frequently harbors numerous insects. The large drumhead cabbage
requires an hour to boil; the green savory cabbage will boil in twenty
minutes. Add considerable salt to the water when boiling. Do not let a
cabbage boil too long--by a long boiling it becomes watery. Remove it
from the water into a colander to drain and serve with drawn butter,
or butter poured over it.
Red cabbage is used for slaw, as is also the white winter cabbage. For
directions to prepare these varieties, see articles SLAW and
SOURCROUT.
CABBAGE WITH CREAM.
Remove the outer leaves from a solid, small-sized head of cabbage, and
cut the remainder as fine as for slaw. Have on the fire a spider or
deep skillet, and when it is hot put in the cut cabbage, pouring over
it right away a pint of boiling water. Cover closely and allow it to
cook rapidly for ten minutes. Drain off the water and add half a pint
of new milk, or part milk and cream; when it boils, stir in a large
teaspoonful of either wheat or rice flour moistened with milk; add
salt and pepper, and as soon as it comes to a boil, serve. Those who
find slaw and other dishes prepared from cabbage indigestible will not
complain of this.
STEAMED CABBAGE.
Take a sound, solid cabbage, and with a large sharp knife shave it
_very fine_. Put it in a saucepan, pour in half a teacupful of water,
or just enough to keep it from burning; cover it very tightly, so as
to confine the steam; watch it closely, add a little water now and
then, until it begins to be tender; then put into it a large
tablespoonful of butter; salt and pepper to taste, dish it hot. If you
prefer to give it a tart taste, just before taking from the fire add a
third of a cup of good vinegar.
LADIES' CABBAGE.
Boil a firm white cabbage fifteen minutes, changing the water then for
more from the boiling tea-kettle. When tender, drain and set aside
until perfectly cold. Chop fine and add two beaten eggs, a
tablespoonful of butter, pepper, salt, three tablespoonfuls of rich
milk or cream. Stir all well together, and bake in a buttered
pudding-dish until brown. Serve very hot. This dish resembles
cauliflower and is very digestible and palatable.
FRIED CABBAGE.
Place in a frying pan an ounce of butter and heat it boiling hot. Then
take cold boiled cabbage chopped fine, or cabbage hot, cooked the same
as steamed cabbage, put it into the hot butter and fry a light brown,
adding two tablespoonfuls of vinegar. Very good.
FRENCH WAY OF COOKING CABBAGE.
Chop cold boiled white cabbage and let it drain till perfectly dry:
stir in some melted butter to taste; pepper, salt and four
tablespoonfuls of cream; after it is heated through add two
well-beaten eggs; then turn the mixture into a buttered frying pan,
stirring until it is very hot and becomes a delicate brown on the
under side. Place a hot dish over the pan, which must be reversed
when turned out to be served.
SOURCROUT.
Barrels having held wine or vinegar are used to prepare sourcrout in.
It is better, however, to have a special barrel for the purpose.
Strasburg, as well as all Alsace, has a well-acquired fame for
preparing the cabbages. They slice very white and firm cabbages in
fine shreds with a machine made for the purpose. At the bottom of a
small barrel they place a layer of coarse salt and alternately layers
of cabbage and salt, being careful to have one of salt on the top. As
each layer of cabbage is added, it must be pressed down by a large and
heavy pestle and fresh layers are added as soon as the juice floats on
the surface. The cabbage must be seasoned with a few grains of
coriander, juniper berries, etc. When the barrel is full it must be
put in a dry cellar, covered with a cloth, under a plank, and on this
heavy weights are placed. At the end of a few days it will begin to
ferment, during which time the pickle must be drawn off and replaced
by fresh, until the liquor becomes clear. This should be done every
day. Renew the cloth and wash the cover, put the weights back and let
stand for a month. By that time the sourcrout will be ready for use.
Care must be taken to let the least possible air enter the sourcrout
and to have the cover perfectly clean. Each time the barrel has to be
opened it must be properly closed again. These precautions must not be
neglected.
This is often fried in the same manner as fried cabbage, excepting it
is first boiled until soft in just water enough to cook it, then fry
and add vinegar.
TO BOIL RICE.
Pick over the rice carefully, wash it in warm water, rubbing it
between the hands, rinsing it in several waters, then let it remain in
cold water until ready to be cooked. Have a saucepan of water slightly
salted; when it is boiling hard, pour off the cold water from the
rice, and sprinkle it in the boiling water by degrees, so as to keep
the particles separated. Boil it steadily for twenty minutes, then
take it off from the fire and drain off all the water. Place the
saucepan with the lid partly off, on the back part of the stove, where
it is only moderately warm, to allow the rice to dry. The moisture
will pass off and each grain of rice will be separated, so that if
shaken the grains will fall apart. This is the true way of serving
rice as a vegetable and is the mode of cooking it in the Southern
States where it is raised.
