BETTER MEALS FOR

LESS MONEY

BY

MARY GREEN

NEW YORK

HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY

1917

Copyright, 1917,

BY

HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY

PREFACE

With the steadily increasing cost of all staple foods the need ofintelligent buying, cooking, and serving is greater than ever before:more money must be spent for food, or more consideration must be givento selecting and using it. For those who would continue to serve theirhouseholds well, and whose allowance for food has not kept pace withprices, there is only one alternative, and that is, to use more of thecheaper foods, and to prepare and combine them so skilfully that economyshall not be a hardship. Good meals depend not so much upon expensivematerial as upon care and good judgment in the use of ordinary material.The time-worn boarding-house jokes about prunes and hash mean simplythat these foods, in themselves excellent, are poorly prepared and toofrequently served.

It is the plan of this book to include a variety of (1) recipeswhich require only a small amount of meat; (2) recipes forvegetable dishes which can take the place of meat; (3) recipes for theeconomical use of cereals, dairy products, and other common inexpensivefoods; (4) recipes for breads, cakes, and desserts requiring only asmall amount of butter and eggs; and (5) recipes for a few relishes,condiments, and other accessories which lend variety and interest. TheGeneral Suggestions for Economy (Chapter I) are not all new, but areliable, through disuse, to be forgotten by the present generation.Spasmodic economy counts for little in the long run; only systematicand continued watchfulness is really worth while.

Economy, however, ought not to necessitate the total elimination ofone's favorite cuts of steak, nor all of the little luxuries, because bythe skilful planning of the majority of the meals the occasional use ofthese luxuries can be made possible.

This book is not intended as a complete guide to cookery; it presupposesan elementary knowledge of the care and preparation of food.

The study of Tables D and E in the Appendix is especially recommended asan aid to the better understanding of food values.

M. G.

CONTENTS