Let me emphasize that you don't need to buy the most expensive cuts of meat in order to obtain the most protein nutrition from flesh foods. The cheaper cuts of beef and lamb, as well as their gland and organ meats, contain just as much, often more, nutrition as the most costly steaks, chops and roasts.

In addition, the proteins in fish and poultry are as valuable to your body as those to be had from beef or lamb. So don't bankrupt the budget in an effort to obtain the finest cut of meat in the butcher shop with the thought that it will be "better nutrition." It's not necessary. Get acquainted with the cheaper cuts, and above all try to cultivate—if you don't have already—a taste for highly nutritious liver, heart and brains.

I have tried to include recipes for as many types of flesh foods as might please the appetites of the average family, with greater emphasis on the less expensive meats so that you will have meat often—at least once, if not twice, a day if your budget permits. Otherwise no less frequently than every second day, with fill-ins of cheese, eggs and meat-substitute dishes on the days when meat, fish or poultry does not grace your table.

Remember always to cook all meats (other high-protein foods as well) slowly at low temperatures to conserve the proteins and vitamins, to avoid undue shrinkage, to obtain tenderer, juicier meat, and to avoid scorched drippings.

HIGH-PROTEIN MEAT LOAF

1 lb. ground meat (this may be  1 clove garlic

all beef or lamb, all liver or

4 tbsp. finely chopped green heart, or a mixture of muscle pepper or red pimento and organ meats)

1 tbsp. cooking oil

4 tbsp. wheat germ, or millet 1 tsp. salt

meal 1/4 tsp. thyme

4 tbsp. sunflower seed meal pinch of sweet basil

1/3 cup powdered skim milk dash of nutmeg or mace

1  egg, slightly beaten  2 tbsp. grated Italian cheese, if

2  tsp. lemon juice desired

1/4cup milk

Let the peeled, split garlic clove soak in the liquid milk for at least 30 minutes to 1 hour before using. Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl, governing the amount of liquid milk according to the consistency—not too soft, nor yet too stiff to mold well. Shape into a large loaf and place in the greased bottom of a cov­ered baking pan or small roaster. Spoon about 1/4cup of tomato juice or diluted tomato paste over the top of the loaf. Cover and allow to bake in a moderate oven (35o0 F.) for 45 to 55 minutes, removing the cover for the last 10 minutes to allow slight brown­ing on top. This is your basic meat-loaf recipe, to be used as presented, or adapted in any variations that occur to you, or that fit the ingredients you have on hand. You'll find this high-protein meat loaf as delicious cold as hot, and it makes a splendid low-cost meat for lunch boxes or buffet suppers. If you want to gar­nish it, arrange crescents of hard-cooked egg with strips of red pimento and hulled sunflower seeds into flower and petal designs on top of the loaf after it comes from the oven. By serving this high-protein entree at least once a week, allowing for some to be left over for lunches or a meal the next day, you will find the meat budget stretching further than you had expected.

SAVORY POT ROAST

3 to 4 lbs. pot roast (chuck, 1 clove garlic

rump, shoulder or heel of 2 tbsp. grated lemon rind

round) 2 cups sour cream

3 tbsp. cooking oil salt to taste

Rub the roast well with salt and the cut halves of the garlic clove. Then place the garlic in the sour cream to flavor it. Rub the entire roast with about 1/3 of the cooking oil in order to seal in the juices and flavor. Heat the remainder of the oil in a Dutch oven or heavy, deep, iron skillet which can be tightly covered. Brown the roast lightly in the oil, add the grated lemon rind, allowing to simmer a few minutes before pouring the sour cream over the roast and spooning up the pan gravy with the lemon rind over the meat to let the flavor penetrate into the roast. Cover and cook over a very slow fire for about 21/2 to 3 hours, basting the meat often to avoid drying and sticking to the pan. About 30 minutes before the meat is done (and remember that the sour cream will help tenderize it), add 3 or 4 cleaned whole carrots to brown in the sauce around the meat. This produces the most tasty pot roast you've ever eaten. The garlic clove may be left in the sauce for the first 30 minutes, then removed. This roast is excellent for slicing cold, and it's one leftover the family won't mind seeing the second day in a row. When served cold, add to the menu a hot baked potato, a cooked green vegetable and a fruit mold.

