If they can be digested readily, they make a valuable food. They need to be ground fine or chewed thoroughly, however, to make them digestible. Nuts contain much fat, protein, and little carbohydrates. Chestnuts, however, contain much of the latter foodstuff. Because they contain protein, nuts may be used as substitutes for meat. But most nuts are expensive. For this reason in many households they are impractical as everyday foods.
COTTAGE CHEESE AND NUT LOAF
1 cupful cottage cheese 1 cupful chopped nuts 1 cupful soft bread crumbs 1 teaspoonful salt 1/8 teaspoonful pepper 2 teaspoonfuls lemon juice 2 tablespoonfuls scraped onion 1 tablespoonful fat
Mix the cheese, nuts, bread crumbs, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Cook the onion and fat together until they are brown. Add a small quantity of water and then add the onion mixture to the other ingredients. If necessary, add more water to moisten the mixture. Pour into a baking-dish and bake until brown.
(From United States Food Administration Leaflet.)
SCALLOPED EGGS WITH CHEESE
6 hard-cooked eggs 2 cupfuls medium White Sauce 2 cupfuls buttered soft bread crumbs 3/4 cupful cheese
Grate the cheese, or cut it into pieces, and add it to the White Sauce. Cut the eggs in slices. Oil a baking-dish, and place the materials in the dish in layers, having the lower and top layers of bread crumbs. Bake in a moderate oven until the mixture is heated through and the crumbs are browned. Serve hot in place of meat.
PEANUT ROAST
1 1/2 cupfuls dried bread crumbs Milk 1 1/2 cupfuls shelled peanuts 4 teaspoonfuls baking powder 1 egg Salt and pepper
[FIGURE 76--THE COMPOSITION OF LEGUMES AND CORN (Revised edition.)]
Cover the bread crumbs with milk, and soak them until soft. Chop the peanuts very fine, and mix with the baking powder; beat the egg. Mix thoroughly all the ingredients, and turn into an oiled bread pan. Bake about 45 minutes in a moderate oven. Serve hot with Tomato Sauce.
[Illustration: FIGURE 77.--THE COMPOSITION OF BREAD AND OTHER CEREAL FOODS. (Revised edition.)]
Commercial salted peanuts may be used for Peanut Roast.
QUESTIONS
From U.S. Department of Agriculture Bulletin No. 28, find the percentage of protein in Cream and Cottage Cheese, eggs (see Figure 75), walnuts, peanuts, dried peas, and beans (see Figure 76), and beef. How many ounces of protein does a pound of each of these foods contain? What is the price per pound of each of these foods? Which food is the cheapest source of protein?
Why are bread crumbs a valuable addition to Scalloped Eggs with Cheese (see Figure 77)?
Name other meat-substitute foods and dishes.
LESSON CIV
MEAT EXTENDERS AND ONE-DISH MEALS
MEAT EXTENDERS.--The flavor of meat is generally liked. Doubtless the flavor accounts more than any other characteristic for the popularity of meat. By using a small quantity of meat and combining it with various cereals and vegetables, the flavor of meat permeates the mixture although its quantity is reduced and price consequently lowered. Foods containing such a combination of food materials are termed meat extenders. Those desiring to reduce the quantity of meat consumed either for the sake of health or economy will find meat-extending dishes desirable.
ONE-DISH MEALS.--When many demands other than those of housekeeping are made upon homekeepers it is often wise to lessen housekeeping duties. It is both possible and satisfactory to cook an entire meal in one dish. A meal consisting of one dish with a few accessories is termed a one-dish meal. It is obvious that the one-dish meal is both simple and economical; it saves time, fuel, and food; it is a wise conservation measure.
In preparing the one-dish meal use a combination of two or more of the following groups of food:
(1) Vegetables,
(2) Milk, or cheese, or eggs, or fish, or meat, or beans, or nuts,
(3) Cereal, such as corn, barley, rice, oats, or buckwheat.
To two or more of these groups of food a small amount of fat or oil is generally added.