A text-book of cooking

Turn the tomatoes into a saucepan, cover them ; cook at simmering temperature for \ hour. Press through a strainer and add the baking soda. Make a White Sauce of the remaining ingredients ; remove from the fire. Add the hot tomatoes slowly to the White Sauce, stirring constantly. Do not heat the mixture after combining the tomatoes and White Sauce. Serve at once. Why cannot ash give heat to the body ? Why should tomatoes be covered when cooked for soup ? Why should they be cooked at simmering rather than boiling temperature ? From the results of your experiments (see Experiments 60 and 61) explain why soda is added to the tomatoes in Cream of Tomato Soup. What is the purpose of adding the strained tomatoes slowly to the White Sauce ? Why should the soup be served at once after combining the tomato and milk mixture ? If enough Cream of Tomato Soup were prepared for two meals, how and when should the tomatoes and white sauce be mixed ? What is the price per can of tomatoes ? How many cupfuls in one can of tomatoes ? LESSON LIV Green Vegetables of Delicate Flavob Saving the Nutriment and Flavor. — Just as salt dissolves most readily in water, so many of the mineral materials found in green vegetables dissolve in the water in which they are cooked. As has been said, ash (mineral matter) is one of the most valuable parts of green vegetables. It is also one of the substances which give flavor to the vegetables. If so much water is used in cooking these vegetables that it is necessary to drain off most of it after cooking, the loss of nutriment and flavor is evident. All " greens " should be steamed or cooked in such a way that the water will not have to be drained from them after cooking. Many of them contain so much water that no more should be added in cooking. The juices drawn out in cooking should be served as a sauce with the vegetables. SPINACH ½ peck spinach ½ teaspoonful pepper 1 tablespoonful salt 3 tablespoonfuls batter If the spinach is at all wilted, place it in cold water until it becomes fresh and crisp. Cut off the roots, break the leaves apart and drop them in a pan of water. Wash well, and then lift them into a second pan of water ; wash again, and continue until no sand appears in the bottom of the pan. Lift from the water, drain and place in a granite utensil, and add the seasoning. Steam until tender (usually about 30 minutes). Add the butter, cut the leaves with a knife and fork. Turn into a hot dish and serve at once. Spinach is most pleasing if served with a few drops of vinegar or a combination of oil and vinegar. If desired, the pepper may be omitted and 1 tablespoonful of sugar added. Spinach may also be garnished with slices of hard-cooked eggs, using 2 eggs to ½ peck of spinach. Spinach may be cooked directly over the flame, as follows : wash the spinach as directed above. Then drain, and place in a saucepan or casserole. Do not add water unless the spinach is old. Add the seasoning, cover and cook for 10 minutes, pressing down and turning over the spinach several times during the cooking. Cut with a knife and fork in the saucepan or casserole or turn into a chopping bowl and cut. Return to the saucepan or casserole, add the butter, and simmer for 5 minutes. Serve at once. ASPARAGUS Wash the asparagus and break it into pieces, separating the tough and the tender. Scrape the tough pieces and cook GREEN VEGETABLES OF DELICATE FLAVOR 167 them in a small quantity of boiling salted water for 30 or 40 minutes. Fifteen minutes before removing these from the fire, add the tender pieces. Make a sauce, using the asparagus stock together with milk for the liquid. Serve with or without toast.