WOMAN'S INSTITUTE LIBRARY OF COOKERY. VOLUME 2: MILK, BUTTER AND CHEESE; EGGS; VEGETABLES TEXT

Wash and peel the potatoes that are to be used, and then from each potato cut with a French cutter all the balls possible. When a sufficient number have been obtained, boil them until tender in boiling salted water and then drain. Make a thin cream sauce, add the potatoes to this, and heat together thoroughly. Serve hot. 89. POTATO CROQUETTES.--Left-over mashed potatoes can be utilized in no better way than to make croquettes. Of course, if potato croquettes are desired and no potatoes are on hand, it will be necessary to cook potatoes and mash them especially for this purpose. Croquettes made according to the accompanying recipe will be found a delightful addition to the menu. They are often served plain, but are much improved by a medium white sauce or a gravy. POTATO CROQUETTES (Sufficient to Serve Six) 2 c. mashed potatoes 2 Tb. chopped parsley 1 Tb. onion juice 1 tsp. celery salt 2 eggs Dry bread crumbs To the mashed potatoes, add the parsley, onion juice, and celery salt and mix thoroughly. Beat the eggs slightly, reserve a small amount to be diluted with water or milk for dipping the croquettes, and add the rest to the potatoes. Shape the mixture into oblong croquettes of uniform size and shape. Roll each in the crumbs, then in the diluted egg, and again in the crumbs. Fry in deep hot fat until an even brown in color. Remove from the fat, drain, and serve. 90. POTATO PUFF.--Mashed potato combined with egg, seasoned well, and baked in the oven makes a very appetizing dish known as potato puff. This is suitable for any meal at which potatoes would be served. POTATO PUFF (Sufficient to Serve Six) 2 c. mashed potato 1/2 tsp. celery salt 1 egg To the mashed potato, add the celery salt. Separate the egg, beat the yolk, and mix it with the potato. Beat the white stiff and fold it into the potato last. Pile into a buttered baking dish, set in a hot oven, and bake until the potato is thoroughly heated through and the surface is brown. Serve at once. SWEET POTATOES 91. SWEET POTATOES are used for practically the same purposes as white potatoes, and while these vegetables resemble each other in many respects they are not related botanically, sweet potatoes being root rather than tuber vegetables. Sweet potatoes are of a tropical nature and have been cultivated for hundreds of years in the West Indies and Central America. They form a staple article of diet in the southern part of the United States, where, on account of the warm climate, they are raised abundantly. They are not raised in the North; still they are consumed there in large quantities. After maturing, sweet potatoes are collected and dried in kilns before shipping. While this makes it possible for them to keep longer than if they were not dried, they do not keep so well as white potatoes and therefore cannot be stored in such large numbers. If they are to be kept for a considerable period of time, they should be wrapped separately in paper and stored in a cool, dry place. 92. Sweet potatoes vary considerably in size, shape, and quality. Some are short and blunt at the tips, others are long and cylindrical, either crooked or straight, while others are medium in size and spindle-shaped. Some varieties, which are known as _yams_, cook moist and sugary, while others, which are simply called sweet potatoes, cook dry and mealy. The kind to select depends entirely on the individual taste, for in composition and food value all the varieties are similar. In composition, sweet potatoes resemble white ones, except that a part of their carbohydrate is in the form of sugar, which gives them their characteristic sweet taste, but in food value they are almost twice as great as white potatoes. 93. The preparation of sweet potatoes is similar to that of white potatoes, for they may be boiled, steamed, baked, mashed, creamed, fried, etc. In fact, they may be used at any time to take the place of white potatoes in the diet. A few recipes are here given for this vegetable, but any of those given under White Potatoes may also be used by merely substituting sweet potatoes for the white potatoes specified. 94. BOILED SWEET POTATOES.--It is a very simple procedure to boil sweet potatoes. When they are to be prepared in this way, select potatoes of uniform size and either remove their skins or cook them with the skins on. If they are not peeled, scrub them perfectly clean. Put them to cook in boiling salted water and allow them to boil until they may be easily pierced with a fork. Drain the water from them, peel if cooked with their skins on, and serve hot with butter or gravy. 95. BAKED SWEET POTATOES.--Persons who are fond of sweet potatoes prefer them baked to any other method of preparation. Select medium-sized potatoes for this purpose, scrub thoroughly, and put in a hot oven to bake. Bake until they are soft enough to dent when pinched between the fingers. Remove from the oven and serve at once. 96. GLAZED SWEET POTATOES.