Use the finished product for the school lunch or have it served nicely in the class, letting the pupils taste it. Encourage them to bring a dish from home to take the results of their work home for the family meal if a school lunch is not served, or if they do not need a lunch. Give careful directions for washing dishes and supervise the housework carefully. (It may be necessary to go on with some other recitation before the baking is completed, in which case one member of the class should be appointed to watch the oven.) Questions to serve as a guide in the development of the lesson: What food have we on hand for use to-day? Does this food need cooking? Why? How shall we prepare it for cooking? How shall we care for the fire? How long will it be necessary to cook this food? (Time the baking carefully and discuss more thoroughly at the close of the lesson.) How can we tell when it is done? How shall we serve it? For what meal shall we serve it? Of what value is it to the body? Home assignment.-Pupils should prepare the baked dish at home and report their work at the next lesson. LESSON II. PREPARING AND SERVING VEGETABLES. Water and Mineral Matter in Vegetables. How to Prepare and Serve Uncooked Vegetables, Lettuce, Cress, Cabbage, etc. Cooking by Moist Heat. How to Boil, Season, and Serve Beet Tops, Turnip Tops, Cabbage Sprouts, Kale, Spinach, Mustard, or other Vegetable Greens. SUBJECT MATTER. Water. All fluids and tissues of the body contain large quantities of water, therefore water is regarded as one of the most important foodstuffs required by the body. Practically all foods contain some water. The fresh vegetables and fruits provide the body with a high per cent of water. Water is a valuable medium for cooking. As it heats, small bubbles are formed which continually increase in number and size, but gradually disappear. Some time before the boiling point is reached an occasional large bubble will rise to the surface and disappear. The water has then reached the simmering point, 185°, a temperature frequently made use of in cooking. When many bubbles form and break, causing a commotion on the surface of the water, the boiling point, 212°, has been reached. Mineral matter.-Mineral matter is a second foodstuff that is needed by the body, but the amount required is very small. If a variety of food is used there is generally enough mineral matter in the diet. Fruits and vegetables, especially fresh green vegetables, are comparatively rich in mineral matter. Mineral matter builds up the bones and certain tissues like hair, teeth, and nails, and regulates the body processes by keeping the blood and digestive fluids in proper condition. Green vegetables.-The green vegetables hold an important place in the diet because they contain valuable mineral salts. They also contain a high percentage of water and considerable cellulose. With few exceptions they should be eaten raw, because the mineral salts, being soluble, are lost in the water in which they are cooked, and because the cellulose serves its purpose best in the crisp form. Cabbage is rendered much more difficult of digestion by cooking. Spinach, beet tops, etc., are more palatable cooked. The delicately flavored vegetables should be boiled in a very small amount of water, so that they need not be drained. Thus the mineral matter will be retained when the vegetables are served. PRELIMINARY PLAN. There should be provided for the lesson some fresh vegetables in season (from the home of the pupils, if possible), one that can be cooked by boiling, and one that can be served uncooked with a simple dressing. One of the pupils should write the recipes on the blackboard before the lesson hour. RECIPES. Preparation of Fresh Green Vegetables.1 Wash vegetables thoroughly, leaving in cold water to crisp, if wilted. Keep cool until ready to serve, then arrange neatly and dress with salt, vinegar, and oil as desired, or prepare a French dressing as follows: French Dressing. teaspoon salt. teaspoon pepper. 1 tablespoon vinegar. 3 tablespoons salad oil. Stir briskly until thoroughly combined and use at once. Recipe for boiling and seasoning fresh, green vegetables. Wash vegetables carefully, put on to cook in boiling water. Delicately flavored vegetables (spinach, celery, fresh peas, etc.) will require but little water and that should be allowed to boil away at the last. If spinach is stirred constantly, no water need be added. Starchy vegetables should be completely covered with water, and strong-flavored vegetables (as turnips, onions, cabbage, and cauliflower) should be cooked in a large amount of boiling water. After vegetables have cooked for a few minutes salt should be added, one teaspoonful to each quart of water. 1 It may be well to omit from this lesson the uncooked vegetable that is served in the form of a salad and to give it at some other time. It is not well to attempt to teach more than the girls can master thoroughly. Cook the vegetable until it can be easily pierced with a fork. Let the water boil away at the last. If necessary to drain, do so as soon as the vegetable is tender. Season with salt, pepper, and butter ( teaspoon salt, teaspoon pepper, and tablespoon butter to each cup of vegetable). See Farmers' Bulletin 256, The preparation of vegetables for the table. METHOD OF WORK. Discuss the boiling of water and its value in cooking. Have the girls observe and describe the boiling of water. If a new tin saucepan or other bright tin vessel is at hand to heat the water in, the changes which take place as the temperature increases will be more readily apparent and the girls will enjoy watching the process. Discuss why one vegetable is to be cooked and the other served uncooked. Emphasize the cleaning of the vegetable, its structure, composition, and the effect of the boiling water upon it. After the vegetable has been put on to cook, discuss the method of seasoning or dressing the vegetable