PARSNIPS, BOILED.
Wash, scrape and split them. Put them into a pot of boiling water; add
a little salt, and boil them till quite tender, which will be in from
two to three hours, according to their size. Dry them in a cloth when
done and pour melted butter or white sauce (see SAUCES) over them in
the dish. Serve them up with any sort of boiled meat or with salt cod.
Parsnips are very good baked or stewed with meat.
FRIED PARSNIPS.
Boil tender in a little hot water salted; scrape, cut into long
slices, dredge with flour; fry in hot lard or dripping, or in butter
and lard mixed; fry quite brown. Drain off fat and serve.
Parsnips may be boiled and mashed the same as potatoes.
STEWED PARSNIPS.
After washing and scraping the parsnips slice them about half of an
inch thick. Put them in a saucepan of boiling water containing just
enough to barely cook them; add a tablespoonful of butter, season with
salt and pepper, then cover closely. Stew them until the water has
cooked away, watching carefully and stirring often to prevent burning,
until they are soft. When they are done they will be of a creamy light
straw color and deliciously sweet, retaining all the goodness of the
vegetable.
PARSNIP FRITTERS.
Boil four or five parsnips; when tender take off the skin and mash
them fine; add to them a teaspoonful of wheat flour and a beaten egg;
put a tablespoonful of lard or beef drippings in a frying pan over the
fire, add to it a saltspoonful of salt; when boiling hot put in the
parsnips; make it in small cakes with a spoon; when one side is a
delicate brown turn the other; when both are done take them on a dish,
put a very little of the fat in which they were fried over and serve
hot. These resemble very nearly the taste of the salsify or oyster
plant, and will generally be preferred.
CREAMED PARSNIPS.
Boil tender, scrape and slice lengthwise. Put over the fire with two
tablespoonfuls of butter, pepper and salt and a little minced parsley.
Shake until the mixture boils. Dish the parsnips, add to the sauce
three tablespoonfuls of cream or milk in which has been stirred a
quarter of a spoonful of flour. Boil once and pour over the parsnips.
STEWED TOMATOES.
Pour boiling water over a dozen sound ripe tomatoes; let them remain
for a few moments; then peel off the skins, slice them and put them
over the fire in a well-lined tin or granite-ware saucepan. Stew them
about twenty minutes, then add a tablespoonful of butter, salt and
pepper to taste; let them stew fifteen minutes longer and serve hot.
Some prefer to thicken tomatoes with a little grated bread, adding a
teaspoonful of sugar; and others who like the flavor of onion chop up
one and add while stewing; then again, some add as much green corn as
there are tomatoes.
TO PEEL TOMATOES.
Put the tomatoes into a frying basket and plunge them into hot water
for three or four minutes. Drain and peel. Another way is to place
them in a flat baking-tin and set them in a hot oven about five
minutes; this loosens the skins so that they readily slip off.
SCALLOPED TOMATOES.
Butter the sides and bottom of a pudding-dish. Put a layer of bread
crumbs in the bottom; on them put a layer of sliced tomatoes; sprinkle
with salt, pepper and some bits of butter, and a very _little_ white
sugar. Then repeat with another layer of crumbs, another of tomato and
seasoning until full, having the top layer of slices of tomato, with
bits of butter on each. Bake covered until well cooked through; remove
the cover and brown quickly.
STUFFED BAKED TOMATOES.
From the blossom end of a dozen tomatoes--smooth, ripe and solid--cut
a thin slice and with a small spoon scoop out the pulp without
breaking the rind surrounding it; chop a small head of cabbage and a
good-sized onion fine and mix with them fine bread crumbs and the
pulp; season with pepper, salt and sugar and add a cup of sweet cream;
when all is well mixed, fill the tomato shells, replace the slices and
place the tomatoes in a buttered baking-dish, cut ends up and put in
the pan just enough water to keep from burning; drop a small lump of
butter on each tomato and bake half an hour or so, till well done;
place another bit of butter on each and serve in same dish. Very fine.
Another stuffing which is considered quite fine. Cut a slice from the
stem of each and scoop out the soft pulp. Mince one small onion and
fry it slightly; add a gill of hot water, the tomato pulp and two
ounces of cold veal or chicken chopped fine, simmer slowly and season
with salt and pepper. Stir into the pan cracker dust or bread crumbs
enough to absorb the moisture; take off from the fire and let it cool;
stuff the tomatoes with this mass, sprinkle dry crumbs over the top;
add a small piece of butter to the top of each and bake until slightly
browned on top.
