A Plain Cookery Book for the Working Classes Part 8

No. 151. HOW TO COOK FRENCH BEANS.

String the beans and boil them in hot water with salt; when done and drained, put them into a saucepan, with b.u.t.ter, a pinch of flour, chopped parsley, pepper and salt, and stir them gently on the fire for two or three minutes.

No. 152. HOW TO COOK VEGETABLE MARROW.

This is a cheap and excellent vegetable; let them be peeled, split them, and remove the seedy part; boil them in hot water with salt, and when done, eat them with a bit of b.u.t.ter, pepper, and salt.

No. 153. WHITE HARICOT BEANS.

In France, haricot beans form a princ.i.p.al part in the staple articles of food for the working-cla.s.ses, and indeed for the entire population; it is much to be desired that some effectual means should be adopted, for the purpose of introducing and encouraging the use of this most excellent vegetable among the people of England as a general article of daily food, more especially in the winter. If this desideratum could be accomplished, its beneficial result would go far to a.s.sist in rendering us in a measure independent of the potato crop, which, of late years, has proved so uncertain. I am aware that haricot beans, as well as lentils, as at present imported and retailed as a mere luxury to such as possess cooks who know how to dress them, might lead to the rejection of my proposal that they should, or could, be adopted as food by the people; but I see no reason why haricot beans should not be imported to this country in such quant.i.ties as would enable the importers to retail them at a somewhat similar low price as that in which they are sold at in France. In that case, they would become cheap enough to come within the reach of the poorest. And under the impression that this wish of mine may be eventually realized, I will here give you instructions how to cook haricot beans to the greatest advantage.

No. 154. HOW TO DRESS HARICOT BEANS.

Put a quart of white haricot beans in plenty of cold water in a pan in order that they may soak through the night; the next day drain off the water in which they have soaked, and put them into a pot with three quarts of _cold_ water, a little grease or b.u.t.ter, some pepper and salt, and set them on the fire to boil _very gently_ until they are thoroughly done; this will take about two hours' gentle boiling; when done, the haricot beans are to be drained free from excess of moisture, and put into a saucepan with chopped parsley, b.u.t.ter, pepper and salt; stir the whole carefully on the fire for five minutes, and serve them for dinner with or without meat as may best suit your means.

No. 155. HARICOT BEANS, ANOTHER WAY.

When the haricot beans have been boiled as shown in the preceding Number, chop fine a couple of onions, and fry them in a saucepan with a bit of b.u.t.ter, then add the haricot beans, pepper and salt; stir all together and serve them out to your family.

No. 156. A SALAD OF HARICOT BEANS.

Well-boiled haricot beans, cold, are made into an excellent salad, as follows:--Put the haricot beans into a bowl, season with chopped parsley, green onions, salad oil, vinegar, pepper and salt, and slices of beet-root. Mix thoroughly.

No. 157. LENTILS.

Lentils are a species of vetches much in use in France as a staple article of food in the winter; there are two sorts, those denominated "_a la reine_," a small brown flat-looking seed, while the other sort is somewhat larger--of the size of small peas, and flat; both sorts are equally nutritious, and are to be treated in exactly the same way as herein indicated for cooking haricot beans.

These, as well as haricot beans, may be boiled with a piece of bacon.

No. 158. A RELISH FOR SUPPER.

Prepare some oysters, as shown in No. 54, and when poured upon the toast in their dish, strew all over their surface equal quant.i.ties of bread raspings and grated cheese; hold a red-hot shovel over the top until it becomes slightly coloured, and eat this little delicacy while hot.

No. 159. HOW TO MAKE AN OMELET.

Break three or four eggs into a basin, add a little chopped shalot, and parsley, pepper, and salt; put an ounce of b.u.t.ter in a frying-pan on the fire, and as soon as the b.u.t.ter begins to fry, beat up the eggs, etc., with a fork for two minutes; immediately pour the whole into the frying-pan, and put it on the fire, stirring the eggs with an iron spoon as they become set and the omelet appears nearly done; fold all together in the form of a bolster, and turn it out on to its dish.

