Mildred said it certainly did; then she began to poach the egg, and Miss Betty went into Mother Blair's room and put an extra pillow behind her shoulders and a scarf over her and opened the blinds. She drew a little table close beside the bed and laid a fresh white cover over it, and when the door opened and Mildred came in carefully carrying the white tray with the good things to eat on it and the pretty geraniums, her mother was delighted.
"Oh, how good it looks," she exclaimed. "Mildred, did you really make that soup? And poach that beautiful egg? And actually make that junket? Well, I never did see anything so perfectly lovely. I'm proud to have such a daughter!" Then she ate everything, and declared her throat was almost well already.
In spite of that, however, the doctor made Mrs. Blair stay in bed several days, so that Mildred learned to make quite a number of new dishes for sick people. For one breakfast she gave her cereal with cream and bits of dates; for one luncheon she had the chicken broth, and for one supper cream toast and baked custard; she had goldenrod eggs, too, when her mother's throat was better, and baked apple. All of these things she wrote down in her book so she would not forget how to make any of them.
1 heaping tablespoonful oatmeal. 1 cup of water. 1/4 teaspoonful of salt.
Mix, put in a double boiler and cook for one hour. Five minutes before taking this off the fire stir in
4 dates, washed and cut into small pieces.
2 slices of nice brown, dry toast. 3/4 cup of cream. 1/2 teaspoonful butter. 1/2 teaspoonful flour. 1/4 teaspoonful salt.
Rub the melted butter and flour; heat the cream till it scalds, or almost boils; mix together and pour slowly over one slice of the toast in a deep dish; then put on the second slice and pour the rest of the cream over that. Serve very hot.
1/2 tablespoonful butter. 3/4 tablespoonful flour. 1/4 teaspoonful salt. 1/2 cup hot milk.
Rub the butter and flour, and add the milk and salt. Have ready
1 hard boiled egg. (Boil ten minutes.) 1 slice of toast.
Cut the egg in half, take off the white part and chop it; stir this into the white sauce. Cut the crust off the toast and pour over; then quickly rub the egg yolk through the sieve and sprinkle over all. Keep the sauce and toast hot in the oven until you put on the yolk; serve very hot in a covered dish.