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VEGETABLES.

TO DRESS VEGETABLES.

VEGETABLES should be fresh gathered, and washed quite clean; when not recently gathered, they should be put into cold spring water sometime before they are dressed. When fresh gathered they will not require so much boiling, by a third of the time, as when they have been gathered the usual time those in our markets have.

Shake the vegetables carefully to get out the insects; and take off the outside leaves.

To restore frostbitten vegetables, lay them in cold water an hour before boiling, and put a piece of saltpetre in the saucepan when set on the fire.

Soft water is best for boiling vegetables; but if only hard water can be obtained, a very small bit of soda or carbonate of ammonia will soften it and improve the appearance of the vegetables. Pearl-ash should never be used, as it imparts an unpleasant flavour, as will soda also if not cautiously used.

All vegetables (except carrots) should be boiled by themselves, and in plenty of water. Salt should be used with green vegetables; and the water should be skimmed before they are put in. Fast boiling in an uncovered saucepan will preserve their colour.

When they sink they are done and should be taken out and drained, else they will lose their colour, crispness, and flavour.

Green vegetables, generally, will require from twenty minutes to half an hour, fast boiling; but their age, freshness, and the season in which they were grown, require some variation of time. They should almost invariably be put on in boiling water.

Vegetables are very nutritious and wholesome, when thoroughly boiled; but are very indigestible when not sufficiently dressed. The principal points in cooking them are, to boil them so soft as to be easy of digestion, and sufficiently to get rid of any rankness without losing their grateful flavour.

TO BOIL NEW POTATOES.

These are never good unless freshly dug. Take them of equal size, and rub off the skins with a brush, or a very coarse cloth, wash them clean, and put them, without salt, into boiling, or at least quite hot water; boil softly, and when they are tender enough to serve, pour off the water entirely, strew some fine salt over the potatoes, give them a shake, and let them stand by the fire in the saucepan for a minute, then dish and serve them immediately. Some cooks throw in a small slice of fresh butter with the salt, and toss them gently in it after it is dissolved. This is a good mode, but the more usual one is to send melted butter to table with them, or to pour white sauce over them when they are very

young, and served early in the season, as a side or corner dish.

Very small, ten to fifteen minutes: moderate sized, fifteen to twenty minutes.

MASHED POTATOES.

Boil them perfectly tender quite through, pour off the water, and steam them very dry; peel them quickly, take out every speck, and, while they are still hot, press the potatoes through an earthen cullender, or bruise them to a smooth mash with a strong wooden fork, or spoon, but never pound them in a mortar, as that will reduce them to a close heavy paste. Let them be entirely free from lumps, for nothing can be more indicative of carelessness or want of skill on the part of the cook, than mashed potatoes sent to the table full of lumps. Melt in a clean saucepan a slice of good butter, with a few spoonfuls of milk, or better still, of cream; put in the potatoes after having sprinkled some fine salt upon them, and stir the whole over a gentle fire with a wooden spoon, until the ingredients are well mixed, and the whole is very hot. It may then be served directly; or heaped high in a dish, left rough on the surface, and browned before the fire; or it may be pressed into a well buttered mould of handsome form, which has been strewed with the finest bread crumbs, and shaken free of the loose ones, then turned out, and browned in an oven.

TO BOLL TURNIPS.

Pare entirely from them the stringy rind, and either split the turnips once or leave them whole; throw them into boiling water slightly salted, and keep them closely covered from smoke and dust till they are tender. When small and young they will be done in from fifteen to twenty minutes; at their full growth they will require from three-quarters to a full hour, or more, of gentle boiling. After they become old and woolly, they are not worth dressing in any way. When boiled in their skins and pared afterwards, they are said to be of better flavour and much less watery than when cooked in the usual way.

Young turnips, fifteen to twenty minutes: fullgrown, three-quarters to one hour, or more.

TURNIPS IN WHITE SAUCE.
(Entremets).

When no scoop for the purpose is at hand, cut some small finely-grained turnips into quarters, and pare them into balls, or into the shape of plums or pears of equal size; arrange them evenly in a broad stewpan or saucepan, and cover them nearly with good veal broth, throw in a little salt, and a morsel of sugar, and boil them rather quickly until they are quite tender, but unbroken; lift them out, draining them well from the broth; dish, and pour over them some thick white sauce. As an economy, a cup of cream, and a teaspoonful of arrowroot may be added to the broth in which the turnips have stewed, to

make the sauce; and when it boils, a small slice of butter

may be stirred and well worked into it should it not be sufficiently rich without.

TURNIPS STEWED IN BUTTER.

(Good).

This is an excellent way of dressing the vegetable when it is mild and finely grained; but its flavour otherwise is too strong to be agreeable. After they have been washed, wiped quite dry, and pared, slice the turnips nearly half an inch thick, and divide them into dice. Just dissolve an ounce of butter for each half-pound of the turnips, put them in as flat as they can be, and stew them very gently indeed, from three-quarters of an hour to a full hour. Add a seasoning of salt and white pepper when they are half done. When thus prepared, they may be dished over fried or nicely broiled mutton cutlets, or served by themselves.

For a small dish: turnips, one pound and a half; butter, three ounces; seasoning of white pepper; salt, half a teaspoonful, or more: three-quarters to one hour. Large dish: turnips, two pounds; butter, four

ounces.

TO BOIL BEETS.

Wash the roots delicately clean, but neither scrape nor cut them, as not a fibre even should be trimmed away, until after they are dressed. Throw them into boiling water, and according to their size boil them