Cut pieces of peeled winter squash into cubes about 1 inch in size. Put these to cook in a small amount of boiling water, add enough salt to season, and cook until tender and quite dry. Season the cooked squash with pepper, add 1 tablespoonful of butter for each four persons to be served, and, if desired to increase the sweet taste, add a small amount of sugar. Mash until smooth and serve hot.
112. BAKED SQUASH.--Winter squash, because of its hard covering, is very satisfactory when baked in the shell, as shown in Fig. 19. If it is not desired to cook it in a whole piece, the squash may be cut into pieces about 3 inches square or into triangular pieces.
Remove the seeds from the squash, sprinkle each with salt and pepper, and dot with butter, as shown. Place in a hot oven directly on the grate or in a shallow pan, and bake until the contents of the shells are tender. Remove from the oven, and serve from the shells. If desired, the squash may be scooped from the shells after baking, seasoned at that time instead of when put in the oven, and then served in a vegetable dish.
TOMATOES AND THEIR PREPARATION
113. TOMATOES are a fruit vegetable that may be either cooked or prepared raw in many different ways. They are usually red when ripe, and because of this color they are particularly attractive on the table. Green or partly ripe tomatoes are also used in the preparation of many dishes. Tomatoes are composed largely of water, and for this reason their food value is low, being about the same as that of greens. This large proportion of water is also responsible for the fact that they do not keep for a great length of time. Tomatoes, however, have a long season. They begin to appear in the market early in the spring and they may be obtained from this time until the frost kills the vines in the fall.
114. While tomatoes appeal to the majority of persons, they disagree with some on account of the acid they contain. This acid is similar to that found in some fruits, and it is present in greater quantity in cooked tomatoes than in raw ones, the heating of the vegetable apparently increasing the acidity. This acidity of tomatoes may be reduced by the addition of soda, and while soda produces a marked change in the flavor, it is necessary in the preparation of some dishes. For instance, in the case of cream-of-tomato soup, soda must be added to reduce the acidity and thus keep the milk or cream used in preparing this dish from curdling.
115. The skin of tomatoes, whether they are to be eaten raw or cooked, is usually undesirable. Therefore, in preparing tomatoes for the table, the skins are generally removed. In order to do this, first dip the tomatoes into boiling water for several seconds and then immediately into cold water. This will loosen the skins, which may then be peeled off very thinly, and very little of the tomato will be wasted.
116. STEWED TOMATOES.--The usual way of preparing tomatoes is to stew them. Stewed tomatoes may be served plain, but they can be improved very decidedly by toasting cubes of bread and adding these to the tomatoes just before serving.