CUCUMBER SALAD CUPS.
Choose medium sized cucumbers, pare carefully and cut off the two ends, cut them in halves lengthwise, take out the seeds and put the cucumbers into ice water for two hours. When ready for use wipe the cucumbers dry, set them on a bed of lettuce leaves, asparagus leaves, cress, parsley or any other pretty garniture, and fill the shells with lobster, salmon or shrimp salad, asparagus, potato or vegetable salad, mix with mayonnaise before stuffing and put a little more on top afterwards.
STUFFED CUCUMBERS.
Choose medium sized cucumbers, pare, cut off one or both ends, extract the seeds, boil from three to five minutes, drain and throw into cold water to firm, drain again and fill the insides with chicken or veal forcemeat; line a pan with thin slices of pork, on which set the cucumbers, season with salt and pepper and a pinch of marjoram and summer savory, baste with melted butter, or gravy, chicken gravy is the best, cover with a buttered paper and let bake. Or stuff with a sausage forcemeat, make a bed for the cucumbers of chopped vegetables and moisten with stock or water; or fill with a tomato stuffing as for stuffed tomatoes, baste often with butter, or a nice gravy, put over a buttered paper and bake until done, in about fifteen or twenty minutes. The Chicago Record gave the following recipe for cucumbers stuffed with rice:—Pare thinly five five-inch cucumbers. Cut off one end and remove the pulp, leaving a thick solid case, with one thick end. Season one cup of hot boiled rice, salted in cooking, with a tablespoonful of butter, a "pinch" each of marjoram and summer savory, saltspoonful of grated nutmeg, four shakes of cayenne and a tablespoonful of lemon juice. Fill the cucumbers with this mixture; replace the end, fastening it with small skewers; place in a pan of boiling water, salted, in which are two bay leaves and a clove of garlic, and boil for ten minutes or until tender. Drain and serve covered with a cream sauce.
DANDELIONS.
Use the dandelions in the early spring when they are young and tender. They take the place of spinach and are treated the same. (See [Spinach].) Dandelions may be used as a salad with a French dressing.
EGG PLANT CROQUETTES.
Peel, slice and boil until tender, mash and season with pepper and salt; roll crackers or dry bread, and stir into it until very thick. Make into croquettes or patties; fry in hot lard or with a piece of salt pork.