STEAMED MUSHROOMS.
One-half pound or about twenty-four small mushrooms were peeled, washed carefully in cold water, placed in a small stew-pan containing two generous tablespoonfuls of butter, covered closely and allowed to simmer or steam for twenty minutes in butter and liquid, drawn from the mushrooms by steaming, then uncover and allow liquid in sauce-pan and mushrooms to cook about ten minutes longer, then sprinkle two teaspoonfuls of flour over the mushrooms, brown a minute, stir into this ½ cup of milk, or enough to make a sauce the consistency of cream, season well with salt and pepper to taste. Have ready prepared six crisply toasted and buttered slices of stale bread. Place four mushrooms and a couple of tablespoonfuls of the mushroom sauce on each slice of bread and serve hot. The combination of toast and mushrooms results in a particularly fine flavor.
STEWED TOMATOES
Scald ripe tomatoes by pouring boiling water over them and allowing them to stand a few minutes. Skin them and cut in small pieces. Place in a stew-pan with 1 tablespoonful of butter, season well with pepper and salt, cook about 25 minutes, add ½ teaspoonful of sugar and thicken with 1 teaspoonful of flour mixed smooth with a little water. Let cook a few minutes, then serve. If tomatoes are very tart a small pinch of baking soda, added when cooked, will counteract acidity.
Sweet corn on the cob should be cooked as soon as possible after taking it from stalk, as after being removed it soon loses its sweetness. Do not remove the husk until it is to be boiled. Place corn in a kettle of rapidly boiling water, not salted; rather add a pinch of sugar if corn is not as sweet as liked. Cover the kettle to prevent steam escaping. Do not use a large quantity of water. Corn is sweeter if steamed. Boil from ten to fifteen minutes. If corn is not cooked in that time, it should be used uncooked for corn fritters, as corn if not young and tender may be grated and from it excellent corn fritters may be made.