ALL vegetables should be put in boiling water when set on the stove to cook. Peas, asparagus, potatoes, and all delicately flavored vegetables should be only covered with water, but those with a strong flavor, like carrots, turnips, cabbage, onions, and dandelions, should be cooked in a generous quantity of boiling water. All green vegetables should be cooked with the cover partially off the stewpan. It gives them a better color and a more delicate flavor.

The average housekeeper is careless as to the time of cooking vegetables, yet a vegetable is as much injured by too much or too little cooking as is a loaf of bread or cake. When vegetables are underdone they are hard and indigestible, and when overdone they become dark, strong-flavored, and indigestible.

Now, although a potato will be hard if not cooked enough, even two minutes’ cooking after the proper time will injure it. If potatoes be covered with boiling water and placed on the fire they will cook in thirty minutes. If they be very small, they may get done in twenty-eight minutes, and if they be large it may take thirty-two to cook them sufficiently. They should be kept boiling all the time after they once begin, but not at a furious rate, as a too rapid boiling breaks the surface of the potato before the centre is cooked. The time of cooking is to be counted from the moment the boiling water is poured over the potatoes. When the potatoes are done, the water should be poured off and the steam allowed to escape. Should it be necessary to keep them warm after that, cover them with a coarse towel, never with the pot cover; for if the steam does not have a chance to escape it will be absorbed by the potatoes, which will become sodden, dark, and strong-flavored. Baked potatoes take about forty-five minutes for cooking. A great deal depends upon the oven. If it be necessary to keep a baked potato warm, break it open, wrap it in a towel and put it in a warm place.

Now, as to turnips. The small white ones should be boiled, if cut in thin slices, for thirty minutes, but if they be cooked whole, forty minutes’ time will be needed. Yellow turnips, when sliced, need forty-five minutes’ cooking.

Carrots should be cooked for forty-five or fifty minutes; cauliflower, only thirty minutes; with peas and asparagus much depends upon the state of freshness and tenderness when picked, and the time varies from twenty to thirty-five minutes; indeed, peas sometimes require fifty minutes’ cooking.

It is a pity that it is the fashion to serve such vegetables as peas and asparagus in a sauce. They have so delicate a flavor that only a little salt and good butter should be added to them. This is true, also, of turnips. Cauliflower, onions, and carrots, however, need a sauce.

Boiled Potatoes.

Pare five or six potatoes and let them stand in cold water for an hour or more. Forty minutes before dinner time put them in a kettle and pour boiling water over them,—enough to cover. Put the cover on the kettle and cook the vegetables for half an hour, counting from the moment the water is poured over them. When they have been cooking for fifteen minutes, add one teaspoonful of salt. At the end of the half-hour pour off all the water and set the pan on the back part of the range. Cover the potatoes with a clean, coarse towel. At serving time put the potatoes in a hot dish, and cover with a napkin. Never put the china cover on the dish. Cooked in the way described, the potatoes will be mealy and have a fine flavor.

Stewed Potatoes.

Have the potatoes and bacon sliced thin. Spread half the meat on the bottom of a round baking dish. Put half of the potatoes into the dish and sprinkle half of the seasoning over them; then spread in the other half, and use the remainder of the seasonings. Mix the water with the flour, and pour this into the dish. Now spread the remainder of the bacon on top of the potatoes. Cover the dish closely, and, putting into a moderately hot oven, cook for forty-five minutes. At the end of that time take off the cover and bake twenty minutes longer. The bacon should become crisp and brown at the end of that time. Serve in the dish in which it is cooked.

Stewed Potatoes, No. 2.

Pare and cut into cubes enough potatoes to make a quart, and let them stand in cold water for one hour. Cut the pork into thin slices, and fry slowly until crisp and brown; then take from the pan. Add the flour to the hot fat, and stir until smooth and brown; then gradually add the water, and boil for three minutes. Season with the salt and pepper. Drain the potato cubes free from water, and, after putting them in a stewpan, pour the sauce over them and lay the slices of pork on top. Cover the stewpan and place where the contents will just bubble for forty-five minutes; then turn into a warm dish and serve.

Potatoes au Gratin.

