Home cookery

Wash, scrape, tie in bundles, and cut of equal length, put into boiling- salted water, and boil (uncovered) till tender, fifteen or twenty minutes. Be careful not to overcook asparagus. Serve on toast, previously dipped in the water in which the asparagus has boiled. Melt about two ounces of butter, and serve separately in a sauce-tureen. Globe Artichokes. Trim off the stalks, thoroughly wash them ; put them into boiling water with salt in it, and cook from one to two hours according to size. Keep the lid of the saucepan off. When done the leaves will come out easily. Serve with oiled butter. French Beans. String the beans and shred finely, or, if very young, cook whole. Put into boiling salted water, and cook (uncovered) fifteen or twenty minutes according to age. Drain well. In France cold beans are often served as a salad, and are very good if just dressed with oil, vinegar, pepper and salt. Haricot Beans. Soak the beans in cold water all night. Put them into a saucepan of cold water (without salt), bring to the boil gently, and cook slowly, with the lid on, till tender but not broken, about two or three hours. Strain, add a little chopped parsley, a piece of butter, and pepper and salt. Shake them gently and serve hot, with a squeeze of lemon juice, if liked. Beetroot. Wash carefully, and do not break the skin, or the beetroot will ''bleed." Put into boiling water with salt, and boil from two to three hours, according to size ; or bake. When cold, skin and slice, sprinkle with pepper, add oil and vinegar, and serve with cold meat, or they may be sliced and served hot with melted butter sauce. Brussels Sprouts. Trim carefully, wash well, and let them lie for a short time in salt and water. Put into boiling- salted water, and boil (uncovered) till tender, ten to fifteen minutes. Be careful not to overboil. Drain well, but do not press them. Serve in a dish with a strainer. In France, Brussels sprouts are often cooked in the following manner : — When partly boiled, drain, then saute them in a little butter, and serve with the butter poured over. Cabbage and Greens. Take off the outside leaves, wash well, cut across stalk, and let it lie for a short time in salt and water to draw out any slugs. Put into fast-boiling salted water, and boil (uncovered) till tender, about fifteen or twenty minutes according to age. Drain well. Dish on a drainer, and cut across in two or three places. If the greens are not freshly gathered, a little soda should be put into the water. Carrots. Wash, scrape, put into boiling water with salt and a teaspoonful of sugar. Boil till tender ; old carrots one hour or more, young ones not so long. Keep the lid on the saucepan. Young carrots should have about an inch of the green top left on, and after they are boiled and drained they should be sauted in a little butter, and sprinkled with chopped parsley. Cauliflowers. Soak in salt and water to kill the insects. Take off the outside leaves, and cut the thick part of the stalk crosswise. Put head-downwards into boiling salted water, and cook (uncovered) till tender, fifteen or twenty minutes. Drain. Serve with melted butter sauce, made with water or milk. Onions.