Every-day dishes and every-day work

Boiled Turnips. — Turnips, like other vegetables, should be boiled in as small an amount of water as possible. Great care must be taken, however, that the kettle does not become dry, as scorched turnip is spoiled. An excellent precaution, in order to keep them from scorching in case the water becomes low, is to place an inverted saucer in the bottom of the kettle before putting in the turnips. Put into boiling water, cook rapidly until sufficiently tender to be pierced easily with a fork ; too much cooking discolors and renders them strong in flavor. Boiled turnips should be drained very thoroughly, and all water pressed out before preparing for the table. The age, size, and variety of the turnip will greatly vary the time necessary for its cooking. The safest rule is to allow plenty of time, and test with a fork. Young turnips will cook in about forty-five minutes ; old turnips, sliced, require from one and a quarter to two hours. If whole or cut in halves, they require a proportionate length of time. White turnips require much less cooking than yellow ones. Chopped Turnips.— Chop well-boiled white turnips very fine, add salt to taste, and sufficient lemon juice to moisten. Turn into a saucepan and heat till hot, gently lifting and stirring constantly. Cold boiled turnip may be advantageously used in this way. Mashed Turnips.— Wash the turnips, pare, and drop into boiling water. Cook until perfectly tender ; turn into a colander and press out the water with a plate or large spoon ; mash until free from lumps, season with a little sweet cream, and salt if desired. If the turnips are especially watery, one or two hot, mealy potatoes mashed with them will be an improvement. SScalloped Turnips.— Prepare and boil whole white turnips until nearly tender; cut into thin slices, lay in an earthen pudding-dish, pour over them a white sauce sufficient to cover, made by cooking a tablespoonful of flour in a pint of milk (part cream if preferred) until thickened. Season with salt, sprinkle the top lightly with grated bread crumbs, and bake in a quick oven until a rich brown. Place the baking-dish on a clean plate and serve. Rich milk or cream may be used instead of white sauce, if preferred. PARSNIPS. Baked Parsnips.— Wash thoroughly, but do not scrape the roots; bake the same as potatoes. When tender, remove the skins, slice, and serve with cream or an egg sauce prepared as directed for parsnips with egg sauce. They are also very nice mashed and seasoned with cream. Baked and steamed parsnips are far sweeter than boiled ones. Boiled Parsnips.— Clean, scrape, drop into a small quantity of boiling water, and cook until they can be easily pierced with a fork. Drain thoroughly, cut the parsnips in slices, and mash or serve with a white sauce, to which a little lemon juice may be added if desired. Mashed Parsnips. — Wash and scrape, dropping at once into cold water to prevent discoloration. Slice thinly, and steam, or bake whole until perfectly tender. When done, mash until free from lumps, removing all hard or stringy portions ; add salt to taste and a few spoonfuls of thick sweet cream, and serve. Parsnips witii Cream Sance. — Bake as previously directed. When tender, slice, cut into cubes, and pour over them a cream sauce prepared as for turnips with cream sauce. Boil up together once, and serve.