The Pattern cook-book

Wash and soak over night a pint of lentils. In the morning drain, cover them with warm water in which has been placed half a tea-spoonful of soda, and bring them quickly to a boil. Boil gently for an hour, drain, cover them again with fresh boiling soft water, and boil gently until tender, this generally requiring an hour and a-half longer. Test by mashing a lentil now and then , if it crushes quickly, they are done, and should then be drained in a colander. Place two table-spoonfuls of butter in a frying-pan, and when it is melted, add the lentils, with salt and pepper to season ; stir them over the fire for fifteen minutes, and serve. MACARONI AND SPAGHETTI. Macaroni is very valuable as an article of food, for it contains a larger proportion of glutin than bread — in fact, it is the bread of the Italian laborer. In this country it is not much used by the working classes, but for no good reason, since it is not expensive and is most easily prepared. In selecting macaroni that which is of a yellowish tint is to be preferred to the white. BAKED .MACARONI, WITH CHEESE, Do not wash the macaroni. Break it into inch-lengths. and throw it into boiling, salted water. Stir frequently to prevent it settling to the bottom, and boil slowly. Macaroni does not nearly reach its full size when boiled rapidly; hence forty-five minutes is none too long to allow for its cooking. Turn it when done into a colander, and drain well. Arrange a layer of macaroni in the bottom of a pudding-dish, upon it strew some rich cheese (the Parmesan is generally used), and scatter over this some bits of butter. Add a sprinkling of salt and pepper, then another layer of macaroni and cheese ; and fill the dish in this order, having macaroni at the top, buttered well, but without the cheese. Add a few spoonfuls of milk, and bake slowly until of a golden-brown hue, half an hour being usually sufficient. Serve in the dish in which it was baked. STEWED MACARONI. Boil the macaroni until soft, throw it into a colander, and drain well ; then return it to the kettle, nearly cover with milk, and season with butter, salt and pepper to taste. Let all boil together for three minutes, and serve. MACARONI AND TOMATOES. One-quarter pound of spaghetti. One-half pint of stewed tomatoes. One table-spoonful of flour. One table-spoonful of butter. Salt and pepper to taste. Take a handful of the long sticks, put the ends into boiling, salted water, and as they soften, bend and coil them in the water without breaking. Boil rather briskly until done, drain in a colander, and stand the colander in a pan of cold water for fifteen minutes. This blanches the spaghetti. Place the butter in a frying-pan, and when hot, add the flour and mix until smooth. Then pour in the strained tomatoes, and when they boil, add the spaghetti, boil up once, and serve without cutting. MUSHROOMS.