The housekeeper's guide to preserved meats, fruits, vegetables, &c

When the beans are thoroughly tender they should be taken out and mashed, and after they are mashed a little piece of butter should be added to them, and just a suspicion of the flavour of nutmeg, as well as a little chopped parsley. They can be now pressed into a mouid and served with the pickled pork or bacon, somewhat similar to peas-pudding. When the beans are served with white sauce, or in oil, or on occasions when they have to be eaten by themselves and not with some kind of meat, the dish should always be ornamented with a few fried croutons of bread. Cooks do not sufficiently value this very cheap form of garnishing. They have simply to get a little fat, which must of course be deep enough to entirely cover the bread. Very often stale pieces of bread are wasted in households, though sometimes where economy is considered they are reserved for making bread-pudding. But one very useful form indeed in which they can be turned to account is that of making fried croutons, to be ; served with other dishes, such as hashed meats. The cook should exercise her ingenuity in cutting the stale bread into some fanciful shapes, such as hearts, stars, etc. The odd pieces of bread can be cut up and used for making breadcrumbs, or can be put by for breadpuddings. Take a small deep stewpan — the smaller the better — and fill it to within an inch of the top with lard or dripping, and see that this is really smoking hot. Then throw in the pieces of bread, which in a minute or even less will turn a beautiful bright goldenbrown colour. These are far superior to that miserable garnish known to English cooks by the name of “ toasted sippets.” The same fat can be used for the purpose over and over again. It only requires to be occasionally clarified, which is done by mixing it with some boiling water, when all the impurities will sink to the bottom of the pan, and when the fat is cold it can be taken off, and the bottom scraped. The fat is now as good as ever, and will keep good for months. fried croutons of bread should always be placed round any kind of vegetable when it is served by itself. HARICOT VERT. — French beans are an exceedingly popular vegetable, but when fresh they are apt to be very expensive. Indeed in many of the London restaurants a shilling is charged for a portion of French beans, as many know to their cost who are fond of haunch of venison, and are too good judges of good living to have venison without that necessary accompaniment, French beans. French beans are now preserved in tins. The beans can be warmed in the tins by simply immersing the tin in boiling water for about twenty minutes. Then open the tin and turn out the contents, serving at once, or the tin can be opened as it is and the contents turned into a saucepan and wanned up. The nicest way, however, of serving French beans undoubtedly is to serve them as a course