"The 



W^OI/SEKEEPERj 



Garden Luxuries in Winter 



By M. Roberts Conover, New Jersey 

 T F WE were provident during the summer 

 *- a shelf in the fruit closet holds glass 

 jars of peas, beans, corn, asparagus and 

 tomatoes. There is also a supply of raw 

 vegetables stored according to approved 

 methods — cabbage beneath a covering 

 of earth in the garden, celery in trenches, 

 beets and carrots in dry sand on the 

 cellar floor, white potatoes in bins or 

 barrels and sweet potatoes, squash, pump- 

 kins, dried lima beans and onions in a dry 

 warm room. Also there are peppers and 

 dried herbs. 



Where a greenhouse does not form part 

 of the home's equipment, grow such vege- 

 tables as radishes, parsley and lettuce in 

 window boxes in the winter. 



The fresh taste of canned vegetables 

 is preserved if they are barely heated 

 before serving; they were thoroughly 

 cooked when canned. The home product 

 in glass jars has this advantage over the 

 tinned product of commerce — the liquor 

 can be retained. 



Winter vegetables should be cooked 

 as quickly as their consistency will permit, 

 in tightly covered vessels so that their 

 color and flavor may be at their best. The 

 process is longer than with fresh-grown 

 ones, however. 



The removal of the thick skin or rind 

 from vegetables must be accomplished 

 with little waste. In most cases, the 

 richest, most nutritious part lies directly 

 beneath the skin. 



Have an abundance of pure water, 

 clean utensils unaffected by acids, sharp 



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To facilitate trie removal of squash rind, cut the 

 vegetable into narrow strips before peeling 



steel paring knives, a broad strong knife 

 or cleaver for the unwieldy squashes and 

 pumpkins, and a small brush for scrubbing 

 carrots, potatoes and similar tubers. Pro- 

 tect the thumb and first finger of the 

 active hand by a portion of a glove. 



Both sweet and round potatoes are more 

 valuable as foods if cooked before paring. 

 Baking is preferable to boiling. When 

 necessary, the skin of round potatoes 

 should be removed in thin strips, using a 

 sharp knife. 



In the case of vegetables that lack the 

 delicacy of the summer varieties, the 

 water in which they are cooked should 

 be changed two or three times during the 

 process. Turnips are more palatable if 

 pared and sliced previous to cooking. 



Probably no other vegetable is so al- 

 tered by various methods of boiling as 

 cabbage. When cut into large chunks and 

 boiled in salt water with fat pork for 

 several hours, it forms a dish highly prized 

 by the field-laborer but difficult for the 

 average person to digest. On the contrary 

 the fiat Dutch winter cabbage sliced fine 

 and boiled for twenty minutes in a tightly 

 covered vessel — changing the water once 

 — is as delicious and tender as a Jersey 

 Wakefield gathered under summer skies. 



The full fine flavor of celery is lost unless 

 cooked quickly. When used to flavor 

 soup it should be added about twenty 

 minutes before the soup is removed from the 

 fire. Its crisp tender quality so desirable 

 when served raw depends upon its proper 

 blanching. Do not despair at wilted stalks. 

 They will regain their crispness if sprinkled 

 with cold water and set in a cool place 

 for several hours. 



If you have never tried baking squash 

 you do not know its capabilities. Halve 

 it; remove the seeds and core. Pour one 

 pint of cream or milk into one half. Season 

 with pepper and salt and turn the other 

 half over it as a cover. Set it into a baking 

 pan containing about an inch and a half 

 of water and bake until tender. 



Where it is more convenient to remove the 

 rind of squash or pumpkins before cooking, 

 the halves are split into narrow strips, 

 pared and cut into inch pieces. Cross- 

 cuts in the rind at intervals along each 

 strip makes its removal less difficult. 

 After boiling it tender, set the vegetable 

 on the back of the range or in the oven 

 and allow it to absorb its own liquor. 



124 



Dried beans or peas require a soaking 

 in water for twelve hours before cooking. 

 The broth which results in cooking is 

 indispensable to the flavor of the vegetable. 



The flavor and appearance of onions 

 is injured if they are cooked in iron or tin 

 vessels. They should cook rapidly in a 

 white-lined vessel tightly covered. Tears 

 need not accompany the paring process 

 if it is done under water. 



GROWING VEGETABLES INDOORS 



The average kitchen is very favorable 

 to the growth of parsley and radishes. 

 A five-cent package of each kind of seed 

 is enough for a start. 



Choose a window remote from the 

 range, where the sun shines part of the 

 day. The window box should be of wood, 

 its bottom and sides joined by nails — not 

 by glue or dovetailing. Make it as long 

 as the window's width, seven or eight 

 inches deep and as broad as space will 

 allow. A box thirty inches long and twelve 

 inches wide is capable of producing a 

 nice quantity of radishes and allow room 

 for a few parsley plants. 



Provide drainage by placing bits of 

 broken crockery or gravel an inch deep 

 in the bottom of the box. Several holes 

 in the bottom permit the passage of sur- 

 plus water to a pan beneath and prevent 

 the wood from warping. 



Radishes and lettuce require soil that 

 is light, mellow and very rich. Parsley is 

 not so exacting as to fertility. 



It is safe to take soil from the most 

 fertile part of the garden. If too stiff, 

 add a little sand to make it friable. Pile 

 the soil high in the box as it will settle 

 While out of doors, subject it to two or 

 three drenchings with liquid manure. This 

 solution is derived from one part of old, 

 black stable manure and eight parts of 

 water allowed to stand twenty-four hours. 



After two days, the box may be placed 

 in its position in the house. Or, instead 

 of the liquid manure, the soil may be 

 enriched by adding one part of cleanings 

 from the hennery to four parts of soil. 

 I grew fine, crisp, French breakfast radishes 

 on such a soil composition in three weeks. 



I do not plant my seeds in the window 

 garden until the soil has warmed to the 

 temperature of the room. It should be 

 moist and crumbly, but not sticky. Since 

 radish seeds are generally fertile, careful 