Have cold boiled potatoes cut into small regular cubes. Season them with half the pepper and salt. Put one teaspoonful of the butter in a small frying-pan and set on the fire. When hot, add the flour, and stir until smooth and frothy; then gradually add the stock. When this boils, add the milk and the remainder of the salt and pepper, and boil up once. Put a layer of this sauce in a small escalop dish; then put the potatoes in the dish and pour the remainder of the sauce over them. Sprinkle the grated bread crumbs over this, and dot with the half-teaspoonful of butter. Bake in a moderate oven for twenty minutes. A few drops of onion juice and one fourth of a teaspoonful of chopped parsley may be added to the sauce, if these flavors be liked.

Hashed Potatoes.

Season the potatoes with the salt and pepper. Put the butter in the frying-pan and set on the fire. When hot, add the potatoes. Stir and cut the potatoes with a case knife until they are hashed fine and have become hot and slightly browned. Serve in a hot dish.

Ham, sausage, or pork fat may be substituted for the butter.

Nichewaug Potatoes.

Season the potato cubes with the salt and pepper. Put a tablespoonful of ham, bacon, pork, or sausage fat in the frying-pan, and set on the fire. When hot, put in the potatoes and stir frequently with a fork until they become brown. When the potatoes are done, turn them into a hot dish and sprinkle a tablespoonful of finely chopped cooked ham over them. Serve very hot.

Lyonnaise Potatoes.

Season the potatoes with the salt and pepper. Put the butter and onion in the frying-pan, and cook slowly until the onion begins to turn a delicate straw-color. Now add the potatoes, and cook over a hot fire for five minutes, stirring with a fork. Add the parsley, and cook for one minute longer. Serve very hot.

Shape cold mashed potatoes into round, flat cakes. For six cakes put one tablespoonful of butter in a frying-pan, and place on the fire. When the butter is hot, put in the potato cakes and cook until brown on both sides. A tablespoonful of either pork, ham, or sausage fat may be used instead of the butter.

Potato Croquettes.

Boil the potatoes for thirty minutes; then drain them and mash fine and light. Beat in the seasoning, milk, and butter. Let the mixture cool slightly; then roll into cylinders or balls. Beat the egg in a soup plate. Coat the croquettes, one at a time, with the egg, then roll in dried bread crumbs. When all are done, fry in hot fat until they are brown,—about a minute and a half. Drain on brown paper and serve at once.

Boiled Sweet Potatoes.

Potatoes of medium size should be cooked for one hour; very large ones should be boiled for an hour and a half, or be cut into several parts.

Baked Sweet Potatoes.

Wash the potatoes and bake from an hour to an hour and a quarter in a moderately hot oven. The longer they bake, the sweeter and moister they will be.

Boil for half an hour three potatoes of medium size. On taking them from the water pare them. Now cut them in two, lengthwise, and lay them in the pan under a piece of roasting meat. Season them with salt, and let them cook for half an hour. Serve in a hot dish.

Or, the potatoes may be boiled for three quarters of an hour, paired and split, then laid in a baking pan, seasoned with salt, and finally spread with soft butter. It will take one tablespoonful of butter for three potatoes. Bake in a hot oven for twenty minutes or half an hour.

Warming over Sweet Potatoes.

Cold boiled sweet potatoes may be warmed in several ways. Cut them in halves, season with salt, and put in the frying-basket. Fry in deep fat for five minutes; then season with salt and serve.

Another way is to cut them in thick slices lengthwise, dip them in melted butter, season with salt and pepper, dredge lightly with flour, and broil over clear coals. Serve on a hot dish.

Still another mode is to cut them in round slices, season with salt and pepper, and fry in pork or bacon fat.

Boiled Onions.

Put the onions in a saucepan with plenty of boiling water and cook for one hour. If milk be plentiful, pour off the water when the onions have been cooking for half an hour, and add just enough hot milk to cover them. Simmer for half an hour longer; then season with salt, pepper, and butter, and serve.

For half a dozen small onions use one tablespoonful of butter, one teaspoonful of salt, and one fourth of a teaspoonful of pepper.

Boil three or four onions for one hour in two quarts of boiling water into which one teaspoonful of salt has been sprinkled. Pour off the water and cut up the onions. Put them in a hot dish and pour half a pint of cream sauce over them. Serve hot.

Onions au Gratin.

