Scotch kail is best after there has been frost on it. Wash the kail, and cut away the coarse stalks, boil it for 1-1/2 to 2 hours in a small quantity of water, adding a chopped up onion. Drain it when soft and chop it fine like spinach. Into the saucepan in which the kail was cooked put a piece of butter; melt it, and stir into it 1 tablespoonful of Allinson fine wheatmeal, and brown it very slightly. Then add some of the drained-off kail wafer and stir it smooth with the browned flour. Return the chopped Scotch kail to the saucepan, add pepper and salt to taste; let it cook for a minute, and serve.
SPINACH.
Wash the spinach thoroughly, and set it over the fire in a saucepan without any water, as enough water will boil out of the spinach to cook it. Heat it gently at first, stirring it a few times to prevent it burning, until enough water has boiled out of the spinach to prevent it from catching. Let the spinach cook 20 minutes, then strain it through a colander, pressing the water out with a wooden spoon or plate. Put a piece of butter in the saucepan in which the spinach was cooked; when melted, stir into it a spoonful of Allinson fine wheatmeal, and keep stirring the meal and butter for 1 minute over the fire. Return the spinach to the saucepan, mix it well with the butter and meal, and add as much of the strained-off water as is necessary to moisten it; add pepper and salt to taste, and a little lemon juice. Let the spinach heat well through before serving. Have ready 1 or 2 hard-boiled eggs cut in slices, and decorate the spinach with them. Use 1 oz. of butter, an even tablespoonful of the meal, and the juice of 1/2 a lemon to 4 lbs. of spinach.
TURNIPS (MASHED).
Peel and wash the turnips, and steam them until tender. Mash them up in a saucepan over the fire, mixing with them 1 oz. of butter. Pile the mashed turnips on a flat dish, and pour a white sauce over them.
EGG COOKERY.
Eggs are a boon to cooks, especially when dishes are wanted quickly. They enter into a great many savoury and sweet dishes, and few cakes are made without them. They can be prepared in a great variety of ways. Eggs are a good food when taken in moderation. As they are a highly nutritious article of food, they should not be indulged in too freely. Eggs contain both muscle and bone-forming material, in fact everything required for building up the organism of the young bird. The chemical composition of hen's and duck's eggs are as follows:—
Hen's egg. Duck's egg.
Water ........ 74.22 71.11
Nitrogen ..... 12.55 12.24
Fat .......... 12.11 15.49
Mineral matter 1.12 1.16
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100.00 100.00
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