The delightful flavors of mushrooms make them a valuable adjunct to the vegetarian dietary, whether or not they are classed with meat foods.

No one need to be in ignorance as to the edible ones with the many reliable books now published in regard to all varieties. But if you have not studied the subject, consult some one who is a judge before you use those you have gathered. Or, use only canned ones or those sold in the markets. Many cases of sickness have come from using mushrooms partially decayed, rather than from poisonous varieties; so be sure to reject those not entirely sound.

Mushrooms will not admit of many combinations without losing character. The simplest ways of preparing them are the best. It is a waste of time to peel any of the varieties except the puff ball.

Puff ball mushrooms are all edible when gathered at the white stage.

Overcooking toughens mushrooms. 5–20 minutes is sufficient time for any, except, perhaps, when cooked in a double boiler, then a half hour may not be too long.

Cream with water develops the flavors better than milk. Butter when used gives the same result.

When necessary to wash mushrooms, rinse up and down in cold water, rub the caps quickly, shake and drain in a colander. Often they will require rubbing only, with a soft flannel. Always cut off a thin slice from the end of the stalk and throw it away.

When the caps only are to be used in a dish, chop the stems and imperfect caps and cook for soups and sauces. Mushrooms are not expensive, as a few fresh or dried ones go a long way for flavoring. Unless plentiful, do not use mushrooms in timbales or roasts but in the sauces, where they will count. In the recipes, fresh ones are meant unless canned ones are mentioned.

Broiled Mushrooms

Remove stems, place in fine wire broiler, turn the gills first to the fire for 5 m., then the other side. Put a small piece of butter in the center of each mushroom, sprinkle with salt, broil 5 m. Lay carefully on to pieces of toast or thin toasted wafers or slices of broiled trumese, skin side up, and serve at once. Melted butter may be poured over mushrooms on toast instead of putting butter into them while broiling. Caps are sometimes dipped in salt and olive oil and broiled after standing in a cold place for an hour. The heat should not be too intense for broiling.

Baked Mushrooms

Cut off part of stems, lay tops down in shallow baking pan, dust with salt, put a small piece of butter in each mushroom, bake 20 m. in hot oven. Serve in pan, or on toast with sauce from pan poured over.

Steamed Mushrooms

Put mushrooms in saucepan or double boiler with salt and no water. Cover close, cook 20–30 m. Add hot cream or butter mixed with a little flour, heat. Serve on toast, cutlets of corn meal porridge, rice cutlets or slices of broiled trumese. Butter, 2 tablespns. to the pound of mushrooms, may be added when put to cooking and no milk or cream used.

Stewed Mushrooms

Cut mushrooms into sixths or eighths or slices. Cook in small quantity of water 10–15 m., add cream, or milk and butter, enough to moisten toast. Heat, serve on toast.

? Creamed Mushrooms

Stew mushrooms in a larger quantity of water, add cream, and thicken to the consistency of very heavy cream. Serve in dainty shells of pastry crust, or on toast or wafers, surrounded with green peas or not.

A small quantity of mushrooms will go a long way in this way.

Mushroom Stew

Add cooked fresh or dried mushrooms to thickened consommÉ. Serve over rice or macaroni or in rice border.

Stewed Canned Mushrooms

Drain mushrooms, if large cut into quarters and put into rich egg or cream sauce without further cooking.

Canned mushrooms (except home canned) are esteemed more for the feeling between the teeth than for their flavor and are at their best in pies, scallops and creams.

Dried Mushrooms

Wash dried mushrooms well, soak 4–12 hours in water or milk, simmer for 5 m. only, in the liquid in which they were soaked. Use in soups, sauces or stews, in small quantities, as the flavor is very rich.

Pickled Mushrooms

Soak mushrooms pickled in salt, for 24 hours, changing the water several times; drain, and if to be cooked in batter dry between the folds of a towel. Use cutlets of trumese batter with them, or with soaked dried mushrooms.

Puff Balls

Pare and cut puff ball mushrooms into half-inch slices. Simmer in butter or olive oil, with or without dipping in egg, and season with salt. Or, stew and serve as other mushrooms.

Mushrooms in Rice Rings

Shape cups of steamed or boiled rice in muffin rings, fill with creamed mushrooms or Boundary Castle sauce, protose and mushrooms À la crÊme, thin, or with mushroom stew.

Sister McBurnie’s Chop Seuey

• shredded cabbage
• shredded celery
• chopped onion
• mushrooms in quarters or eighths
• cream, salt
• a little butter if used

Put into close covered vessel in oven, bake 25–35 m. Onion may be omitted.

Mushrooms À la CrÊme

Use all mushrooms in recipe for celery and mushrooms À la crÊme p.115, or all fresh mushrooms in trumese and mushrooms À la crÊme p.165.

Fresh Mushrooms—Under Glass Globe with Cream

Cover the bottom of a porcelain dish with toast. On the toast pile mushrooms, gills down, several rows high, sprinkling with salt. Pour ?–½ cup of cream on to the mushrooms, cover with the globe or bell and simmer on the top of the stove 20–30 m.

The cover is removed after the plate is placed before the guest. This quantity is served for luncheon when the dish is the principal one of the meal. For a single course, a smaller portion of toast would be required and not more than 4 or 5 mushroom caps.

The dishes may be baked in the oven.

Mushroom Timbales

• 1 cup stewed mushrooms in pieces
• 1 tablespn. butter
• 1 tablespn. chopped onion
• 1 tablespn. chopped parsley
• 2 level tablespns. flour
• salt
• ½ cup consommÉ or milk
• 2 yolks of eggs
• 1 tablespn. milk

Simmer onion in butter, add parsley, flour, and milk or consommÉ. Remove from fire, add yolks of eggs beaten with the tablespn. of milk, salt and mushrooms. Fill small molds which have been garnished as desired, bake in pan of water 20 m. or until set. Unmold on to rounds of toast, surround with thick mushroom sauce.

The timbales may be made of canned mushrooms and served with rich cream sauce.

Mushroom and Oyster Plant Pie

• 2½ tablespns. melted butter
• 2½–3 tablespns. flour
• 1½ cup water (part mushroom liquor if any)
• ½ cup cream
• salt

Mix the flour and butter, pour boiling water over, stirring, add cream and salt.

Put cooked oyster plant and mushrooms in pieces (? oyster plant, ? mushrooms), 1 pt. in all, into baking dish. Pour sauce over, cover with universal or pastry crust and proceed as in trumese pie.

Substitute stewed potatoes for oyster plant with either crust, or cover with a thin crust of mashed lentils, or use celery in place of oyster plant and cover with a rice crust.

? Cream of Fresh Mushroom Soup

Cook chopped imperfect caps and stems of mushrooms in water 5–10 m. Add more water if necessary and heavy cream; thicken with flour to the consistency of heavy cream. Add salt and a few cooked caps if desired, or, from 1–3 caps may be placed in each dish when the soup is served.

This soup cannot be improved upon.

? Boundary Castle Soup

Add sufficient water with salt to Boundary Castle sauce to make of the consistency of soup. Very delicious.

Directions for canning and drying mushrooms pp.71 and 72.