Prepare the creamed onions and put them in an escalop dish. Cover them with a gill of grated bread crumbs and dot with a teaspoonful of butter. Bake for twenty minutes in a quick oven.

Sliced Tomatoes.

Select smooth, ripe tomatoes. Drop them into boiling water for one minute, then into cold water. This will make the skin come off easily. Put them on a plate and in a cool place,—on the ice if possible. At serving time cut them in slices and place on a cold dish.

Stewed Tomatoes.

Put all the ingredients, except the butter, in a stewpan, and cook for twenty minutes. Add the butter, and cook for ten minutes longer.

One pint of fresh tomatoes may be cooked in the same manner. The crackers may be omitted. Long cooking makes the tomatoes thicker and dark, but for most tastes this is not desirable.

Reserve the grated bread crumbs and half a teaspoonful of the butter. Mix all the other ingredients together and turn into a small baking dish. Sprinkle the grated bread crumbs over this. Cut the butter into small bits, and sprinkle over the crumbs. Bake in a moderately hot oven for half an hour, and serve hot.

Beets.

Beets, when young and fresh, will cook in forty minutes, but as they grow larger they require longer cooking. The time has to be increased as the season advances, and in winter beets require from two to three hours’ boiling. Wash them in cold water, being careful not to break the skin or little tendrils. Put them in boiling water and cook until done,—the time depending upon the season. Lay them in cold water and rub off the skin; then slice them into a hot dish, and season with salt and butter. Serve hot.

Boiled Turnips.

Pare and cut up enough of the small flat white turnips to make one quart. Let them stand in cold water for an hour or more. Pour off all the water and turn the turnips into a stewpan containing two quarts of boiling water. Cook for just thirty minutes and then pour off all the water. Put into the saucepan with the turnips, butter, sugar, salt, and one gill of boiling water. Place the saucepan on the hottest part of the fire and cook the turnips rapidly until all the liquid has been absorbed, shaking the pan frequently to prevent the turnips from burning. Turn into a hot dish and serve.

Mashed Turnips.

Pare one yellow turnip or six white ones and cut in slices. Put in a large stewpan with a generous supply of boiling water. If white turnips be used, cook them for half an hour; but if the yellow kind be taken, cook for fifty or sixty minutes. Too little water and too much cooking will make any turnips’ strong-flavored, and give them a dark color. When the turnips are done, drain off all the water and mash them well. Season with salt, pepper, and butter.

Boiled Carrots.

Scrape and cut into cubes enough raw carrots to make a quart. Cook them for one hour in three quarts of boiling water, and then proceed as directed in the rule for boiled turnips. White stock may be substituted for the gill of boiling water.

Turnips, carrots, and green peas, cooked in this manner, and then mixed together, make a handsome and savory dish.

Success in cooking these vegetables depends upon their being boiled in plenty of water, and for only the time mentioned; also in cooking very rapidly after the seasonings are added.

Parsnips.

Scrape and slice the parsnips, and let them stand in cold water for an hour or more. Drain them and put them in a stewpan with plenty of boiling water. Cook them, if fresh, for forty-five minutes; but if they have been out of the ground any length of time they will require an hour’s cooking.

When they have been boiling for half an hour, add a teaspoonful of salt for about a pint of the parsnips. Drain, and season them with salt and butter; or, pour a butter or BÉchamel sauce over them.

Salsify.

Cook this vegetable the same as parsnips.

Boiled Cauliflower.

Remove the leaves from the cauliflower, and place it head downward in a pan of cold water, to which add one tablespoonful of salt. Let it stand in a cold place an hour or more. Have about three quarts of boiling water in a stewpan and put the cauliflower into it head down. Cover, and cook gently for thirty minutes. At the end of this time drain the cauliflower and put it in a deep dish. Dredge lightly with salt, and pour the sauce over it.

Cauliflower au Gratin.

With a fork, break the cauliflower into small pieces; then sprinkle the salt and pepper over it. Put a layer of sauce in a small escalop dish, next a layer of cauliflower, then a second layer of sauce, then cauliflower, and finish with sauce. Cover this with the bread crumbs and dot with the butter. Bake in a moderately hot oven for twenty minutes.

