Vintage Vegetable Recipes

Artichokes

Boil till tender, drain well, season with salt, pepper and melted butter. Some prefer them pickled raw, either whole or sliced.

Jerusalem Artichokes

These may be sliced and boiled like turnips, or cooked in any way in which Irish potatoes are cooked. They require longer boiling than potatoes. Boiled and dressed as a salad, they are considered particularly good.

Asparagus

If brought from market, keep it cool and moist, till wanted. This may be done by putting it in the cellar with the cut ends in a dish of water. Let it lie in cold water a. few minutes before cooking. Cut off all that is tough and tie in small bundles. ave the water boiling hot, and use just enough to cover the asparagus. Boil fifteen or twenty minutes. Have some bread toasted, dip it in the liquor, lay in the dish, butter it, skim out the asparagus and lay on the toast, butter and pepper it, thicken the liquor a little and pour over the whole.

Asparagus (2)

Cook very much as you do green peas. Cat the asparagus into small pieces, and put into boiling water, with a little salt. Boil about three-quarters of an hour, then add butter and pepper and thicken a little with flour stirred in milk.

Beets

Beets must not be cut before boiling, as this causes them to lose their sweetness. Salt the water and, when done, take them out into a pan of cold water, and rub the skins off quickly; slice them, and dress with butter, pepper and salt, or vinegar if desired. Old beets lose their sweetness, and are best, served with hot spiced vinegar, into which has been stirred a little sugar.

Beet Greens

Take young beets, boil tops and bottoms in salt water, drain well in a colander, butter and eat with vinegar; an excellent dish in summer.

String Beans

Break off both ends and "string" carefully, then break into inch pieces. Put them in boiling water enough to cover them, taking care that they do not boil dry; throw in salt enough to season them, and cook from two to three hours. When done, drain nearly all the water off; add milk, butter and pepper. Thicken a little if desired.

String Beans (2)

String and boil whole with a small piece of corned beef or pickled pork, enough to season them. Stew nearly dry and serve hot.

Drying Lima Beans

Gather the beans when in a right state to cook. String the pods with a darning-needle threaded with twine. Hang the strings in a shady, airy place till the pods are thoroughly dried, then shell and hang up the beans in a paper bag till needed for use. They require to be soaked over night, then cooked as when green. They make nice winter succotash with dried sweetcorn.

Lima & Butter Beans

Shell into cold water, and let them lie awhile; boil an hour, with a little salt in the water; drain and butter well, peppering to taste.

Lima & Butter Beans (2)

Prepare and cook as above, and pour a teacup of sweet cream over the beans, and let it boil up; salt and pepper to suit the taste.

Succotash

This is usually made of green corn and Lima beans, though for the latter, string or butter beans may be substituted. Boil the beans nearly an hour; while they are boiling, prepare the corn, thus: clean thoroughly from husk and silk, cut off the corn carefully from the cob and with the back of the knife scrape the cob gently. Add the corn to the beans ten minutes before taking up. While boiling, season to the taste with salt, pepper and butter. Do not have too much water in the beans, and do not let them boil dry. A little cream added, improves it.

Bean Pods for Picking

String and boil till tender, in salt water; drain off the water and pour over them hot spiced vinegar. They are good for use in a day or two, and make a nice relish with meats. Take one quart of dry beans, parboil them till they begin to burst open, then drain them out into a deep dish and put in two tablespoonfuls of molasses. Put a piece of salt pork the size of a coffee-cup into the center of the dish and cover it with the beans; add salt if your pork is fresh; till your dish with the- water from the beans and keep it filled until almost done, then bake until dry. They should bake five or six hours.

Baked Beans Without Pork

One quart of beans soaked over night and parboiled in the morning, changing the water several times. Put into an earthen crock, with salt, a piece of butter the size of an egg, water to cover, and bake all day.

Baked Beans

The "Household" says: "Many people do not understand how to have nice baked beans. Bake the beans all day, and if convenient, let them stay in over night, baking full twenty-four hours, and our word for it, they will come out in the morning with a flavor that will make your mouth water to taste them. We sometimes see persons who only have a moderate liking for baked beans, who invariably bake them three or four hours, and that is why they do not like them any better. A day and a night is none too much time to bake them, having parboiled them only until the skins will crack, when the air comes to them."

