t
for soups, gruels, hot milk, etc. To prepare the _croutons_ cut the
fragments as nearly uniform in size as possible,--half-inch cubes are
convenient,--and place them on tins in a warming oven to dry. Let them
become crisply dry, and lightly browned, but not scorched. They are
preferable to crackers for use in soups, and require so little work to
prepare, and are so economical withal, that one who has once tried them
will be likely to keep a supply on hand. The crumbs and still smaller
fragments may be utilized for thickening soups and for various dressings
and puddings, recipes for many of which are given in preceding chapters.

If crumbs and small bits of bread accumulate more rapidly than they can
be used, they may be carefully dried, not browned, in a warming oven,
after which put them in a mortar and pound them, or spread them upon an
old bread board, fold in a clean cloth and roll them with a rolling pin
until fine. Prepared thus, stored in glass fruit cans and put away in a
dry place, they will keep almost indefinitely, and can be used when
needed. For preparing escalloped vegetables of all kinds, these prepared
crumbs are excellent; they give a fine, nutty flavor to the dish, which
fresh crumbs do not possess.

LEFT-OVER GRAINS.--Left-over grains, if well kept, may be reheated
in a double boiler without the addition of water, so as to be quite as
palatable as when freshly cooked. Small quantities of left-over grains
can be utilized for preparing various kinds of desserts, where the
ingredients require previous cooking. Rice, barley, pearl wheat, and
other whole grains can be satisfactorily used in soups in which a whole
grain is required; oatmeal, rolled oats, corn meal, grits, etc., with
the addition of a little milk and cream, may be made into delicious
gruels; they may also be used advantageously in the preparation of
vegetable soups, many of which are even improved by the addition of a
few spoonfuls of well-kept cooked oatmeal or rolled oats. The left-over
grains may also be utilized in a variety of breads, directions for the
preparation of which are given in the chapter on Bread.

LEFT-OVER VEGETABLES.--Left-over portions of most varieties of
vegetables can be best utilized for soups as stated on page 275. Cold
mashed potato may be made into potato cakes as directed on page 237 of
the chapter on Vegetables, where will also be found many other recipes,
suited to the use of these left-over foods.

LEFT-O