The fresher the corn is, the less time it will take to cook. It should be freed from husks and the silk threads. Have a large saucepan nearly full of boiling water. Drop the corn into this, and cook for ten minutes. Serve in a napkin.

Canned Corn.

Put all the ingredients in the double-boiler, and heat to the boiling point; it will take about ten minutes. Serve at once. Too much cooking spoils this dish.

Corn Oysters.

Mix the flour, seasoning, and corn together. Add the butter, melted, and beat well. Beat the egg till light, and add to the mixture. Fry on a griddle, in cakes a little larger than a silver dollar. Serve with the meat course at breakfast.

String Beans.

String the beans and then break them into pieces about an inch long. Wash them, and let them stand in cold water for an hour or more. Cook them in plenty of boiling water for two hours. When they have been cooking for one hour add one teaspoonful of salt for each quart of beans. When done, pour off all the water and add to the beans one tablespoonful of butter and four tablespoonfuls of boiling water. If not salt enough, add a little more seasoning. Return to the fire for three minutes; then serve.

Butter Beans.

These are cooked the same as string beans.

Fresh Lima Beans.

Wash the beans and let them stand in cold water for an hour or more. On draining off the cold water, put them on to boil in three pints of boiling water. Cook for one hour; then drain off nearly all the water and add the seasonings. Serve hot.

Dried Lima Beans.

Put the beans to soak over night in one quart of cold water. Two hours before dinner time pour off the water, and, putting the beans in a stewpan with a quart of boiling water, let them simmer gently for an hour and fifty minutes. At the end of that time pour off the water, and add the salt and butter and a gill of boiling water. Let them stand in the saucepan on the back part of the stove until serving time.

Dried Lima Beans, No. 2.

Soak and cook the beans as in the recipe just given; then drain off all the water, and add the seasoning and milk, having the latter hot. Simmer for ten minutes and serve.

Succotash of Dried Lima Beans and Canned Corn.

Soak the beans over night, and then cook them in one quart of clear water for an hour and fifty minutes. Pour off the water, and, after adding the seasoning, milk, and corn, cook for three minutes after the mixture begins to boil. Serve very hot.

Shelled Kidney Beans.

Prepare the same as fresh Lima beans, but cook for one hour and a half.

Baked Beans.

Pick the beans free from stones and dirt. Wash them, and let them soak over night in three quarts of cold water. In the morning pour off the water and wash the beans in fresh water; then put them in a stewpan with cold water enough to cover them generously, and place on the fire.

Have the pork mixed lean and fat. Score the rind. Put the pork in the stewpan with the beans, and simmer until the beans begin to crack open,—not a minute longer. Drain all the water from them and rinse with cold water. Put the onion in the bottom of the bean pot. Put about half the beans in the pot, then put in the pork, having the scored side up. Next put in the remainder of the beans. Mix the mustard, salt, pepper, sugar, and molasses with a pint of boiling water and pour over the beans. Add just enough boiling water to cover the beans. Cover the pot and place in a slow oven. Bake for ten hours or more, adding boiling water whenever the beans look dry. The oven must never be hot enough to make the water on the beans bubble, and there should never be more water in the pot than will barely come to the top of the beans.

An earthen pot should be used in baking beans. The onion and molasses may be omitted.

Green Peas.

The time of cooking green peas depends upon the age and the length of time they have been picked. If they be young and freshly picked, they will cook in twenty minutes; but it may take forty or fifty if they have matured too much, or have been picked for a day or more. They should not be shelled many hours before they are cooked. Wash the pea pods and drain them, then shell them. Put them in a stewpan with just enough boiling water to cover them, and cook until tender. They must not boil rapidly, and as soon as they begin to boil the cover of the stewpan should be drawn a little to one side. Pour off a part of the water, and to every pint of peas add one tablespoonful of butter and half a teaspoonful of salt.

Canned Peas.

Turn the peas into a strainer, and pour cold water over them until they are thoroughly rinsed. Put them in a saucepan with the other ingredients, and simmer for ten minutes.

Cut off the tough white ends of a bunch of asparagus. Now cut the string that ties the bundles together, and put the asparagus in a colander. Let cold water run on it until it is perfectly free from sand. Tie again in a bundle, and put it in a stewpan with one tablespoonful of salt and enough boiling water to cover it. Cook gently for half an hour. Toast three slices of bread, and dip the edges in the water in which the asparagus was cooked. Arrange these on a warm platter, and spread the asparagus upon them. Now season the green part of the vegetable with the tablespoonful of butter, and serve.