Cabbage

In preparing the various dishes from this excellent vegetable, care should be taken in the choice of the heads. For boiling or for hot slaws, loose heads may be used, but for slicing and eating raw with the different kinds of dressing, a white^ firm head should be selected. Many who like cabbage, will not cook it on account of the odor which it exhales. Harper's Bazar says this is easily prevented by putting in the pot with the cabbage, a piece of charcoal tied in a cloth, and simmering instead of boiling.

Boiled Cabbage

After removing all the loose, outside leaves, cut the cabbage in halves, lay in a pan with the cut sides up and cover with salt water. Let it stand a few minutes, and turn out quickly. (This is done to remove any insects that may be hidden in the cabbage.) Put in the kettle with boiling water enough to cover it, adding sufficient salt. When tender, take up in a colander to drain, then put in a hot dish and cover with slices of butter. Some like cabbage boiled in the liquor in which corned beef or ham has been boiled. When coOked in this way the meat is first taken out, as the flavor of the cabbage would injure it. Skim off the grease before putting the cabbage in; boil briskly; when done, it will sink to the bottom; drain well.

Cabbage Cooked in Milk

Chop the cabbage fine, put in a stew-pan and cover with sweet milk; let it cook slowly, as the milk will burn easily, until tender; season with pepper, salt and butter.

Cold Slaw

Slice or chop the cabbage fine. It is better to be sliced. Put it in a vegetable dish in layers, with a little salt and pepper on each layer. Take one cup of thick cream, either sweet or sour, make quite sweet with sugar and stir in briskly half a cup of vinegar. Pour the dressing on just as you sit down to eat.

Cabbage Dressing

To four well-beaten eggs stir in, over a slow fire, one pint of vinegar until quite thick and hot (not boiling), then mix in two teaspoonfuls each of mustard, black pepper and salt, one-half cup of oil or melted butter. Do not turn it over the cabbage, or cauliflower until quite cold. It can be kept in a cool place for a month.

Cabbage Dressing (2)

Yolks of two eggs, two tablespoonfuls of vinegar, a small teaspoonful of mustard, a little salt, a small lump of butter rubbed in flour. Heat, and pour hot over chopped cabbage.

Fried Cabbage

The cabbage should be sliced as for slaw, only much coarser; put it in a skillet with water sufficient to cover. Boil twenty minutes, having it closely covered, then pour off most of the water; add butter, pepper, salt and half a teacup of vinegar, and let it cook about ten minutes longer.

Cauliflower

After taking off the leaves, boil about half an hour in salted water, drain, and just before sending to the table, pour on a little drawn butter made with milk.

Cauliflower (2)

After preparing the cauliflower, put it into equal parts of boiling water and milk, (the latter improves the appearance and taste), a little salt and a piece of fresh butter. Cook it, but not too soft; it should retain its form. Stir the yolks of two or three eggs and a little flour into some cold meat soup, add a little of the water in which the cauliflower has been boiled and, a few drops of lemon juice; set the whole into a pot containing boiling water until it begins to thicken, and pour it over the cauliflower, which has been previously arranged in a dish. If desired, a little grated nutmeg may be added.

Cream Cabbage

Slice cabbage as for cold slaw, and salt it. Pour over while hot the following: one small cup of vinegar, one well-beaten egg, and a small piece of butter. Let the cabbage stand till cold, and pour over it one-half cup of sweet cream.

Hot Slaw

Mince or slice the cabbage, the finer the better. Put a piece of butter the size of half an egg into the spider; when melted, put in the cabbage, and a cup of boiling water, salt and pepper.Cover close, and cook till tender and dry. Have ready an egg well beaten, half a cup of vinegar, a tablespoonful of sugar, (more if you wish,) thoroughly mixed, and pour over the cabbage the last thing before taking up. Stir for a moment and serve hot.

To Cook Cauliflower

Pick off all the green leaves and soak the head in salt water two or three hours, then boil 20 or 30 minutes in milk and water (using half as much milk as water) with a little salt. When taken up put on a little butter and eat with vinegar and pepper. Some prefer drawn butter poured over it before sending to the table.

