_With Bacon or Salt Pork._--Peel and quarter about a quart of potatoes.
Set a saucepan on the fire with about four ounces of fat salt pork cut in dice in it. When fried put the potatoes in. Season with a bunch of seasonings composed of two sprigs of parsley, one of thyme, and a bay-leaf; salt and pepper to taste, and about half a pint of broth or water. Boil gently till cooked, remove the bunch of seasonings; skim off the fat if any, and serve warm. It is served at breakfast, as well as _entremets_ for dinner.
_With Cream or Milk._--Peel and mash a quart of potatoes, when prepared and cooked. Put two ounces of b.u.t.ter in a stewpan and set it on a good fire; when melted, sprinkle in it a teaspoonful of flour, same of chopped parsley, a pinch of grated nutmeg, and salt; stir with a wooden spoon five minutes; then add the potatoes, and half a pint of milk or cream; keep stirring ten minutes longer, take from the fire, sprinkle in them half a tablespoonful of sugar, and serve as warm as possible.
_With White Sauce._--Clean, wash, and throw a quart of potatoes in boiling water, with a sprig of thyme, two onions, a bay-leaf, two sprigs of sweet basil, two cloves, salt, and pepper; when cooked, take the potatoes out carefully, peel and cut them in two, place them on a warm dish, pour on them a white sauce, and serve warm.
_Sweet Potatoes._--They are prepared in the same and every way like the others above.
_Pumpkins and Squashes._--Peel, take out the seed, cut in pieces, and throw them in boiling water with a little salt; drain when cooked and mash through a colander, put b.u.t.ter in a stewpan on the fire, when melted, add chopped parsley, salt, pepper, and the pumpkin or squash, and simmer ten minutes; after which pour in it half a pint of milk, little by little, stirring the while; leave ten minutes longer on the fire, and take off; mix well in it two or three yolks of eggs, and serve warm. The quant.i.ty of milk, b.u.t.ter, eggs, etc., to be according to the quant.i.ty of squash.
_Purslain._--Clean, wash well, and drop it in boiling water with a little salt, boil till cooked, take off and drain. Put b.u.t.ter in a stewpan on the fire, and when melted lay the purslain in, stir a little and sprinkle on it, little by little, a pinch of flour; season with salt, pepper, and chopped parsley, stir and simmer about ten minutes, take from the fire, mix in it one or two beaten eggs, and serve.
Purslain is much more used in Europe than here; there it is cultivated as other vegetables, but it does not grow as well as here.
_Rhubarb._--Sc.r.a.pe and cut it in pieces about one inch long, and then blanch it for two minutes. Put it in a saucepan with two or three tablespoonfuls of cold water and set it on a rather sharp fire, toss or stir now and then till done, when sweeten to taste, dish, let cool, and serve. Rhubarb is very wholesome, and ought to be partaken of at least every other day. When prepared as above, it may be used to make pies.
[Ill.u.s.tration]
_Radishes._--The cuts below are turnip-rooted red radishes, cut with a small knife, put in cold water for about an hour, and served with b.u.t.ter, as a _hors-d"oeuvre_. Remove the outer leaves, leaving only four or five of the small centre ones, cut off the root close to the radish, and wash clean in cold water. Take the radish with the left hand holding it by the centre leaves, cut the skin from the top downward to near the leaves, in several parts, but without detaching it, and as seen in the cuts above; do the same carefully with the body of the radish, and it will look more like a rose than like a radish. After having prepared two or three, it will be comparatively easy. The centre leaves must be eaten, as well as the body of the radish; they contain a substance that helps the digestion of the radish itself.
_Salsify, or Oyster-Plant._--Sc.r.a.pe them, and throw one by one as they are sc.r.a.ped into cold water, with a few drops of vinegar; when they are all sc.r.a.ped, move them a little, take out of the water, and throw them in boiling water with a little salt, boil till tender, and drain; place them warm on a warm dish, and serve with brown b.u.t.ter, a _maitre d"hotel_, or white sauce.
_Fried._--When boiled as above, drain them. Then dip each in batter for frying vegetables, drop them in hot fat, and take them off with a skimmer when done, turn into a colander, salt them, and serve hot.
