1870. 



XEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



59 



then cut the strings and loosen the stalks without 

 breaking them. Lay upon them small shavings 

 of butter, and take the dish immediately to the 

 table. What is left from dinner is very acceptable 

 at breakfast cut very fine and mixed with two or 

 three beaten eggs and a little butter — scalded in a 

 saucepan till the eggs are cooked, the whole thor- 

 oughly stirred, and then poured upon toasted bread. 



Parsnips are nice boiled till tender ; they require 

 an hour — in salted water. Remove their skin, cut 

 them lengthwise and butter and pepper them. 

 They are f ocd with fresh as well as salted meats. 

 Fry them as you would cold potatoes, the next 

 day. Some persons brown them in the stove oven 

 after boiling them, before sending them to the 

 table. 



Cook egg-plants like turnips; or parboil them, 

 slice them, and fry them in butter, — dipping 

 them first in pulverized cracker and sprinkling salt 

 and pepper over them; or bake them after they 

 are sliced and seasoned with salt and pepper, plac- 

 ing them in a deep dish with layers of bread 

 crumbs or pounded cracker. 



Summer squashes should be boiled in a net. 

 Put them in boiling water; from a half to three- 

 quarters of an hour will cook them. Wring them 

 as dry as possible by pressing between two plates. 

 Remove the rind ; mash, and season with butter, 

 salt and pepper. 



Winter pquashes cut into convenient pieces ; and 

 take out the inside, except the filaments that are 

 attached to the pulp — they are the sweetest part. 

 Steam these pieces, or boil them in as little water 

 — fresii—as possible. An hour will steam them ; 

 three-quarters boil them. When soft enough to 

 bruise easily the squash is done. Peel it, taking 

 ofi" only the transparent skin of a soft shelled va- 

 riety, and scrapirg the pulp from the rind of the 

 harder kind. Mash the pulp fine, and season with 

 salt, butter and pepper; a little sugar improves 

 the flavor of a squath that has no natural sweet- 

 ness. Boil and serve pumpkins in the same way ; 

 nsing the pulp if it is watery, as for summer 

 Bquath. Two cupfuls of plainly boiled squash or 

 pumpkins, one quart of milk and four eggs (or two 

 eggs and one pounded cracker,) flavored with nut- 

 meg and cinnamon — salt and sugar to taste — make 

 excellent material for pics. Bake it with an under 

 crust only, in deep dishes; or without a crust, 

 having buttered the dish and sprinkled it thickly 

 with tine Indian meal. These pies, baked with 

 this substitute for a crust are very good for invalids. 



Spmach is to be washed thoroughly and boiled 

 in a net in salted water. This, as well as other 

 greens, must have a great deal of water; or the 

 water turned off" and replaced, or it will be too 

 bitter. Season it with butter; or serve it with 

 melted butter with hard boiled egg chopped small 

 added. It should accompany fresh meats. 



Cabbage sprouts, young cabbage plants, young 

 beets— bi-th tops and rootx — turnip tops, mustard, 

 lettuce, dandelions, cowslips, radish leaves, sugar- 



weed, and young shoots of the currant bush, make 

 good spring greens— to be eaten with salted meats. 

 They need to be well searched for insects, and 

 washed and boiled in salted water till they will 

 sink to the bottom of the kettle. 



Purslane is excellent cither as a green for salted 

 meats or dressed with butter for fresh meats. And 

 celery, which is usually eaten raw as a salad, is 

 sometimes boilsd and dressed with cream and 

 butter for the same. 



Lettuce and peppergrass taken together make 

 a good salad; or lettuce and nasturtian plants; 

 or lettuce and tomatoes. 



Celery is som.etimes used with these, and rad- 

 ishes ; but they are generally preferred by them- 

 selves. Wash them carefully and eat with salt, or 

 salt and olive oil. 



For making a salad the vegetables should be as 

 crisp as possible, so it is best to pick them over 

 and wash them and place them in cold water two 

 or three hours before they are to be served. Cut 

 the materials very small, and dress thcra with vin- 

 egar, salt, pepper, oil, powdered sugar, and mixed 

 mustard. If you please add hard-boiled eggs— the 

 whites cut in rings to ornament the top of the 

 dish, the yolks mashed and mixed with oil and 

 stirred among the cut vegetables. 



Now a few words about corn, beans and peas, 

 and we must leave the vegetables. Husk the corn 

 and shell the beans and peas with clean hands. 

 Do not wash them ; only remove all kernels that 

 are not perfectly healthy. Boil green corn in soft, 

 freshwater; green beans and peas the same — as 

 little as will cook them. Cook these as soon as 

 possible after gathering. If they are not very 

 young a little saleratus — a piece the size of a small 

 bean to a gallon of water — will make them tender; 

 for string beans this is frequently needful. Green 

 corn on the cob will boil in half an hour. It is 

 good baked fifteen minutes in a stove oven, or 

 roasted five minutes on the coals. 



An excellent dish, and one that suits children, 

 is corn soup. To make this, cut the corn from the 

 cob, and boil the cubs in fre.-h water half an hour. 

 Skim out the cobs and put in the corn, and boil 

 this the same length of time; then add one-third 

 as much milk as you have of the water, a little 

 salt and pepper; and a beaten rgg if you please. 

 Let it boil a few minutes, then stir in a little flour 

 for thickening. Serve it hot. 



Green peas will boil ia half an hour. Put them 

 to boil in cold water, without sal' — salt hardens 

 both beans and peas. Use only water enough to 

 keep them from burning. Dress them with salt 

 and butter. String beans cook in the same way — 

 after having removed the string at eath side of the 

 pod, and cut or broken the pods into small pieces, 

 — they are easily broken or "snappe-d," if not too 

 old. String beans and peas may be mixed for 

 boiling, or shelled beans and peas, or peas and as- 

 paragus. A small piece of salt pork seasons peas 

 and beans nicely. It should be boiled with them 