Stewed Carrots

Half boil the carrots; then scrape them nicely, and cut them into thick slices. Put them into a stew-pan with as much milk as will barely cover them, a very little salt and pepper and a sprig or two of chopped parsley. Simmer them till they are perfectly tender but not broken. When nearly done, add a piece of fresh butter rolled in flour. Send them to the table hot. Carrots require long cooking.

Preserving Corn

Cut the corn from the cob, and put down in an earthen jar, with every sixth measure, salt; measure with a pint cup. When the jar is full, let the first covering be of the inside leaves of the husk put down on the corn. For cooking, have a large kettle full of boiling water; squeeze the brine from the corn, and put it in the boiling water without washing; let it boil until the water is quite salt; have a tea-kettle of boiling water ready to put on the corn as soon as the salt water is poured off; change the water until the corn is sufficiently freshened. Season with butter, cream and a little sugar and pepper.

Corn Fritters

Boil and grate six ears of corn. Add three eggs, beaten, half a cup of milk, one teaspoonful of salt, pepper, butter the size of a hickory-nut, and flour enough to make a batter. Have a little lard or butter hot in a spider, drop in the batter and turn as you do batter cakes. A nice dish for breakfast, made from corn boiled for dinner the day before.

Corn Pudding for Meats

Take six large ears of corn, boil ten minutes, cut the corn fine and mix with two heaping tablespoonfuls of flour, one pint sweet milk, salt, pepper and butter. Bake from half to three-quarters of an hour. Serve hot.

Hulled Corn

Take two quarts of dry, ripe corn; put two and one-half tea-cups of hard wood ashes in a bag and place (with the corn) in warm water in a kettle, with sufficient water to cover the corn; let it come to a boil, and in the morning (the corn is to be fixed at night), if the hulls do not come off, boil again. As soon as they will come off, wash in several waters with the hands, and put into cold or milk warm water, and boil until tender; be sure to have a good deal of water, or the corn will burn.

Green Corn for Winter Use

Parboil it, cut it from the cobs, dry in the sun, put in a bag and hang in a dry place. When wanted for the table, soak several hours, and cook slowly half an hour, without boiling.

Green Corn Cakes

Mix a pint of grated sweet corn with three tablespoonfuls of milk, a teacup of flour, a large spoonful of salt, a little pepper and one egg. Drop this mixture by the large spoonful into a frying-pan, and fry till brown; use butter for frying. These are nice served with meat for dinner.

Boiled Green Corn

Green corn should be boiled only ten minutes, either on the cob or cut off, to suit the taste.

Cucumbers

The chief desideratum in preparing cucumbers for the table, is to make them cool and crisp. Many consider them very unwholesome, but if they are pared and sliced into a dish of cold salt water, an hour before needed, they will certainly be less so. If you have ice, lay a piece in the dish in which they are brought to the table. Eat with salt, pepper and vinegar.

Cucumber Relish

Take the largest cucumbers that are not yellow, slice them a little thicker and salt a little more than for the table. Slice at night, and in the morning squeeze every particle of fluid from them. Put them into a jar, with white mustard seed, a little mace and sliced horse-radish to taste. Cover them with white wine vinegar. They will keep good the year round if prepared in this way.

Egg Plant

Peel the egg plant, cut in rather thin slices, strew salt between them; let them stand ten or fifteen minutes, drain the juice from them, cover with cold water and let them stand a half hour longer; drain them as dry as possible, roll each slice in flour; have ready a hot frying-pan or spider, the bottom covered with butter; lay in the slices, pepper them, and fry a rich brown. The sooner eaten after cooking, the better.

Egg Plant (2)

The purple variety is best. Peel and parboil; mash fine and season with salt, pepper and butter, to taste. Put this mixture in a deep earthen dish, lay over it bread crumbs and bits of butter, and bake a light brown color.

Egg Plant (3)

After peeling the egg plant, parboil it five or six minutes, then cut the slices crosswise, and season with pepper and salt; dip them in beaten egg and then in fine cracker crumbs; fry a light brown in hot lard. Serve with a folded napkin upon the bottom of the dish; send to the table as fast as cooked. They must be thoroughly cooked.

