Vaughan's Vegetable Cook Book Part 6

WATER CRESS SOUP.

Look over carefully one large bunch of water cress and chop it fine.

Melt one large tablespoonful of b.u.t.ter in a granite stew-pan, add the cress and one teaspoonful of lemon juice. Cook about ten minutes, until the cress is tender. Do not let it burn. Add one egg, well beaten, with one heaping teaspoonful of flour, also one saltspoonful of salt and two dashes of pepper. Then pour in three pints of well-flavored soup stock.

Let boil five minutes longer and serve with croutons.

CHICAGO RECORD.

WATERCRESS AND WALNUT SALAD.

Crack fifty walnuts and remove the meats as nearly as possible in unbroken halves. Squeeze over them the juice of two large lemons, or three small ones, and leave them for several hours, or a day if convenient. Just before dinner pick over in a cool place one quart of watercress, wash it carefully and drain on a napkin. At the last moment drench the cress with French dressing, spread the nuts over it, give them a generous sprinkling of the dressing and serve.

CHICAGO RECORD.

BOILED CUc.u.mBERS.

Peel the cuc.u.mbers unless very young and tender, put into boiling salted water, and when boiled throw them into cold water to firm them. When ready for use, heat them in b.u.t.ter quickly without frying them, season with salt and pepper, pour over any good sauce and serve. Ripe cuc.u.mbers can be treated quite similarly unless the seeds are tough, if they are, mash the cuc.u.mbers through a sieve and serve with b.u.t.ter, pepper and salt.

CUc.u.mBER CATSUP.

Take twelve large, full-grown cuc.u.mbers and four onions. Peel the cuc.u.mbers and take the skin off the onions; grate them, and let the pulp drain through a sieve for several hours, then season highly with salt and pepper, and add good cider vinegar until the pickle tastes strongly of it, and it rises a little to the top. Put it in jars or wide-mouthed bottles, and cork or seal them so as to be airtight. The pickle tastes more like the fresh cuc.u.mber than anything else, and will pay for the making.

FRIED CUc.u.mBER.

Boil a good-sized cuc.u.mber till nearly soft in milk and water flavored slightly with onion. Remove and drain dry, cut it up into slices when cold and brush each slice, which should be about a third of an inch thick, with egg, and dip in bread crumbs or make a batter and dip each slice in this, after which fry in b.u.t.ter till amber brown. To be served in the center of a hot dish with mashed potatoes round.

CUc.u.mBER MANGOES. (See Mangoes.)

CUc.u.mBER A LA POULETTE.

Pare and cut in slices three good-sized cuc.u.mbers; cover with water and let soak for half an hour, then drain and dry on a cloth. Put in a saucepan with two tablespoonfuls of b.u.t.ter and fry over a moderate fire without browning for five minutes. Add one scant tablespoonful of flour, and, when well mixed, one and one-half cupfuls of chicken or veal broth.

Simmer gently for twenty minutes, season with a small teaspoonful of salt, a saltspoonful of pepper and half a teaspoonful of sugar; draw the pan to one side, add the beaten yolks of two eggs and one tablespoonful of finely chopped parsley. Take from the fire as soon as thickened, being careful not to allow the sauce to boil again.

MARION C. WILSON.

CUc.u.mBER SALAD.

Peel the cuc.u.mbers, slice as thin as possible, cover with salt, let stand one hour covered, then put in colander and let cold water run over them until all the salt is off. Make a bed of cress or lettuce leaves and pour over French dressing; or prepare as above, pour over vinegar, give a little dash of cayenne pepper and add sour cream. Cuc.u.mbers sliced very thin with a mayonnaise dressing make a very excellent sandwich filling.

CUc.u.mBER SALAD CUPS.

Choose medium sized cuc.u.mbers, pare carefully and cut off the two ends, cut them in halves lengthwise, take out the seeds and put the cuc.u.mbers into ice water for two hours. When ready for use wipe the cuc.u.mbers dry, set them on a bed of lettuce leaves, asparagus leaves, cress, parsley or any other pretty garniture, and fill the sh.e.l.ls with lobster, salmon or shrimp salad, asparagus, potato or vegetable salad, mix with mayonnaise before stuffing and put a little more on top afterwards.

STUFFED CUc.u.mBERS.

Choose medium sized cuc.u.mbers, pare, cut off one or both ends, extract the seeds, boil from three to five minutes, drain and throw into cold water to firm, drain again and fill the insides with chicken or veal forcemeat; line a pan with thin slices of pork, on which set the cuc.u.mbers, season with salt and pepper and a pinch of marjoram and summer savory, baste with melted b.u.t.ter, or gravy, chicken gravy is the best, cover with a b.u.t.tered paper and let bake. Or stuff with a sausage forcemeat, make a bed for the cuc.u.mbers of chopped vegetables and moisten with stock or water; or fill with a tomato stuffing as for stuffed tomatoes, baste often with b.u.t.ter, or a nice gravy, put over a b.u.t.tered paper and bake until done, in about fifteen or twenty minutes.

