Allinson - The Allinson Vegetarian Cookery Book

This book is written with the object of laying before the public acookery book which will be useful not only to vegetarians, but also toflesh eaters, who are often at a loss for recipes for non-fleshdishes. Nowadays most people admit that "too much meat is eaten"; butwhen the housewife tries to put before her family or friends a meal inwhich meat is to be conspicuous by its absence, she is often at a losshow to set about it.

Vegetarians also frequently stay with non-vegetarian friends, or lodgewith others who do not understand how to provide for them. For suchthis book will especially prove useful, for in it will be found a setof thirty menus, one for each day in a month, giving suitable recipeswith quantities for one person only. Throughout this book it will befound that the use of wholemeal has been introduced in the place ofwhite flour. Those persons who do not care to follow the hygienicprinciple in its entirety can easily substitute white flour ifpreferred. The recipes have been written bearing in mind the necessityfor a wholesome diet; and they will be found to be less rich thanthose in most of the cookery books published. Should any one wish tomake the dishes richer, it can easily be done by an addition ofbutter, eggs, or cream.

Let me draw the attention of vegetarians to the use of soaked sago inmany dishes. This is a farinaceous food which should be used much morelargely in vegetarian cookery than it is. Thoroughly soaked sagoshould be used in all dishes, savouries or sweets, in which asubstitute for suet is required to lighten the mixture; that is, inboiled savouries or sweets which are largely made of wholemeal, as,for instance, in vegetable haggis, roly-poly pudding, and all fruit orvegetable puddings which are boiled in a paste. When soaked sago isused (taking a teacupful of dry sago to two breakfastcupfuls of meal)a light paste will be obtained which would mislead any meat eater intothe belief that suet or, at any rate, baking powder had been used.Baking powder, tartaric acid, soda and bicarbonate of soda, are allmost injurious to the system, and these chemicals have been left outof this book entirely. In breads and cakes I have used a smallquantity of yeast for the rising of the dough; those who once have gotaccustomed to the use of yeast will not find it any more trouble thanusing baking powder. It may here be beneficial to give a few hints asto the harm done by the use of the most commonly introduced chemicals,namely, soda, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder, tartaric acid, andcitric acid. Not only do they delay the digestion of the foods inwhich they are used, and give rise to various stomach troubles, butalso cause rheumatism and gout, and often are the primary cause ofstone in the kidney and bladder. Another danger lies in the fact thatthese chemicals are too dear to be supplied pure to the public, whichalways demands cheap goods, and the result is that many of thechemicals in the market are mixed with other still worse poisons, likearsenic, for instance. Self-raising flour, which is liked by so manyon account of its convenience, is nothing but ordinary flour mixedwith some sort of baking powder; in the same way egg powders aresimply starch powders, coloured and flavoured, mixed with bakingpowder. Tartaric acid and citric acid also belong to the class ofinjurious chemicals. They are often used in the making of acid drinks,when lemons are not handy. They irritate the stomach violently, andoften cause acute dyspepsia. These few remarks will, I hope, convincethe readers that all these chemicals are best avoided in culinarypreparations. Even salt and spices are best used in great moderation;if our dishes could be prepared without them it would be far the best;but it takes a long time to wean people entirely from the use ofcondiments; the first step towards it is to use them as sparingly aspossible.

I have tried to make this a hygienic cookery book; but there are anumber of dishes introduced which can hardly claim to be hygienic; ithas to be left to the good judgment of the readers to use them on rareoccasions only, and it will be better for the health of eachindividual if the plainer dishes only are prepared for the dailytable. I wish here to impress on vegetarians, and those who wish togive the diet a trial, not to eat much pulse; this is the rock onwhich many "would-be vegetarians" come to grief. They take these veryconcentrated, nitrogenous foods in rather large quantities, becausethey have an idea that only they will support them when the use ofmeat is abandoned. They are foods which, to be beneficial to thesystem of the consumer, require a great deal of muscular exertion onhis part. The results to persons of sedentary habits of eating pulsefoods often are indigestion, heavy and dull feelings, and generaldiscomfort. In my own household butter beans, the most concentratedof all foods, come on the table perhaps once a month, lentils or peasperhaps once a week. None but those persons who have strong digestiveorgans should eat pulse foods at all; and then only when they haveplenty of physical work to do. I have known several people who triedvegetarianism who have given up the trial in despair, and, when Iinquired closely into the causes, the abuse of pulse food wasgenerally the chief one.

I now leave this book in the hands of the public. I hope that it willbe found useful by many and a help to those who wish to live in a waywhich is conducive to health and at the same time innocent ofslaughter and cruelty. The health of the nation to a great extent isin the hands of our cooks and housewives. If they learn to preparewholesome and pure food, those who are dependent on them will benefitby it. Healthful cookery must result in health to the household and,therefore, to the nation. Avoid disease-communicating foods, use thoseonly which are conducive to health, and you will be rewarded by anincrease of health and consequently of happiness.

ARTICHOKE SOUP.

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

HARICOT SOUP.

1 lb. of haricot beans, 1/2 lb. of onions, 1 lb. of turnips, 2carrots, 2 sticks of celery, 1 teaspoonful of mixed herbs, 1/2 oz. ofparsley, 1 oz. of butter, 2 quarts of water, pepper and salt to taste.Cut up the vegetables and set them to boil in the water with theharicot beans (which should have been steeped over night in coldwater), adding the butter, herbs, and seasoning. Cook all very gentlyfor 3-1/2 to 4 hours, stirring occasionally. When the beans are quitetender, rub the soup through a sieve, adding more water if needed;return it to the saucepan, add the parsley chopped up finely, boil itup and serve.