The Allinson Vegetarian Cookery Book/A Week's Menu

I have written the following menus to help those who are beginning vegetarianism. When first starting, most housewives do not know what to provide, and this is a source of anxiety. I occasionally meet some who have been vegetarians a long time, but confess that they do not know how to provide a nice meal. They usually eat the plainest foods, because they know of no tasty dishes. When visitors come, we like to provide tempting dishes for them, and show them that appetising meals can be prepared without the carcases of animals. I only give seven menus, that is, one for each day of the week; but our dishes can be so varied that we can have a different menu daily for weeks without any repetition. The recipes here written give a fair idea to start with. Instead of always using butter beans, or haricot beans, as directed in one of these menus, lentils or split peas can be substituted. I have not included macaroni cheese in these menus, because this dish is so generally known; it can be introduced into any vegetarian dinner. I have allowed three courses at the dinner, but they are really not necessary. I give them to make the menus more complete. A substantial soup and a pudding, or a savoury with vegetables and sauce and a pudding, are sufficient for a good meal. In our own household we rarely have more than two courses, and often only one course. This article will be of assistance to all those who are wishing to try a healthful and humane diet, and to those meat eaters who wish to provide tasty meals for vegetarian friends.

Anna P. Allinson.

4, Spanish Place, Manchester Square, London, W.

1 tin of tomatoes or 2 lbs. of fresh ones, 1 large Spanish onion or 1/2 lb. of smaller ones, 2 oz. of butter, pepper and salt to taste, 1 oz. of vermicelli and 2 bay leaves. Peel the onions and chop up roughly; brown them with the butter in the saucepan in which the soup is made. When the onion is browned, add the tomatoes (the fresh ones must be sliced) and 3 pints of water. Let all cook together for 1/2 an hour. Then drain the liquid through a sieve without rubbing anything through. Return the liquid to the saucepan, add the seasoning and the vermicelli; then allow the soup to cook until the vermicelli is soft, which will be in about 10 minutes. Sago, tapioca, or a little dried julienne may be used instead of the vermicelli.

1/2 lb. each of tomatoes, turnips, carrots, potatoes, 1 tablespoonful of sago, 1 teaspoonful of mixed herbs, 3 hard-boiled eggs, 2 oz. of butter, and pepper and salt to taste. Prepare the vegetables, scald and skin the tomatoes, cut them in pieces not bigger than a walnut, stew them in the butter and 1 pint of water until nearly tender, add the pepper and salt and the mixed herbs. When cooked, pour the vegetables into a pie-dish, sprinkle in the sago, add water to make gravy if necessary. Cut the hard-boiled eggs in quarters and place them on the top of the vegetables, cover with a crust made from Allinson wholemeal, and bake until it is brown.

10 oz. of Allinson wholemeal, 8 oz. of butter or vege-butter, 1 teacupful of cold water. Rub the butter into the meal, add the water, mixing the paste with a knife. Roll it out, cut strips to line the rim of the pie-dish, cover the vegetable with the crust, decorate it, and bake the pie as directed.

10 oz. of Allinson wholemeal, 3 eggs, 1 pint of milk, and 1/2 lb. of golden syrup. Grease a pudding basin, and pour the golden syrup into it; make a batter with the milk, meal, and eggs, and pour this into the pudding basin on the syrup, but do not stir the batter up with the syrup. Place a piece of buttered paper on the top of the batter, tie a cloth over the basin unless you have a basin with a fitting metal lid, and steam the pudding for 2 1/2 hours in boiling water. Do not allow any water to boil into the pudding. Dip the basin with the pudding in it for 1 minute in cold water before turning it out, for then it comes out more easily. MENU II.

1 large head of celery or 2 small ones, 1 large Spanish onion, 2 oz. of butter, pepper and salt to taste, and 1 blade of mace. Chop the onion and fry it brown in the butter (or vege-butter) in the saucepan in which the soup is to be made. When brown, add 4 pints of water, the celery washed and cut into pieces, the mace, the pepper and salt. Let all cook until the celery is quite soft, then drain the liquid from the vegetables. Return it to the saucepan, boil the soup up, and add 1 oz. of vermicelli, sago, or Italian paste; let the soup cook until this is quite soft, and serve with sippets of Allinson wholemeal toast.

Pick the beans, wash them and steep them over night in boiling water, just covering them. Allow 2 or 3 oz. of beans for each person. In the morning let them cook gently in the water they are steeped in, with the addition of a little butter, until quite soft, which will be in about 2 hours. The beans should be cooked in only enough water to keep them from burning; therefore, when it boils away, add only just sufficient for absorption. The sauce is made thus: 1 pint of milk, 1 tablespoonful of Allinson wholemeal, a handful of finely chopped parsley, the juice of 1/2 a lemon, pepper and salt to taste. Boil the milk and thicken it with the meal, which should first be smoothed with a little cold milk, then last of all add the lemon juice, the seasoning, and the parsley. This dish should be eaten with potatoes and green vegetables.

