Gather lettuce and pepper-grass early, before the dew has evaporated; pick them over, and lay them in cold water. If the weather is very warm, change the water before dinner-time, and add ice. Just before it is served, cut it small, and prepare the dressing in the following manner. Boil three eggs twelve minutes, and throw them into cold water; remove the shell, and take out the yolks; mash them fine in a spoonful of water and two of oil; add salt, powdered sugar, made mustard and vinegar; pour the mixture over the salad, cut the whites of the eggs in rings and garnish the top.
Cucumbers.
Cucumbers should be gathered while dew is yet on them, and put immediately into water. Half an hour before dinner, pare and slice them very thin, and let them lie in fresh water till dinner is ready; then drain them, lay them into a dish, sprinkle them with salt, pour on the vinegar, and add the pepper last.
Macaroni.
Procure that which looks white and clean. When it is to be used, examine it carefully, as there are sometimes little insects inside. Wash it, and put it in a stew-pan in cold water enough almost to cover it. Add a little salt. Let it boil slowly half an hour; then add a gill of milk and a small piece of butter, and boil it a quarter of an hour more. Then put it into the dish in which it is to go to the table, grate old cheese over it, and heat a shovel red-hot and hold over the top to brown it. It may be browned in a stove, but if the dish would be injured by it, the better way is to use the shovel.
Parsnips.
Those that have remained in the ground till March, are usually very nice. Boil them three quarters of an hour, and cook enough for two days. Scrape the outside, split them, and lay them on a dish with a little butter, salt, and pepper. Take those that are left the next day, and lay them on a hot griddle or spider, with a little butter, ham fat, or nice drippings, and brown them. These are better than on the first day. They will brown well when first boiled, but not so quickly.
Carrots.
These are not considered by most people very good; but they are so in broth and soup. To eat with meat they should be boiled three quarters of an hour, if fresh from the garden; in the winter, an hour and a half. They make very good pies after the fashion of pumpkin or squash; but they must be boiled very tender, and in a good deal of water, else a strong taste will pervade the pies.