milk.toast@child.recipes.ca

When Mother Lets Us Cook by Constance Johnson (1908 rpt. 1909) is a gem of a book for its instructions and for its illustrations. The subtitle is very explanatory: "A book of simple receipts for little folk with important cooking rules in rhyme together with handy lists of the materials and utensils needed for the preparation of each dish". For example, the recipe for "Milk Toast" instructions account for access to a toaster by giving instructions for toasting bread with a long fork ("Take off one of the stove covers and toast your bread over a hot fire until one side is brown, and then toast it on the other side") or using the oven ("If the fire is not hot the toast will be tough and hard. This is generally the trouble when toast is made in the oven, or when it is made before you want to use it."). The buttered toast is placed in a dish, salted and peppered and then hot milk is poured over the toast. A simple dish with elaborate instructions. Makes one long for a wood stove just so one could use a long fork ...