Most for your money cookbook

Beans, Dried. The only thing we know against the common dried navy beans is that sometimes they're adulterated with pebbles, which are hard on the teeth, so a mess of beans should be looked over carefully, and since they come in all colors, try black, red, blue or spotted beans for a change. Some Southern varieties are swell, like whippoorwills or "lady peas," for Southerners can't really tell the difference between peas and beans, and that's all to the good — if you're buying beans. Beans, Lima. The two common kinds are tiny limas, called butter beans, and the big ones known in the trade as the "potato type." Both are excellent when tender, and as they're usually sold shelled it's easy to tell whether or not the skins are fresh by pricking one with the fingernail. If it pops open it's okay, but if your nail only leaves a dent, that means the bean is old, tough and tasteless. Bean Sprouts. Spread navy beans on any absorbent piece of cloth in a big flat pan, keep in a warm spot, covered with water and another cloth until the sprouts shoot up. These make a succulent, crunchy salad, or cook them in the juice from a can of pineapple, to give the real oriental tang to chop suey and many another fine .Chinatown dish. Bean sprouts are cheap as beans, so anybody who likes some- thing snappy, fresh, and full of vitamins can have it on hand all winter long. We've mentioned this in other places, but since nobody reads a cook book clear through, from "cover to cover," it'll bear repeating. Beets. Early beets are sold whole with their top leaves on, and be sure to get them that way, for these beet greens are so much in demand they're sold separately, too, though usually they're the kind the farmer thins from the rows, but sometimes they're cut off bunched new beets by market racketeers. Late summer beets are sold without their tops, which usually are too dry to make a decent mess of greens. And don't wash off the earth that clings to these because the best way to get the full beet flavor is to wrap it whole in paper, earth and all, bake in the oven and when done, remove the earth with the outer skin. And for boiling, beets must never be cut, except for borscht, or the red runs out and the beet gets pallid and unpalatable. In European markets and in some foreign sections here they're called "beet root" and sold already boiled, which saves the cost of the long cooking they require. Broccoli. Freshness and tenderness are the essentials. The flowers may be closed or open but must not be wilted or spotted, because there'll be too much waste. Brussels Sprouts. These miniature cabbage heads should be compact and bright green in color. Cabbage. Heavy, compact heads are best and since there are several varieties, including the red and the light green savoy, as well as the pointed and Danish, it's a good idea to use them all in rotation, to vary the menu. Cabbages are graded by the number of outside leaves showing, the fewer the better. Small new cabbages are best boiled whole for 15-20 minutes, then split and buttered at the table. Don't cook them too long, if you want to enjoy their sprightly flavor. Chinese Cabbage. Long, cylindrical, crisp — fine as lettuce, for salad. Of course you can cook them, but they're lots tastier raw.