BAKED TOMATOES. (Plain.)
Peel and slice quarter of an inch thick; place in layers in a
pudding-dish, seasoning each layer with salt, pepper, butter and a
very little white sugar. Cover with a lid or large plate and bake half
an hour. Remove the lid and brown for fifteen minutes. Just before
taking from the oven pour over the top three or four tablespoonfuls of
whipped cream with melted butter.
TO PREPARE TOMATOES. (Raw.)
Carefully remove the peelings. Only perfectly ripe tomatoes should
ever be eaten raw and if ripe the skins easily peel off. Scalding
injures the flavor. Slice them and sprinkle generously with salt, more
sparingly with black pepper, and to a dish holding one quart, add a
light tablespoonful of sugar to give a piquant zest to the whole.
Lastly, add a gill of best cider vinegar; although, if you would have
a dish yet better suited to please an epicurean palate, you may add a
teaspoonful of made mustard and two tablespoonfuls of rich sweet
cream.
FRIED AND BROILED TOMATOES.
Cut firm, large, ripe tomatoes into thick slices, rather more than a
quarter of an inch thick. Season with salt and pepper, dredge well
with flour, or roll in egg and crumbs, and fry them brown on both
sides evenly, in hot butter and lard mixed. Or, prepare them the same
as for frying, broiling on a well-greased gridiron, seasoning
afterward the same as beefsteak. A good accompaniment to steak. Or,
having prepared the following sauce, a pint of milk, a tablespoonful
of flour and one beaten egg, salt, pepper and a very little mace;
cream an ounce of butter, whisk into it the milk and let it simmer
until it thickens; pour the sauce on a hot side-dish and arrange the
tomatoes in the centre.
SCRAMBLED TOMATOES.
Remove the skins from a dozen tomatoes; cut them up in a saucepan; add
a little butter, pepper and salt; when sufficiently boiled, beat up
five or six eggs and just before you serve turn them into the saucepan
with the tomatoes, and stir one way for two minutes, allowing them
time to be done thoroughly.
CUCUMBER Á LA CRÊME.
Peel and cut into slices (lengthwise) some fine cucumbers. Boil them
until soft; salt to taste, and serve with delicate cream sauce. For
Tomato Salad, see SALADS, also for Raw Cucumbers.
FRIED CUCUMBERS.
Pare them and cut lengthwise in very thick slices; wipe them dry with
a cloth; sprinkle with salt and pepper, dredge with flour, and fry in
lard and butter, a tablespoonful of each mixed. Brown both sides and
serve warm.
GREEN CORN, BOILED.
This should be cooked on the same day it is gathered; it loses its
sweetness in a few hours and must be artificially supplied. Strip off
the husks, pick out all the silk and put it in boiling water; if not
entirely fresh, add a tablespoonful of sugar to the water, but _no
salt_; boil twenty minutes, fast, and serve; or you may cut it from
the cob, put in plenty of butter and a little salt, and serve in a
covered vegetable dish. The corn is much sweeter when cooked with the
husks on, but requires longer time to boil. Will generally boil in
twenty minutes.
Green corn left over from dinner makes a nice breakfast dish,
prepared as follows: Cut the corn from the cob, and put into a bowl
with a cup of milk to every cup of corn, a half cup of flour, one egg,
a pinch of salt, and a little butter. Mix well into a thick batter,
and fry in small cakes in very hot butter. Serve with plenty of butter
and powdered sugar.
[Illustration: THE FAMOUS EAST ROOM.]
[Illustration: THE RED ROOM.]
[Illustration: THE BLUE ROOM.]
CORN PUDDING.
This is a Virginia dish. Scrape the substance out of twelve ears of
tender, green, uncooked corn (it is better scraped than grated, as you
do not get those husky particles which you cannot avoid with a
grater); add yolks and whites, beaten separately, of four eggs, a
teaspoonful of sugar, the same of flour mixed in a tablespoonful of
butter, a small quantity of salt and pepper, and one pint of milk.
Bake about half or three-quarters of an hour.
STEWED CORN.
Take a dozen ears of green sweet corn, very tender and juicy; cut off
the kernels, cutting with a large sharp knife from the top of the cob
down; then scrape the cob. Put the corn in a saucepan over the fire
with just enough water to make it cook without burning; boil about
twenty minutes, then add a teacupful of milk or cream, a tablespoonful
of cold butter, and season with pepper and salt. Boil ten minutes
longer and dish up hot in a vegetable dish. The corn would be much
sweeter if the scraped cobs were boiled first in the water that the
corn is cooked in.
