Every-day dishes and every-day work

Tomatoes. — Select perfectly fresh and sound tomatoes, wash thoroughly, slice and cook for two hours in a double boiler. Rub through a colander to remove skins and seeds, reheat to boiling, and can the same as other fruits. Prepared thus, they are very convenient for immediate use for soups and other purposes. THE LEGUMINOUS SEEDS. The legumes are best cooked by stewing or boiling, and when mature, require slow and prolonged cooking to render them tender and digestible. Soft water is best for cooking them. The amount of water required will vary somewhat with the heat employed and the age and condition of the legume, as will also the time required for cooking ; but as a general rule, two quarts of soft water for one pint of seeds will be quite sufficient. Salt should not be added until the seeds are nearly done, as it hinders the cooking process. Stewed Split Peas.— Carefully examine and wash the peas, rejecting any imperfect or worm-eaten ones. Put into warm water and let them come to a boil ; then place the stew-pan back on the range and simmer gently until tender, but not mushy. Season with salt and a little cream if desired. They make an excellent and palatable dish without the addition of the cream. Peas Puree.— Soak a quart of Scotch peas in cold water over night. In the morning, drain and put them to cook in warm water. Cook slowly until perfectly tender, allowing them to simmer very gently toward the last until they become as dry as possible. Put through a colander to render them homogeneous and to remove the skins. Many of the skins will be loosened and rise to the top during the cooking, and it is well to remove these with a spoon so as to make the process of rubbing through the colander less laborious. Season with salt if desired, and a cup of thin cream. Nut butter in the proportion of one tablespoonful to the pint of peas may be used instead of cream, if preferred. Serve hot. [73] Mashed Peas. — Soak and cook a quart of peas as for peas puree. When well done, if the Scotch peas, rub through a colander to remove the skins. If the split peas are used, mash perfectly smooth with a potato masher. Season with a teaspoonful of salt and a half cup of sweet cream, or a tablespoonful of nut meal, if desired. Beat well together, turn Into an earthen or granite-ware pudding-dish, smooth the top, and bake in a moderate oven until dry and mealy throughout, and nicely browned on top. One-third or one-half toasted bread crumbs may be used with the sifted peas when preferred. Serve hot like mashed potato, or with a tomato sauce prepared as follows : Heat a pint of strained, stewed tomato, season slightly with salt, and when boiling, thicken with a tablespoonful of flour rubbed smooth in a little water. Split Pea Succotash. — Stew the split peas as previously directed, and when tender, add an equal quantitj- of freshly stewed or canned corn. Season with salt, and serve with or without the addition of a little thin cream.