Every-day dishes and every-day work

Stewed Peas. — If from the garden, pick and shell the peas with clean hands; if from the market, wash the pods before shelling, so that the peas will not require washing, as they are much better without. When shelled, put into a colander and sift out the fine particles and undeveloped blossoms. If not of equal growth, sort the peas and put the older ones to cook ten minutes before the others. Use a porcelain or granite-ware kettle, with one-half pint of boiling water for each quart of peas, if young and tender; older ones, which require longer stewing, need more. Cover closely, and simmer gently till tender. The time required for young peas is from twenty-five to thirty minutes; older ones require from forty to fifty minutes. Serve without draining, season with salt and enough sweet cream to make them as juicy as desired. If preferred, the peas may be stewed in a larger quantity of water, and served in their own juices thickened with a little flour and seasoned with salt. BEANS. Lima Beans. — Lima beans are not good until they are full grown and have turned white. Shell, wash, cover with boiling water, and cook about one hour, or until tender. Let the water nearly evaporate, and add milk or cream thickened with a little flour. Season with salt to taste, boil up once, and serve. The thickening may be omitted, if preferred. Dry Lima beans are also excellent soaked overnight, then cooked slowly for several hours, and served with only a seasoning of salt. The prolonged, slow cooking adds much to their palatability. Shelled Beans* — Shell, wash, drop into boiling water sufficient to cover, and cook until tender. Let the water boil nearly away, and serve without draining. Season with thin cream, and salt if desired. String Beans. — Wash well in cold water. Remove the strong fibers, or strings, as they are called, by paring both edges with a sharp knife ; few cooks do this thoroughly. Break oflf stems and points, carefully rejecting any imperfect or diseased pods. Lay a handful evenly on a board and cut them all at once into inch lengths. A better way, perhaps, is to break each separately with the fingers. Only tender beans can be thus broken, and any portions of the string remaining will be discovered in the breaking. Put in a porcelain or granite- ware kettle, cover with boiling water, and coolc from one to three hours, according to age and variety, testing frequently, as they should be removed from the kettle just as soon as done. When very young and tender, only water sufficient to keep them from burning will be needed. When done, add half a cup of thin cream for a quart of beans, and salt to taste. If the quantity of juice is considerable, thicken with a little flour. GRAVIES AND SAUCES FOR VEGETABLES. Brown Sauce. — Heat a pint of thin cream, and when boiling, add half a teaspoonful of salt and two tablespoonfuls of flour browned in the oven, and rubbed to a smooth paste with a little cold milk. Allow it to boil rapidly, stirring constantly until thickened ; then cook more slowly, in a double boiler, for five or ten minutes. If desired, the milk may be flavored with onion before adding the flour. This makes a good dressing for potatoes.