1 quart of milk, 6 oz. of ground rice, 1 egg, and any kind of jam. Boil the milk, stir into it the ground rice previously smoothed with some of the cold milk. Let the mixture gook gently for 5 minutes, stir frequently, draw the saucepan to the side, and when it has ceased to boil add the egg well whipped, and mix well. Pour half of the mixture into a pie-dish, spread a layer of jam over it, then pour the rest of the pudding mixture over the jam, and let it brown lightly in the oven. MENU III.

4 good-sized carrots, 1 small head of celery, 1 fair sized onion, a turnip, 3 oz. of Allinson breadcrumbs, 1-1/2 oz. of butter, 1 blade of mace, pepper and salt to taste. Scrape and wash the vegetables, and cut them up small; set them over the fire with 3 pints of water, the butter, bread, and mace. Let all boil together until the vegetables are quite tender, and then rub them through a sieve. Return the mixture to the saucepan, season with pepper and salt, and if too thick add water to the soup, which should be as thick as cream. Boil the soup up, and serve.

1/2 lb. of Patna rice, 1 dessertspoonful of curry powder, salt to taste, and 1 oz. of butter. Wash the rice, put it over the fire in cold water, let it just boil up, then drain the water off. Mix 1 pint of cold water with the curry powder, put this over the fire with the rice, butter, and salt. Cover the rice with a piece of buttered paper and let it simmer gently until the water is absorbed. This will take about 20 minutes. Rice cooked this way will have all the grains separate. For the tomatoes proceed as follows: 1 lb. of tomatoes and a little butter, pepper, and salt. Wash the tomatoes and place them in a flat tin with a few spoonfuls of water; dust them with pepper and salt, and place little bits of butter on each tomato. Bake them from 15 to 20 minutes, according to the size of the tomatoes and the heat of the oven. Place the rice in the centre of a hot flat dish, put the tomatoes round it, pour the liquid over the rice, and serve.

2 lbs. of cooking apples, 1 teacupful of mixed currants and sultanas, 1 heaped-up teaspoonful of ground cinnamon, 2 oz. of blanched and chopped almonds, sugar to taste, Allinson wholemeal bread, and butter. Pare, core, and cut up the apples and set them to cook with a teacupful of water. Some apples require much more water than others. When they are soft add the fruit picked and washed, the cinnamon, and the almonds and sugar. Cut very thin slices of bread and butter, line a buttered pie-dish with them. Place a layer of apples over the buttered bread, and repeat the layers of bread and apples until the dish is full, finishing with a layer of bread and butter. Bake from 3/4 of an hour to 1 hour. MENU IV.

3 oz. of rice, 4 oz. of grated cheese, 1 breakfastcupful of tomato juice, 1 oz. of butter, pepper and salt to taste. Boil the rice till tender in 2-1/2 pints of water, with the butter and seasoning. When quite soft, add the tomato juice and the cheese; stir until the soup boils and the cheese is dissolved, and serve. If too much of the water has boiled away, add a little more.

2 lbs. of potatoes, 3/4 lb. of onions, 1 breakfastcupful of tinned tomatoes or 1/2 lb. of sliced fresh ones, 1 teaspoonful of mixed herbs, 1-1/2 oz. butter, pepper and salt to taste. Those who do not like tomatoes can leave them out, and the dish will still be very savoury. The potatoes should be peeled, washed, and cut into thin slices, and the onions peeled and cut into thin slices. Arrange the vegetables and tomatoes in layers; dust a little pepper and salt between the layer, and finish with a layer of potatoes. Cut the butter into little bits, place them on the top of the potatoes, fill the dish with hot water, and bake the hot-pot for 2 hours or more in a hot oven. Add a little more hot water if necessary while baking to make up for what is lost in the cooking.

4 slices of Allinson bread toasted, 1-1/4 pints of milk, 8 eggs, 1 oz. of butter, sugar to taste, 2 oz. of chopped almonds, 1 teacupful of mixed currants and sultanas and any kind of flavouring—cinammon, lemon, vanilla, or almond essence. Crush the toast in your hands, and soak it in the milk. Whip the eggs up, melt the butter, and add both to the soaked toast. Thoroughly mix all the various ingredients together. Butter a pie-dish and pour the pudding mixture into it; put a few bits of butter on the top, and bake the pudding for 1 hour in a moderately hot oven. MENU V.

2 bunches of leeks, 1-1/2 pints of milk, 1 oz. of butter, 1 lb. of potatoes, pepper and salt to taste, and the juice of 1 lemon. Cut off the coarse part of the green ends of the leeks, and cut the leeks lengthways, so as to be able to brush out the grit. Wash the leeks well, and see no grit remains, then out them in short pieces. Peel, wash, and cut up the potatoes, then cook both vegetables with 2 pints of water. When the vegetables are quite tender, rub them through a sieve. Return the mixture to the saucepan, add the butter, milk, and seasoning, and boil the soup up again. Before serving, add the Lemon juice; serve with sippets of toast or Allinson rusks.

