for a family of four.  This should be well washed in salt water and cut in pieces as if for frying.  Boil in just enough water to keep from burning and season with celery, onion, and pepper.  When it is tender take from the fire and remove all the bones, then cut with a very sharp knife into minute cubes and add pickled walnuts and mushrooms chopped very fine.  A little Worcestershire sauce is a great addition to this dish and gives just the needed piquancy for most palates.  Mix all together thoroughly and put it into an earthen bowl.  Cover with a flat dish, set a weight upon it and put the whole in a vessel containing salt and ice.  Care must be taken to pour off the brine, however.  After an hour the chicken may be set in the icebox, where it will keep until served.

Instead of the eternal potatoes, rice is excellent served with the chicken.  To cook rice oriental style select a cupful of the very best unpolished quality.  Wash in six waters and drain the last through a colander.  Put the drained rice into an enamel saucepan with two cupfuls of cold water and a half teaspoonful of salt.  Boil it briskly until the water is entirely consumed, then set on the back of the stove for at least three-quarters of an hour.  It may then be taken off and kept in a cool, dry place well covered until dinner.  When serving time arrives throw the rice into a napkin-lined colander and set over the tea kettle until it is heated, when it may be lightly thrown into an uncovered vegetable dish.

The menu continues with summer vegetables, ice cream, and coffee with whipped cream.

So once our intrepid cook has boiled the beef, cooked the chicken, made the rice, chopped the vegetables, whipped the cream, and washed the dishes, her working day is done!  Well, at least until it’s time to make breakfast. . .