SUBSTITUTES FOR POTATOES.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume I, Issue 253, 28 November 1914, Page 7

SUBSTITUTES FOR POTATOES.

• Potatoes have already gone up to a price which is almost prohibitive for most households, says a Melbourne writer. Instead of looking on them as one of the cheapest and commonest kinds of food, we shall have fOr the present to treat them as luxuries, to be eaten sparingly. Some housT&wives have already begun 'to make daily use of-two excellent .substitutes'.for potatoes—rice and .■macaroni....'. If v they ; are introduced .judiciously at first "with the meat course, iii, small quantities and well -cooked, they will be' welcomed even in households where potatoes are considered an indispensable part- of the principal meal. The housekeeper ; will find that she can" effect a'considerable saying by. doing this; her f amilv will be even .better nourished, since! both rice and macaroni are more than potatoes, and are particularly suitable articles of food for hot; weather. So suitable are they that if she can only induce her family to acquiesce in the novel arrangement for a week or two they will probably acquire a taste •for.-.'these- two f or.ms of 'starchy food. To boil, rice well is, like many other accomplishments, the easiest thing, in the vvorld,; once you know how to do: it. A teacupful is enough for a large dish.. Wash.-.the, rice well, and soak it fo? an. hour or* So. Put it in a saucepan: with plenty of fresh, cold and a pinch of salt. After It has boiled, stir it occasionally with a spoon, or put an asbestos mat under the saucepan. It is important to use plenty of water,arid to prevent; the rice from sticking to the bottom of the saucepan and becoming burnt. It should be boiled fast (not,slowly, as that makes the grains stick together) for about twenty minutes; Then strain it through a colander, and either Serve it at once in a vegetable dish, or keep it'in the oven for a few minutes till the other dishes are ready. Bice goes well with any kind of meat, or with fish. If there is any left over from dinner, it can he eat;tn cold at lunch the next day with honey, or sugar and milk, or jam.

A dish for several people can be made out of'a teacupful of macaroni. Throw it into a good quantity of boiling water, adding a pinch of salt. Keep it boiling fast for. twenty minutes or half an hour. It should not be taken off the stove till it has swollen to its fullest extent, and is -quite soft. Half-cooked macaroni is unpalatable and indigestible. Just as with rice, you must guard against macaroni sticking to the saucepan. When it is well boiled, "strain it into a colander and serve it in a vegetable dish. Macaroni goes well with stews.- and with, roast joints, kidneys and bacon, and with fish.. If you wish to give some flavour to it, a little cheese may bo grated over it beforeit is served. It also makes, an excellent .separate dish; when served with fried tomatoes.