Part 5

Only dry, ripe, mealy potatoes are good baked.

Onions should be boiled in two waters, first for about fifteen minutes with cold water put on, then drained off, and boiling, salted water added to finish.

To peel tomatoes readily, first pour over them a little scalding water. This also applies to plums.

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BOILED POTATOES (without skins)

STEAMED SLICED POTATOES

Wash, pare, and slice several medium-sized potatoes very thin. Have in a frying-pan a small piece of butter and a half cup of hot water, put in the potatoes, season with salt, cover closely, and set on the back of the range to cook slowly. Stir up a little occasionally. A few thinly sliced onions may be used with the potatoes if desired.

WARMED-UP POTATOES

Cut cold boiled potatoes into thin slices; heat a little milk to boiling in a saucepan; put in the potatoes, and season with salt to taste. Let boil a few minutes and serve. If desired, the milk may be slightly thickened with a little flour blended in a little cold milk.

POTATO PUFF

Take two cupfuls of hot, seasoned, mashed potatoes, and moisten well with hot milk or cream. Beat the yolks and whites of two eggs separately; allow the potatoes to cool slightly, then beat in the eggs, the yolks first. Turn at once into an oiled, shallow tin; do not smooth or press them down, but leave in a rocky form. Bake about ten minutes, or till a delicate brown.

LYONNAISE POTATOES

Cut into dice enough cold boiled potatoes to make one pint, brown to a golden yellow a spoonful each of butter or oil and minced onion. Add the potatoes, season with salt, and stir with a fork till a delicate brown, being careful not to break them. Add a spoonful of chopped parsley, and serve hot.

NEW POTATOES

If new and fresh, the skins may be easily scraped off with a knife, or rubbed off with a coarse cloth. Cook in a little water, drain, and serve; or, when done, drain, pour some rich, sweet milk over them, let it heat to boiling, then thicken with a little flour rubbed smooth in a little cold milk, allowing a tablespoonful of flour to a pint of milk, and season with salt. A few green peas cooked with new potatoes and thus dressed make a very acceptable dish.

POTATOES WITH CREAM

Pare, and cut as many as desired into small cubes; put into boiling water and cook from fifteen to twenty minutes; when done, drain off all the water, let dry a few minutes over the fire, then add a little salt, a cup of thin cream, and a little chopped parsley; simmer for two or three minutes, and serve at once.

BAKED SWEET POTATOES

Choose those of uniform size, wash thoroughly, removing any imperfect spots, wipe dry, and place in a moderately hot oven; bake for about an hour if the potatoes are rather large. Small potatoes are better steamed than baked. Send to the table as soon as done, after removing the skins.

BOILED SWEET POTATOES

Wash well, put into cold water with the skins on, and boil until easily pierced with a fork; drain, remove the skins, and place in the oven to dry for five or ten minutes; serve in a hot, open dish.

BROWNED SWEET POTATOES

Take cold, boiled sweet potatoes, peel, cut into halves, place on shallow buttered tins, and brown in a hot oven.

ROASTED SWEET POTATOES

Wash, wipe dry, wrap with thin paper, and cover first with hot ashes, then with live coals. Turn occasionally. The coals may need renewing several times. When done, remove the ashes with a brush, wipe with a dry cloth, and serve. Sweet potatoes are nicer and more mealy when prepared in this way.

YAMS

Prepare the same as roasted sweet potatoes or baked sweet potatoes. Boiling them is thought to quite spoil their flavor.

STEWED TOMATOES

Take nice, fresh tomatoes, pour boiling water over them, remove the skins, slice into a granite saucepan, add a cupful of water, and stew from twenty to thirty minutes. Then add salt, butter, and a half cup of bread or cracker crumbs, or slightly thicken with cornstarch, blended with a little cold water. Sugar may be added if desired.

BAKED TOMATOES

Select smooth, even-sized, ripe tomatoes. Peel, remove the stems, and place in an earthen pudding dish; season with a little salt and butter or cream, and bake in a rather hot oven for half an hour.