HUNGARIAN LAMB

3 lbs. shoulder lamb cut into 2 tbsp. cooking oil or butter

small cubes 1 tbsp. minced parsley

1 cup thick sour cream, or 1/2 tsp. salt yogurt  dash of paprika

2 cups tomato juice, or 4 tbsp. sprig of fresh sweet marjoram,

tomato paste diluted with 3 or a pinch each of dried marcups water joram and summer savory

2 small onions

Heat the oil in a Dutch oven or covered chicken fryer, add the finely minced onions and brown lightly. Add the cubes of lamb from which all fat and tendons have been removed, and into which the salt and paprika have been well rubbed. Allow to brown lightly. Stir in the tomato juice, parsley and herbs. Cover and let simmer over a very low flame on top of the stove for about 2 hours. The covered skillet or Dutch oven may also be placed in a slow (3oo0 to 3250 F.) oven for about the same length of time. Add a little hot water if the sauce around the meat cooks low. Immediately before serving, stir in the sour cream or yogurt, mixing it well with the meat and tomato juice. Garnish the platter with sprigs of fresh mint, if available. Even people who "don't like" lamb come back for a second helping of this delicious entree.

BEEF CASSEROLE

1  lb. chuck beef  2 tbsp. cooking oil

2  tbsp. millet meal 1 cup stewed or canned toma1 tsp. salt toes

1/4 tsp. paprika 1 garlic clove

dash of mace or nutmeg hot water

Cut the beef into one-inch cubes, roll in the millet meal into which have been blended the salt, paprika and nutmeg or mace. Heat the oil in a heavy skillet and brown the cubes lightly. Pour over them the tomatoes in which the clove of garlic has been soaking, removing the garlic if only a mild flavor is desired, other­wise allowing it to remain. Add enough hot water to cover. Bake in a covered casserole in a moderate oven (350° F.) for about 2 hours, or until the meat cubes are tender. This is your "economy" dish, one that will provide a full quota of high protein for one meal's entree when your budget is running low.

CAMPFIRE BROILED STEAK (AT HOME!) Nowhere does a steak taste as delicious as when broiled over an open fire. Of course open fires are out of the question in a modern kitchen, but you can broil your steak by the same principles that make the campfire steak "out o£ this world." Here's what you do: Rub your steak well with a cut clove of garlic, but do not salt. Place on the cold broiler rack, in an oven that has not been preheated, about 3 to 3½ inches below a very low flame—about as low as the flame can be without going out. Now, the whole secret hinges on leaving the broiler door open, so that the steak does not become dry from the too-great heat of the closed-in broiler. The secret of open-air cooking is that subtle mixture of hot and cool air which cooks the meat at the same time that it allows the steak to retain its natural juiciness. A steak cooked under this very low flame, with the broiler door open, will take longer, but it's worth every extra minute you wait for it! In order to even the browning, turn the steak several times, taking particular care not to pierce the meat with your fork, otherwise much valuable nutrition is lost in the juice that runs out. Try to put the fork in the fat, or hook it under the bone. Then when the steak is done to your taste, remove to a heated platter, salt both sides, squeeze a few drops of lemon juice over it, and allow a piece of butter to melt and blend into the juicy meat. Once you've broiled a steak this way, you'll never again waste another piece of expensive meat by ruining it in the old cooked-to-death, hurry-up, smell-up-the-house way. There is little or no splattering of grease in this low-fire, slow-cooking method of steak broiling, nor will the steak smell while cooking. Which, of course, means that you eat the food value that formerly was wasted by cooking temperatures so high that the delicious food smell reached your nostrils instead of your tummy.

Variation: Instead of salting the steak when it leaves the broiler, remove from the broiling pan a few minutes before the meat is done to your taste, spread the top side with softened Roquefort cheese, return to the broiler for a few minutes longer, then remove to a heated platter and garnish with chopped chives. This method of preparing a steak gives you a "double dose" of protein and is a real energy meal.