_In Bechamel._--While the salsify is boiling as directed above, make a _Bechamel_ sauce; drain the salsify when done, and turn it into the _Bechamel_ sauce as soon as the latter is finished; keep on the fire for about two minutes, stirring the while, and serve warm. They are prepared and served in the same way with the following sauces: _cream_, _poulette_, and _white_.
_Skirret._--Prepare, cook, and serve in every way like parsnips.
_Sorrel._--Sorrel is found in a wild state nearly everywhere; that is, where green plants vegetate. It is an excellent vegetable, good to eat all the year round, but especially in the spring and summer. It is very healthful, containing the pure oxalic acid as it is formed by Nature.
Sorrel is the greatest neutralizer of acrid substances. A few leaves chewed, take away from the teeth that disagreeable feeling left after having eaten a tart apple or other tart, unripe fruit. Cultivated in a rich soil, the leaves grow nearly as large as those of the rhubarb. It is cut to the ground several times during the spring and summer.
_To boil._--Take a peck of sorrel, separate the stalk from the eatable part, by taking hold of it with one hand and tearing off the rest with the other, so that only the stalk and fibres attached to it will remain after the tearing, and which you throw away. Wash it well, drain and set it on the fire in a saucepan with two tablespoonfuls of water; stir occasionally, and when nearly done, take off, mash through a colander, and it is ready for use.
_Au jus._--Put a piece of b.u.t.ter the size of an egg in a saucepan, set it on the fire, and when melted, put the sorrel in after being boiled and mashed as above, stir half a minute, add a tablespoonful of flour; stir another half minute, add also half a gill of gravy, same of broth, salt, stir two minutes, and serve. Hard-boiled eggs, split in four pieces, lengthwise, may be placed around the dish, if the sorrel is served as an _entremets_.
_To preserve for Winter Use._--When boiled and mashed as above, put it in stone or gla.s.s jars; when cold, turn melted b.u.t.ter or lard over it; cover as tightly as possible with paper, and when perfectly cold, put away in a dark, dry, and rather cool place, and it will keep very well during the whole winter. The best time to preserve it is at the beginning of November, just before the cold weather sets in.
_Puree of._--When prepared as for _au jus_, but without gravy, it is a _puree_.
_Spinach--to boil._--When cleaned and washed, throw it in boiling water at the first boiling, with a pinch of salt, and boil till done. It will take from one to ten minutes to boil, according to how tender it is.
Turn into a colander; press on it to force the water out, put on the paste-board and chop it fine.
_Au jus._--When chopped, set the spinach on the fire in a saucepan with a little broth, two or three tablespoonfuls for a small measure; stir, add as much gravy, an ounce of b.u.t.ter, a teaspoonful of flour, salt, stir two minutes, and serve.
_Au jus in Winter._--When prepared as above, put it away in a bowl in a cool place, for one day; then set it back on the fire in a pan, add a little b.u.t.ter and a little broth, stir and just warm it, when put away again; repeat this for four or five days in succession, and you certainly will have an excellent dish. Some hard-boiled eggs cut in four pieces, lengthwise, may be placed around the spinach when dished, also some _croutons_. Spinach is generally served on a flat dish, and scalloped all around with a knife.
_With Sugar._--Proceed as for spinach _au jus_ in every particular, except that you put very little salt, and one or two teaspoonfuls of sugar, according to taste. Lady-fingers or pieces of sponge-cake may be placed all around the dish.
_A la Creme._--Boil and chop the spinach as directed. Set it on the fire in a saucepan, stir till perfectly dry, but not burnt; add two ounces of b.u.t.ter, and stir again for five or six minutes; then add about two tablespoonfuls of cream to a small measure of spinach; stir again five minutes, take from the fire; add again one ounce of b.u.t.ter, stir two minutes, and serve with hard-boiled eggs or _croutons_, or both. Milk may be used instead of cream when the latter cannot be had, but it is inferior in taste.
_With Anchovy._--Proceed as for the above, using a tablespoonful of essence of anchovy instead of cream.