TOMATOES AND MACARONI

Put to cook one-half cup of macaroni broken into inch pieces into three cups of boiling water; boil for about an hour, or until perfectly tender, adding more water if necessary. When done, put into a pudding dish, and pour over two cups of stewed tomatoes previously rubbed through a colander. Add a little salt, a few bits of butter, a half cup of sweet cream, and bake in the oven till done. If the tomatoes are quite juicy, a teaspoonful of flour may be used for thickening.

SCALLOPED TOMATOES

Take one quart of stewed fresh or canned tomatoes, rub through a colander, and thicken with a cupful of bread or cracker crumbs; add a little salt, a few spoonfuls of cream, and bake for twenty or thirty minutes.

BOILED BEANS

Pick over, wash, and soak two cupfuls of beans overnight in cold water. In the morning drain, and put to cook in hot water. Cook slowly for two or three hours, or until perfectly tender, adding more hot water as needed, as they should be quite juicy when done; avoid much stirring. Season with salt and a little butter or cream. Colored beans having too strong a flavor may be improved by parboiling for fifteen minutes, then draining, and putting to cook in fresh boiling water.

BOILED BEANS WITH RICE

Wash and soak two cupfuls of beans in cold water overnight; in the morning put to cook, and after about an hour add one-half cup of well-washed rice. Cook slowly until done, season as above, and serve.

BAKED BEANS

Take two cupfuls of beans, pick over, wash, soak overnight, and cook the same as boiled beans. When done, add a little butter and salt, and two tablespoonfuls of molasses; turn into a pudding dish, and bake until nicely browned. A little hot water should be added occasionally to prevent their becoming too dry.

BAKED GREEN BEANS AND CORN

Shell the beans, and cut the sweet corn from the cob. Put layers of each in equal quantities in a bean pot or pan, seasoning with salt and butter. Add boiling water to cover, and bake in the oven for about two hours, adding more hot water as it becomes absorbed.

MASHED BEANS

Soak overnight two cupfuls of beans, and cook the same as boiled beans. When very tender, and the water nearly absorbed, rub through a colander to remove the skins; add half a cup of cream or of rich, sweet milk and a little butter; put into a shallow dish, smooth the top with a knife or spoon, and place in the oven to brown.

STRING BEANS

Wash, break off each end, stripping the strong fibers from end to end. Cut or break into inch lengths, and put to cook in enough boiling, slightly salted water to cover. Cook from one to two hours, or until very tender, the length of time required depending upon the age and variety of the beans. The water should be quite absorbed when done. Add a little milk and butter if cream is not available. Let come to a boil, and serve.

SPLIT PEAS

Look over carefully, wash, and put to cook in a good quantity of cold water. Let come to a boil, then simmer until tender and the water quite absorbed. Press through a colander if desired to remove the skins, season with salt, and cream or butter, and serve.

GREEN PEAS

Shell, and put to cook in boiling, slightly salted water, allowing one cupful of water to every four cups of peas. If they are old, and need longer cooking, add more water if necessary. Cover, and cook rather slowly till tender. About thirty minutes’ cooking for fresh, young peas will be found sufficient. When done, pour over a cupful of sweet milk, heat to boiling, and thicken with a little flour. Season with a little salt, and a spoonful of cream or a small piece of butter.

LENTILS

Cook, season, and serve the same as split peas, only less water and less time for cooking will be required.

BAKED RICE

Take one cupful of rice, wash well by turning into a colander and dipping in and out of warm water, put into a pudding dish, and pour over four cupfuls of milk, or two each of milk and water, adding a little salt. Bake about an hour, stirring once or twice before the top becomes hard. Serve as a vegetable with lentil sauce.

PLAIN BOILED RICE

Wash thoroughly one cupful of rice, and sprinkle it slowly into a granite saucepan containing two or three quarts of rapidly boiling, slightly salted water. If the grains sink to the bottom, stir gently until they keep in motion themselves. Boil rapidly, without covering, for thirty minutes, or until soft; then drain through a colander and rinse with hot water to remove all starch. The grains should be separate and distinct from one another. It may be served with a tomato sauce. See page 77.