Many like corn cooked in this manner, putting half corn and half
tomatoes; either way is very good.
FRIED CORN.
Cut the corn off the cob, taking care not to bring off any of the husk
with it and to have the grains as separate as possible. Fry in a
little butter--just enough to keep it from sticking to the pan; stir
very often. When nicely browned, add salt and pepper and a little rich
cream. Do not set it near the stove after the cream is added, as it
will be apt to turn. This makes a nice dinner or breakfast dish.
ROASTED GREEN CORN.
Strip off all the husk from green corn and roast it on a gridiron over
a bright fire of coals, turning it as one side is done. Or, if a wood
fire is used, make a place clean in front of the fire, lay the corn
down, turn it when one side is done; serve with salt and butter.
SUCCOTASH.
Take a pint of fresh shelled Lima beans, or any large fresh beans, put
them in a pot with cold water, rather more than will cover them.
Scrape the kernels from twelve ears of young sweet corn; put the cobs
in with the beans, boiling from half to three-quarters of an hour. Now
take out the cobs and put in the scraped corn; boil again fifteen
minutes, then season with salt and pepper to taste, a piece of butter
the size of an egg and half a cup of cream. Serve hot.
FRIED EGG-PLANT.
Take fresh, purple egg-plants of a middling size; cut them in slices a
quarter of an inch thick, and soak them for half an hour in cold
water, with a teaspoonful of salt in it. Have ready some cracker or
bread crumbs and one beaten egg; drain off the water from the slices,
lay them on a napkin, dip them in the crumbs and then in the egg, put
another coat of crumbs on them and fry them in butter to a light
brown. The frying pan must be hot before the slices are put in--they
will fry in ten minutes.
You may pare them before you put them into the frying pan, or you may
pull off the skins when you take them up. You must not remove them
from the water until you are ready to cook them, as the air will turn
them black.
STUFFED EGG-PLANT.
Cut the egg-plant in two; scrape out all the inside and put it in a
saucepan with a little minced ham; cover with water and boil until
soft; drain off the water; add two tablespoonfuls of grated crumbs, a
tablespoonful of butter, half a minced onion, salt and pepper; stuff
each half of the hull with the mixture; add a small lump of butter to
each and bake fifteen minutes. Minced veal or chicken in the place of
ham, is equally as good and many prefer it.
STRING BEANS.
Break off the end that grew to the vine, drawing off at the same time
the string upon the edge; repeat the same process from the other end;
cut them with a sharp knife into pieces half an inch long, and boil
them in _just enough_ water to _cover_ them. They usually require one
hour's boiling; but this depends upon their age and freshness. After
they have boiled until tender and the water _boiled nearly out_, add
pepper and salt, a tablespoonful of butter and a half a cup of cream;
if you have not the cream add more butter.
Many prefer to drain them before adding the seasoning; in that case
they lose the real goodness of the vegetable.
LIMA AND KIDNEY BEANS.
These beans should be put into boiling water, a little more than
enough to cover them, and boiled till tender--from half an hour to two
hours; serve with butter and salt upon them.
These beans are in season from the last of July to the last of
September. There are several other varieties of beans used as summer
vegetables, which are cooked as above.
For Baked Beans, see PORK AND BEANS.
CELERY.
This is stewed the same as green corn, by boiling, adding cream,
butter, salt and pepper.
STEWED SALSIFY OR OYSTER-PLANT.
Wash the roots and scrape off their skins, throwing them, as you do
so, into cold water, for exposure to the air causes them to
immediately turn dark. Then cut crosswise into little thin slices;
throw into fresh water, enough to cover; add a little salt and stew in
a covered vessel until tender, or about one hour. Pour off a little of
the water, add a small lump of butter, a little pepper, and a gill of
sweet cream and a teaspoonful of flour stirred to a paste. Boil up and
serve hot.
Salsify may be simply boiled and melted butter turned over them.
FRIED SALSIFY.
Stew the salsify as usual till very tender; then with the back of a
spoon or a potato jammer mash it very fine. Beat up an egg, add a
teacupful of milk, a little flour, butter and seasoning of pepper and
salt. Make into little cakes, and fry a light brown in boiling lard.
BEETS BOILED.
Select small-sized, smooth roots. They should be carefully washed, but
not cut before boiling, as the juice will escape and the sweetness of
the vegetable be impaired, leaving it white and hard. Put them into
boiling water, and boil them until tender, which requires often from
one to two hours. Do not probe them, but press them with the finger to
ascertain if they are sufficiently done. When satisfied of this, take
them up, and put them into a pan of cold water, and slip off the
outside. Cut them into thin slices, and while hot season with butter,
salt, a little pepper and very sharp vinegar.
