Aunt Mary's Model Breakfast by Mrs. Edith E. Bruce

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Sep 10, 1908

Aunt Mary's Model Breakfast

By Mrs. Edith E. Bruce

MRS. EDITH E. BRUCE

Twelve happy, cheerful women met in Aunt Mary's cozy home the following Thursday, ready to take up the lesson assigned the previous week. The fame of Aunt Mary's cooking club was spreading, and two new members were added this week.

Aunt Mary had been a teacher in her younger days, and she always prefaced her class hour by a brief review, so she took up a review of the combination of foods and their value, and was gratified to find that the members of the club had been studying these principles thoroughly.

“I believe,” said Aunt Mary, “that we were to take up the subject of a hygienic breakfast. Breakfast should be one of the most appetizing meals, yet often it is the meal that receives the least attention. How many times I have known women to go to bed at night without knowing what they would have for breakfast, or even washing the dishes, and sometimes without even clearing the table. An old cheese-cloth spread often covers a multitude of mussy, soiled dishes, and the housewife gets up in the morning in a hurry, not knowing what she will have, perhaps even having to send to the store before anything can be had at all. She hustles things on to the table, and at the same time is washing a few dishes absolutely needed. The confusion and hurry make her cross and irritable,—a condition which is always contagious. As a result, things go wrong all day.”

“This should never be. It is a dangerous habit. The old adage, ‘A stitch in time saves nine,’ is true in every department of housekeeping. The supper dishes should be washed, and the table left clean and neat. The dining-room should be one of the cleanest and most attractive rooms in the house.

The breakfast menu should be planned the night before, and everything that can be prepared should be made ready. If you are to have corn-meal mush, oatmeal, or some other cereal, it should be cooked in a double boiler the day before, and then put on the stove and thoroughly heated to assure a thorough cooking. It is not enough to cook oatmeal fifteen or twenty minutes as I have known many to do; it should be cooked from one to two hours, otherwise we have a mass of raw starch which is very hard to digest. Dry cereals should be heated before serving, to make them crisp.

“One object of this cooking club,” continued Aunt Mary, “is to get in the way of preparing our food without the use of meats and other injurious foods, such as griddle-cakes, hot biscuits, etc. I wonder how many here are in the habit of cooking one or all of these articles for breakfast.”

Almost every hand went up.

“Well, now let us see what we can suggest instead. I will place on the board a sample breakfast menu that I think very suitable for those who are engaged in office work. Next week we will have something for the farmer's table,” she added, as she wrote the following menu on the board:—

Breakfast Menu

BERRIES	OATMEAL
WHOLE-WHEAT BREAD	BUTTER
CREAM TOAST	STICKS
CEREAL COFFEE	CREAM

“This is a very simple menu,” said Aunt Mary, “but we should have simplicity in cooking as well as in everything else. If possible, give your family plenty of fresh fruit in season. Now, if you will take your note-books, I will give recipes for the cooked articles of this menu. First on the list is the cereal.”

All were ready, and in a few minutes had the following recipes neatly written under the breakfast menu in their note-books:—

“OATMEAL MUSH: To one quart of boiling water add a cup of oatmeal; stir till it begins to cook, then put in a double boiler and cook without disturbing for two hours.

“CREAM TOAST: The toast or zwieback should be prepared the day before, but it is improved by placing in the oven and reheating in the morning. Heat milk to which has been added a little salt, and when everything else is ready to serve, pour it over the toast, which has been placed in a hot dish. I want to emphasize the necessity of serving all hot foods in hot dishes.

“STICKS: To three slightly heaping cups of sifted flour add a little salt and one cup of milk or thin cream, mixing well as fast as poured in. Knead well twenty or thirty minutes, or until the dough snaps when kneaded. Divide the dough, cut into narrow strips, roll into small rolls the size of the little finger, and cut in three-inch lengths. Bake in an oiled pan until of a light-brown color. These sticks are delicious, especially when made with cream.”

“We have not the time,” said Aunt Mary, “to take up the subject of bread-making, or the advantage of using the harder breads and crackers, but we will consider this subject at our next meeting, in addition to the ‘Breakfast Menu for the Farmer's Table.’”

After a few minutes spent in asking questions and in pleasant visiting the club adjourned.

Mussoorie, India.