SPAGHETTI WITH TOMATO SAUCE

Break in pieces and cook in boiling, salted water, or cook whole by dipping the ends in the hot water, and as they bend, coil them around in the saucepan. Cook for twenty or thirty minutes, or until soft, then drain, rinse with hot water to remove starch if it is sticky, turn into a dish and pour over a hot tomato sauce, made as directed on page 77.

STEWED CAULIFLOWER

Carefully separate into small portions; examine closely to make sure there are no insects on it; let stand a short time in cold water, then put into boiling, salted water, and cook from twenty to forty minutes, or until tender. Drain, season with a little butter or cream, or serve with cream sauce poured over it.

CAULIFLOWER WITH TOMATO SAUCE

Cook the same as stewed cauliflower. When done, drain, turn into a dish, and pour over it a hot tomato sauce.

STEWED CABBAGE

Remove the outer leaves, divide into halves, cut very fine with a sharp knife, omitting the heart. Put into a saucepan with a half cup of boiling water, add a little salt, cover closely, and cook until tender, adding a little more hot water, if it becomes too dry before it is done. When done, add a few spoonfuls of cream, allow to heat, and serve.

BOILED CABBAGE

Remove the outer leaves, place in cold water for half an hour, then quarter, and put to cook in boiling water, adding a little salt. Boil vigorously for about thirty minutes; turn into a colander, remove the heart and coarse portions, press out all the water, return to the saucepan, and season with butter or cream; allow to heat, and serve on a hot dish at once.

BOILED CELERY

Take one bunch of celery, cut off tops and roots, scrape and wash the stalks, then cut them into small pieces, and put to cook in boiling water. Let cook for fifteen or twenty minutes, or until tender; drain, turn into a heated dish, and pour over a cream sauce. For making cream sauce see page 77.

STEWED ASPARAGUS

Wash, break into small pieces, and cook from twenty to thirty minutes in just enough water to cover; when tender, drain, add a little butter and salt and a cup of milk; let come to a boil, and thicken with a teaspoonful of flour. Boil up and serve.

BOILED CARROTS

Select small or medium-sized carrots, wash, scrape, rinse in cold water, then put to cook in boiling water; cook about thirty minutes, or until tender, then drain. Serve as boiled, or slice them into a heated vegetable dish, and pour over them a cream sauce prepared as directed on page 77.

BOILED PARSNIPS

Prepare and cook the same as boiled carrots.

BAKED PARSNIPS

Wash, scrape, rinse, divide in halves, add a little more than enough boiling water to cook them, and boil slowly until tender; place in a shallow dish, pour over the juice that remains, add a little salt, a spoonful or two of cream, and place in the oven until nicely browned, basting occasionally.

STEWED TURNIPS

Pare the turnips, cut into slices, and cook until perfectly tender; then drain, mash fine with a spoon or potato masher, season with salt, a little butter or cream if desired, and serve.

SLICED CUCUMBERS

Pare the cucumbers, slice them very thin into a dish, sprinkle with salt, cover loosely, and shake briskly to distribute the salt; let stand for about half an hour; then drain off all the water, and shortly before serving pour over the juice of one or two lemons. A spoonful or two of cream may be added if desired. Cucumbers should be thoroughly masticated. Their reputed indigestibility is largely due to a failure in this particular.

BOILED ONIONS

Cut off the tops and bottoms, remove the outer skins, and put to cook in cold water; boil fifteen minutes; then drain, and cook in boiling, salted water until tender; turn into a pudding dish, and cut into small pieces; pour over a cupful of hot cream sauce, sprinkle the top with bread crumbs, and bake until brown. For making cream sauce see page 77.

BAKED SQUASH

Cut into sections, and place shell downward on the top shelf of the oven. Bake until tender, and serve hot in the shell; or, scrape out the inside, mash, add a few spoonfuls of cream or a little butter, and serve.

