Pare, lay in ice-water an hour; then, slice a quarter of an inch
thick. Pick out the seeds with a penknife, and put into a saucepan
with enough boiling water to cover them. Stew fifteen minutes, and
drain off the water. Add enough from the boiling tea-kettle to keep
them from burning; season with salt and pepper, and stir carefully
in a tablespoonful of butter—or two, should the quantity of cucumber
be large. Stew gently ten minutes, and add half a cupful of rich
milk; thicken with a little flour, boil up, and serve in a deep dish,
squeezing some lemon-juice in at the last.
This is a popular English dish, although it seems a strange one to
American ideas.