BROILED LIVER SUPREME

1 to 11/2 lbs. calves' liver dash of mace or nutmeg

1 garlic clove 1 large onion cut in rings

3 tbsp. melted butter or cook- (optional)

ing oil 1 scant tbsp. cooking wine or

1/2 tsp. salt lemon juice

Prepare the liver by wiping with a damp cloth, and removing all skin and veins. Cut into slices about ½-inch thick for in­dividual servings, and rub each side with the cut halves of the garlic clove. Sprinkle lightly with salt on both sides, dash the tiniest bit of mace or nutmeg on one side only, and brush both sides with melted butter or cooking oil. Place on a greased wire broiler about 21/2 to 3 inches from a medium flame. If onion rings are used, place one on each slice after it has been brushed with the melted butter or cooking oil. Broil for about 5 minutes, then turn (first removing the onion rings to be replaced on the uncooked side). Continue broiling for another 5 minutes, or until done. Just before removing from the broiler, sprinkle a few drops of cooking wine or lemon juice on each piece of the broiled liver. The careful seasoning of the liver makes this one undisguised way to serve liver so that its taste appeals even to those who have a serious prejudice against eating this wonderful organ meat. Moreover, the slow, careful broiling and the sealing in of the juices by the melted butter or oil assures liver containing a maxi­mum of its protein and vitamins.

BREADED BRAINS ITALIAN STYLE

2  lbs. calves' brains 1 cup millet meal

4  tbsp. cooking oil 1 tbsp. chopped parsley1 tbsp. grated Italian cheese salt to taste

(Romano or Parmesan)

Wash the brains well, then cover with cold water to which about 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or wine vinegar and salt are added, and parboil for 5 minutes. Peel off all the outer membrane after removing from the water. Cut into portions of serving size. Roll in the millet meal into which have been blended the grated cheese, salt and chopped parsley. Heat the cooking oil in a skillet, and sauté the breaded portions for about 5 minutes, or until golden brown on both sides. This meat should be served immediately, squeezing a few drops of lemon juice over each portion (as you would with fish) before eating. Serve with a salad bowl, and a sliced fruit dessert. Brains served in this man­ner are a great delicacy in many Italian homes. It is one way of utilizing this cheaper organ meat so that, in my opinion, it is as delicious as the more expensive sweetbreads. Brains are one of the richest sources of the B-vitamin, choline.

FRIZZLED DRIED BEEF

Without tearing the paper-thin slices any more than can be helped, allow about 1/4 cup per portion, and drop into a heated skillet containing hot melted butter. Allow to just heat through, which won't take more than several minutes if the butter is hot, since the slices are so thin. Dried beef contains lots of nourish­ment, and is usually an economical meat. Prepared in this manner, it makes a delicious breakfast meat to replace the ac­customed bacon or ham as an accompaniment for eggs.

CHICKEN BAKED IN SOUR CREAM

Disjoint a fresh stewing chicken, or use a packaged frozen chicken already disjointed, rubbing each piece well with salt. Roll in millet meal as for fried chicken, put in a skillet with a small amount of heated cooking oil and brown each piece lightly on both sides. Remove from the skillet and arrange the pieces in a baking dish or deep casserole. Sprinkle lightly with sweet basil and chopped chives. Cover the chicken with 1 cup or so of thick sour cream or yogurt. Cover tightly and allow to steam-bake in a slow oven (275° to 3oo0 F.) for about 2 hours, or until tender. It's not necessary to buy the younger, more expensive chickens for this dish, since the sour cream and the low cooking heat will make a stewing chicken very tender. This is also a doubly nutritious way to serve chicken because of the extra pro­tein and calcium obtained from the sour cream or yogurt.