The toast may be buttered also, if one like to have it rich.

Asparagus should be placed with the cut end in a little cold water until it is time to cook it.

Asparagus with Cream Sauce.

Cut up enough of the tender ends of asparagus to make one quart. Put these in the colander, and let cold water run on them until every particle of sand is removed. Put them in a saucepan with one quart of boiling water and one teaspoonful of salt, and cook gently for half an hour; then drain, and, after putting in a warm vegetable dish, pour the cream sauce over them.

To make the sauce, put the butter on the fire, in a pan, and when it is melted add the flour. Stir until smooth and frothy; then gradually add the milk, stirring all the while. Season with a scant teaspoonful of salt, and boil up once.

If you prefer, the asparagus may be seasoned with salt and butter, using a generous tablespoonful of butter and half a teaspoonful of salt; moistening with a gill of the water in which it is boiled.

Spinach.

Pick over the spinach, removing all the roots and brown leaves. Have two pans filled with cold water. Put the spinach in one pan and wash it, a few leaves at a time, dropping it into the second pan of water. When all is done, turn the water from the first pan, which should at once be rinsed and filled again with clean water. Continue washing the spinach in this way until there is not a grain of sand left in it. This you learn by passing the hand over the bottom of the pan. Put the cleaned spinach in a stewpan with a pint of boiling water and the salt, and cook for half an hour. Turn into the colander and cut with a knife. Put into a hot vegetable dish and add the butter.

Greens.

Greens of all kinds are cooked in about the same way that spinach is, but they all require boiling water enough to cover them, and most of them require a much longer time to boil.

A small piece of salt pork or smoked bacon, or a shank of ham, is often boiled in the water for two or more hours before the greens are put in to cook. This meat is served with the greens, which require no seasoning except salt.

Take all the green and broken leaves from a small head of cabbage. Then divide the cabbage into eight parts, cutting from the top down to the stalk. Wash it and let it stand in cold water for an hour or more. Put it in a large kettle of boiling water and boil rapidly for forty-five minutes. The kettle must not be covered. When the cabbage is done, drain, and put in a chopping bowl. Mince rather fine and season with the salt and butter. If the cabbage be fresh from the garden, half an hour’s cooking will be sufficient.

Creamed Cabbage.

Let the cabbage stand in cold water for an hour or more; then drain off the water and put the cabbage in a stewpan with two quarts of boiling water. Cover, and cook for ten minutes. At the end of that time pour off the water and put in two quarts of fresh boiling water. Cook rapidly, with the cover off, for about three quarters of an hour. When that time has passed, put the cabbage in a colander and press out all the water; then cut it with a sharp knife. Put the butter in a frying-pan and set on the range. When it becomes hot, add the cabbage, as well as the salt and pepper. Cook for five minutes, stirring all the time; then cover, and set back where it will cook gently for ten minutes. Mix the milk with the flour, and pour the mixture over the cabbage. Stir gently, and again cover the pan. Cook for ten minutes more and serve.

Boil and hash the cabbage, as directed for hashed cabbage. Sprinkle with the salt and pepper, and mix lightly with a fork. Turn into a baking dish and spread over it the pork cut in thin slices. Bake for half an hour in a moderate oven. Serve in the dish in which it is cooked.

Fried Cabbage.

Boil the cabbage as for hashed cabbage, and mince rather fine. Add the seasoning. Put the butter or drippings in a frying-pan and set on the fire. As soon as the butter is melted, put in the cabbage and cook one hour, stirring often, and having the pan covered. Serve very hot.

Squash.

Pare the squash and remove the seeds and the stringy substance from the inside. Cut it into small pieces, and place in a stewpan with enough boiling water to cover it. Cook for thirty-five minutes; then drain off the water, and mash fine. Season with salt, pepper, and butter. For a pint of mashed squash use a teaspoonful of salt and one tablespoonful of butter. Serve very hot.

The squash may be steamed instead of boiled; in which case cook it for fifty minutes.