BAKED BEETS.
Beets retain their sugary, delicate flavor to perfection if they are
baked instead of boiled. Turn them frequently while in the oven, using
a knife, as the fork allows the juice to run out. When done remove the
skin, and serve with butter, salt and pepper on the slices.
STEWED BEETS.
Boil them first and then scrape and slice them. Put them into a
stewpan with a piece of butter rolled in flour, some boiled onion and
parsley chopped fine, and a little vinegar, salt and pepper. Set the
pan on the fire, and let the beets stew for a quarter of an hour.
OKRA.
This grows in the shape of pods, and is of a gelatinous character,
much used for soup, and is also pickled; it may be boiled as follows:
Put the young and tender pods of long white okra in salted boiling
water in granite, porcelain or a tin-lined saucepan--as contact with
Iron will discolor it; boil fifteen minutes; remove the stems, and
serve with butter, pepper, salt and vinegar if preferred.
ASPARAGUS.
Scrape the stems of the asparagus lightly, but very clean; throw them
into cold water and when they are all scraped and very clean, tie them
in bunches of equal size; cut the large ends evenly, that the stems
may be all of the same length, and put the asparagus into plenty of
boiling water, well salted. While it is boiling, cut several slices of
bread half an inch thick, pare off the crust and toast it a delicate
brown on both sides. When the stalks of the asparagus are tender (it
will usually cook in twenty to forty minutes) lift it out directly, or
it will lose both its color and flavor and will also be liable to
break; dip the toast quickly into the liquor in which it was boiled
and dish the vegetable upon it, the heads all lying one way. Pour over
white sauce, or melted butter.
ASPARAGUS WITH EGGS.
Boil a bunch of asparagus twenty minutes; cut off the tender tops and
lay them in a deep-pie plate, buttering, salting and peppering well.
Beat up four eggs, the yolks and whites separately to a stiff froth;
add two tablespoonfuls of milk or cream, a tablespoonful of warm
butter, pepper and salt to taste. Pour evenly over the asparagus
mixture. Bake eight minutes or until the eggs are set. Very good.
GREEN PEAS.
Shell the peas and wash in cold water. Put in boiling water just
enough to cover them well and keep them from burning; boil from twenty
minutes to half an hour, when the liquor should be nearly boiled out;
season with pepper and salt and a good allowance of butter; serve very
hot.
This is a very much better way than cooking in a larger quantity of
water and draining off the liquor, as that diminishes the sweetness,
and much of the fine flavor of the peas is lost. The salt should never
be put in the peas before they are tender, unless very young, as it
tends to harden them.
STEWED GREEN PEAS.
Into a saucepan of boiling water put two or three pints of young green
peas and when nearly done and tender drain in a colander dry; then
melt two ounces of butter in two of flour; stir well and boil five
minutes longer; should the pods be quite clean and fresh boil them
first in the water, remove and put in the peas. The Germans prepare a
very palatable dish of sweet young pods alone by simply stirring in a
little butter with some savory herbs.
SQUASHES, OR CYMBLINGS.
The green or summer squash is best when the outside is beginning to
turn yellow, as it is then less watery and insipid than when younger.
Wash them, cut them into pieces and take out the seeds. Boil them
about three-quarters of an hour, or till quite tender. When done,
drain and squeeze them well till you have pressed out all the water;
mash them with a little butter, pepper and salt. Then put the squash
thus prepared into a stewpan, set it on hot coals and stir it very
frequently till it becomes dry. Take care not to let it burn.
Summer squash is very nice steamed, then prepared the same as boiled.
BOILED WINTER SQUASH.
This is much finer than the summer squash. It is fit to eat in August,
and, in a dry warm place, can be kept well all winter. The color is a
very bright yellow. Pare it, take out the seeds, cut it in pieces, and
stew it slowly till quite soft in a very little water. Afterwards
drain, squeeze and press it well; then mash it with a very little
butter, pepper and salt. They will boil in from twenty to forty
minutes.
BAKED WINTER SQUASH.
Cut open the squash, take out the seeds and without paring cut it up
into large pieces; put the pieces on tins or in a dripping-pan, place
in a moderately hot oven and bake about an hour. When done, peel and
mash like mashed potatoes, or serve the pieces hot on a dish, to be
eaten warm with butter like sweet potatoes. It retains its sweetness
much better baked this way than when boiled.
VEGETABLE HASH.