=Boiled Broccoli.=--To each half gallon of water allow one
tablespoonful of salt and a tiny bit of soda; strip off the outside
leaves, cut off the inside ones level with the flower; cut off the
stalks close to the bottoms, and put the broccoli into cold salted
water or vinegar and water, heads downwards, let them remain for about
three-quarters of an hour, then put them into a saucepan of boiling
water salted in the above proportion, and keep them boiling gently with
the stalks upwards and the saucepan uncovered. Take up with a slice the
moment they are done, drain well, and serve with a tureen of melted
butter, a little of which should be poured over the broccoli. If left
in the water after it is done the broccoli will break, its colour will
be spoilt, and its crispness lost. If boiled too fast it will break.
_Note._--It is a good plan to place a small piece of toast or bread in
the saucepan in which green vegetables are boiled, as this absorbs the
unpleasant odour generated during the cooking.
=Broccoli au Gratin.=--Boil the broccoli according to directions, put
in a tureen, and sprinkle over a little pepper and quarter of a pound
of grated Parmesan cheese, put in the oven for five minutes until the
cheese is melted.
=Mould of Broccoli.=--Butter a mould, and put in the parboiled flower
broken in smallish pieces, pour in a good white sauce in which two
ounces of grated Parmesan cheese have been dissolved, a squeeze of
lemon juice, and two hard-boiled eggs chopped up; the eggs should be
placed among the broccoli; pour in the sauce, cover with buttered
paper, and steam for one hour or bake for half an hour.
=Brussels Sprouts.=--For culture, see under Cabbage.