Get a tender fresh squash. If the rind be very tender do not pare it. Cut up the squash and steam for one hour; then rub it through a colander into a saucepan. Place the saucepan on the fire, and to each pint of the strained squash add one tablespoonful of butter and one teaspoonful of salt. Cook for five minutes, and serve hot.

Fried Egg Plant.

Pare the egg plant and cut it in slices about half an inch thick. Season with the salt. Beat the egg in a soup plate, and dip a slice of egg plant in it, covering every part of it; then dip the slice in fine dry crumbs. Continue this until all the egg plant is breaded. Have the frying fat three or four inches deep, and when it is so hot that blue smoke rises from the centre put two slices of the vegetable in, and cook for about three minutes. Take up and drain on brown paper; then serve.

Boiled Macaroni.

Macaroni varies as to the time it will take to cook. Half an hour is the usual time, but it often requires forty-five minutes. Break it into pieces two or three inches long, and drop it into a saucepan of boiling water. Boil rapidly until tender, having the saucepan uncovered. When it has been cooking for fifteen minutes, add a teaspoonful of salt for every two ounces of macaroni. When done turn it into a colander to drain; then put it into a hot dish, and pour half a pint of sauce over it. The sauce may be cream, BÉchamel, tomato, or brown sauce. A little grated cheese may be added to the cream sauce, if that be the kind used. Serve at once.

Boil and drain the macaroni. Add the sauce to it, and put into an escalop dish. Cover with the cheese, and bake for half an hour.

Baked Hominy.

Wash the hominy in three waters, and stir it into the boiling water, into which the salt should be sprinkled. Boil gently for one hour, having the cover on the stewpan, and stirring often. Now add the butter, cold milk, and the egg, well beaten, and bake in a moderate oven for one hour. Three gills of cold boiled hominy may be substituted for the fresh article.

This is to be served with meat or eggs for breakfast, luncheon, or dinner.

Boiled Rice.

Wash the rice by putting it in cold water and rubbing it hard between the hands. Do this three times. Drain off all the water, and put the rice in a large stewpan with the boiling water. Place it where it will boil all the time with the stewpan uncovered. When it has been cooking for fifteen minutes add the salt; but do not stir it, for rice is spoiled if stirred during the cooking. When it has boiled for twenty-five minutes, turn it into a colander and drain off all the water. Place the colander on a plate, and set it on the hearth or the back part of the range. Cover the rice with a coarse towel. In this way it can be kept hot and dry for a long time.

Baked Rice.

Add the egg, well beaten, to all the other ingredients, and bake slowly for half an hour.

Rice Croquettes.

Put the milk, rice, butter, and seasoning on to boil. Beat one egg till light, and stir it into the boiling mixture. Cook for one minute, stirring all the time. Turn the mixture out on a plate, and set away to cool. When cold shape into small cylinders. Beat the second egg in a soup plate. Cover the croquettes, one at a time, with the beaten egg, then roll in dried bread crumbs. Fry in deep fat for one minute and a half. Drain on brown paper, and serve at once.

Vegetable Hash.

When the above-named vegetables, or any other kinds, such as parsnips and carrots, are left over from a boiled dinner, chop them separately and rather coarse. Season them with salt and pepper, the amount depending upon how well the vegetables were seasoned when served hot. Mix them together. Put the corned beef fat in a frying-pan and set on the fire, and when it is melted add the vegetables and cover the pan. Place on a moderately hot part of the range, and cook for half an hour, stirring frequently with a fork.

Just before serving draw the pan forward to a hotter part of the fire, and stir for three minutes. Serve very hot.

Two tablespoonfuls of butter may be used instead of the beef fat.

Celery.

Celery should be kept in a cool place, but it must not be wrapped in wet paper or kept in water. Break the blades from the stalks, and scrape off any brown spots that may be found; next wash the celery, and let it stand in ice-water for ten or twenty minutes to become crisp. Put it in a celery dish with some bits of ice, and serve at once.

How to Keep Lettuce Crisp.

Lettuce can be kept crisp and fresh for several days, if necessary, by placing the roots in water. Do not let the water come up as high as the leaves. When ready to serve the lettuce, wash it leaf by leaf in a pan of cold water, and drop it into another pan of ice-water. It will become crisp in a few minutes. Shake the water from the leaves before serving.