Manual for army cooks

Pare and cut the cucumbers lengthwise into slices one-quarter inch thick. Put them in cold or ice water for one hour, then drain them. Put into a pot one or more tablespoonfuls of dripping or butter and enough stock or boiling water to prevent the cucumbers from burning. Season with pepper and salt, mace, or grated nutmeg ; put in the cucumbers, cover, and stew gently for thirty minutes, frequently stirring to prevent burning. When the stew is done, pour over it one-half cupful of milk previously thickened with flour and water and seasoned with pepper, salt, mace, or grated nutmeg. Let it boil up once, constantly stirring ; then add the juice of half a lemon or a teaspoonful of vinegar. FRIED CUCUMBERS. Pare and cut the cucumbers lengthwise into slices not quite one-half inch thick. Put them in cold or ice water for one liour. Wipe eacli slice dry with a soft cloth, sprinkle with pei)per and salt, and dredge them with flour. Put into a frying pan enough butter, beef dripping, or lard so that when melted it will just cover the bottom of the pan. When this becomes hot, put in the cucumbers ajid fry both sides a light brown. BOILED GREEN CORN. Time, thirty to forty minutes. Corn for boiling should be full grown, but young and tender. Sugar corn is the most desirable. When the grains become hard it is too old for boiling. Test by piercing the grain, when the milk should escape in a jet. Clean by stripping off the outer layer of shucks, turn back the inner shucks, Pick off the silk, bring back the inner shucks over the grains, tie the ends. This process preserves the sweetness of the corn. Put the corn into a pot of boiling salt water — enough to cover it. Cover and boil long enough to cook. Any exposure to heat after this is accomplished injures the corn. When cooked, cut off the stalk clcse to the cob and remove the shucks. Cold boiled corn may be cut from the cob and fried, or fried mixed with mashed potato. Green corn may be cooked in the shuck in hot ashes. Time, about one hour. STEWED GREEN CORN. Cut the corn from the cob by passing a sharp knife lengthwise through the center of each row of grains ; then with the back and pointed end of the knife scrape the grains free from the hull. Put it into a pot, barely covering it with cold milk ; season with butter and salt, and, if common field corn, sugar. Cover and stew gently until very tender. Stir frequently to keep it from burning. When cooked season with pepper. Stock or the liquor from boiled fresh beef may be substituted for milk. BOILED BEETS. Time, from one to three hours. Winter beets should be soaked over night in cold water. Wash the beets ; do not scrape or cut them. If a knife enters them before they are boiled they will lose much of their color and quality. Put them into a pot and cover plentifully with boiling water. Cover and boil steadily until tender. When cooked, put them into cold water and rub off the skins. This should be done quickly. If large, slice them; if young, split them lengthwise. Put them into a hot dish and season with pepper, salt, and butter.