DISHES.

=Boiled Artichoke (Jerusalem).=--Wash well, as many artichokes as will

be required, then put them in plenty of fresh clean water to cover and

peel them rapidly, keeping them under water during the process, and

then plunging them in a bowl of cold water till all are finished.

This is very important, as artichokes turn black if exposed to the air

without their skins, even after they are cooked. Every one knows the

disgusting appearance a dish of black artichokes floating in their milk

and water presents. This can be avoided by carefully following these

directions.

Put them in a saucepan of cold water, sufficient to cover them well,

add one tablespoonful of salt, allow twenty minutes to half an hour

after they reach boiling point. Drain, and arrange on a drainer in a

very hot vegetable dish, pour over a good white sauce (_see_ White

Sauce) immediately, being careful to mask each artichoke with the

sauce, thus protecting it from the air. If properly cooked the sauce

will cling to the vegetable and not drop to the bottom of the dish. If

the artichokes have to wait, draw the saucepan to one side and keep

them in the water till wanted.

=Purée of Jerusalem Artichokes.=--Melt a heaped tablespoonful of

butter, add a sliced onion, one bay leaf, three pounds of Jerusalem

artichokes washed, pared, and cut into slices. Cook slowly for ten

minutes, add gradually one cupful of milk. When the vegetables are

thoroughly cooked, add another cupful of milk, salt and pepper to

season. Serve on toast or boil until tender in milk to cover, drain and

press through a colander, and reheat, seasoning with salt and pepper.

=Baked Artichokes.=--Peel and trim one dozen artichokes, and season

with salt and pepper. Put into a buttered baking dish and bake for half

an hour. Baste frequently with butter, and serve in the same dish.

_Another Method._--Wash and pare the artichokes, put into cold water,

with one tablespoonful of salt, boil till tender, cut into slices and

put into a baking dish. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese. Cover

with white or cream sauce, sprinkle with crumbs, dot with butter, and

bake until the crumbs are brown.

=Braised Artichokes.=--Peel, wash, and parboil the artichokes. Drain

and put into a baking dish with enough water to moisten, add a small

bunch of parsley, a few slices of carrot, and a small onion. Cover and

bake slowly for an hour, add a little more liquid if required, remove

the carrot, onion, and parsley, and serve in a vegetable dish with the

strained liquid thickened, seasoned, and poured over.

=Mashed Artichokes.=--Wash and peel fifteen artichokes, cover with

cold, salted water, bring to the boil, and cook until tender, drain,

rub through a sieve, season with salt and pepper, add a piece of

butter, and serve very hot. Brown sauce may be added if liked.

=Brown Sauce.=--Two onions, one tablespoonful of flour, three-quarters

of a pint of salted water; seasoning, one ounce of butter or a

tablespoonful of oil; chop the onion, fry brown in the butter, add the

flour, which must be browned, pour in the water and stir until the

mixture thickens, then season it to taste. Any kind of vegetable stock

is preferable to water.

_Another Method._--One onion, half a carrot, half a turnip, parsley,

herbs, one bay leaf, one ounce of butter, one pint of water, one

dessertspoonful of vinegar, one lump of sugar, spice, one tablespoonful

of ketchup or other condiment sauce. Fry the chopped vegetables in the

butter until they are a good brown, add the flour, stir well, and add

the water and stir until the mixture boils, then put in the parsley,

herbs, vinegar, sugar, spice, and seasoning to taste, simmer by the

side of the fire for about one hour, strain, and add the ketchup.

=Jerusalem Artichokes with Brown Sauce.=--Peel the artichokes, cut into

dice, cook them till tender in salted water. Drain and reheat in brown

sauce.

=Artichokes à la Crême.=--Prepare according to directions given for

above recipe. Sprinkle with crumbs and grated cheese. Dot with butter,

and brown in the oven, using the dish in which it is to be served.

=Jerusalem Artichoke Balls.=--Take eight boiled artichokes, rub through

a sieve, and put into a saucepan with a little milk, one ounce butter,

and one ounce Parmesan cheese. Stir over the fire until smooth, then

add pepper and salt to taste, and the yolks of two eggs. Mix well and

let it cool. Make balls of equal size, brush over with the white of

egg, dip in bread-crumbs, and fry in hot nuttage or butter. Serve in

pyramids with fried parsley scattered over.

=Jerusalem Artichokes with Hollandaise Sauce.=--Take twelve artichokes,

trim them to the shape of pears, boil in water till tender, then drain

well, and arrange them in the shape of a pyramid, pour over them some

sauce Hollandaise, and serve.

=Jerusalem Artichokes with White Sauce and Parmesan Cheese.=--They

must have been previously cooked and cut up in small pieces.

