KIT6NKN AND COOKEllV 776 eaten in the ordinary way with a knife and fork. r . : ■ In the case of non-meat food it is even more important than with meat food that the dishes should be served hot and quickly. Egg and cheese entrees, vegetable soups, and vegetables cooked in butter must be sent to table quite hot and freshly cooked in order to be really nice or really digestible. In a meatless menu the usual order of dishes can be preserved — hors d'cBuvre, soup, then the body-building entree (such as eggs, nuts, or cereals, or cheese, instead of the meat course), followed by sweets and savoury, then (although, from a health point of view, this is not ideal), cheese and dessert, with black coffee to end off the meal. THE QUESTION OF BALANCE Menu building is never easy work at any time, and meatless cookery does nothing to simplify the task. However, when one good menu has been tried and found to be satis- factory, it is quite simple to replace old dishes by new ones without upsetting the " balance " of the meal. The balance of the food values (or nourishing elements) is most important. Care must be taken to see that for every body-building (or proteid) dish left out, another of equal body-building value takes its place. The same plan must, of course, be followed with the lighter dishes. The question of balance is too often neglected by beginners in meatless cookery, and this leads to much needless disappoint- ment and failure, and to unfair criticism of the new diet. The following is a really dainty and attractive menu, and any of the dishes which it includes can be used singly in an ordinary meal at which there are both meat eaters and non-meat eaters. MEATLESS LUNCHEON OR DINNER FOR EIGHT PERSONS (or, with half the quantities, for four persons). MENU HORS d'CEUVRES. Melon. SOUP. Sorrel (or spinach) Cream Soup or Tomato Broth. ENTRIES. Walnut Timbale with Mushroom Sauce. or Italian Egg Paste (or Macaroni) with Grilled Tomatoes. VEGETABLES. Braised Cucumber or Chicory. Potatoes a la Maitre d 'Hotel. SWEETS. Cherry Cream. Fruit Salad. SAVOURY. Welsh Rarebit. (A conventional meal would end with cheese, dessert, and coffee.) RECIPES Melon. — Select a medium-sized, well- ripened melon, and serve a small portion to each person, with ground ginger. Tomato Broth. — One pound of tomatoes, one quart of water, two carrots, one turnip, four rolls (small), celery salt, teaspoonful of vegetable extract flavouring, pepper and salt to taste. Cut the carrots and turnip into small dice, and boil in the water ; skin the tomatoes and slice them, cut the rolls into small dice, and add both tomatoes and rolls to the broth. Add celery salt and vegetable extract, season to taste with mignonette pepper, and serve with thin slices of breakfast rolls crisped in the oven (or fried croutes). Sorrel (or Spinach) Cream Soup. — Quarter of a pound of butter, one bay-leaf, three pounds of sorrel or spinach, one lettuce, one quart of milk, one ounce of flour ; squeeze of lemon juice, pepper and salt to taste. Melt the butter in a stewpan, add one pound of sorrel or spinach, lettuce, and bay-leaf, and simmer for fifteen minutes. Next add the flour, the remaining sorrel or spinach, and the milk, and cook gently for two hours. Take from stove, pass through a fine sieve, and serve with fried croutes. Walnut Timbale with Mushroom Sauce.— Quarter of a pound of butter, six well-beaten eggs, one pound of shelled walnuts, half a pound of white breadcrumbs. three shallots, two mushrooms, one bay-leaf, juice of one lemon, pinch of chopped parsley, pepper and salt to taste. Mill the walnuts in a nut-mill, and mix thoroughly with the breadcrumbs ; melt the butter in a stewpan, add the shallots, mushrooms, bay-leaf and parsley, all finely minced, and simmer in the butter for fifteen minutes. Pour the con- tents of the stewpan over the milled walnuts, beaten eggs, and breadcrumbs ; stir all together, season to taste, turn into buttered mould, and steam until set (about one hour). Turn out and serve hot with mushroom sauce. Mushroom Sauce. — Stir into one pint of Bechamel sauce half a pound of cup mush- rooms, finely minced. Simmer gently for fifteen minutes. Italian Egg Paste, or Macaroni, with Grilled Tomatoes. — Half a pound of Italian egg paste, or macaroni, two ounces of fresh butter, two eggs, two pounds of small tomatoes, one pint of milk, pepper and salt to taste. Bring the milk to the boil in a stewpan, add the Italian egg paste, or macaroni, and butter, with four tomatoes chopped fine. Simmer all together until tender, add the eggs, season to taste, and put into a buttered pie-dish. Serve the remaining tomatoes on the top, grilled whole. Potatoes k la Maitre d'Hotel. — Steam two pounds of medium-sized potatoes in their jackets, peel and toss them in fresh
