The household cook book

water, washing it thoroughly clean, and drain. Then put the rice into plenty of well salted boiling water, and make it boil actively so that the water will bubble and toss the rice around; cook it till tender, hut no longer, for if the grains burst they will surely stick together; test it often by squeezing a grain between the fingers; if it flattens easily it is ready to drain; it should cook in 15 to 20 minutes, according to the age of the rice. When soft, drain oif the water, remove the rice, and set it at the back of the stove to dry about ^ hour. If you stir it while cooking, use a fork instead of a spoon, as that separates the grains. Cooked thus each grain will be distinct, and separate. Unless the water is used for soup, boiling rice is less desirable than steaming it, because so much of its nutrients are dissolved out and thrown away in the water. BAKED. — Take some cold boiled rice, add 1 or 2 wellbeaten eggs, some grated cheese, some finely chopped boiled ham, and a little melted butter; put it in a baking dish, sprinkle grated cheese on top, and bake in a good oven until a broom straw, when thrust into the middle, will come out clean, STEAMED — Pick over the rice and wash it thoroughly in cold water; put it in a farina boiler, with | teaspoon of salt and 1 pint of boiling water to each cup of rice; cover, and cook till soft (about ^ hour); then remove the cover and let it dry off, stirring it with a fork to facilitate the escape of the steam and keejp the grains separate. If you have no double boiler it can be put in a tin coil and steamed in the steamer. Stock or milk can be used instead of water, if desired, but use a little more. RICE WITH CHEESE — Steam some rice in either water or milk; then mix in some grated cheese, pepper and salt; put the mixture in a pie-dish or tin, shake some grated cheese on top, and bake until nicely browned. The mixture must be fairly moist befere it is baked, or it will get dry. Rice appears to be a native of the East Indies, and it has formed the principal food of the Indian and Chinese people from remote antiquity. It is now cultivated in every country where the climate is suitable. It contains about 75^ of starch, and because rice. it has little fat or albumen, it is not fit for a sole article of diet. In nourishing properties it is greatly inferior to wheat, but it is a light and whole., some food, and is well adapted for invalids. As it has little of the heat producing elements, it is suitable for the inhabitants of hot climates. It goes well with meat and other articles rich in albumenoids. SALSIFY OR VEGETABLE OYSTER. Scrape the roots clean, and keep them covered with cold water containing a little vinegar, until time to cook, as exposure to the air will blacken them. Then boil till tender, in salted water — about 1 hour. After boiling thus, it can be mashed, the fibres picked out, salted to taste, butter worked in, and served in a warm vegetable dish. Or, after boiling, they can be drained, sliced, dipped in fritter batter, and fried in smoking hot fat; or egg and bread- crumbed, and then fried. Or the slices can be saut6d in a frying-pan, with butter or salt pork fat.