The hearthstone; or, Life at home

Time-Table for Boiling. — The time for boiling green vegetables depends much upon the age and time they have been gathered. The younger and more freshly gathered, the more quickly they are cooked. Below is a very good time-table for amateur cooks. Potatoes boiled, thirty minutes. Potatoes baked, forty-five minutes. Sweet potatoes boiled, fifty minutes. • Sweet potatoes baked, sixty minutes. Squash boiled, twenty-five minutes. Green peas boiled, twenty to forty minutes. Shelled beans boiled, sixty minutes. String-beans boiled, one to two hours. Green corn, thirty to sixty minutes. Asparagus, fifteen to thirty minutes. Spinach, one to two hours. Tomatoes, fresh, one hour. Tomatoes, canned, thirty minutes. Cabbage, forty-five minutes to two hours. Cauliflower, one or two hours. Dandelions, two or three hours. Vegetables judiciously used are healthful. Beans and peas are preferable to potatoes, as they contain four times as much nutritive matter. Potatoes that are pared before they are boiled are nearly all starch, and produce fat. Tomatoes. — The tomato is so valuable a vegetable that it is well worth knowing how to keep them. If they are picked when just ripe and with a portion of the stems retained, and at once covered with a brine composed of 1 teacup of salt dissolved in a gallon of water, they can be kept nearly all the year without noticeable loss of their freshness of taste. Tomatoes, if very ripe, will skin easily; if not, pour scalding water on them and let them remain in it four or five minutes. Peel and put them in a stewpan, with a tablespoonful of water, if not very juicy; if so, no water will be required. Put in a little salt and stew them for half an hour; then turn them into a deep dish with buttered toast. Another way of cooking them, which is considered very nice by epicures, is to put them in a deep dish with fine bread-crumbs, crackers pounded fine, a layer of each alternately ; put small bits of butter, a little salt and pepper on each layer ; some cooks add a little nutmeg and sugar. Have a layer of bread-crumbs on the top. Bake it three-quarters of an hour. To Broil Tomatoes. — Cut off the green part of the stem and place the tomatoes on a gridiron over hot coals, and cover with a pan or lid. They are to be cooked slowly. When done, take up, dress very liberally with butter, salt, and pepper. To Can Tomatoes. — Wash clean, drain dry, or wipe; place them in a colander, pour boiling water over them ; peel, cut off all the green part and stew until they are perfectly heated through. If you use tin cans make thin, long rolls of putty; fill the cans, put on the lids, lay the rolls of putty in the grooves and smooth them with a knife. Canned fruit should always be kept in a cool, dry place — not in a cellar. To Boil Green Corn. — Trim off all the husks, and put the ears into boiling water, with a tablespoonful of salt to a dozen ears. If the fire is brisk, tender corn will be done in fifteen minutes, otherwise in half an hour. Lay a napkin on a large dish, and after draining off the water from the corn, lay it on, turning the corners of the napkin over it to keep it warm.