=Fried Chinese Artichokes.=--Boil the artichokes until tender, drain

them, egg and bread-crumb them, fry until crisp, and serve with parsley

sauce and slices of lemons.

=Artichokes à la Provençale.=--Clean and cut two dozen Jerusalem

artichokes in pieces about half an inch in length. Wash and put them

into a stewpan with half an ounce of fresh butter and half an ounce

of white castor sugar. Put them on a slow fire for a few minutes, add

four tablespoonfuls of white sauce, eight tablespoonfuls of milk, and

simmer until the artichokes are soft, then skim. Mix the yolk of an

egg with two tablespoonfuls of milk, pour it into the stewpan and stir

quickly, and serve hot. Jerusalem artichokes must be well cooked, but

not reduced to a pulp.

=Artichoke Purée.=--Wash well and peel twelve artichokes, boil them in

three pints of water and one tablespoonful of salt; when soft take them

up, probably in twenty minutes. Meanwhile cook slowly in a stewpan one

sliced onion, a little celery, one turnip, two ounces of butter, one

bay leaf, and a little grated nutmeg. Stir and add one tablespoonful of

flour and one pint or less of milk to form a proper thickness. Put in

the artichokes. When boiled pass through a fine hair sieve and serve

hot. Put two tablespoonfuls of cream or two yolks of eggs in the tureen

and stir while adding the purée.

=Boiled Globe Artichokes.=--Cut off the tips of the leaves and round

off the bottoms. Remove the stalks and trim away the outer leaves. Soak

for half an hour in salt water, washing thoroughly. Boil until tender

in a large quantity of salted water, put into a serving dish, dot with

butter, and heat till the butter is melted, and serve. Hollandaise

sauce can be served with them.

=Boiled Italian Artichokes.=--Cut off the stems and boil till tender in

salted water. Cut in half from top to bottom and serve to each person.

Pass with them Hollandaise sauce. The scales must be stripped off and

the soft end dipped into the sauce and eaten. The fuzzy part should be

scraped off and the bottom eaten with a fork.

=Artichokes à la Babette.=--Put green artichokes into water and remove

the choke. Trim the leaves neatly, parboil five minutes in salt

water, and drain. Put into a buttered casserole, season with salt and

pepper, and add a little butter. Cover and cook in a moderate oven for

twenty-five minutes. This can be served with Hollandaise sauce.

=Fried Artichokes.=--Cut off the leaves and trim away the choke part.

Chill on ice. Make a batter of half a cupful of flour, a pinch of salt,

and baking powder, mix with a cupful of milk and a beaten egg. Cut each

artichoke into pieces, season with salt and pepper, dip in the batter,

and fry in deep fat, drain, and serve with any kind of sauce.

=Stuffed Artichokes.=--Clean and trim the artichokes, boil in salted

water until tender, drain, scoop out the soft part with a spoon, season

with a cupful of chopped nuts, salt, pepper, melted butter, and lemon

juice. Put the artichokes into a buttered baking dish, fill with nuts,

tie into shape with string, add two cupfuls of stewed and drained

tomatoes, a sliced onion, a pinch of salt, and a tablespoonful of

butter. Bake slowly for an hour, basting frequently with the liquid.

Take off the strings and strain the sauce, and serve.

=Stuffed Fonds of Artichokes.=--Cook eight artichoke bottoms in boiling

water, drain, season with salt and pepper, fill with nuts, sprinkle

with crumbs, dot with butter, and bake for ten minutes, basting with

butter, and serve in the same dish.

=Artichokes à la Crême.=--Trim the artichokes and soak for half an hour

in cold water and a little vinegar water to cover, rinse in fresh water

and cook in salted water until tender. Drain and reheat in a cream

sauce. An egg beaten and the juice of a lemon or a few drops of vinegar

may be added.

=Artichokes à la Mode.=--Prepare and trim four or more artichokes,

put into a saucepan with two tablespoonfuls of butter, the juice of a

lemon, a pinch each of salt and pepper. Simmer until tender, drain,

and brown in the oven. Put into the pan in which they were cooked two

tablespoonfuls of butter, one heaped tablespoonful of flour, stir well,

add half a cupful of milk, and half a cupful of water. Let it boil four

minutes, stirring continually. Add one wineglassful of white wine, and

serve in a sauce-boat.

=Artichokes à l’Italien.=--Wash, quarter, and trim the artichokes, and

boil in salt water until tender. Drain, remove and discard the chokes,

arrange the artichokes on a dish with the leaves outwards, pour over a

white sauce flavoured with mushrooms, and garnish with watercress.

=Artichokes à la Lyonnaise.=--Prepare and clean the artichokes, boil

till tender in salt water, drain, wipe dry, fry in equal parts of

butter and oil, when brown add two tablespoonfuls of flour, stir well,

then half a cupful of water, and boil for three minutes, season with

salt, pepper, minced parsley, and lemon juice, and serve.