_Spinach au Beurre, or a l"anglaise._--Boil and chop the spinach as directed. Put it in a saucepan with b.u.t.ter; set on the fire, stir till the b.u.t.ter is melted and mixed with the spinach, salt to taste, and serve.
_Sprouts._--Boil, prepare, and serve sprouts the same as spinach.
_Tomatoes_ are, like sorrel and rhubarb, very healthful.
_To blanch._--After they are washed, throw boiling water over them, and then take off and remove the skin.
_Stewed, to serve with Meat or Fish._--When blanched as above, put the tomatoes in a stewpan with b.u.t.ter, salt, and pepper, set on the fire and simmer for about forty-five minutes; serve warm all around the fish or piece of meat. Tomatoes may be eaten raw, with or without salt; in no matter what way they are partaken of, they are not yet known to have indisposed anybody. Although great quant.i.ties are consumed in this and other countries, still many more ought to be used; they are so easily preserved, that every family ought to have a large provision of them for the winter and spring consumption.
_Stuffed._--Soak in cold water one-fourth of a ten-cent loaf of bread, etc.; when perfectly soaked, squeeze it with the hands. Take six tomatoes, as much of an even size as possible, cut the top off; that is, the side opposite the stem, and with a small spoon take out the inside and put it in a bowl, and then turn into a colander to let the liquid part run off. Put about an ounce of b.u.t.ter in a saucepan, and when melted add a small onion chopped; stir, and when nearly fried add also the part of the tomatoes in the colander also chopped; stir half a minute; put in the soaked bread, stir and mix; then salt, pepper, and grated nutmeg; give one boil more, and take from the fire. Fill the tomatoes with this mixture, dust with bread-crumbs, put a piece of b.u.t.ter the size of a hazel-nut on each, and bake. Just before serving, wet with a little tomato-sauce, broth, or gravy.
_Turnips--to boil._--Clean, sc.r.a.pe, and wash well, then put them in a saucepan, either whole or in slices, or cut with a fruit-corer or with a vegetable spoon, add cold water enough to boil them in, a little salt, set on the fire and boil gently till tender; then take off, drain, drop in cold water, drain again, and use.
_In Bechamel._--While the turnips are boiling as described above, make a _Bechamel_ sauce and turn the turnips in as soon as made; boil gently about two minutes, stirring the while, and serve warm. Do exactly the same with a cream or white sauce.
_Au jus._--Boil and drain them as directed above, then put them in a saucepan with a little gravy, set on the fire, stir now and then for about ten minutes, add a teaspoonful of _meuniere_, stir again for two or three minutes, and serve warm.
_With Sugar._--Cut with a fruit-corer or with a vegetable spoon about a pint of turnips, and boil them till under done, then drain. Put the turnips in a saucepan with two or three tablespoonfuls of broth, set on a good fire, toss occasionally for about ten minutes, then add two or three tablespoonfuls of sugar, toss again now and then for ten minutes longer, and serve. It may take a little longer or less time than described above, according to the state of the turnips; if young and very tender, keep on the fire five instead of ten minutes, and if old, it may take fifteen minutes.
_Glazed._--Cut the turnips with a vegetable spoon, boil them for five minutes, and drain them. Put half a gill of broth in a saucepan with about one pint of turnips and set on a good fire; toss and stir now and then till done, and till the broth is all boiled away. If it boils away before the turnips are cooked, add more and finish the cooking. When done, sprinkle about three ounces of sugar on them, stir for about one minute, dish the turnips, dredge powdered sugar all over, put in the oven two minutes, and serve.
_Water-cress._--This contains much sulphur, and is the greatest anti-s...o...b..tic known. Besides being eaten with salt or in salad, it may also be stewed in the following way: Take only the top and the leaves around the stalk; clean and wash it well; throw it in boiling water with a little salt, and when cooked drain it well, so as to extract all the water from it. Put a piece of b.u.t.ter the size of an egg in a stewpan; when melted, put the cress in, sprinkle on it a tablespoonful of flour (for three quarts); stir continually with a spoon, boil ten minutes, then add salt, pepper, a little grated nutmeg, and half a pint of broth; boil ten minutes longer, and serve either alone, or with hard-boiled eggs on it; cut the eggs in two or four pieces.
