Miss Corson's practical American cookery and household management

Celery should be carefully washed in plenty of salted water ; the green leaves and stalks trimmed off, and either used fresh for flavoring sauces, soups, and force-meats, or dried by gentle heat for later use ; the roots should be peeled, dried, and then grated and mixed with salt for table use. The white stalks are best for the table ; after they are washed, they may be kept in a cool, dark place, or in the refrigerator, near the ice. Frozen celery must be laid in plenty of cold water as soon as it is brought into the house, and kept there until all the frost is extracted : thawing it by heat destroys its excellence. Lettuce should be kept on or near the ice after it is washed, or in a cool, dark place, entirely wrapped in a cloth wet in cold water : if it is enclosed in an air-tight box after it is wrapped in the wet cloth, it will keep fresh for some time, care being taken to renew the wet cloth, and trim off all defective leaves. WATERCRESS SALAD. Carefully wash a pint of fresh watercresses, free them from all decayed leaves, break them in lengths of about two inches, and shake them dry in a clean towel ; arrange them neatly on a cold dish, and dress them with three tablespoonfuls of oil, one of vinegar, and a dust of salt and pepper. Dandelion, oyster-plant, chicory, escarole, and nasturtium may be served in the same way. FRENCH SALAD DRESSING. This is the usual dressing for vegetable salads : enough for a medium-sized salad-bowl can be made by mixing to- gether two tablespoonfuls of vinegar, six of oil, a saltspoonful of salt, and quarter of a saltspoonful of pepper. SLICED CUCUMBERS. Peel two or three cucumbers, cut them in thin slices, and let them stand for an hour in very cold salted water ; then drain them, dry them on a towel, and dress them with plenty of oil and vinegar, and a palatable seasoning of salt and cayenne-pepper ; or, with cream salad-dressing. Young onions sliced make a good addition to cucumber salad. CREAM SALAD DRESSING Is made by mixing sour cream with enough vinegar, pepper, and salt to season the salad palatably. PEPPER SALAD. Remove the skin from six green peppers, and chop them fine. Peel one red pepper, and chop it very fine ; peel and chop a Spanish onion, weighing a quarter of a pound ; peel and chop six tomatoes ; mix with these ingredients two teaspoonfuls of salt. Carefully separate the leaves of two heads of lettuce, wash them in plenty of cold water, and dry them by shaking them in a towel. Arrange the lettuce and chopped salad in a salad-bowl in layers, pour over it half a cupful of salad-oil and three tablespoonfuls of vinegar, and serve it. ONION AND TOMATO SALAD. * Choose half a dozen firm, ripe tomatoes of medium size, wipe them with a wet towel, and slice them about a quarter of an inch thick ; peel a medium-size Valencia or Spanish onion, and slice it very thin ; arrange the sliced onion and tomatoes in layers in a salad-bowl, and pour over them a plain salad-dressing, made by mixing together half a cupful of salad-oil, two tablespoonfuls of vinegar, half a level teaspoonful of salt, and half a saltspoonful of pepper; use the salad as soon as it is made. Young green onions may be used in this salad. VEGETABLE SCOOPS.