No. 160. FRIED EGGS AND BACON.

First, fry the rashers of bacon, and then break the eggs into the frying-pan without disturbing the yolks, and as soon as these are just set, or half-done, slip them out on to the rashers of bacon which you have already placed in a dish.

No. 161. b.u.t.tERED EGGS.

Fry half an ounce of b.u.t.ter in a frying-pan, then break three or four eggs into this; season with chopped parsley, pepper and salt, and again set the pan on the fire for two minutes. At the end of this time the eggs will be sufficiently set to enable you to slip them gently out of the pan upon a plate; and to finish cooking the eggs, it will be necessary to place them or hold them in front of the fire for a couple of minutes longer.

No. 162. EGGS WITH BROWN b.u.t.tER.

Cook the eggs as directed in the foregoing Number, and when you have slipped them out on to a dish, put a piece of b.u.t.ter into the frying-pan, and stir it on the fire until it becomes quite brown (_not burnt_); then add two table-spoonfuls of vinegar, pepper, and salt; boil for two minutes, and pour this over the eggs.

No. 163. EGGS STEWED WITH CHEESE.

Fry three eggs in a pan with one ounce of b.u.t.ter, seasoned with pepper and salt, and when the eggs are just set firm at the bottom of the pan, slip them off on to a dish, cover them all over with some very thin slices of cheese, set the dish before the fire to melt the cheese, and then eat this cheap little t.i.t-bit with some toast.

No. 164. HOW TO MAKE A WELSH RAREBIT.

First, make a round of hot toast, b.u.t.ter it, and cover it with thin slices of cheese; put it before the fire until the cheese is melted, then season with mustard, pepper, and salt, and eat the rarebit while hot.

No. 165. EGG-HOT.

Put a pint of beer on the fire to warm, break an egg into a jug, add a table-spoonful of sugar and some grated nutmeg or ginger; beat all together with a fork for three minutes; then add a drop of the beer, stir well together, and pour the remainder of the hot beer to this, and continue pouring the egg-hot out of the warming-pot into the jug for two minutes, when it will be well mixed and ready to drink.

No. 166. GINGER-POP.

Put a _very clean_ pot containing a gallon of water to boil on the fire, and as soon as it begins to boil, add twelve ounces of brown sugar, and one ounce of bruised ginger, and two ounces of cream of tartar; stir well together; pour the whole into an earthen pan, cover it over with a cloth, and let the mash remain in this state until it has become quite cold; then stir in half a gill of fresh yeast; stir all well together until thoroughly mixed, cover the pan over with a cloth, and leave the ginger-beer in a cool place to work up; this will take from six to eight hours; the sc.u.m which has risen to the top must then be carefully removed with a spoon without disturbing the brightness of the beer; it is then to be carefully poured off bright into a jug with a spout, to enable you easily to pour it into the bottles. These must be immediately corked down tight, tied across the corks with string, and put away, lying down in the cellar. The ginger-pop will be fit to drink in about four days after it has been bottled.

No. 167. PLUM BROTH.

Boil one quart of any kind of red plums in three pints of water with a piece of cinnamon and four ounces of brown sugar until the plums are entirely dissolved; then rub the whole through a sieve or colander, and give it to the children to eat with bread.

No. 168. PLUM PORRIDGE, COLD.

Boil a quart of red plums in a pint of water, with a bit of cinnamon and four ounces of sugar, until dissolved to a pulp; then rub the whole through a sieve or colander into a large basin, and when this is quite cold, mix in with it about a quart of good milk, and give it to the children to eat with bread for either breakfast or supper.

No. 169. STEWED PRUNES OR PRUENS.

Purchase the cheaper kind of small prunes sold at 4_d._ per lb.; put them into a saucepan with a pint of water, a bit of lemon-peel, and two ounces of sugar, and allow them to simmer and stew very gently for about half an hour, and then let them become nearly cold. Boil some rice in a cloth, as directed in No. 92, and when done and turned out on its dish, pour the prunes over it for the children's dinner. Once in a way, this cheap and wholesome meal would prove a great treat.

No. 170. A SUMMER SALAD.