VEGETABLES.

[No. 143.]—Artichokes with Sauce Royale.

Wash and peel the artichokes, and boil for twenty minutes in the salt and water. Should any of the water then remain, leave lid off for a few minutes to allow it to evaporate. Turn the artichokes into a hot vegetable dish and pour over them the sauce, which must have been thoroughly heated previously.

[No. 144.]—Fried Beetroot.

(A Breakfast Dish.)

Peel the beetroot, and cut into slices about a quarter of an inch thick. Dissolve the butter in a frying pan, place in the beetroot and fry for twenty minutes, sprinkling each slice on both sides with the pepper and salt. When done, arrange the slices on a hot dish. Reset the frying pan on the fire, stir in the flour, thoroughly mixing it with the butter, and fry for a couple of minutes, stirring all the time, then pour in the water and vinegar, stir until quite smooth; pour over the beetroot and serve quickly.

[No. 145.]—Brussels Sprouts.

Clean the sprouts very thoroughly, removing all the decayed and outside leaves, and when perfectly free from dirt and insects, place them in plenty of fast-boiling salted water, and boil for about twenty minutes, or until quite tender but not broken. Keep the lid off all the time they are cooking, remove the scum as it rises, and be sure and use no soda. When they are tender, have ready a colander with a cloth laid in it, lift the sprouts out with an egg slice, and lay them carefully on the cloth to drain, place about a dozen of the best shaped ones on a hot plate or dish, slide the remainder gently off the cloth on to a hot drainer in a vegetable dish, and arrange the reserved ones on the top.

Sprouts are often spoiled in the dishing up, but no vegetable looks and tastes nicer if properly cooked and served.

[No. 146.]—French Beans.

Slice the shalot, and stew it in the tomato juice for about half an hour. Strain, add pepper and salt, and thicken the juice with the flour and butter. Lay the French beans in, and thoroughly re-heat.

Note.—Tinned beans may be used, when fresh ones are not obtainable.

[No. 147.]—A nice way of serving Greens.

Boil the greens (Scotch kale, broccoli tops, etc.) in the usual way. When quite tender, strain and press well, place on a board and chop very finely; dissolve the butter in a stewpan, place in the greens, add a little pepper and more salt if required, and stir briskly over the fire for two or three minutes. Serve in a hot vegetable dish.

[No. 148.]—Tasty Greens.

Dissolve the butter in a small stewpan, beat up the eggs, add them to the butter, and stir over the fire until the sauce thickens, but on no account allow it to boil; add the greens, which should be finely chopped (see [No. 147]), also seasoning if required, and continue stirring over a gentle heat for two or three minutes.

[No. 149.]—Haricot Beans.

Boil the beans in the water for half an hour, add salt, and boil again gently for another half or three-quarters of an hour; strain away the liquor, and leave the beans in the colander to dry off. Dissolve the butter in a stewpan, gently toss the beans in it, taking care not to break them, and serve.

Either chopped parsley, grated nutmeg, or lemon juice may be added to the butter, but the beans are extremely good quite plain.

Note.—They may also be served in the liquor. See [General Hints, page 1].

[No. 150.]—Mushrooms Baked.

Peel the mushrooms, removing part of the stalks, and lay them (stalks upwards) in a flat baking tin or dish containing the water; place a small piece of the butter in the centre of each mushroom, pepper and salt them to taste; cover them, and bake in a moderate oven for twenty or thirty minutes. Serve very hot.

Note.—Great care must be taken that the mushrooms are quite free from insects before cooking.

[No. 151.]—Green Peas Boiled.

Wash the peas, and place them in a stewpan with the other ingredients, simmer with the lid off until they are quite tender, remove the mint and serve. The small quantity of liquor which remains will be found useful for flavouring sauces, stews, etc.

Note.—This way of cooking peas is greatly superior to that of putting them into a large quantity of water, as there is no waste and the entire flavour and nutriment of the vegetable are retained.

[No. 152.]—Mashed Potatoes.

Wash and scrub the potatoes until perfectly free from dirt and mould, bake them, and when done prick with a fork to allow the steam to escape, then wipe with a cloth to remove any charred skin, etc. Have ready a good-sized saucepan (enamelled for preference) in which the milk and butter have been heated, halve the potatoes and squeeze them into it, add salt and pepper (the latter should be omitted when being prepared for children), then with a cook's fork beat backwards and forwards, then round and round, until the whole mass is perfectly smooth and quite free from lumps. Turn into a very hot vegetable dish, arrange in a pile and mark prettily with a fork or knife, then place in the oven for two or three minutes to re-heat.

Note.—Potatoes prepared in this way constitute an ideal diet. All the valuable salts are retained instead of being thrown away in the water, as when peeled before cooking, whilst the butter and milk supply the fatty elements in which the potato is lacking. The colour also is good, which is not the case when they are boiled in their skins, and the taste is delicious.

[No. 153.]—New Potatoes Fried.

Boil the potatoes twenty minutes, then drain and remove the skins. Mix well together the salt, pepper, mace, sweet herbs, and bread crumbs. Roll the potatoes first in the egg, then in the savoury bread crumbs, and fry in boiling oil until a golden brown.

Serve with [sauce piquante No. 171].

[No. 154.]—Salsify.

Scrape the salsify, and throw it into cold water, cut into pieces about two inches long, and place in an enamelled stewpan with the water, milk, lemon, salt, and half an ounce of butter. Boil one hour or until quite tender, remove the lemon, lift out the salsify and place in a warm vegetable dish, thicken the liquor with the other half ounce of butter and the flour, pour over the salsify and serve.

[No. 155.]—Tomatoes.

Scald the tomatoes by pouring boiling water over them, then place in cold water for half a minute. Remove the skins, which will now come off quite easily, slice the tomatoes into about four pieces with a very sharp knife. Have ready a stewpan in which the butter has been dissolved, place the tomatoes in it, add the seasoning, and stew gently for about twenty minutes, stirring frequently.

Note.—When strained, this constitutes a very choice sauce, and it may be slightly thickened.