_Second Method._--Pull off the leaves and cut the artichokes into

quarters, parboil in salt water for five minutes, drain and arrange

in a thickly buttered baking dish, sprinkle with sugar, salt, and

white pepper, add one wineglassful of white wine and one tablespoonful

of water. Simmer slowly for three-quarters of an hour. Add one

tablespoonful of butter and a little lemon juice poured over the

artichokes before serving.

=Artichokes à la Pompadour.=--Cover eight artichoke bottoms with

cream sauce, lay on each one a large floweret of boiled cauliflower

previously boiled for a quarter of an hour, cover with more of the

sauce, sprinkle with crumbs and grated cheese, dot with butter. Bake

brown in a buttered pan, basting with the sauce as needed.

=Artichokes à la Provence.=--Peel the artichokes and boil in salt

water until tender. Drain and serve with a cupful of brown butter sauce

to which has been added the yolks of two eggs well beaten, with a

teaspoonful of lemon juice. The sauce must not be allowed to boil after

the eggs are added.

=Artichokes à la Tartare.=--Cut the artichoke stalks close, cut the

sharp points from the leaves, removing not more than half an inch from

each. Wash in cold water to which a little vinegar has been added.

Drain and cook gently in salt water, drain upside down until dry,

fill the hollow left by the choke with Tartare sauce or with a sauce

made as follows:--Beat together half a cupful of melted butter, one

tablespoonful each of lemon juice and olive oil, a little salt, finely

chopped parsley, French mustard, and grated onion to season. Bring to

the boil, take from the fire and pour it very slowly upon one beaten

egg, stirring all the time. Pour over the artichokes and serve.

(French mustard is mustard mixed with vinegar instead of water.)

=Purée of Artichokes.=--Clean some artichoke bottoms and cook in salted

water. Drain, rinse, and cut into small pieces. Reheat in a saucepan

with an equal quantity of Béchamel sauce, and cook until slightly

reduced. Rub through a fine sieve, season, add butter and cream, and

serve.

_Another Method._--Put two tablespoonfuls of butter and two

tablespoonfuls of flour in a saucepan and stir for five minutes. Pour

one and a half pints of boiling milk in gradually, beat well with a

wooden spoon and flavour with herbs, a quarter of a teaspoonful of

grated nutmeg, twelve peppercorns, a pinch of salt, and three ounces of

chopped mushrooms. Cook for a quarter of an hour and rub through a fine

sieve.

=Italian Dishes.=--Clean and cut the under leaves of three large globe

artichokes. Boil them sufficiently to be able to pick out the chokes

and put them in cold water for five minutes. Drain thoroughly, then

fill the hole in the artichoke with a forcemeat made of two shallots

well chopped, six mushrooms minced, a tablespoonful of chopped parsley,

a little butter and grated nutmeg, mix well together, tie up the

artichokes with string. Heat three tablespoonfuls of good olive oil in

a pan, and brown them well on both sides and then place the artichokes

in a fireproof dish and put a bit of butter on the top of each, bake

for forty minutes in the oven, and serve. Pour any kind of sauce over

them.

=Artichokes and Eggs.=--Cut off the sharp tops of young artichokes and

slice them into four pieces, flour them and put them into a fireproof

dish with boiling, pure olive oil. Beat up two or three eggs with some

salt, pour over the artichokes, and cook till the eggs are set. Serve

hot in the dish in which they were cooked.

=Fried Artichokes.=--Cut off the sharp ends of the leaves of quite

young artichokes and any hard leaves off the stalks, which must be

peeled. Cut the artichokes into four pieces, put them in a saucepan

with butter, salt and pepper. Shake the saucepan occasionally, and when

they have absorbed all the butter pour over them a cup of water to

finish the cooking. Take them out, dry them, and put into a saucepan

some chopped parsley, a tablespoonful of finely grated bread, and the

juice of a lemon. Boil the sauce for a few minutes, then take it off

the fire and add a little more water, heat again over the fire, pour

over the artichokes, and serve hot.

ASPARAGUS (_Asparagus officinalis. Liliaceæ_).

As asparagus is a perennial plant of long life it is of great

importance that the bed in which it is to spend fifteen years or more

should be well prepared and suitable for it. A light sandy loam is

the very best of soil for this purpose. If, however, the gardener has

only heavy soil at his command, he can still grow good asparagus by

providing ample drainage and by raising his asparagus beds a few inches

above the level of the surrounding garden.

Ground should be prepared for asparagus in the early winter, when it

must be thoroughly trenched, and left in a rough condition for the

winter frosts to pulverise and open it. A good dressing of manure

should be dug into the second spit.