--To increase the sweet taste characteristic of sweet potatoes and favored by many persons, a sweet sirup is sometimes added. When this is done, the potatoes are first boiled and then cut in half lengthwise and sauted. Sweet potatoes so prepared afford a pleasing variety in the diet. Clean and peel the desired number of potatoes and boil them as already explained. Cut them in half lengthwise, so that each piece has a flat side. Melt fat in a frying pan, add the halves of sweet potato, and fry until slightly brown. Then turn and fry on the reverse side. About 10 or 15 minutes before removing from the pan, pour a small quantity of molasses or a mixture of sugar and water over the potatoes, and allow them to cook in this sirup until they are well covered with the sweet substance. Remove from the pan and serve at once. 97. MASHED SWEET POTATOES.--Used alone without further preparation, mashed sweet potatoes make a very palatable dish. However, as in the case of mashed white potatoes, numerous appetizing dishes, such as croquettes, patties, etc., can be made of mashed sweet potatoes, whether left from a previous meal or cooked for this purpose. In the preparation of all such dishes, the recipes given under White Potatoes may be followed. Peel the desired number of potatoes and cook them in boiling salted water until they may be readily pierced with a fork. Drain, force through a sieve or a ricer, and season with salt, pepper, and a small amount of butter. Thin the mixture with sufficient hot milk to make it of a stiff, mush-like consistency. Then beat vigorously until the potato is light and creamy. Serve hot. RADISHES AND THEIR PREPARATION 98. RADISHES are a root vegetable used almost exclusively as a relish or to lend flavor to a vegetable-salad mixture. They are easily and successfully grown and are plentiful and cheap, except when they are out of season and must be raised in hothouses. Numerous varieties of radishes differing from one another in size, shape, and color are raised. The red ones are generally preferred, because they lend color to a dish or a meal, but the white and brown varieties are just as desirable so far as flavor is concerned. 99. Radishes contain very little food value, being about equal to celery and cucumbers in this respect. They do not supply anything valuable to a meal except mineral salts. Although some persons consider radishes difficult to digest, they contain almost nothing that has to be digested, for they are composed largely of cellulose, which does not digest, and water. Radishes disagree with some persons because, like onions and cabbage, they contain a strong volatile oil that gives them their flavor. 100. Since radishes are always eaten raw, they require very little in the way of preparation. The principal thing is to see that they are perfectly clean and as crisp as possible. To make them crisp, allow them to stand in cold water for some time before using them. Then remove the tops and the roots and scrub thoroughly with a vegetable brush. The small red radishes can be made very attractive by cutting the skin in sections to resemble the petals of a rose. When prepared in this way, a small portion of the green top is allowed to remain. SALSIFY AND ITS PREPARATION 101. SALSIFY is a root vegetable resembling in food value such other root vegetables as carrots and parsnips. Because it has a flavor similar to that of oysters, especially when it is used for soup, it has received the name of _vegetable oyster_. It consists of long slender roots that are covered with tiny roots. It is somewhat difficult to clean and prepare, but as it may be stored through the entire winter and is particularly desirable for the making of soup, it is a valuable vegetable. 102. In preparing salsify for cooking, scrape the roots rather than peel them. Then put them in a solution of cold salt water made by using 1 teaspoonful of salt to each quart of water and keep them there until ready to cook them. This precaution will, to a certain extent, prevent the discoloration that always takes place in salsify as soon as the skin is removed. When thus prepared, salsify lends itself to the same forms of preparation as do the other root vegetables. 103. BUTTERED SALSIFY.--The simplest way in which to cook salsify is to cut it in thin slices, boil it until tender, and then serve it with butter. Wash and scrape the desired quantity of salsify and slice in thin slices. Put to cook in boiling salted water, and cook until it can be easily pierced with a fork. Drain off the water, season with pepper and, if necessary, additional salt, and add 1 tablespoonful of butter for each four persons to be served. Allow the butter to melt and serve the salsify hot. 104. CREAMED VEGETABLE OYSTERS.--If creamed vegetables are favored, vegetable oysters served with a cream sauce will be very much relished. Clean and scrape the salsify and cut it into 1/4-inch slices. Put to cook in boiling salted water, cook until tender, and then drain. Make a medium white sauce and pour this over the cooked vegetable. Heat together and serve. 