Part 70 (1/2)

Boil quickly--with the lid off the saucepan--for half an hour, or more, until tender.

Drain well in a colander before serving.

Broad Beans.

Put them, when sh.e.l.led, into boiling water, to which salt should be added in the proportion of a tablespoonful to every two quarts of water.

Boil gently, from fifteen minutes to half an hour, according to their size and age.

When tender, pour the water away, and shake them in the saucepan over the fire, with a little b.u.t.ter or dripping, pepper, and salt.

Tomatoes.

These are better baked than boiled: boiling destroys their flavour.

Put them on a baking-tin, greased with b.u.t.ter or dripping.

Sprinkle over them a little pepper and salt, and cover them with a greased paper.

Put them in a moderate oven, for about ten minutes or a quarter of an hour.

Seakale.

Tie it in bundles, and put into boiling water, with a little b.u.t.ter, and also some salt, in the proportion of a tablespoonful to every two quarts of water.

Boil, with the lid off the saucepan, until the seakale is tender.

Drain, and serve on toast. French or white sauce may be poured over it.

Seakale is sometimes boiled in milk, which should afterwards be used to make the sauce.

Mushrooms.

Peel the mushrooms; rinse them to remove any grit, and cut off the ends of the stalks.

Put them on a greased baking-tin, with the stalks upwards, and put some little bits of b.u.t.ter on each mushroom, with a little pepper and salt.

Cover them with b.u.t.tered paper, and bake them in a moderate oven from ten to twenty minutes, until tender.

Serve on a hot dish, with the gravy poured over them.

Stewed Mushrooms.

Peel and rinse the mushrooms, and cut off the ends of the stalks.

Stew them gently in water, stock, or milk, until quite tender, adding pepper and salt to taste.

Then thicken the gravy with a little flour, and let it cook well, stirring carefully.

Before serving, stir in a little cream or b.u.t.ter.