CAULIFLOWER.—The cauliflower is less indigestible than the cabbage; it possesses a most agreeable flavour, and is sufficiently delicate to be served at the tables of the wealthy. It is a wholesome vegetable, but should be eaten moderately, as it induces flatulence. Persons of weak constitutions and delicate stomachs should abstain from cauliflower as much as possible. They may be prepared in a variety of ways; and, in selecting them, the whitest should be chosen; those tinged with green or yellow being of indifferent quality.
SUMMER SALAD.
1152. INGREDIENTS.—3 lettuces, 2 handfuls of mustard-and-cress, 10 young radishes, a few slices of cucumber.
[Illustration: SALAD IN BOWL.]
Mode.—Let the herbs be as fresh as possible for a salad, and, if at all stale or dead-looking, let them lie in water for an hour or two, which will very much refresh them. Wash and carefully pick them over, remove any decayed or wormeaten leaves, and drain them thoroughly by swinging them gently in a clean cloth. With a silver knife, cut the lettuces into small pieces, and the radishes and cucumbers into thin slices; arrange all these ingredients lightly on a dish, with the mustard-and-cress, and pour under, but not over the salad, either of the sauces No. 506, 507, or 508, and do not stir it up until it is to be eaten. It may be garnished with hard-boiled eggs, cut in slices, sliced cucumbers, nasturtiums, cut vegetable-flowers, and many other things that taste will always suggest to make a pretty and elegant dish. In making a good salad, care must be taken to have the herbs freshly gathered, and thoroughly drained before the sauce is added to them, or it will be watery and thin. Young spring onions, cut small, are by many persons considered an improvement to salads; but, before these are added, the cook should always consult the taste of her employer. Slices of cold meat or poultry added to a salad make a convenient and quickly-made summer luncheon-dish; or cold fish, flaked, will also be found exceedingly nice, mixed with it.
Average cost, 9d. for a salad for 5 or 6 persons; but more expensive when the herbs are forced.
Sufficient for 5 or 6 persons.
Seasonable from May to September.
CUCUMBERS.—The cucumber is refreshing, but neither nutritious nor digestible, and should be excluded from the regimen of the delicate. There are various modes of preparing cucumbers. When gathered young, they are called gherkins: these, pickled, are much used in seasonings.
[Illustration: CUCUMBER-SLICE.]