15 



rooms and fry them slowly until they are cooked. In this process they 

 will absorb all the fat of the bacon, and with the addition of a little salt 

 and popper will form a most appetizing; breakfast relish. 



JlKs/irootii l*le. — A very good mushroom pie is made in tlie following 

 manner : Chop a quart of mushrooms into small pieces, season to taste, 

 and add one pound of round steak chopi^ed line and seasoned with a 

 small i^iece of onion. If the steak is lean, add a small piece of suet, unless 

 butter is preferred to give flavor. Put the chopped steak and mush- 

 rooms in deep saucepan with cover, and stew slowly until tender. jMake 

 a crust as for beefsteak pie and put in a deep earthern dish, lightly brown- 

 ing the under crust before adding the stew, and cover with a crust lightly 

 punctured. 



In some parts of Russia mushrooms form an importatnt part of the 

 diet of the people, especially during the Lenten season, when the fast of the 

 Greek church is yexj strictly kept, and meat, fish, eggs, and butter are 

 forbidden. 



Provision is made for this season in the securing of quantities of dried 

 and salted mushrooms, which are cut up in strij^s and made into salads 

 with a dressing of olive oil and vinegar. The poorer classes to whom 

 the olive oil is unattainable use the rape seed and other vegetable oils in 

 the cooking of their mushrooms. 



The following recipes are translated from a recently published Russian 

 work on the subject of mushrooms, cultivated and wild : 



Select fresh, sound Boleti, cut off the caps, and, after wiping clean with 

 a napkin, place them in a sieve, pouring over them scalding water ; when 

 thoroughly drained, leave them where there is a free current of air until 

 perfectly dry. Next string them upon stout twine, leaving spaces be- 

 tween to allow of free circulation of air. If convenient, they can be dried 

 artificially by placing in a not too hot oven with the door open. Dried 

 by either method, they can be kept all winter. Before using, they should 

 be soaked in water or milk until soft. In this condition they make very 

 good flavoring for soup or gravy, and can also be used as filling for pies. 



3fns/iroo)>iS Cooked in Butter. — Wipe the mushrooms clean and dip in 

 dry flour. Heat a quantity of butter to boiling temperature in a sauce- 

 pan, seasoning with a small piece of onion. Drop the flour-covered 

 mushrooms into the boiling butter, shaking the pan constantly over the 

 fire. When the mushrooms are cooked add sour cream to taste. Before 

 serving, sprinkle with grated muscat nut. 



J/ushrooin Vickie. — Select only young button mushrooms. Put them 

 for a few moments in boiling water lightly salted and vinegared. Boil 

 vinegar (only the best should be used), spicing it according to taste. Al- 

 low the vinegar to cool. Put the mushrooms in layers in a jar and pour 

 over them enough spiced vinegar to cover. Seal tightly. 



Salted Piperltes. — Only the caps are taken of the Lactarius piperites. 

 They are placed first in salted scalding water for several minutes. The 

 water is then gently pressed out with a napkin, the mushrooms are 