105. SCALLOPED VEGETABLE OYSTERS.--A very appetizing scalloped dish can be made of salsify by following the directions given in the accompanying recipe. SCALLOPED VEGETABLE OYSTERS (Sufficient to Serve Six) 2 c. cooked vegetable oysters 1 c. bread crumbs Salt and pepper 1-1/2 c. thin white sauce Cook the vegetable oysters as explained in Art. 103. Sprinkle a layer of crumbs in the bottom of a well-greased baking dish, place a layer of the cooked vegetable oysters on top of this, and season with salt and pepper. Place a second layer of crumbs and the remainder of the vegetable oysters in the dish, and sprinkle again with salt and pepper. Pour the white sauce over this, and put the remainder of the crumbs on top. Place in a hot oven and bake until well heated through and the top is brown. Serve from the baking dish. SQUASH AND ITS PREPARATION SUMMER SQUASH 106. SUMMER SQUASH is a fruit vegetable belonging to the same class as eggplant, peppers, etc. and occurring in many varieties. The different kinds of this vegetable vary greatly in size, shape, and color, but all of them may be prepared in practically the same way and used for the same purposes. They get their name from the fact that they are grown and used during the summer season; in fact, they must be used at this time, for they do not permit of storage. Summer squash contains a great deal of water, and for this reason its food value is very low, being about equal to that of lettuce, celery, etc. Because of the large percentage of water in its composition, as little water as possible should be added in its cooking, or the result will be a vegetable so watery as to be unattractive and unpalatable. Another precaution that should be taken in its preparation is to remove the seeds and the skins. Many housewives think it unnecessary to do this, for both the skins and the seeds can be eaten after cooking; but most persons prefer to have them removed, as the dish appears more appetizing. _Vegetable marrow_ is a type of summer squash and may be prepared for the table by any of the recipes for summer squash. 107. STEWED SUMMER SQUASH.--The usual way in which to cook summer squash is to stew it. If properly cooked and well seasoned, stewed squash makes a very tasty dish. Wash and peel the desired number of summer squashes, remove the seeds, and cut into small pieces. Put over the flame in just enough water to start the cooking and add sufficient salt to season well. Cook until tender enough to be pierced with a fork and most of the water is boiled away, being careful not to scorch. Remove from the fire, season with pepper, and add 1 tablespoonful of butter for each four persons to be served. Mash until the squash is as fine as desired and serve at once. 108. SAUTED SUMMER SQUASH.--For variety, summer squash is sometimes sliced, coated with egg and crumbs, and then sauted until well browned. To prepare it in this way, wash and peel the squash and cut it into slices about 1/4 inch thick. Roll first in beaten egg diluted with milk or water and then in fine crumbs. Saute in a small amount of fat in a frying pan until well browned, and then turn and brown on the other side. Serve hot. WINTER SQUASH 109. WINTER SQUASH is the kind of squash that may be removed from the vine in the fall and stored for winter use. Although both summer and winter squashes are closely related, they differ considerably in appearance, flavor, texture, and composition. The different varieties of winter squash are usually larger than summer squashes and have a very hard outside covering; also, they contain less water and more carbohydrate and, consequently, have a higher food value. Winter squashes are usually taken from the vines in the fall before the frost sets in, and before they are placed in storage they are allowed to lie in the sunshine for a few days until the skin hardens and becomes flinty. If the outside covering is unmarred when the squashes are stored, they will remain in good condition almost the entire winter season, provided the storage place is cool and dry. 110. To prepare winter squash for cooking, cut it open, remove the seeds, and peel off the outside skin. Because of the hardness of the covering, a cleaver or a hatchet is generally required to open the squash and cut it into pieces. With this done, scrape out the seeds and, with a very sharp large knife, peel off the skin. The squash may then be cooked in any suitable manner. 111. MASHED SQUASH.--If winter squash is desired as a vegetable, it is very often boiled and then mashed. Squash prepared in this way, with the exception of the seasoning, is also used for pie that is similar to pumpkin; in fact, many persons prefer the flavor of squash pie to that of pumpkin pie. Cut pieces of peeled winter squash into cubes about 1 inch in size. Put these to cook in a small amount of boiling water, add enough salt to season, and cook until tender and quite dry. Season the cooked squash with pepper, add 1 tablespoonful of butter for each four persons to be served, and, if desired to increase the sweet taste, add a small amount of sugar. Mash until smooth and serve hot. 112. BAKED SQUASH.