Blue Ribbon cook book

Baked Fish Without an Oven—Dig a hole in the ground about 18 inches deep, and of sufficient size to contain the cleaned fish; build a fire in it and let it burn to coals. Remove the coals, leaving the hot ashes at the bottom, upon which place a thick layer of green grass, place the fish on top and cover with another layer of grass, then rake back the live coals and loose earth, and build a small fire on top. At the end of about three-quarters of an hour the fish will be found cooked, with the juice retained. The skin will peel off and leave the fish clean and free from ashes and dirt. 132 Blue Ribbon Cook Book Pianked Fish—‘‘Flat” fish may be “‘planked.’”’ Cut off the head and tail, split open the back, leaving the fish so that it may be opened wide like a book and tacked on to a plank or pieces of bark. Tack some thin slices of bacon or pork to the end of the fish that will be uppermost when before the fire, and, if you like, a few slices of raw onion sprinkled with pepper and salt. Sharpen one end of the plank and drive it into the ground, before a bed of hot coals; catch the drippings in a tin cup or large spoon, and baste the fish continually until it smells so good you can’t wait another instant to eat it. It is then done. Oak or hickory are the best for fish planks. Lacking these, use any old clean plank you may come across. Pork and Beans—Take 4 cups of navy or lima beans, reject all that are shriveled or discolored, wash well, soak all night in plenty of cold, fresh water, and in the morning you will find them plump and tender. Place them in a pot on the fire with a square piece of salt pork weighing one-half pound, simmer gently till tender and each bean is separate, Strain through a colander, saving a pint of the water in which they were boiled. Pack in the bean pot, bury the chunk of pork in the beans, season the pint of water reserved, as mentioned above, to your liking, pour over the beans in the pot and put in the oven to bake for several hours. The flavoring of beans depends upon the taste of the cook. 1% teaspoon pepper, 1 teaspoon of mustard, 14 cup molasses, and 1 teaspoon of salt are usual. The bean pot buried in the ground with a slow fire on top at night will be in capital condition for breakfast in the morning. OE SGe General Rule for Cooking Vegetables Do not wash fresh vegetables until just before they are to be cooked or eaten. They lose flavor quickly after being washed. This is true even of potatoes. Green vegetables go into boiling, salted water. Salt prevents their absorbing too much water. The water should be boiling fast, and there should be plenty of it. They should be boiled rapidly. This has the same effect as in the case of meats; the surface is sealed and retains the flavor, instead of letting it soak out. In making soup, of course, the rule is reversed. Dried vegetables, as peas and beans, are to be cooked in unsalted water. If salted too soon they become leathery and difficult to cook. Put them in cold, fresh water, gradually heated to the boiling point, and boil slowly. Desiccated vegetables are first soaked in cold water, according to directions on package. Place in boiling water slightly salted, and proceed as with fresh vegetables. To clear cabbage, etc., from insects, immerse for 30 minutes in plenty of cold water salted in the proportion of a tablespoon to 2 quarts, or vinegar may be used instead of salt. Bachelor and Camp Cooking 133 To keep vegetables put them in a cool dry place, where conditions will be similar to those in a good cellar. Be careful to keep the various kinds separate, or they will absorb each other’s flavor. BS SGe Practical Hints THE CARE OF BUTTER