The Chicago Record gave the following recipe for cuc.u.mbers stuffed with rice:--Pare thinly five five-inch cuc.u.mbers. Cut off one end and remove the pulp, leaving a thick solid case, with one thick end. Season one cup of hot boiled rice, salted in cooking, with a tablespoonful of b.u.t.ter, a "pinch" each of marjoram and summer savory, saltspoonful of grated nutmeg, four shakes of cayenne and a tablespoonful of lemon juice. Fill the cuc.u.mbers with this mixture; replace the end, fastening it with small skewers; place in a pan of boiling water, salted, in which are two bay leaves and a clove of garlic, and boil for ten minutes or until tender. Drain and serve covered with a cream sauce.

DANDELIONS.

Use the dandelions in the early spring when they are young and tender.

They take the place of spinach and are treated the same. (See Spinach.) Dandelions may be used as a salad with a French dressing.

EGG PLANT CROQUETTES.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

Peel, slice and boil until tender, mash and season with pepper and salt; roll crackers or dry bread, and stir into it until very thick. Make into croquettes or patties; fry in hot lard or with a piece of salt pork.

ESCALLOPED EGG PLANT.

1 egg plant, 2 tablespoonfuls b.u.t.ter, one teaspoonful salt, 1/3 teaspoonful pepper, 1 egg, 4 tablespoonfuls grated cheese, 1 tablespoonful Worcestershire sauce, 3 tablespoonfuls bread crumbs.

One good sized perfect egg plant. Let stand in cold water one hour. Do not remove skin, but put the egg plant whole in a deep kettle of boiling water, cover, and cook thirty minutes, or until tender. Be careful not to break the skin while cooking. Drain on large platter and cool. Cut in half and turn cut surfaces to platter while removing skin with knife and fork. Egg plant discolors readily, also stains easily; so, keep covered from the air when not preparing it. Use silver knife and fork for chopping; porcelain frying pan for seasoning process and an earthen dish for baking if you desire best results. Chop the plant moderately fine, season with salt and pepper and simmer in two tablespoonfuls of b.u.t.ter over a slow fire for ten minutes, keeping it closely covered. Add one tablespoonful of Worcestershire Sauce after taking from the fire, and divide the mixture into two equal portions. Put the first half into a hot b.u.t.tered baking dish; sprinkle over it one half of the grated cheese and one tablespoonful of bread crumbs. Stir one well beaten egg into the second portion; add to the first, cover with remainder of cheese and finish with two tablespoonfuls of bread crumbs. Bake in moderately hot oven for twenty minutes. Cover the dish for first five minutes, or until the bread crumbs shall have lightly browned. Serve hot as an entree, with or without tomato sauce, according to taste.

ALICE CAREY WATERMAN.

FRIED EGG PLANT.

Select a plant not too large or old. Cut in slices one fourth of an inch thick, and lay in weak salt water over night. In the morning remove the purple rind and wipe dry, dip in beaten egg, then in fine bread crumbs or cracker dust; fry on the griddle or in a spider in hot b.u.t.ter and drippings until a nice brown. It must cook rather slowly until thoroughly soft, otherwise it is unpalatable.

MRS. MALLORY.

They can be more daintily fried if they are steamed first, in which case the slices should be cut one inch thick and should lie in salt and water two hours before frying. Crumbs sifted through a coa.r.s.e sieve are an improvement.

STUFFED EGG PLANT

Choose four rather small egg plants and cut in halves; with a spoon scoop out a part of the flesh from each half, leaving a thin layer adhering to the skin. Salt the sh.e.l.ls and drain; chop the flesh. Mince two or three onions, brown with a little b.u.t.ter, mix with the flesh of the egg plant, and cook away the moisture; add some chopped mushrooms, parsley and lastly an equal quant.i.ty of bread crumbs. Season with salt and pepper, remove from the fire and thicken with yolks of eggs. Now fill the sh.e.l.ls, dust with bread crumbs, put in a baking-pan and sprinkle with olive oil, or bits of b.u.t.ter and bake.

FRENCH RECIPE.

ENDIVE SALAD.

Endive is wholesome and delicate. If the curled endive be prepared, use only the yellow leaves, removing the thick stalks and cutting the small ones into thin pieces; the smooth endive stalk as well must be cut fine.

It may be mixed with oil, vinegar, salt and pepper, and a potato mashed fine, or with sour cream mixed with oil, vinegar and salt. When mixed with the last dressing it is usually served with hot potatoes. Endive may also be used as spinach. (See Spinach Recipes.)