New Zealand Rehabilitation Association, Inc.

In the "advice you didn't need to know" column this week we have: how to prepare brains for invalids.  These helpful hints come from a 1971 edition of the Edmonds' Cookery Book and were brought to my attention by my partner along with the comment: "I can't wait until you get sick."  The chapter in the cookbook is simply entitled "Invalids".  It begins with the following hints:

When serving food to Invalids, remember to -

• Set the tray daintily (presumably so you don't contribute to the Invalid's sufferings by injuring their knees)
• Serve small helpings
• Cook the food perfectly and serve it attractively
• Use the most attractive china and linen
• Use a flower or a small posy on the tray
• Serve one course at a time
  

I can see the public hospitals now - setting a budget aside for china and posies...

There are multiple recipes for "invalids" to pick from in the cookbook: apple souffle, barley water, gruel (I'm not making it up), mutton broth, and sweetbreads (scalloped or fried).  Fortunately meringues are also on the menu - presumably to get rid of the taste of scalloped sweetbreads.  However, if you are keen to prepare brains for the Invalid in your life try the following.

Brains (to Prepare):

    Soak the brains in cold salted water until all blood is removed.  Remove skin and fibres. (There's nothing I hate more than fibres in my brains! - WL) Wash and cook in salted water for 15 minutes.  Drain and cut into slices, either egg and crumb them or roll in egg and then flour.  Fry a golden brown in a little butter. Drain and serve with parsley.  Brains may be served in a white sauce.

However, I do feel obliged to annotate this recipe with a little warning.  An article in the Lancet has speculated on the possibility of getting Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease from eating squirrel brains.  Maybe keep squirrel off the menu.