A Poetical Cook-Book Part 8

The things we eat, by various juice control The narrowness or largeness of our soul.

_Onions_ will make e'en heirs or widows weep; The tender lettuce brings on softer sleep.

KING.

Peel a pint of b.u.t.ton onions, and put them in water till you want to put them on to boil; put them into a stewpan, with a quart of cold water; let them boil till tender; they will take (according to their size and age) from half an hour to an hour.

ARTICHOKES.

Whose appet.i.tes would soon devour Each cabbage, _artichoke_, and flower.

CAWTHORNE.

Soak them in cold water, wash them well, then put them into plenty of boiling water, with a handful of salt, and let them boil gently till tender, which will take an hour and a half or two hours. The surest way to know when they are done enough is to draw out a leaf. Trim them and drain them on a sieve, and send up melted b.u.t.ter with them, which some put into small cups, so that each guest may have one.

LIMA BEANS.

Now fragrant with the _bean's_ perfume, Now purpled with the pulse's bloom, Might well with bright allusions store me; But happier bards have been before me.

SHENSTONE.

These are generally considered the finest of all beans, and should be gathered young. Sh.e.l.l them, lay them in a pan of cold water, and then boil them about two hours, or till they are quite soft; drain them well, and add to them some b.u.t.ter. They are destroyed by the first frost, but can be kept during the winter by gathering them on a dry day, when full grown, but not the least hard, and putting them in their pods into a keg. Throw some salt into the bottom of the keg, and cover it with a layer of bean pods, then add more salt, and then another layer of beans in their pods, till the keg is full. Press them down with a heavy weight, cover the keg closely, and keep it in a cool, dry place. Before you use them, soak the pods all night in cold water, the next day sh.e.l.l them, and soak the beans till you are ready to boil them.

POTATOES.

Leeks to the Welsh, to Dutchmen b.u.t.ter's dear; Of Irish swains, _potatoes_ is the cheer.

GAY.

Wash them, but do not pare or cut them, unless they are very large. Fill a saucepan half full of potatoes of equal size (or make them so by dividing the larger ones), put to them as much cold water as will cover them about an inch; they are sooner boiled, and more savory than when drowned in water. Most boiled things are spoiled by having too little water; but potatoes are often spoiled by having too much; they must be merely covered, and a little allowed for waste in boiling, so that they may be just covered at the finish. Set them on a moderate fire till they boil; then take them off, and put them by the side of the fire to simmer slowly till they are soft enough to admit a fork. Place no dependence on the usual test of their skins cracking, which, if they are boiled fast, will happen to some potatoes when they are not half done, and the insides quite hard. Then pour the water off--(if you let the potatoes remain in the water a moment after they are done enough, they will become waxy and watery),--uncover the saucepan, and set it at such a distance from the fire as will secure it from burning; their superfluous moisture will evaporate, and the potatoes will be perfectly dry and mealy.

You may afterwards place a napkin, folded up to the size of the saucepan's diameter, over the potatoes, to keep them hot and mealy till wanted.

This method of managing potatoes is in every respect equal to steaming them, and they are dressed in half the time.

There is such an infinite variety of sorts and sizes of potatoes, it is impossible to say how long they will take doing: the best way is to try them with a fork. Moderate sized potatoes will generally be done enough in fifteen or twenty minutes.

PEAS.

Your infant _peas_ to asparagus prefer; Which to the supper you may best defer.

KING.

Young green peas, well dressed, are among the most delicious delicacies of the vegetable kingdom. They must be young. It is equally indispensable that they be fresh gathered, and cooked as soon as they are sh.e.l.led, for they soon lose both their color and sweetness. After being sh.e.l.led, wash them, drain them in a cullender, put them on, in plenty of boiling water, with a teaspoonful of salt; boil them till they become tender, which, if young, will be less than half an hour; if old, they will require more than an hour. Drain them in a cullender, and put them into a dish, with a slice of fresh b.u.t.ter in it. Some people think it an improvement to boil a small bunch of mint with the peas; it is then minced finely, and laid in small heaps at the end or sides of the dish. If peas are allowed to stand in the water, after being boiled, they lose their color.

RICE.

Every week dispense English beans or _Carolinian rice_.

GRAINGER.

Wash the rice perfectly clean; put on one pound in two quarts of cold water; let it boil twenty minutes; strain it through a sieve, and put it before the fire; shake it up with a fork every now and then, to separate the grains, and make it quite dry. Serve it hot.

TURNIPS.

On _turnips_ feast whene'er you please, And riot in my beans and peas.

GAY.

Wash, peel, and boil them till tender, in water with a little salt; serve them with melted b.u.t.ter. Or they may be stewed in a pint of milk, thickened with a bit of b.u.t.ter rolled in flour, and seasoned with salt and pepper, and served with the sauce.

SPINACH.

Much meat doth Gluttony procure, To feed men fat as swine; But he's a frugal man, indeed, That on _the leaf_ can dine.

Pick it very carefully, and wash it thoroughly two or three times; then put it on in boiling water with a little salt; let it boil nearly twenty minutes. Put it into a cullender; hold it under the waterc.o.c.k, and let the water run on it for a minute. Put it into a saucepan; beat it perfectly smooth with a wooden spoon; add a bit of b.u.t.ter, and three tablespoonfuls of cream. Mix it well together, and make it hot before serving.

ASPARAGUS.

At early morn, I to the market haste, (Studious in everything to please thy taste); A curious fowl and _'sparagus_ I chose, (For I remembered you were fond of those).

GAY.

Boil asparagus in salt and water till it is tender at the stalk, which will be in twenty or thirty minutes. Great care must be taken to watch the exact time of its becoming tender. Toast some bread; dip it lightly in the liquor the asparagus was boiled in, and lay it in the middle of the dish; melt some b.u.t.ter; lay the asparagus upon the toast, which must project beyond the asparagus, that the company may see that there is toast.

CARROTS.

And when his juicy salads fail'd, Slic'd _carrots_ pleased him well.

COWPER.

Let them be well washed and brushed, not sc.r.a.ped. If young spring carrots, an hour is enough. When done, rub off the peels with a clean coa.r.s.e cloth, and slice them in two or four, according to their size.

The best way to try if they are boiled enough, is to pierce them with a fork.

LEEKS.

With carrots red, and turnips white, And _leeks_, Cadwallader's delight, And all the savory crop that vie To please the palate and the eye.

GRAINGER.

Leeks are most generally used for soups, ragouts, and other made dishes.

They are very rarely brought to table; in which case dress them as follows. Put them in the stock pot till about three parts done; then take them out, drain and soak them in vinegar seasoned with pepper, salt, and cloves; drain them again, stuff their hearts with a farce, dip them in b.u.t.ter, and fry them.

TO DRY HERBS.

_Herbs_ too she knew, and well of each could speak That in her garden sipp'd the silvery dew, Where no vain flower disclosed a gaudy streak, But herbs, for use and physic, not a few Of gray renown, within those borders grew,-- The _tufted basil_, _pun-provoking thyme_, Fresh _balm_, and _marigold_ of cheerful hue, The _lowly gill_, that never dares to climb, And more I fain would sing, disdaining here to rhyme.

SHENSTONE.