a 

corbic acid (vitamin C), vitamin A, 
and riboflavin. The plant is so hardy 
it can be used from the garden well 
into the winter. 
To cook the kale rip out the tough 
vein up the center of the leaf and wilt 
it in the water that clings to the 
leaves. Like spinach, kale can be 
seasoned with meat drippings, a table 
fat or white sauce and hard-cooked 
eggs. 
A return to the Eastern States green 
vegetable program this year is Mary 
Washington asparagus roots. In con- 
trast to asparagus seed that takes 
three years to grow, the roots will 
mature in a year and a few shoots may 
be cut, but it takes about two years to 
get into full production. To plan how 
much the family needs consider the 
size of the family and how well as- 
paragus is liked. Figure that 50 as- 
paragus plants in a 75-foot row will 
produce about 40 pounds of shoots 
in the season or right at six pounds 
per week for six weeks. 
Growing shoots of plants are es- 
pecially rich in vitamin values and 
asparagus 1s no exception. It 1s para- 
doxical that this luxury vegetable re- 
quires so little care. Just keep the 
weeds out. Plant the roots deeply as 
soon as the ground can be worked — 
about apple blossom time. 
To get the most food value out of 
asparagus shoots cook them in the 
least possible amount of water or 
steam them. Season with a table fat 
or drippings. For the queen’s taste 
serve tender tips on toast points and 
garnish with cream sauce overlaid 
with hard-cooked eggs and olives. 
Another green vegetable 1s Eastern 
States Early One broccoli. A_half- 
dozen plants in the home garden will 
keep the family supplied all summer 
if they are kept cut back to produce 
greater yields. Serve the heads and 
tender stems of broccoli buttered or 
pour hollandaise sauce over them. 
Eastern States Early One broccoli 
freezes well too. 
Grouped with the leafy vegetables 
and shoots for food values are green 
peas and green beans. There is a new 
bush snap bean named Plentiful and 
another called Long Tendergreen. For 
freezing the Kentucky Wonder green 
beans cannot be beat, and Thomas 
Laxton peas have not been surpassed. 
A second group of vegetables 1s 
comprised of tomatoes and raw salad 
greens. Included are lettuce, cabbage, 
green and red peppers and parsley. 
New to the Eastern States list is 
Oak Leaf lettuce, so called because 
of the shape of the leaf. Oak Leaf let- 
tuce 1s tender and succulent. No trace 
of bitterness mars the fine flavor and 
the bright green makes an attractive 
base for individual salads or can be 
tucked around the edge of a bowl of 
potato salad. Oak Leaf lettuce makes 
a crisp green salad by itself or it may 
be wilted with a hot tart sauce sea- 
soned with bacon fat. Oak Leaf lettuce 
does not curl into deep cups as does 
Great Lakes lettuce, but les flatter 
on a plate more like ordinary leaf 
lettuce. 
Important for ascorbic acid (vita- 
min C) content when served raw is 
the Eastern States strain of Italian 
Sweet pepper. On a weight-for-weight 
basis the ripe (red) Eastern States 
Italian Sweet pepper served raw has 
about three times as much vitamin C 
as oranges. Moreover, this variety is 
excellent for freezing. 
These peppers make excellent use of 
savory meat stuflings for baking or 
can be filled with golden corn kernels. 
For quick, easy serving, fry shoe- 
string strips or thin rings of Eastern 
States Italian Sweet pepper in a bit of 
fat until the pieces are flexible. Over- 
cooking destroys more ascorbic acid 
(vitamin C). 
Eastern States Italian Sweet peppers 
make colorful finger foods, too, for 
school lunches. Plan to use raw 
wedges of the pepper in sandwiches 
with bread and butter or peanut but- 
ter or meat. Cook the peppers with 


















* 
Either cheese sauce 
or cream sauce tops 
asparagus on toast 
points. 
other vegetables or dice them into 
salads. 
Into a third nutritional group of 
vegetables go shell beans, beets, cauli- 
flower, celery, corn, eggplant, kohl- 
rabi, onions, parsnips, potatoes, rad- 
ishes, summer squash and white 
turnips. Every day some in the diet 
from the group is necessary. 
In this group Fordhook 242 lima bean 
is a treat. Eastern States’ French Hort1- 
cultural bean was developed from a 
single plant and is outstanding in its 
line. Utah Valencia onions are sweet 
enough to use alone, but have enough 
pungency to add zest to any other 
dish. 
For flavor and food value in corn 
the home gardener cannot go wrong 
with any one of four varieties. In the 
order of maturity the big four are: 
Sugar and Gold, Early Gold, Carmel 
Cross and Golden Cross Bantam.To have 
sweet corn on the family table 
throughout a long season, plant all 
four of these varieties at once. Then 
about a month later make another 
planting of all four varieties. For 
flavor the Golden Cross Bantam is 
outstanding, but each is the best 
variety obtainable for flavor in its 
season. 
In a ‘Show the Folks”’ contest let- 
ter Jimmie Aldrich, Derby Line, Ver- 
mont, (brother of Bobbie) vouches 
for the quality of Golden Cross Bantam. 
Jimmie wrote that “Mom said, ‘It ts 
delicious corn.’ Daddy said, “That’s 
the most tasty corn I ever ate.’ I would 
like to know just what the racoons 
said for they ate the biggest and best 
Catoae 