Asparagus is generally planted far too closely, with the result that

only very second-rate sticks are grown. Now a mature asparagus plant

will be from three to four feet across the roots if properly grown,

and this definitely points to the fact that the plants should be at

least three feet apart. There is no doubt whatever that plants four

feet apart will give the finest heads, and the ideal width for the beds

would be three feet, with two-foot alleys between, the plants being

put four feet apart down the middle of the beds. Unfortunately few

gardeners (except nurserymen growing for the market) will afford this

ample space, therefore we lay down as the absolute minimum distances

two and a half feet between the rows, the plants the same distance in

the row. By placing the plants alternately and not opposite each other

in the adjoining row a little more distance apart is given.

No asparagus bed should contain more than three rows--two are

plenty--as it injures the heads if the gardeners are tramping about

over them gathering the crop. The edge of the bed should be at least

eighteen inches distant from the nearest row of plants, and between the

beds eighteen-inch alleyways should be left for traffic and cultural

purposes.

Since asparagus is four years coming to bearing size from seed, many

people prefer to start a plantation with two or three year old plants,

but it is difficult to transplant safely, and certainly the best

plantations come from seed. This should be sown in March or April. At

each point where it is wished to establish a crown three seeds should

be planted an inch apart and two inches deep. When the seedlings are

well up the strongest should be left and the two others pulled away.

If, however, plants are to be put out the utmost care is necessary.

In the first place it is no use planting in autumn or winter. The only

safe time is just when the plants are beginning to make their spring

growth. If moved when they are dormant the plants will lie quietly

rotting in the ground, and the gardener will be lucky if ten per cent.

of autumn-moved plants survive.

March and April are the months in which to plant; February is generally

too early and May is sometimes too late, though we have this year

made a small plantation at the end of April every plant of which has

survived. The ground is prepared for the plants by opening it out to

a depth of four inches, and by means of the garden line and a rake

or hoe ridges should be formed along the line the plants are to be

placed. When the plants arrive from the nursery they should be at once

unpacked, a few at a time, and planted forthwith, as drying winds are

most injurious to the roots. The roots should be laid on and over the

ridges and earth at once drawn over them. Repeat the operation, half a

dozen plants at a time, until the whole is finished. Earth should be

returned from the alleys till the beds stand some four inches above

them, and all raked level and tidy. The crowns should not be more than

four inches beneath the surface of the finished bed.

The after culture of asparagus is not difficult. The beds should be

kept weeded; the hand fork and hand weeding are preferable to using

a hoe to cut the plants as well as the weeds. In the autumn the beds

should be cleaned up and the stems cut down to within six inches of the

soil, the top two inches of earth should be removed to the alleys, and

a good mulch of fat manure spread over the bed.

In February the long straw and debris of this mulch should be raked

off, and the earth returned from the alleys; at the same time a

top-dressing of two ounces superphosphate of lime and of four ounces

of kainit per square yard should be applied. About mid-March give a

top-dressing of half an ounce of nitrate of soda per square yard, and

repeat this dose every fortnight till the end of May, always selecting

showery days, or if these are not to be found, give a thorough watering

with the hose after the application.

The bed should not be cut from for two seasons; thereafter it maybe cut

until mid-June. It is better not to allow the plants to develop seed,

as it will weaken the plants, and it is important not to disturb the

earth in the alleyways too deeply, as the plants will send their roots

right out into them. For the first two years radishes, lettuce, or even

spinach may be grown in them, but for the first two years only.

=Forcing Asparagus.=--Where there is sufficient space and labour it is

not difficult to obtain a winter supply of this delicious vegetable.

But as the plants can only be forced once, and then must be thrown

away, it is necessary to devote a special bed to growing forcing

plants. A quarter of the area of the bed must be sown yearly, thus

providing for one, two, three, and four-year-old plants. Seed should

be sown in early April, in rows two feet apart, and the plants should

be left two feet in the rows. The general treatment is much as given

above, except that the spring top-dressing of nitrate of soda must be

limited to two applications, one in April, one in May.

Beginning in November, prepare a hotbed as for cucumbers with about

three feet of fermenting material; when the heat is mild and even,

spread three inches of light soil on top, lift the four-year-old

plants, a few at a time, very carefully, and pack them into the frame

as close as possible. Cover with four inches of light soil, and give a

good watering with tepid water. Admit some air on mild days by lifting

the back of the light; if there be frost, cover with mats. Do not

over-water the frame, but do not let it get really dry. If the heat

dies away too soon, line with hot manure round the frame. Extra care

will have to be exercised in cutting the heads; in fact the best way

is to remove the soil and break them off with the fingers. A frame

so treated will yield asparagus for about four weeks, and when the

asparagus is out of the way will grow early radishes, lettuce, and

carrots.