--Winter squash, because of its hard covering, is very satisfactory when baked in the shell, as shown in Fig. 19. If it is not desired to cook it in a whole piece, the squash may be cut into pieces about 3 inches square or into triangular pieces. [Illustration: FIG. 19] Remove the seeds from the squash, sprinkle each with salt and pepper, and dot with butter, as shown. Place in a hot oven directly on the grate or in a shallow pan, and bake until the contents of the shells are tender. Remove from the oven, and serve from the shells. If desired, the squash may be scooped from the shells after baking, seasoned at that time instead of when put in the oven, and then served in a vegetable dish. TOMATOES AND THEIR PREPARATION 113. TOMATOES are a fruit vegetable that may be either cooked or prepared raw in many different ways. They are usually red when ripe, and because of this color they are particularly attractive on the table. Green or partly ripe tomatoes are also used in the preparation of many dishes. Tomatoes are composed largely of water, and for this reason their food value is low, being about the same as that of greens. This large proportion of water is also responsible for the fact that they do not keep for a great length of time. Tomatoes, however, have a long season. They begin to appear in the market early in the spring and they may be obtained from this time until the frost kills the vines in the fall. 114. While tomatoes appeal to the majority of persons, they disagree with some on account of the acid they contain. This acid is similar to that found in some fruits, and it is present in greater quantity in cooked tomatoes than in raw ones, the heating of the vegetable apparently increasing the acidity. This acidity of tomatoes may be reduced by the addition of soda, and while soda produces a marked change in the flavor, it is necessary in the preparation of some dishes. For instance, in the case of cream-of-tomato soup, soda must be added to reduce the acidity and thus keep the milk or cream used in preparing this dish from curdling. 115. The skin of tomatoes, whether they are to be eaten raw or cooked, is usually undesirable. Therefore, in preparing tomatoes for the table, the skins are generally removed. In order to do this, first dip the tomatoes into boiling water for several seconds and then immediately into cold water. This will loosen the skins, which may then be peeled off very thinly, and very little of the tomato will be wasted. 116. STEWED TOMATOES.--The usual way of preparing tomatoes is to stew them. Stewed tomatoes may be served plain, but they can be improved very decidedly by toasting cubes of bread and adding these to the tomatoes just before serving. Remove the skins and stem ends from the desired number of tomatoes, and either cut the tomatoes into pieces or allow them to remain whole. Put to cook with little or no water, as the tomatoes themselves usually provide sufficient water. Season with salt, and cook until the tomatoes are reduced to a mushy consistency. Just before removing from the stove, add a dash of pepper and a small amount of butter. 117. SCALLOPED TOMATOES.--A very appetizing way in which to cook tomatoes is to scallop them according to the accompanying recipe. SCALLOPED TOMATOES (Sufficient to Serve Six) 1 c. crumbs, buttered 2 c. stewed tomatoes 1 tsp. salt Dash of pepper 1 Tb. butter Grease a baking dish and place a layer of the crumbs in the bottom. Place a layer of tomatoes over them, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and dot with the butter. Add another layer of crumbs and the remainder of the tomatoes, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and again dot with butter. Place the remainder of the crumbs on top. Bake in a hot oven until well heated through and the crumbs on top are brown. Serve hot from the baking dish. 118. STUFFED TOMATOES.--Tomatoes prove to be very satisfactory when stuffed with a well-seasoned stuffing and then baked. Medium-sized tomatoes that are firm and unblemished should be selected for stuffing. STUFFED TOMATOES (Sufficient to Serve Six) 6 tomatoes 1-1/2 c. crumbs 2 Tb. butter 1 small onion, chopped 1 tsp. celery salt 1/2 tsp. salt Dash of pepper Remove the stem end from each tomato and scoop out the inside so that a hollow shell remains. Chop the pulp of the tomatoes into small pieces and add the crumbs, melted butter, onion, celery salt, salt, and pepper. Mix together thoroughly. If the tomatoes do not furnish enough liquid to moisten the crumbs, add a little water. Pack the stuffing into the tomatoes, allowing it to heap up on top, and place the tomatoes side by side in a shallow pan. Set in a hot oven and bake until the tomato