How to cook vegetables

Cut 6 ripe tomatoes into thick slices, put these in a single layer in a buttered saute-pan or baking-tin, season with pepper and salt and a little lemon juice ; sprinkle with white breadcrumbs, put a small piece of butter on each of the slices, and bake in a hot oven for 15 minutes. Prepare some neatly shaped pieces of buttered toast, dress the baked tomatoes upon these, dish up, and sauce over with the gravy left in the pan. Tomato Salad. 6 firm, even-sized tomatoes, 1 tablespoonful vinegar, 2 tablespoonsful salad oil, 1 teaspoonful mixed mustard, 1 teaspoonful chopped chives or parsley, pepper and salt. Wipe the tomatoes, remove the stems, and scald them in boiling water for one minute, drain on a cloth, carefully remove the skin, and let cool. Then cut them into thin slices, and place in a salad bowl. Prepare the dressing as follows : Put 2 saltspoonsful of salt in a basin, together with 1 saltspoonful of pepper, the mixed mustard, pour in the vinegar and oil, and mix thoroughly with a wooden salad spoon. Just before serving the salad add the chopped chives or parsley to the dressing, and pour it over the tomatoes. Stuffed Tomatoes a la Tartare. Select 8 to 10 medium-sized firm tomatoes (scald and peel them if so preferred), scoop out carefully the centre (pulp) part. Shred very finely the white portion of half a stick of celery, half a small cooked beetroot, the white of a hard-boiled egg, and rub the yolk through a coarse sieve. Fill the tomatoes with layers of the above ingredients, and curl the fillet of an anchovy on top of each filled tomato. Place them on ice for about 2 hours. When required for table put a dessertspoonful of tartare sauce in the centre of each. Dish up on crisp lettuce leaves, garnish tastefully, and serve. Tomato Souffles. 1 gill of tomato puree or pulp, a saltspoonful powdered thyme, 1 oz. butter, 1 tablespoonful cream, 1 oz. flour, £ oz. cheese (grated), 2 eggs, salt and pepper. Put the tomato puree in a small stew-pan, add the thyme and butter, and let it come to the boil. Mix the flour with the cream and stir into the tomato puree ; stir with a wooden spoon over the fire for 5 minutes, then add the cheese and let cool a little. Season with pepper and salt, and work in one by one the yolks of 2 eggs. Whisk the whites of eggs to a stiff froth ; mingle carefully with the mixture. Three-parts fill 8 or 9 small paper cases, bake them in a hot oven for about 10 minutes. Dish up tastefully and send to table quickly. Tomatoes au Gratin. Scald some tomatoes, peel them, and cut them in halves. Rub a gratin dish with a piece of garlic, butter it well, lay the tomatoes in the dish, sauce over with white or brown sauce, and season with salt and pepper. Strew over them some fresh breadcrumbs, chopped parsley, and chopped mushrooms. Put a small piece of butter here and there, and bake in a brisk oven for about 15 minutes. Tomato Fritters. Cut some peeled tomatoes into slices, season with pepper and salt, spread some potted meat, or forcemeat of tongue, ham, beef, or game, on one slice, cover with another. Dip the slices in a light batter, place them gently in a frying basket, and fry in hot fat. Drain, and dish up neatly. Garnish with fried parsley, and serve, Stuffed Tomatoes.