ON THE INVALID’S TRAY

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXV, Issue 18635, 2 August 1930, Page 14

ON THE INVALID’S TRAY

HOW TO TEMPT THE CONVALESCENT’S APPETITE. Convalescent appetites are fickle things and need to be tempted by every known means. Half the battle of making the invalid eat is to serve the food attractively, and the other half is to send it up in small quantities. There is nothing like a very large portion of something to remove all one’s desire for food. To make soup more nourishing, milk or cream can be added to tomato or cream soups. Some good meat extract can be melted and added to clear soup, and mutton broth can be made with plenty of vegetables and pearl barley, and strained before it is sent upstairs. If the soup course is to be the main dish of the meal it is a good idea to serve a lightly poached egg in it, using a clear soup.

Making Fish Tasty. Fish for the invalid is best steamed between two plates, with a little butter, a squeeze of lemon juice, and seasonings. A little anchovy or shrimp sauce can be sent up in a separate receptacle if liked, but should not be poured over the fish. Another way to cook fish is to steam or bake in milk, with a little butter added, and make a sauce with the milk in which it is cooked. Such things as brains and sweetbreads are excellent invalid fare. They should first be well washed in salted water, and then cooked carefully in milk This can be thickened before serving if liked. For a more advanced invalid the brains can be baked between layers of breadcrumbs and dabs of butter, and served in the individual'' dish in which they are cooked. Chicken can be cooked till tender, then minced and moulded with an egg, some cream and seasonings, and set in a steamed shape. With this it is often a good idea to serve a border of some of the w’hite meat cut into dice, because there are times when the sight of a little solid meat is rather tempting than otherwise. Too muchpounded and minced food grows monotonous. Small mutton cutlets can be steamed between plates, like fillets of fish, or they can be lightly grilled. They should be very well trimmed. Lamb can be moulded if it is put through the mincing machine while raw, and mixed with a beaten egg, some breadcrumbs, and a little cream. Season well and steam.

Appetising Sweets. Sweets should be as pretty as possible. Small bowls of junket should be served with fruit and a layer of cream. Baked custards can be varied in flavour by adding almond essence or ground almonds, coffee, or a little brandy. If the patient is not fond of sweet things the meal can be rounded off with a custard flavoured with beeftea or meat-extract, or it can even be made with cheese. Baked apples can be cooked after being peeled and cored, and look pretty if slightly tinted with carmine, their centres filled with red jelly and topped with cream. Bananas can be mashed “with cream and bramble jelly, prunes can be made into jelly and served with cream. A tiny glass of orange juice should be placed on the invalid’s tray at breakfast time, and there should be plenty of freshly made lemonade and barley water, kept in a covered jug or glass.