CHICKEN FROM TAHITI

1  large frying chicken, or 2 it lessens the tendency for small ones (serves 4)  fried chicken to burn and

2  tbsp. cooking oil or butter stick) (half oil and half butter is ½ tsp. salt better than all butter because 1 clove garlic

Sauce:

1/2 cup fresh or canned crushed 1/2cup shredded or chopped

pineapple  blanched almonds, or freshly

1/2cup chopped green peppers  grated coconut

1 cup chopped Chinese cab- 1 small fresh tomato peeled and bage (optional)  chopped, or 4 tbsp. drained

2 tbsp. chopped chives or leeks   canned tomato

2 medium stalks of celery, diced 2 tbsp. lemon juice or cooking wine

Cut the dressed chickens into pieces for frying, salt and sauté in the cooking oil in which the peeled clove of garlic has been allowed to heat. Use a covered chicken fryer, or a heavy iron skillet that may be covered. After the chicken is a nice golden brown on one side, turn, cover tightly, lower the flame and allow to cook very slowly until tender. It may be necessary to turn the pieces several times to prevent their sticking and burning. When done, place on a deep platter in the oven to keep warm while the sauce is being prepared. Place the chopped tomato, pepper, celery, Chinese cabbage and chives or leeks into the hot oil remaining in the skillet, season to taste with salt, cover and allow to steam until the celery and pepper are slightly softened, then add the pineapple and lemon juice or cooking wine. Heat through and remove from the fire. Pour this sauce over the chicken which has been kept warm meanwhile, and sprinkle with the almonds or grated fresh coconut. (Chopped sunflower seed kernels may be used instead with equally delicious results.) This makes another one-dish meal. Add a baked potato and a milk sherbet served with sesame seed cookies for a "party" meal that's both unusual and unusually nutritious.

ROAST FOWL WITH ORIENTAL STUFFING

Stuffing:

1 cup brown rice 2 cups broth from cooked giblets 1/4 cup cooking oil or melted

butter   chopped giblets

l cup minced onion or chives  ¾ tsp. salt

(the latter give a milder 3 tbsp. sunflower seed meal flavor)  (optional)

1 cup chopped celery and pinch of thyme

parsley pinch of sweet marjoram, leaf

1 cup chopped green pepper or powdered

1 tsp. chopped garlic dash of mace or nutmeg

1  large apple, peeled and diced pinch of summer savory

2  eggs, beaten   pinch of rosemary 2 tbsp. grated Romano cheese

Wash the brown rice. Use a deep heavy skillet and brown the rice lightly in half the melted shortening over a moderate fire. Add the broth from the cooked giblets, cover lightly and allow to cook over a slow fire for about 20 minutes, or until the rice is about half done. Meanwhile sauté the minced onion or chives, garlic, celery and green pepper in the remainder of the oil, then add together with the apple, cheese, chopped giblets, herbs, parsley, beaten eggs, salt and sunflower seed meal to the rice, mixing thoroughly. Fill the salted and oiled cavity of the fowl, being careful not to pack too full, since the rice will continue to swell during the roasting period. Wild rice (soaked beforehand according to the directions on the package) makes an even more delicious stuffing. Of course, with the rice stuffing such as this, you'll not serve potatoes or bread, in order to keep the meal predominantly high-protein.

FISH FILETS IN SOUR SAUCE

1 large, or 2 smaller filets per 11/2 tsp. salt

serving (cod, halibut, sole, 4 tbsp. cooking wine, lemon

flounder, whitefish and fresh juice, or wine vinegar

tuna are some of the types 3 tbsp. millet meal

from which to select) 3 nasturtium seeds, pinch of

3 tbsp. butter or cooking oil dill seeds, or chopped sprig

21/4cups meat or chicken stock of fresh dill

1 small onion, or 2 tbsp. pinch of sweet basil chopped chives or leeks

Remove skin from the filets, rinse well and wipe. Rub salt well into each filet, and allow to stand for about one hour, wiping again. Melt half the fat in a heavy skillet, brown the onion, if used, lightly; but if chives are substituted add them to the sauce a few minutes before removing from the fire. Put the filets in the pan with the hot oil and browned onions. Add half the stock (exact amount will depend upon the quantity of fish prepared) and half the wine or lemon juice. Cover and allow to simmer gently over a low fire for 10 to 15 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the sauce by heating the balance of the fat in a saucepan, remove from stove, blend in the millet meal to a smooth paste, then gradually stir in the remaining stock. Salt to taste.