Greens

The leaves of white mustard, spinach, watercress, cowslips, dandelions, and the roots and tops of small beets are good for greens. If not fresh and plump, soak in salt water for half an hour previous to cooking. Boil them with a little salt in the water, until they sink to the bottom of the pot. Drain very dry in a colander; butter and serve.

Onions

The onion is one of the most healthful of all the vegetables, and is especially beneficial to those whose labor taxes the brain or those who are afflicted with nervous diseases; but owing to its unpleasant effects upon the breath many persons eschew it altogether. It is said that chewing and swallowing a few grains of roasted coffee will remove this difficulty, and any utensil in which onions have been cooked may be freed from their odor by turning it bottom upwards, over a hot stove after it has been washed. For seasoning, the red onion will answer, but for boiling, stewing, etc., the white silver-skinned and sweet onion are greatly preferable.

Baked Onions

For baking, large onions only should be used. Wash them and boil an hour with the skins on, in slightly salt water; let the water be boiling when they are put in; change the water once or twice during the hour. Take out the onions, lay them on a cloth that the moisture may pass off; roll each one in a round piece of buttered tissue paper, twisted at the top to keep it close, and bake in a moderate oven nearly an hour. When cooked tender, remove the skin, and brown, basting with butter; season with pepper and salt, and pour over the melted butter.

Boiled Onion

Cut a slice from both ends, and skin them. They are improved by laying them in cold water, after peeling, for a half hour or more. Cover them with boiling water and milk; cook fifteen or twenty minutes. Change the water, have a tea-kettle of boiling water ready, add a little milk, and boil till tender. Drain, and season with rich milk or cream, butter, salt and pepper, and let the whole simmer on the back of the stove before serving. Never cook in an iron pot.

Stewed Young Onions

After skinning, lay them in cold water half an hour or more. Put into a sauce-pan with hot water enough to cover them. When about half cooked, throw off nearly all the water, add some milk, a tablespoonful of butter, with seasoning to taste; stew gently till tender, dish up and serve.

Fried Onions

Prepare as for boiling, slice and put into a stew-pan with a little boiling water; cover closely, and let them steam fifteen or twenty minutes; remove the cover that the water may all evaporate, and, at the same time add a good sized piece of butter, salt and pepper, and let them fry brown, stirring often to prevent their burning. Serve hot.

Parsnips

Scrape the parsnips clean and boil until tender; if not very large an hour will be long enough to cook them; then cut in slices lengthwise, and have ready a hot frying-pan well buttered, and fry a light brown. Spread a little butter on each slice after it is done, if desired.

Parsnips (2)

Prepare as above, mash well, season with a little butter, pepper and salt. Make into balls or cakes, roll in flour and fry as you would slices.

Parsnips Fritters

Boil tender, mash smooth and fine, picking out all the hard parts. For two large parsnips, allow one egg, two-thirds of a cup of rich milk, one tablespoonful of butter, one of salt and three tablespoonfuls of flour. Beat the eggs light, stir in the mashed parsnips, beating hard, then the butter and salt, lastly the milk. Fry as fritters, or as griddle cakes.

Mashed Parsnips

Boil and scrape them, mash smooth, picking out the fibers; mix in three or four spoonfuls of cream, a large spoonful of butter, pepper and salt to taste. Heat to boiling in a sauce-pan and serve, heaping in a mound as you would potatoes cooked in the same way.

Potatoes

This root still bears its original American name, signifying "Earth apple," and is divided into many varieties, the most common of which are Early and Late Rose, White Neshannock, Peach-Blows, Mercer, Peerless, Irish Grays or Jersey Blues, Prince Albert, etc. Next to bread, there is no vegetable article, the preparation of which, as food, "deserves to be more attended to than, the potato." "The great art of cooking potatoes is, to take them up as soon as done. When boiled, baked, fried or steamed, they are rendered watery by continuing to cook after they reach the proper point. For this reason potatoes to bake or boil, should be of nearly the same size."

Saratogas-Fried Potatoes

Wash, pare and slice some raw potatoes; cut each slice an inch and a half long, half an inch wide and a quarter of an inch thick. Let them lie in cold water until the other preparations for breakfast are made. Have ready in a frying-pan some hot lard or nice drippings. Take the potatoes out of the water into a cloth, wipe dry, fry quickly a light brown. Remove from the lard with a perforated skimmer, into a deep dish in which a napkin has been laid. Sprinkle with salt, and eat while hot, if you want them crisp and nice. Some slice them very thin.

