TOMATO CUSTARDS
Simmer for fifteen minutes in a covered saucepan four cups chopped tomatoes, four eggs, one sliced onion, one bay leaf, and sprig of parsley. Strain and if there be not two cups of liquid, add water. Beat four eggs and add to liquid. Pour into greased baking cups, and stand them in a pan of water and bake until firm—about fifteen minutes. Turn out and serve with cream sauce containing green peas.
BAKED TOMATO AND EGG PLANT
Take a deep earthenware dish, pour into it a cup of cream; cut several slices of eggplant very thin, salt well, and line the dish with them; slice two large tomatoes, place a layer of these on the eggplant, next a layer of spaghetti (cooked); sprinkle with grated cheese, pieces of butter, salt, and pepper; cover this with layer of tomatoes; salt well and sprinkle with chopped green pepper, and a top layer of eggplant, which also salt and pepper well. Cook gently an hour and a half in slow, hot oven.
CREOLE TOMATOES
Take one small onion and half a green pepper, chop them fine and cook until tender in a tablespoon of butter. Cut six tomatoes in half, sprinkle with a little sugar, season on both sides with salt, pepper and a little flour, and put them into the pan with skin-side down to cook partially, then turn them once; they must cook over a slow fire. Then sprinkle one tablespoon of chopped parsley over them, pour in one cup of thick cream and when this has become thoroughly hot, and has been combined with the other ingredients, the tomatoes are ready to serve.
They have not been disturbed since the first turning and have retained their shape. Half a tomato is placed on a slice of toast, with sufficient gravy to moisten. At the season of the year, when tomatoes are hard and firm, they may be peeled before cooking. Later they will likely fall to pieces unless the skin is left on. This is one method of cooking tomatoes in which they lose the sharp acid taste, disagreeable to so many persons.
STRING BEANS WITH TOMATOES
Cut off both ends of the beans, string them carefully and break into pieces about an inch in length and boil in salt water. When tender drain off this brine and add fresh water (boiling from the kettle). Add a piece of butter, three or four large potatoes cut into squares, also four large tomatoes, cut up, and season with salt and pepper. Melt one tablespoon of butter in a spider, stir into it one tablespoon of flour, thin with milk, and add this to the beans.