4 slices Allinson bread toast, 8 eggs, 1 pint of milk, 3 oz. of butter, 1 lb. of mushrooms, 1 small onion chopped fine, and pepper and salt to taste. Crush the toast with your hand and soak it in the milk; add the eggs well whipped. Peel, wash, and out up the mushrooms, and fry them and the onion in the butter. When they have cooked in the butter for 10 minutes add them to the other ingredients, and season with pepper and salt. Pour the mixture into a greased pie-dish and bake the savoury for 1 hour. Serve with green vegetables, potatoes, and tomato sauce.

1 quart of milk, 2 oz. of potato flour, 2 oz. of Allinson fine wheatmeal, 1 heaped-up tablespoonful of cocoa, 1 dessertspoonful of vanilla essence, and sugar to taste. Smooth the potato flour, wheatmeal, and cocoa with some of the milk. Add sugar to the rest of the milk, boil it up and thicken it with the smoothed ingredients. Let all simmer for 10 minutes, stir frequently, add the vanilla, and mix it well through. Pour the mixture into a wetted mould; turn out when cold, and serve plain or with cold white sauce. MENU VI.

1 lb. each of artichokes and potatoes, 1 Spanish onion, 1 oz. of butter, 1 pint of milk, and pepper and salt to taste. Peel, wash, and cut into dice the artichokes, potatoes, and onion. Cook them until tender in 1 quart of water with the butter and seasoning. When the vegetables are tender rub them through a sieve. Return the liquid to the saucepan, add the milk and boil the soup up again. Add water it the soup is too thick. Serve with small dice of bread fried crisp in butter or vege-butter.

4 eggs, 1/2 lb. of Allinson fine wheatmeal, 1 pint of milk, pepper and salt to taste, 1 oz. of butter. Thoroughly beat the eggs, make a batter of them with the flour and milk, and season it. Well butter a shallow tin, pour in the batter, and cut the rest of the butter in bits. Scatter them over the batter and bake it 3/4 of an hour. Serve with vegetables, potatoes, and sauce. To use half each of Allinson breakfast oats and wheatmeal flour will be found very tasty.

1-1/2 pints of milk, 5 eggs, vanilla essence, 4 oz. of castor sugar for the caramel, and a little more sugar to sweeten the custard. Heat the milk, whip up the eggs, and carefully stir the hot milk into the beaten eggs; flavour with vanilla and sugar to taste. Meanwhile put the castor sugar into a small enamelled saucepan and stir it over a quick fire until it is quite melted and brown. Add about 2 tablespoonfuls of hot water to the caramel, stir thoroughly, and pour it into a tin mould or a cake tin. Let the caramel run all round the sides of the tin; pour in the custard, and bake it in a moderate oven, standing in a larger tin of boiling water, until the custard is set. Let it get cold, turn out, and serve. This is a very dainty sweet dish. MENU VII.

2 lbs. of potatoes, 1/2 a stick of celery or the outer stalks of a head of celery, saving the heart for table use, 1 large Spanish onion, 1 pint of milk, 1 oz. of butter, a heaped-up tablespoonful of finely chopped Parsley, and pepper and salt to taste. Peel, wash, and cut in pieces the potatoes, peel and chop roughly the onion, prepare and cut in small pieces the celery. Cook the vegetables in 8 pints of water until they are quite soft. Rub them through a sieve, return the fluid mixture to the saucepan; add the milk, butter, and seasoning, and boil the soup up again; if too thick, add more water. Mix the parsley in the soup just before serving.

1/2 lb. of Allinson bread, 3 oz. of grated cheese, 1 pint of milk, 3 eggs, pepper and salt to taste, a little nutmeg, and some butter. Cut the bread into slices and butter them; arrange in layers in a pie-dish, spreading some cheese between the layers, and dusting with pepper, salt, and a little nutmeg. Finish with a good sprinkling of cheese. Whip up the eggs, mix them with the milk, and pour the mixture over the bread and cheese in the pie-dish. Pour the custard back into the basin, and repeat the pouring over the contents of the pie-dish. If this is done two or three times, the top slices of bread and butter get soaked, and then bake better. This should also be done when a bread and butter pudding is made. Bake the savoury until brown, which it will be in about 3/4 of an hour.

The juice of 7 oranges and of 1 lemon, 6 oz. of sugar, 4 eggs, and 4 oz. of Allinson cornflour. Add enough water to the fruit juices to make 1 quart of liquid; put 1-1/2 pints of this over the fire with the sugar. With the rest smooth the cornflour and mix with it the eggs well beaten. When the liquid in the saucepan is near the boil, stir into it the mixture of egg and cornflour. Keep stirring the mixture over a gentle fire until it has cooked 5 minutes. Turn it into a wetted mould and allow to get cold, then turn out and serve.