Scientific cooking with scientific methods

It might be said that this is "an age of peppers." They are used in every way possible, as an additional flavor as well as for garnishing. They appear on all dishes that are planked, in the salads, potatoes, tomatoes and omelets. Of course, only the sweet ones are used. To prepare them, you cut a slice from the stem •end of each pepper, and remove all the seeds. Wash in cold water, drain, and they are ready for you to use in any way you may wish. Stuffed Peppers — No. 1. 6 green peppers. i{. cup tomatoes (strained). 1 small onion, finely 1 cup boiled rice, chopped. 2 tablespoons minced ham. 2 tablespoons butter. 3 tablespoons buttered crumbs. 1 cup chicken (minced). Salt and pepper to taste. Cook onion in butter a few moments, add ham and minced chicken, and the rice and tomato. Thoroughly mix all the ingredients, and season to taste. Cool and fill the peppers that have been parboiled from eight to ten minutes. Cover the tops with buttered crumbs, and place in a casserole or baking-dish. Add three-fourths cup of stock or water, place in oven, cook for twenty minutes, and serve from dish in which they were cooked. Stuffed Peppers— No. 2. You can prepare same as above, and use three-fourths cup sauce, either brown or white, and one-half cup bread crumbs instead of the rice, and cold lamb or veal can be used instead of the chicken. Mushrooms are an addition to either of these recipes. Spinach. Spinach is one of the most wholesome of the greens, and some great writer (Curwen, I think) has said, "They are to the stomach what a new broom is to a dirty room." It is obtainable in our market the year round, but we find the best in the spring or early summer, grown outside. The flavor is finer and the color much prettier. It is principally potash, salts and water. Boiled Spinach. 'Remove roots and wilted leaves. Wash thoroughly in cold water, using two pans, lifting from one pan to the other, so as to free it from sand. You will find you will not get rid of the sand unless you lift each time to the second pan. Wash as long as you find sand in the pan. For young, tender spinach place in stewpan with one-half cup w^ater and boil for twenty minutes, or until tender. The old spinach requires one quart water, and longer cooking, with salt in the water. As soon as tender, drain thoroughly, chop fine, and season with butter, salt and pepper. Place on serving-dish, and garnish with hard-boiled egg cut into slices or quartered. Spinach cooked in plenty of water is greener than that cooked in its own juices, but is not so highly flavored. Spinach Puree. Pick over and wash one-half peck spinach. Cook in plenty of boiling salted water until tender. One and one-half teaspoons soda added to the water while cooking improves the color (and have the vessel uncovered always in cooking spinach). Drain, chop fine, and rub through puree sieve. Reheat, and season with three tablespoons of butter, one tablespoon flour, one teaspoon sugar, one-half cup thick cream. Garnish with hard-boiled egg and croutons of fried bread. Spinach a la Bechamel. Prepare one-half peck spinach, boiled, and chopped very fine. Put two tablespoons butter into hot omeletpan, with two tablespoons of flour. Turn in the spinach, and season wdth salt and pepper, and stir thor-