The book of plain cooking

The celery requires very careful washing, and only the better parts should be reserved for stewing. The outer leaves come in for flavouring soups, etc. Place the celery in a stewpan or saucepan with sufficient milk and water to simmer it. When nearly cooked strain this liquor off, and replace with milk, and let it finish cooking. Have ready a thickening of flour, butter, pepper, and salt, mixed with cold milk. Strain the liquor from the celery into it, boil up, and serve in a hot vegetable dish. Do not thicken until wanted, as the celery loses its colour standing. 267. To Braise Celery After thoroughly cleansing the celery, place the heart or better part of the vegetable in a stewpan or saucepan with a good-sized piece of butter, and let it brown gently. Then cover with stock, and simmer gently until cooked. Unless the celery is frost-bitten it should only require about twenty to thirty minutes to stew. A little onion is always a welcome addition — not enough to taste distinctly. 268. Stewed Mushrooms When you have skinned the mushrooms, wipe them gently with a clean cloth, as they are apt to be gritty, but cannot stand hard usage. Should they be large ones, it is preferable to break them. A large piece of butter should be placed in the saucepan, and gently melted before the mushrooms are put in ; add a sprinkling of pepper and salt. Shake the saucepan until the mushrooms are well warmed through, and then gently add enough water to cover, and let them stew quietly until cooked, which ought not to take more than about twenty minutes. A rich gravy should come from them, and they can be served in a sauce boat as an accompaniment to a great many dishes. But never forget to allow a liberal quantity of butter, as without that the dish is ruined. 269. Braised Onions Onions are almost essential to many dishes. They are most wholesome. Braised, they may be served with almost any dish, more particularly with all joints of mutton. It is far better to brown the onions in an old baking-dish in the oven. They are apt to spoil a saucepan. Put them in quite whole, placing upon each onion a piece of butter or dripping, and let them remain until they are nicely browned. Then place them in a saucepan, covering with just enough stock to keep them simmering, until cooked. You may make a thickening, but the onions should not require it unless too much stock has been added. Should you not have any stock, a little condensed meat answers the same purpose, and also adds to the colouring. 270. Baked Tomatoes There are various modes of cooking tomatoes. A very simple way is just to put them in the oven with a piece of butter on each, and a sprinkling of pepper and salt, and they will quietly cook while you prepare whatever you are serving with them, be it bacon, cutlets, or steak. Serve them round the dish, or served in a tureen, they make a pleasant vegetable. 271. Spanish Onions Boiled Peel the onions, removing the outer skin, as it will be found tough. Put them into a saucepan of boiling water with a little salt, and simmer until quite tender. They will take two to three hours according to their size. When cooked, drain well in the colander, and serve covered with white sauce. PUDDINGS