Miss Parloa's kitchen companion

The okra should be fresh and tender. Wash it, and then cut off the stems. The pods are so sticky that care must be taken to avoid breaking them, else it will be difficult to get them perfectly clean. This is why they should be washed before the stems are removed. Put them into a stew-pan, and cover with a liberal allowance of water. For each quart of okra put in about three ounces of lean salt pork. Boil for an hour, or even longer, unless it be tender by that time. When it is cooked, pour off the water and season with salt. Serve hot. If you object to pork, cook the okra in clear water ; and when it is done, season with salt and butter. * Spinach à la Crème. Pick apart, leaf by leaf, a peck of spinach. Throw away the decayed portions, and put the rest into a large pan of water. When this has been done, take the pan to the sink and wash the spinach free of sand. This is a difficult operation, requiring much care and a great deal of water. Two pans should be used, and only a few pieces of spinach washed at a time. They should then be laid in the second pan, in clean water ; and after the first pan has been very thoroughly rinsed and filled again with fresh water, wash the spinach again, and return it to the first pan. Continue the washing from pan to pan until no trace of sand can be found. No other method will give clean spinach, and unless one be willing to take all the pains described, it would be better to do without the vegetable. Now that the spinach is clean, put it into a large stewpan, with one cupful of water ; and after covering closely, cook for a quarter of an hour. Add a table-spoonful of salt, and cook five minutes longer; then remove from the fire and turn into a colander, and press out as much water as possible. Put into a chopping-tray, and mince very fine. A little before serving-time, put three table-spoonfuls of butter into a frying-pan, and when it has become melted, add two table-spoonfuls of flour. Stir the mixture until it becomes smooth and frothy ; then add the chopped spinach, and cook for five minutes, stirring constantly. Add a cupful of cream, and salt and pepper to suit your taste, and after cooking for three minutes, serve on toast. Stuffed Peppers. A vegetable that is coming into much favor is the green Spanish sweet pepper. It is usually served stuffed, and in a course with meats. For eight good-sized peppers take a pint of fine-chopped cooked meat, half a pint of grated stale bread, half a pint of water or stock, two level teaspoonfuls of salt, one-fifth of a teaspoonful of pepper, half a teaspoonful each of summer savory, thyme, and sage, three table-spoonfuls of dried bread crumbs, and three table-spoonfuls of butter. Cut a thin slice from the stem end of each pepper, and then remove the seeds. When all have been treated in this way, put them in a stew-pan, cover with boiling water, and set where they will simmer for a quarter of an hour. Meanwhile mix all the ingredients except one tablespoonful of the butter and the dried crumbs. When the peppers have been cooked for fifteen minutes, drain them, and fill them with the dressing. Sprinkle the tops with the crumbs, and dot with the remainder of the butter. Place in a pan, and bake in a hot oven for fifteen minutes. Serve very hot.