_Salads._--Salads are seasoned with oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper, and sometimes with mustard also. The best oil is that made of olives, but much is sold for olive-oil which contains more lard than oil. It is impossible to tell which is pure by the color. Pure olive-oil is of a pale-yellow-greenish color. It is very easy to tell the pure oil by tasting, but of course it is necessary to know the real taste of good oil.
The best vinegar is wine-vinegar, with _tarragon_ in it (_vinaigre a l"estragon_), but it is expensive. Next to it is cider-vinegar. Beer makes good vinegar, but inferior to that made with cider. Pyrolignic vinegar is very unhealthy. No one can be too careful in selecting vinegar. The superiority of the French mustard comes from the compounds used, and not from the way it is made, as thought by many. In the French mustard, besides _vinaigre a l"estragon_, there is white wine, and more sweet-oil than in any other kind. A good deal of mustard is made here, and often sold as French, after being carefully labelled.
Salad is made with every species of lettuce; chicory, cultivated and wild; cabbages, red and white; cauliflowers, celery, dandelion, corn-salad, purslain, water-cress, etc. If it were possible to clean the salad by merely wiping the leaves with a towel, it would be better than washing; but it must be washed if there is any earth or sand on it. The salad should be made by an experienced person, who can judge at a glance what quant.i.ty of salt, pepper, oil, and vinegar is necessary. The quant.i.ties cannot be given, as that depends on the quant.i.ty of salad.
Chopped parsley and chives are served on a small plate at the same time with the salad, as many persons like those spices.
_Celery._--When the celery is washed and cleaned, wipe it dry, cut the white or eatable part (the top or green part is used for soup) in pieces about one inch long, put them in the salad-dish with salt, vinegar, and mustard, stir a little, leave thus about one hour, then add pepper and oil, move again, and serve.
_Lettuce._--Lettuce, and especially Cos or Roman lettuce, must be handled very gingerly, in order not to wilt the leaves while cleaning and washing. When the head of the lettuce, especially of Roman lettuce, is hard, it is not necessary to wash it at all, as when the outer leaves are taken off, the rest is perfectly clean. Never use the knife, but break the leaves; put them in the salad-dish; spread all over the dish, according to taste and fancy, the blossoms and petals (not the leaves) of any or all of the following plants: burnet, wild chiccory, rose (any kind), pink, sage, lady"s-slipper, marsh-mallow, nasturtium, periwinkle.
Thus decorated, the salad is put on the table at the setting of it, and made when the time for eating it comes. Of these decorative flowers, the handiest are the rose and pink, as at every season of the year they are easily obtained. In spring and summer most of the others can also be had easily.
The salad, thus decorated, is placed on the table at the same time with the soup. It is made while the roast-piece is carved or eaten; the petals of flowers or blossoms are not removed, and, of course, are eaten with the lettuce. The salad is seasoned with salt, pepper, vinegar, and oil. The proportions are two tablespoonfuls of oil to one of vinegar for a salad for three, four, or five persons. It is generally moved round in the dish, so as to impregnate every leaf with the seasoning. It is served immediately after the roast-piece.
Cream may be used instead of oil.
_Turnip-rooted Celery (called also Soup Celery._)--Clean, wash well, and sc.r.a.pe it carefully; cut it in thin slices, place it in the salad-dish, sprinkle salt, pepper, vinegar, and mustard on it, mix well the whole together, and leave thus from four to six hours. Then throw away the vinegar, or most of it; add very little salt and vinegar, oil, and move well. Serve as above, that is, immediately after the roast-piece of the dinner.
A salad with cabbage, chiccory, corn-salad, or any kind of greens, after being properly cleaned, washed, wiped dry, and cut in pieces if necessary, is made and served exactly like a salad of lettuce described above.
_Nasturtium._--This is said to be a native of Mexico; it makes a good salad in summer-time. Make and serve like a salad of lettuce.
_Chervil and Sorrel._--In Italy, Spain, and the south of France, they make salad with these two vegetables, half of each, prepared and served like lettuce.