STEWED SQUASH

Peel, remove seeds, cut into small pieces, and stew until tender in a little boiling water; drain, mash smooth, and season with butter and salt. Vegetable marrows may be prepared in the same manner.

SUCCOTASH

Soak one cupful of beans overnight. When ready to cook, add water and one cupful of dried sweet corn, and cook until tender. Season with salt, a little cream or butter, and serve. If green sweet corn is used, do not add it to the beans until they are nearly done.

BOILED SWEET CORN

Select full-grown ears, not old and hard, but full of milk; remove the husks and silks, and put to cook in enough boiling, salted water to cover. Boil from thirty to forty minutes; when done, drain, and serve on the cob hot, with a little butter if desired. The corn from ears not eaten may be cut from the cob and warmed up with a little cream or butter for the next meal.

STEWED SWEET CORN

Remove husks and silks, stand the ears in a dish, and with a sharp knife cut off the corn from the top downward, taking a little more than half of the kernel in depth; then scrape gently downward to get the remainder of the milk and meat of each kernel. Place in a saucepan, add half a cup of water for each quart of corn, and cook for fifteen or twenty minutes. When done, add a little salt, a half cup of cream, or a cup of milk and a little butter, boil up and serve. The milk may be slightly thickened with flour, if desired.

BAKED BEETS

Take young, tender beets, wash clean, place in a baking dish with a little water, and bake from one to two hours, or until tender; add a little hot water occasionally if they become dry. When done, remove the skins, slice, and serve with lemon-juice.

BOILED BEETS

Cut off the tops, but avoid cutting the beets; put to cook in boiling water. When tender, remove to a pan of cold water; rub off the skins with the hands, slice thin, and serve with lemon-juice.

BEET GREENS

Take the tops from young, tender beets, look over, put to cook in boiling, slightly salted water, and cook until tender; then drain in a colander; chop rather fine, and serve with lemon-juice.

SPINACH

Look over carefully a good quantity of spinach, rejecting all wilted and decayed leaves. Wash thoroughly in several waters, and put to cook in slightly salted, boiling water, and boil from twenty to thirty minutes. When tender, drain in a colander, cut into coarse pieces, and put into a warm dish; add a few bits of butter, and garnish with slices of hard-boiled eggs. Serve with lemon-juice.

CELERY

Remove all the green and decayed parts from the stalks, and put into cold water. When ready to serve, place in a celery glass with the small ends downward. Curl the tops by cutting into narrow strips a little way down. Celery is recommended as a good nerve food.

SALADS AND SALAD DRESSINGS

Plain and healthful living tends to long and happy living.—_Selected._

The foundation of a happy home is laid in the kitchen.—_Marion Harland._

TOMATO SALAD, NO. 1

Peel smooth, ripe tomatoes, cut into thin slices, and arrange in layers in a dish, sprinkling each layer with sugar. Turn over the whole a half cup of lemon-juice before serving.

TOMATO SALAD, NO. 2

Peel, slice, and place in a dish, and sprinkle lightly with salt. To the beaten yolk of one egg add the juice of one or two lemons, a teaspoonful of sugar, and pour all together over the tomatoes.

CABBAGE SALAD, NO. 1

Chop very fine half a small head of crisp cabbage, and put into a dish. Mix together two tablespoonfuls of sugar and the juice of two lemons, and pour over the cabbage; add a spoonful or two of thick cream, stir together, and serve. The cream may be omitted if preferred.

CABBAGE SALAD, NO. 2

Chop the cabbage fine, and dress with mayonnaise dressing. If preferred omit to thin the dressing with cream, and cover the cabbage with whipped cream, slightly sweetened.

CABBAGE AND TOMATO SALAD

Cut the cabbage as above, and put into a dish. Peel and slice two or three large, ripe tomatoes, and place on the cabbage. Toss up lightly in the dish, sprinkle with sugar, and pour over all the juice of two lemons.