Boil for 5 to 8 minutes, stirring until smooth and thickened, then add the remainder of the wine or lemon juice and pour over the filets that have been placed on a hot platter. Sprinkle with paprika and serve with small new potatoes steamed in their jackets, a vegetable salad and a custard pudding.

ITALIAN BAKED FISH WITH STUFFING

1 large baking fish 4 tbsp. chopped fresh or 6 tbsp. cooking oil or melted canned mushrooms butter      1 tbsp. chopped parsley

4 tbsp. chopped chives 1 tbsp. chopped fresh mint, or

1 clove garlic fresh dill (2 tsp. crushed dill

1 cup whole-grain bread seeds may be used instead) crumbs salt to taste 2 tbsp. milk 1 lemon, sliced 4 tbsp. grated Romano cheese

Choose any of the following for baked fish: whitefish, large trout, pompano, salmon, red snapper, pickerel, mackerel, halibut, haddock, cod, bluefish, swordfish or shad. Have the fish cleaned, slit down the center, and boned. Rub the inside well with salt and cooking oil. Prepare the stuffing by heating the peeled garlic clove in 3 tablespoons of the oil in a heavy skillet. Remove the garlic if only a mild flavor is desired, otherwise allow to remain in the stuffing. Then sauté the mushrooms and parsley in the garlic-flavored oil for about 15 minutes. Remove from the fire. Using a large mixing bowl, combine the mushrooms with the bread crumbs, milk (stuffing must be slightly moist but not too soft to remain in the fish), herbs, cheese and salt to taste. Stuff the fish, then sew or skewer edges firmly together. Place in an open baking pan in which the remainder of the oil or butter has been melted. Bake in a moderate (35o0 F.) oven for about 30 to 35 minutes, or until the fish is tender. Remove to a warmed platter, garnish with lemon slices, and serve with a tossed green salad, a cooked green vegetable and a fruit custard.

SAVORY PAN FISH

Allow 2 to 3 pan fish per 1 tsp. fresh mint chopped, or serving, depending on size dried mint leaves

6 tbsp. cooking oil or melted 1 tsp. chopped parsley

butter salt to taste

6 to 9 anchovy filets, chopped 4 tbsp. lemon juice, cooking

wine, or wine vinegar

Clean the fish (brook trout, small perch, sunfish, bluegills or other pan fish), and dry well. Then salt to taste. Brown slowly in the fat until almost done, then add the herbs, chopped anchovy filets and cooking wine or lemon juice. Simmer for a few minutes longer until the fish is tender. Serve with baked or steamed-in-the-jacket potatoes, creamed vegetable and a fruit pie.

SHRIMP-IN-A-NEST

3  cups cooked brown rice 2 tbsp. chopped green pepper

4  tbsp. cooking oil or melted 2 cups cooked peas, or lima butter beans

1 garlic clove 2 cups canned tomatoes

2 cups cooked fresh shrimp 1/2 cup diced celery (canned, or boiled frozen 1 tsp. sweet basil shrimp may be used instead) salt to taste

Heat the oil with the garlic in a deep saucepan; add the chopped pepper and celery, cooking for 10 to 15 minutes over a low flame. Then stir in the tomatoes, sweet basil and salt. Cook slowly for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the shrimp, and peas or beans. Cover the saucepan and allow the shrimp to heat through, about 5 minutes. Put a nest of warm cooked brown rice on each plate, then fill the center with the shrimp sauce. This is a dish I discovered in the Bayou country of Louisiana where Cajuns know how to prepare shrimp as no other people can. Like many other recipes I've given you, this is a one-dish meal. Add a fruit salad and a dessert made with milk, and you have a perfectly balanced high-protein meal.

