Healthful cookery

Vegetables admit of much variety in preparation for the table. They may be wholesomely cooked by baking, roasting, steaming, boiling, and stewing. Frying is not a method to be recommended. A morsel of food encrusted with fat is not easily digested. Fat is not acted upon by the digestive fluids in the stomach, and its combination with other food materials hinders their digestion also. The action of the heat during the process of frying decomposes the fat ; in consequence, various poisonous substances are formed which are highly detrimental to digestion. For the seasoning of vegetables, nut creams and butters are, from the point of wholesomeness, to be preferred to dairy products. Nut Butter as Seasoning. — For all green vegetables, Nut Butter makes an agreeable seasoning. It is excellent eaten with green corn, being a most palatable substitute for dairy butter. Made Vegetables into a cream, it may be used with nearly all vegetables where dairy cream is used. Winter squash is one of the exceptions. Leave as much water as desired for liquid, and add a very little Nut Cream. Too much will spoil them. POTATOES Baked Potatoes. — Choose large, smooth potatoes as nearly the same size as possible; wash and scrub with a brush until perfectly clean ; dry with a cloth, and bake in a moderately hot oven (the heat of which should at no time be so great that the hand can not be held therein while moderately counting twenty-five) until a fork will easily pierce them, or until they yield to pressure between the fingers. They should be turned about occasionally. In a slow oven the skins become hardened and thickened, and much of the most nutritious portion is wasted. When done, take up in a clean cloth, press each one till it bursts slightly, as that will allow the steam to escape, and prevent the potatoes from becoming soggy. They should be served at once, in a folded napkin placed in a hot dish. Cold baked potatoes may be warmed over by rebaking, if of good quality, and not overdone the first time. 128 Healthful Cookery Old potatoes with shriveled skins are better pared before baking. Boiled Potatoes (without Skins). — Pare very thin, and wash clean. If not of an equal size, cut the larger potatoes in two. Cook in only sufficient water to prevent burning, until a fork will easily pierce their center; drain thoroughly, place the kettle back on the range, allow most of the steam to escape before covering them, leave a small aperture for the escaping steam, and let them dry four or five minutes. Shake the kettle several times while they are drying, to make them floury. Steamed Potatoes. — • Potatoes may be steamed either with or without the skin. Only mature potatoes should be steamed. Prepare as for boiling; place in a steamer over boiling water, and steam until tender. If water is needed to replenish, let it be boiling hot, and do not allow the potatoes to stop steaming, or they will be watery. When done, uncover, remove the potatoes to the oven, and let them dry a few minutes. If peeled before steaming, shake the steamer occasionally, to make them floury. Potatoes Stewed with Celery. — i quart sliced potato, 3 tablespoonfuls minced celery, milk to cover. Vegetables