Pour into the inner part of the double boiler 1 quart of water. When hot, stir into it 1 cup of rolled oats, and let it boil rapidly until it thickens; then set in the outer part of the double boiler; the water in it should be boiling. Cook three hours or more. It will not hurt them to cook all night, and may be cooked on a coal stove all night, and be ready for breakfast. If desired, salt may be added to the water before adding the rolled oats.
An excellent gruel may be made by sifting the cooked rolled oats through a sieve and adding water to make of the right consistency. A little salt and nut butter may be added if desired, or a little dairy cream or milk. This gruel is excellent for children and invalids.
Barley is not so nutritious as wheat, and is more difficult to digest. Pearl barley is the most common form in which it is used.
To Cook Pearl Barley.- Take 1 quart of cold water in the inner part of a double boiler, salt to taste, and add 1 cup of pearl barley. Place in the outer boiler, and let come to the boiling-point slowly. Cook for four or five hours, and serve the same as cracked wheat.
Soak 1 cup of pearl barley, and 1 cup of blanched raw peanuts overnight. In the morning cook the barley in a double boiler and the peanuts in a kettle. (See directions for cooking peanuts.) When the peanuts are done, and have only a little water, pour them in with the barley, carefully fold them in, and let them continue to cook for an hour or more.
Rice is a grain very easy of digestion. It is very rich in starch, but lacking in the nitrogenous elements, therefore it should be eaten with some foods that have an excess of that element, as nuts, legumes, eggs, or milk.
Look over and thoroughly wash the rice. To 1 cup of rice add 2 cups of water, and 2 cups of nut milk; salt to taste. Place in a steamer, and steam one hour, stirring occasionally with a fork, lifting it up to keep it from being soggy. Serve hot with cream or any sauce desired.
Put a quantity of rice in the Family Peanut Roaster (4 or 5 pounds can be roasted at a time if desired), and place over a wood- or gas-stove. If the latter is used, it will take constant but slow turning; it is not necessary that it should be turned fast. Watch closely. When done, it should be of a yellowish-brown color. Use 1 cup of rice to 2 cups of water. Add a little salt. Steam the same as the above recipe. When done, each kernel should be separate, dry, and mealy. It is very palatable eaten without a dressing, but can be eaten with nut cream or with a fruit sauce if desired.
Take 1 cup of browned rice, steam it in 3 cups of water for twenty-five minutes. When cold, add 1 cup of sifted tomato pulp. Beat 4 eggs, the whites and yolks separately, add the yolks first, and fold in the stiffly beaten whites last, turn into an oiled pan, and bake in a quick oven for twenty minutes. Serve immediately.