SINGAPORE SHRIMP AND RICE

1 1/2 cups brown rice 4 tbsp. cooking oil

3 eggs, well-beaten 1/4 tsp. curry powder

1 lb. fresh cooked shrimp, or salt to taste

about 2 cups canned shrimp 2 tbsp. chopped parsley

2 tbsp. butter 1 tbsp. soy sauce

After washing well, steam the brown rice until each grain stands apart. Drop the shrimp into a skillet with the hot butter, add the soy sauce and curry powder, together with about 2 tablespoons of warm water, blend well and saute for about 10 minutes. Then make a simple omelet of the beaten eggs, seasoned with salt, and cooked in the oil (allow to cook very slowly on one side before turning, so the omelet comes out in one piece like a large pancake), then cut in narrow strips. Mix the curried shrimp, egg strips and cooked rice together lightly. If the mixture seems a little too dry, blend a little soy sauce through it. Sprinkle with the chopped parsley (or chopped chives). Addition of the eggs makes this an unusually high-protein meatless or Lenten dish.

ARGENTINE TUCO SAUCE

1/2 lb. chopped beef  1 large can plum tomatoes

4 tbsp. cooking oil (olive, pea- salt to taste

nut, corn or sunflower seed) pinch each of dried sweet

1/2 small can Italian tomato marjoram, sweet basil, thyme,

paste powdered cardamon

1 cup cooked sliced mushrooms 1 bay leaf

1 garlic clove 1 whole clove

3 tbsp. grated Italian cheese

(Romano or Parmesan)

Saute the beef in the heated oil in a deep, heavy saucepan, then cover and allow to simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent sticking. Add the canned plum tomatoes, the herbs, the garlic and the salt, and allow to cook over a very low flame for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then blend in the tomato paste, and continue cooking over the lowest possible fire for about another 30 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent sticking. You'll find that the longer this sauce cooks, the more wonderful its flavor. In fact, if you can prepare it the day before and store in the refrigerator to be reheated immediately before using, so much the better. Immediately before serving stir in the grated cheese. This is the "genuine" Italian spaghetti sauce. Serve it on whole-wheat spaghetti or noodles, or even on corn meal or millet meal polenta (mush flavored with grated cheese). In the Argen­tine, I ate this "tuco," as it's called in that country, served over tallarines (noodles) that were flavored and colored green with finely chopped kale. This made an extremely delicious meal when served with a tossed salad and a bowl of fresh fruits.

MEAT BROTH (BASIC RECIPE)

Never throw away a meat bone, cooked or uncooked, or poultry bones. They're worth real money to you for soups and broths. This holds good also for meat trimmings, or leftover bits of cooked meat. In other words, save all bones, fat and trim­mings from meat or poultry. Bring them home with you; don't let the butcher keep what is the foundation of a nourishing broth for your family. Be thrifty! If you're not going to make broth for a day or so, keep the bones and trimmings in the refrigerator, adding to them the cooked bones and unused portions of cooked meats or a chicken carcass. Then when broth day comes, add all your "savings" to about 1 quart of cold water, plus about 1 table­spoon of lemon juice or wine vinegar in order to dissolve the cal­cium from the bones, as well as to give a piquant flavor to the broth. Bring slowly to a boil, skim off any excess fat, and allow to simmer, covered, for at least an hour, adding 1/2teaspoon of salt and whatever herbs are desired for seasoning. A splendid soup seasoning is an herb salt that contains something like 14 differ­ent properly blended herbs, plus a good grade of salt. If the meat flavor of the broth is not pronounced enough to suit the taste, add about 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of meat extract or a bouillon cube. You can make up this stock and have it in the refrigerator, ready for use at any time, merely by having the forethought to make use of uncooked or leftover bones and meat trimmings as they accumulate. I don't know why it is, but a recipe calling for "stock" usually frightens most cooks away; perhaps because they don't have such an item on hand. But the kitchen-wise cook knows that it's no trick to have stock or broth on hand at all times, for serving plain as a before-meal appetite stimulant, or for incorporating into other delicious soup recipes.

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