VERMICELLI PUDDING.—­Flavor two and one half cups of milk with lemon as directed on page 229.  Drop into it, when boiling, four ounces of vermicelli, crushing it lightly with one hand while sprinkling it in, and stir to keep it from gathering in lumps.  Let it cook gently in a double boiler, stirring often until it is tender and very thick.  Then pour it into a pudding dish, let it cool, and add a tablespoonful of rather thick sweet cream if you have it (it does very well without), half a cup of sugar, and lastly, two well-beaten eggs.  Bake in a moderately hot oven till browned over the top.

WHITE CUSTARD.—­Beat together thoroughly one cup of milk, the whites of two eggs, one tablespoonful of sugar, and one and one half tablespoonfuls of almondine.  Turn into cups and steam or bake until the custard is set.

WHITE CUSTARD NO. 2.—­Cook a half cup of farina in a quart of milk in a double boiler, for an hour.  Remove from the stove, and allow it to become partially cool, then add one half cup of sugar, the whites of two eggs, and one half the yolk of one egg.  Turn into a pudding dish, and bake twenty minutes or until the custard is well set.

STEAMED PUDDING.

The following precautions are necessary to be observed in steaming puddings or desserts of any sort:—­

1.  Have the water boiling rapidly when the pudding is placed in the steamer, and keep it constantly boiling.

2.  Replenish, if needed, with boiling water, never with cold.

3.  Do not open the steamer and let in the air upon the pudding, until it is done.

RECIPES.

BATTER PUDDING.—­Beat four eggs thoroughly; add to them a pint of milk, and if desired, a little salt.  Sift a teacupful of flour and add it gradually to the milk and eggs, beating lightly the while.  Then pour the whole mixture through, a fine wire strainer into a small pail with cover, in which it can be steamed.  This straining is imperative.  The cover of the pail should be tight fitting, as the steam getting into the pudding spoils it.  Place the pail in a kettle of boiling water, and do not touch or move it until the pudding is done.  It takes exactly an hour to cook.  If moved or jarred during the cooking, it will be likely to fall.  Slip it out of the pail on a hot dish, and serve with cream sauce.  A double boiler with tightly fitting cover is excellent for cooking this pudding.

BREAD AND FRUIT CUSTARD.—­Soak a cupful of finely grated bread crumbs in a pint of rich milk heated to scalding.  Add two thirds of a cup of sugar, and the grated yellow rind of half a lemon.  When cool, add two eggs well beaten.  Also two cups of canned apricots or peaches drained of juice, or, if preferred, a mixture of one and one half cups of chopped apples, one half cup of raisins, and a little citron.  Turn into a pudding dish, and steam in a steamer over a kettle of boiling water for two hours.  The amount of sugar necessary will vary somewhat according to the fruit used.