Broth for Sick and Convalescent Persons
Put a Crag-end of a Neck of Mutton, a Knuckle of Veal, and a Pullet into a Pipkin of water, with a spoonful or two of French-barley first scalded in a water or two. The Pullet is put in after the other meat is well skimmed, and hath boiled an hour. A good hour after that, put in a large quantity of Sorrel, Lettice, Purslane, Borage and Bugloss, and boil an hour more at least three hours in all. Before you put in the herbs, season the broth with Salt, a little Pepper and Cloves, strain out the broth and drink it.
But for Potage, put at first a good piece of fleshy young Beef with the rest of the meat. And put not in your herbs till half an hour before you take off the Pot. When you use not herbs, but Carrots and Turneps, put in a little Peny-royal and a sprig of Thyme. Vary in the season with Green-pease, or Cucumber quartered longwise, or Green sower Verjuyce Grapes; always well-seasoned with Pepper and Salt and Cloves. You pour some of the broth upon the sliced-bread by little and little, stewing it, before you put the Herbs upon the Potage.
The best way of ordering your bread in Potages, is thus. Take light spungy fine white French-bread, cut only the crusts into tosts. Tost them exceeding dry before the fire, so that they be yellow. Then put them hot into a hot dish, and pour upon them some very good strong broth, boiling hot. Cover this, and let them stew together gently, not boil; and feed it with fresh-broth, still as it needeth; This will make the bread swell much, and become like gelly.
Source: The Closet Of Sir Kenelm Digby Knight Opened, K. Digby
Filed under Remedy | Tags: barley, beef, borage, bread, broth, bugloss, carrots, chicken, cloves, convalescence, convalescent, cucumber, digby, grapes, green peas, jelly, lettuce, mutton, pease, pennyroyal, pepper, pipkin, potage, pullet, purslane, salt, sick, sorrel, thume, turnips, veal | Comment (0)Mulled Wine
Take a quarter of an ounce of bruised cinnamon, half a nutmeg, (grated), and ten bruised cloves ; infuse them in half a pint of boiling water for an hour, strain, and add half an ounce of white sugar. Pour the whole into a pint of hot port or sherry wine. This is a good cordial and restorative in the low stages of fever, or in the debility of convalescence from fevers.
Source: The Housekeeper’s Friend: A Practical Cookbook