=Stewed Lentils.=--Put a pint of plain boiled lentils into a sauce pan, cover them with any kind of pot-liquor, add one ounce of chopped onion, two ounces of drippings, quarter of an ounce of chopped parsley, and stew gently for twenty minutes; serve hot. This dish costs about ten cents.
=Fried Lentils.=--Fry one ounce of chopped onion brown in two ounces of drippings, add one pint of plain boiled lentils, see if they are properly seasoned, and brown them well; serve hot. This dish costs about ten cents, and is very good, and as nutritious as meat.
=Maize, or Indian Corn Meal.=--This native product is a strong and nutritious food, and very economical; in addition to the ordinary hasty-pudding, or mush, it can be cooked with a little pot-liquor, meat, or cheese, so as to be both good and wholesome. Below are some excellent receipts for cooking it.
=Polenta.=--Boil one pound of yellow Indian meal, (cost four cents,) for half an hour, in two quarts of pot-liquor or boiling water, salted to taste, with one ounce of fat, stirring it occasionally to prevent burning; then bake it for half an hour in a greased baking dish, and serve it either hot, or, when cold, slice it and fry it in smoking hot fat. This favorite Italian dish is closely allied to the hasty-pudding of New England, and the mush of the South. It costs five cents.
=Cheese Pudding.=--Into two quarts of boiling water, containing two tablespoonfuls of salt, stir one pound of yellow Indian meal, (cost four cents,) and a quarter of a pound of grated cheese, (cost four cents;) boil it for twenty minutes, stirring it occasionally to prevent burning; then put it in a greased baking pan, sprinkle over the top quarter of a pound of grated cheese, (cost four cents,) and brown in a quick oven. Serve hot. If any remains, slice it cold and fry it brown. It costs twelve cents.
=Hasty-Pudding.=--Have boiling upon the fire two quarts of water with a level tablespoonful of salt; sprinkle in gradually one pound of Indian meal, (cost four cents,) stirring constantly to prevent lumps; and boil steadily for one hour, stirring occasionally. The secret of making good hasty-pudding is to boil it long enough to thoroughly cook it. Some persons first mix the meal with cold water until it forms a thick batter, and then stir this into the boiling water. The pudding can be eaten with a little milk, butter, or molasses, if they are desirable additions; or with some meat gravy, or melted and seasoned suet. When cold it is good sliced and fried.