Vaughan's Vegetable Cook Book Part 15

SORREL SOUP.

Pick off the stems and wash the leaves of a quart of sorrel, boil in salted water, drain and chop fine, mix b.u.t.ter and flour in a saucepan and when the b.u.t.ter is melted turn in the sorrel and let cook for a couple of minutes. Add three pints of beef or veal stock well seasoned and stir until it boils. Just before serving beat up two eggs and turn over them the boiling soup, which will cook them sufficiently. A sliced onion, or a few blades of chives boiled with the sorrel is a welcome flavor occasionally, also the stock may be half meat stock and half cream or milk.

SORREL AND SPINACH SOUP.

To one quart of sorrel add a handful of spinach and a few lettuce leaves. Put them in a frying pan with a large piece of b.u.t.ter and cook until done. Add two quarts of boiling water, season with salt and pepper and just before serving add two eggs well beaten into a gill of cream.

This is an excellent soup for an invalid.

BAKED SPINACH.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

Use one-half peck of spinach. Pick over the leaves carefully, remove all wilted ones and roots, wash thoroughly and put in boiling water to which a pinch of soda has been added to keep the color. When very tender, drain, chop fine, and put into a baking dish. Put into a saucepan with a cup of milk, a tablespoonful of b.u.t.ter, one small teaspoonful of salt, a dash of cayenne pepper and a very little grated nutmeg. Let this come to a boil, stir into the spinach, add two well beaten eggs and bake ten minutes in a hot oven.

BOILED SPINACH, FRENCH.

Prepare as above, after it is thoroughly tender, throw into a colander and drench with cold water. This gives a firmness and delicacy attained in no other way. Shake it free from water, chop fine, put into a saucepan, stir with a tablespoonful of b.u.t.ter, salt and pepper to taste and two tablespoonfuls of cream until hot, when it is ready to be heaped in the dish with poached or boiled eggs or quirled yolks on top. To quirl the yolks run them through the sieve of a patent potato masher.

"VICTORY" SPINACH

Carefully wash the spinach, scald it in boiling salted water, then pour cold water over it, drain and chop fine. Stew an onion in b.u.t.ter until it is soft, add the spinach, sprinkle flour over it and cook for ten minutes stirring constantly, add salt, pepper, a little grated nutmeg, and cover with meat stock or gravy. Boil a few minutes and when done, add a little sour cream.

FRIED SPINACH.

Take cold spinach left from dinner, premising that it was boiled tender in properly salted water, and that there were three or four poached eggs left also. Chop the eggs thoroughly into the spinach and sprinkle with pepper. Put into a frying-pan a large tablespoonful of b.u.t.ter, and when it is sufficiently hot put in the spinach and eggs, and fry nicely.

RAVIOLI OF SPINACH.

Prepare a potato paste as for Potato Turnovers, or a good puff paste, and with a saucer or tin cutter of that size cut out a circle. Place a tablespoonful of spinach prepared French style upon one side, wet the edges, fold over the other side and press it around with the fingers and thumb, brush with egg and bake until a light brown. When served pour around it cream or a cream sauce in which is a hard boiled egg chopped fine, or peas.

SPINACH SALAD.

Take two dozen heads of spinach, season with salt and pepper, put in salad dish and set away on ice. Take the yolks of three hard boiled eggs, mash fine, add mustard, salt, pepper, a tablespoonful of melted b.u.t.ter. Mix thoroughly, add vinegar and pour over the spinach. Garnish with hard boiled eggs sliced.

COOKING SUMMER SQUASH.

Quarter, seed, pare and lay them in cold water. Steam over boiling soft water if possible, or boil in salted water and drain thoroughly, mash them smooth and season with b.u.t.ter, pepper and salt. If the seeds are very young and tender they can be retained.

ESCALLOPED SUMMER SQUASH.

The squash is pared and sliced and laid in a baking dish alternating with cracker crumbs, seasoned with b.u.t.ter, pepper and salt, until the dish is full, the upper layer being cracker crumbs dotted with b.u.t.ter.

Bake three quarters of an hour.

FRIED SUMMER SQUASH.

Cut the squash in thin slices and sprinkle with salt. Let it stand a few minutes, then beat an egg, in which dip the slices. Fry in b.u.t.ter and season with sugar or salt and pepper to taste.

SUMMER SQUASH FRITTERS.

Use three medium sized squashes; pare, cut up and boil tender, drain thoroughly and mash, season with pepper and salt; add one cupful of milk (cream is better), the yolks of two eggs and sufficient sifted flour to make a very stiff batter, or they will be hard to turn; lastly, stir in the beaten whites of the eggs. Fry brown in hot fat.

BAKED WINTER SQUASH.

Cut in small pieces to serve individually, bake with the rind on, scoop out the squash, season it with b.u.t.ter, pepper, salt, a little sugar and cream and replace in sh.e.l.ls; an allowance of two or three extra pieces should be made to give filling enough to heap the sh.e.l.ls, dust a few bread or cracker crumbs over the top, dot with a bit of b.u.t.ter, bake a nice brown and serve.

BOILED WINTER SQUASH.

Peel and cut into pieces a large squash that will, when cooked fill a half gallon. Steam over hot salted water if possible, if not put it on to boil in as little water as possible. Keep it closely covered and stir frequently. When perfectly soft, drain in colander, press out all of the water, rub the squash through a sieve and return it to the saucepan. Add to it a quarter of a pound of nice b.u.t.ter, one gill of sweet cream and salt and pepper to taste. Stew slowly, stirring frequently until it is as dry as possible. In cold weather serve all vegetables on warmed dishes.

SQUASH BISCUIT.

One and one-half cupfuls of sifted squash, half a cupful of sugar, half a cake of compressed yeast, one cupful of milk, half a teaspoonful of salt, four tablespoonfuls of b.u.t.ter, five cupfuls of flour. Dissolve the yeast in a scant half-cupful of cold water, mix it and the milk, b.u.t.ter, salt, sugar and squash together, and stir into the flour. Knead well and let it rise over night. In the morning shape into biscuit. Let them rise one hour and a half and bake one hour.

CHICAGO RECORD.

SQUASH CUSTARD.

Use a cupful of mashed squash, stir into it a pint of hot milk, then add four well beaten eggs, a tablespoonful of b.u.t.ter, and season with salt and pepper. Put into a hot greased baking pan and bake in a quick oven.

SQUASH PIE. (See Pumpkin Pie.)

SQUASH SOUP.

To one quart of thoroughly cooked pumpkin or squash allow two quarts of milk, plenty of b.u.t.ter, pepper and salt. Serve with toasted bread.

Pumpkin and squash soups are French dishes.

SWEET POTATO BISCUIT.

One quart of flour, one quart of sweet potatoes--after they are boiled and grated--one-half cupful of lard, one cup of yeast--mix with either milk or water; let them rise twice. Bake like tea biscuits.