Domestic Cookery, Useful Receipts, and Hints to Young Housekeepers Part 8

Sh.e.l.l them, and wash them in cold water; let them boil about an hour; when done, dip them from the water, and season with salt, pepper, cream or b.u.t.ter; keep them hot till they are sent to table.

Dried Lima beans should be soaked over night, and boiled two hours or longer, if they are not soft.

Peas.

Early peas require about half an hour to boil, and the later kinds rather longer; the water should boil when they are put in; when they are tough and yellow, they may be made tender and green, by putting in a little pearl-ash, or ashes tied up in a rag, just before they are taken up; this will tender all green but do not put too much--when done, dip them out: drain and season them with b.u.t.ter, pepper and salt; put a bunch of parsley in the middle of the dish.

To Keep Green Beans for Winter.

Boil salt and water to make a strong pickle; string the beans, and put them in a tight wooden firkin; sprinkle them with salt as they go in; when the pickle is cold, pour it on, and put on a weight to keep the beans under; they will keep in the cellar till the next spring. They should soak several hours in cold water before they are boiled.

Asparagus.

All persons that have a garden should have an asparagus-bed; it is valuable as being one of the first vegetables in the spring. Put the stalks of the same length, in bunches together, and tie them with strings; boil it three-quarters of an hour in clear water; (if you put salt in, it turns it dark;) have b.u.t.tered toast in the bottom of a deep dish; untie the strings, and put the asparagus in; sprinkle it over with pepper and salt, and put b.u.t.ter on. Asparagus is also agreeable in chicken soup.

Cymlings, or Squashes.

In cultivating this vegetable, the small bunch cymling is the best, as it takes so little room in the garden, and comes soon to maturity; if they are so hard that a pin will not run in easily, they are unfit for use. Boil the cymlings till soft; cut them open, and take out the seeds; put them in a colander, and mash them; when the water is drained off, put them in a small pot, and stew them with cream and b.u.t.ter for ten minutes; just as you dish them, season with pepper and salt. If boiled with salt meat, they require but little seasoning.

Pumpkins.

Young pumpkins resemble cymlings, when cooked in the same way. When they are ripe, they should be pared and cut up, and boiled till soft in a good deal of water; take them up as soon as they are done, or they will soak up the water; mash them and season them with salt, pepper and b.u.t.ter. They are good to eat with roast or boiled beef.

To Bake Pumpkins.

The long striped pumpkin, with a thick long neck, called by some potato pumpkin, is the best for baking; cut it up in slices, leaving on the rind; put it in a dutch-oven or dripping-pan, and let it bake an hour with a quick heat. Where sweet potatoes cannot be had, pumpkins make a very good subst.i.tute. If you put ripe pumpkins that have not been frosted; in a dry place, they will keep to make puddings till spring.

To Dry Pumpkins.

Pare them, and cut them in thin slices; have a strong thread, and string them on it with a needle; hang them out in the sun till dry, taking them in at night; tie them up in a muslin bag, and hang them in a dry place. Soak them before they are stewed, and they are nearly as good for puddings as when in season. Some dry them, as apples, by spreading on boards.

Parsnips.

Sc.r.a.pe and split them, and boil until quite soft, either in salt and water, or with meat; they are very good served up in this way, with plenty of b.u.t.ter. They may, when boiled, either be baked with a few slices of salt meat, and require no seasoning but pepper, or made into small round cakes, seasoned with b.u.t.ter, pepper and salt, and fried.

Carrots. Carrots should be sc.r.a.ped, and boiled till soft, in plenty of water; when they are done, take them up, and slice them thin; season them with salt, pepper and b.u.t.ter. They are suitable to eat with boiled meat or fowls.

Turnips.

Pare and quarter the turnips, and put them in a pot of clear water, or with fresh meat; boil them half an hour; drain, and season them with b.u.t.ter, pepper and salt; mash them.

Onions.

After they are peeled, boil them in milk and water; if small, they will cook in half an hour; when they are done, pour off the water; put in cream, b.u.t.ter and salt, and let them stew a few minutes. Small onions are much better for cooking, as they are not so strong.

Beets.

Wash the beets; cut the tops off, and put them in boiling water; the early turnip beet is best for summer, and will boil in less than an hour; the long winter beet should be boiled two hours,--when they are done, drop them in cold water for a minute; peel and slice them; season with b.u.t.ter, pepper and salt; send them hot to table.

To pickle beets, put them in a jar after they have been boiled; fill it up with weak vinegar; put in salt, cayenne and black pepper.

To Boil Rice.

Pick a pint of rice, wash it clean--put it in three pints of boiling water: it should boil fast, and by the time the water evaporates, the rice will be sufficiently cooked; set it where it will keep hot, until you are ready to dish it.

To Keep Vegetables in Winter.

Beets, parsnips, carrots and salsify should he dug up before the frost is severe; those wanted for use in the winter should be put in barrels, and covered with sand; what you do not want till spring should be buried in the garden, with sods on the top. Celery may be dug in November, and set in a large box covered with sand, in the cellar, with the roots down; it will keep till the frost is out of the ground. Or it may be left in the ground all winter, and dug as you want it for use.

BREAD, &c.

As bread is the most important article of food, great care is necessary in making it, and much judgment, as the weather changes so often.

In warm weather, the rising should be mixed with water nearly cold; if there should be a spell of damp weather in the summer, have it slightly warm and set it to rise on a table in the kitchen.

In winter it should be mixed with warm water, and left on the warm hearth all night. If the yeast is fresh, a small quant.i.ty will do; if several weeks old, it will take more. If you use dry yeast, let it soak fifteen minutes, and put in a tea-spoonful of salaeratus to prevent it from getting sour.

Light Bread, Baking in a Stove, &c.

For two loaves of bread, thicken a quart of water with flour, till it will just pour easily; put in a table-spoonful of salt and half a tea-cup of yeast; this should be done in the evening. If the weather is cold, set it where it will be warm all night; but, if warm, it will rise on a table in the kitchen. (If it should not be light in the morning, and the water settles on the top, stir in a little more yeast, and set it in a pan of hot water for a few minutes;) knead in flour till it is nearly as stiff as pie crust, and let it rise again. Have your baking pans greased, and when it is light, mould out the bread, and put it in them; set it by the fire, covered with a cloth, till it begins to crack on the top--when it is light enough to bake. To bake in a stove requires care to turn it frequently; if it browns too fast at first, leave the door open a little while; a thick loaf will bake in an hour, and a small one in less time. In trying the heat of a stove, drop a few drops of water on the top, if it boils gently it is in good order, and the heat should be kept at this point.

To Bake a Dutch-oven Loaf.

If you wish to make a large loaf, it will take three pints of water, more than half a tea-cup of yeast, and two spoonsful of salt; when the rising is light, knead it up, have the dutch-oven greased; put it in, and set it near the fire, but not so near that it will scald. When it rises so as to crack on the top, set the oven on coals; have the lid hot, cut the loaf slightly across the top, dividing it in four; stick it with a fork and put the lid on, when it is on a few minutes, see that it does not bake too fast, it should have but little heat at the bottom, and the coals on the top should be renewed frequently, turn the oven round occasionally.

If baked slowly, it will take an hour and a half when done, wrap it in a large cloth till it gets cold.