which is to be served uncooked, and have it prepared to serve attractively on the plates. Especial emphasis should be placed on the use of fresh, green vegetables. Continue the discussion of vegetables, having the members of the class suggest others that can be prepared as a salad or cooked in the manner illustrated, writing the list on the blackboard for them to copy in their books. When the cooked vegetable is tender have it drained, seasoned. and served, and serve the uncooked vegetable at the same time. When ready for serving, have the pupils arrange their plates and forks carefully, then have them all sit down but the two who pass the two vegetables. Be sure that the pupils eat carefully and nicely. Emphasize housework as on previous day. Questions to serve as a guide in the development of the lesson: How shall we prepare our vegetables for serving? Of what value is hot water in cooking food? How must the vegetable be prepared for boiling? Will it be necessary to add any more? Will it be necessary to cover the saucepan? How hot must the water be kept? How can one tell when the water is sufficiently hot? How can we determine when the food has cooked long enough? How shall we serve this vegetable? How does boiling compare with baking? In time? In flavor? In amount of fuel used? In amount of work necessary? Home assignment.-Practice in the boiling and serving of vegetables. LESSON III. THE VALUE OF CARBOHYDRATES IN THE DIET. Potatoes as a Source of Carbohydrates. The Choice, Cost, Care, Composition, Food Value, and Cooking of Sweet Potatoes and White Potatoes, Baked Squash, Steamed Squash. SUBJECT MATTER. Carbohydrates. A third class of food stuffs required by the body is known as the carbohydrates or sugars and starches. This class of foods is used as fuel for the production of heat and energy in the body. Excess of carbohydrates may be stored in the body as fatty tissue. Potatoes.-Potatoes are a cheap source of carbohydrates. They are also valuable for their mineral matter and for the large quantity of water which they contain. Three-fourths of the potato is water. The framework of the potato has a basis of cellulose, which is an indigestible carbohydrate material. Potatoes have only a small amount of cellulose, however, and they are comparatively easy of digestion. When dry and mealy they are most easy of digestion. Sweet potatoes contain a larger per cent of sugar than white potatoes and the cellulose in sweet potatoes softens more quickly when cooking. When used for a meal, potatoes should be supplemented by some muscle-building food, such as milk, cheese, eggs, fish, or meat. PRELIMINARY PLAN. At some previous period the teacher should have discussed with the girls the use of potatoes and learn from them the various ways in which they cook them in their homes. She should determine upon some recipes for the lesson that will increase the variety of ways in which potatoes can be served and will improve the methods used. Each girl should be asked to bring one or two potatoes for the lesson. It will be well to cook in class the kind of potato that is cheapest and most commonly used in the community. The best methods of cooking and means of securing variety should be emphasized. RECIPES. 6 potatoes. cup hot milk or cream. Mashed Potatoes. 1 tablespoon butter. 1 teaspoon salt. Wash and pare potatoes, boil, drain, dry, and mash (with a potato masher) in the saucepan in which they were cooked. Beat them until very light and creamy; add hot milk, butter, and salt and beat again, reheat, and serve. Serves 6 to 8. Browned Potatoes. Wash, scrub, and pare potatoes of uniform size. Parboil 10 minutes, then put in dripping pan with meat or on a rack in a baking pan. Baste with fat every 10 minutes when meat is basted. Experiment to show presence of starch in potatoes. Scrub and pare a potato. Examine a thin cross section. Grate the potato. Remove the coarse shredded portion. Examine. Heat the liquid and stir until boiling. How has it changed? Fried Sweet Potatoes. Cut cold boiled potatoes in one-fourth inch slices, season with salt and pepper, put into a hot, well-greased frying pan, brown on one side, turn and brown on the other side. Glazed Sweet Potatoes. 6 sweet potatoes. cup sugar. 4 tablespoons boiling water. salted water; drain, cut in halves Make a sirup of sugar and water, Scrub, pare, and boil potatoes 10 minutes in lengthwise and put into a buttered baking pan. boil 3 minutes, add butter. Baste potatoes with sirup, put into a hot oven, cook 15 minutes, or until browned, basting every 5 minutes. Serves 8 to 10. Steamed Squash. Prepare squash as for baking, put in steamer over boiling water, and cook 30 minutes or until soft. Then scrape squash from shell, mash, and season with butter, salt, and pepper. Baked Squash. Wipe shell of squash, cut it into pieces for serving, remove seeds and stringy portion, place in a dripping pan, and bake in a slow oven three-quarters of an hour (until tender). Serve at once. See Farmers' Bulletin 256, The preparation of vegetables for table. METHOD OF WORK. Discuss the composition and structure of the potato. Read over and discuss the recipes that are to be used. Make assignments for work. After the potatoes have been put on to cook, have the class examine a raw potato, following the directions given.' If one of the recipes requires the use of the oven, be careful to have the potatoes for it prepared first and as quickly as possible. It may be necessary to proceed with another class, assigning one pupil to take care of the baking. Special attention should be given to careful serving of the potatoes. Home assignment. Before the next lesson each pupil should be able to report that she has cooked potatoes at home, using the recipes learned in class. 1 Squash is another vegetable containing a high percentage of carbohydrate. The recipe for squash can be prepared at this time or made use of in some other lesson. |