LETTUCE SALAD, NO. 1

Separate the leaves, look over, wash, and put into cold water a while before using. When ready to serve, place on a dish and pour over a dressing made of equal quantities of lemon-juice, sugar, and water.

LETTUCE SALAD, NO. 2

Wash and shred two heads of lettuce. Boil two eggs until hard, remove the shells, and mash the yolks fine; mix well together the juice of one or two lemons, two or three tablespoonfuls of water, one tablespoonful of sugar, one-half teaspoonful of salt, one tablespoonful of sweet cream, adding this last to prevent curdling, and the yolks of the eggs, and pour over the lettuce. Cut the whites of the eggs into rings and arrange on the top. A spoonful or two of minced onion may also be added.

POTATO SALAD

Cut into thin slices, hot or cold boiled potatoes, and place in a dish without breaking slices. A small onion, chopped fine, to each pint of potatoes may be added if desired. Cover with mayonnaise dressing.

VEGETABLE SALAD

Put a layer of fresh watercress or lettuce into a salad bowl, then alternate with layers of peeled, thinly sliced cucumber and tomatoes. When enough is prepared, place a border of watercress around the bowl. Just before serving, pour over a French dressing, and toss up lightly with a fork till well mingled.

FRUIT SALAD

Place in salad dish alternate layers of sliced bananas and strawberries, sprinkling each layer with sugar. Cover with whipped cream, and serve.

BANANA SALAD

Slice crosswise six ripe bananas into a dish; sprinkle with powdered sugar, then turn over them the juice of two nice large oranges; let stand for an hour in a cool place, and serve.

NUT AND CELERY SALAD

Take three cupfuls of finely cut, crisp celery, and one cupful of chopped English walnuts; dress with mayonnaise dressing, made thin with a little sweet cream.

FRENCH DRESSING

Mix thoroughly together six tablespoonfuls of oil, a pinch of salt, and two tablespoonfuls of lemon-juice.

MAYONNAISE DRESSING

To the yolks of two fresh eggs add a scant teaspoonful of salt; then beat in slowly, almost drop by drop, a small cupful of olive-oil. The mixture should become nearly as thick as butter. Then gradually add one tablespoonful of lemon-juice. Thin with sweet cream. Nice for potato, cabbage, or nut salads. If used for tomato salad, omit the cream.

SUBSTITUTES FOR MEATS

As a man eateth, so is he.—_German Proverb._

Lord Byron refused to eat meat because, as he said, “It makes me ferocious.”

The flesh of animals tends to cause grossness of body, and to benumb the finer sensibilities of the mind.—“_Bible Hygiene._”

The eating of much flesh fills us with a multitude of evil diseases, and a multitude of evil desires.—_Porphyrises, 233_ A. D.

Animal food is one of the greatest means by which the pure sentiment of the race is depressed.—_Alcott._

The candidates for ancient athletic games were dieted on boiled grain with warm water, cheese, and dried figs, but no meat. Modern athletes are not allowed meat while in training.

I have known men who prayed for a good temper in vain, until their physician proscribed eating so much meat; for they could not endure such stimulation.—_Henry Ward Beecher._

The liability to disease is increased by flesh eating. Where plenty of good milk and fruit can be obtained, there is rarely any excuse for eating animal food.—“_Christian Temperance._”

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From the instruction given at the beginning respecting foods, it is evident the Creator did not design that either man or beast should subsist on flesh foods. To Adam and Eve he said: “Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to everything that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat.” Gen. 1:29, 30.

But sin brought many changes into our world, and because of the changed circumstances, customs, and practises were instituted and allowed which were not in harmony with the primeval order of things. Among other things meat eating was permitted. Just after the flood, when the face of the earth had been desolated, God said to Noah: “Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things.” Gen. 9:3. But the blood was not to be eaten with the flesh,—a very wise provision, for if there is any disease in the system, it is sure to be found in the blood.

A little later, as a further precaution in the interests of health, instruction was given that only the flesh of “clean beasts” was to be eaten, such as that of the ox, the sheep, the goat, the deer, etc. See Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14.