Young Potatoes

To cook them when very young, wash them, scrape off the skin, put them in a stew-pan, cover with hot water, boil gently until tender and pour off the water. Add to a quart of potatoes a heaped tablespoonful of butter, with a teaspoonful of flour rubbed into it, pour in a tumbler full of sweet cream or milk, stew, uncovered, five minutes; serve in a hot dish.

Boiled Potatoes

There is a conflict of authorities as to whether cold, or boiling water should be used when putting the potatoes to cook. The result of our experiments stands somewhat thus: Garnet, White Fountain and Early Rose are apt to dissolve in cold water, giving off their starch too readily, perhaps; we boil them in hot water. Peach-Blows, Prince Alberts, and other late varieties, are best put in cold water, always pouring off the water the instant they are done, and letting the potatoes dry a few minutes.

Baked Potatoes

Select medium sized, smooth potatoes; bake in a quick oven from half to three-quarters of an hour, according to size of potato and amount of heat. If eaten as soon as done, they are warranted to be good.

Stewed Potatoes for Breakfast

Pare and slice into cold water enough potatoes for the family meal; stew in enough salted water to cover them; watch and stir them from the bottom occasionally, that they may not burn. When tender, add a cup of milk; let it boil up; put in a lump of butter, salt and pepper enough to season properly. Thicken slightly with flour. Turn into a covered dish.

Potato Cakes

Take enough good sized potatoes for a meal, peel and grate on a coarse grater and stir in from three to five eggs, then add a little flour and season to taste. Beat well and fry in hot lard. One good sized spoonful makes a cake.

Mashed Potatoes

Pare and let them lie in cold water from five to fifty minutes, according to convenience, unless they are old potatoes, when they are improved by being longer in water. "Boil in hot or cold water, according to the toughness of texture. A coarse, waxy potato, is best cooked in cold water." Throw in a little salt; drain thoroughly; when done, put in another pinch of salt, and mash in the pot with a potato beetle till all the lumps disappear. Add a tablespoonful of butter, milk or cream to moisten sufficiently, and beat the whole with a large spoon till it is foamy. Some then form the whole into a mound on a plate, butter the surface and brown slightly in the oven.

Potato Balls a Breakfast Dish

Mashed potatoes left from dinner, make a nice dish for breakfast if prepared thus: put them into a deep dish, pour in a little rich milk or cream; beat the white of an egg and work the whole together until well mixed. Make into balls or cakes three-fourths of an inch thick, and roll in flour. Have ready in a frying-pan a little melted butter, just enough to keep them from adhering. Brown nicely on both sides. Serve in a hot dish.

Sweet Potatoes

The best way to cook sweet potatoes, is to bake them with their skins on. Some boil them till nearly done, then put in the oven and finish. Others boil them till done and serve hot. When boiled, if any are left over, they are excellent sliced and fried for breakfast the next day. Another way is to pare, and place in the dripper in which you are roasting beef, basting occasionally till done. They are delicious cooked in this way, as also are Irish potatoes.

Summer Squash

A few general rules are applicable for the cooking of the different kinds of this vegetable. Unless they are very young and tender, pare them, being careful to cut away all the rind; then quarter and remove the seeds; let the pieces lie in cold water till you are ready to cook them. When boiled, drain well, roast till smooth; season with salt, pepper and butter, and keep hot till served. It improves them to put a little salt in the water in which they are boiled.

Winter Squash

Wash, cut into medium sized pieces, pare and remove seeds. Boil till tender. Drain as dry as possible, and before mashing, let it stand a few minutes on the top of the stove that all the water may evaporate. Season with butter, salt and pepper. It requires more time for cooking than summer squashes.

Baked Winter Squash

Wash but do not pare. Cut into squares, remove seeds and bake the same length of time as potatoes. Some consider squash cooked in this way a good substitute for sweet potatoes.

Raw Tomatoes

When tomatoes are to be. eaten raw, do not scald them—they are better to have the skins removed with a sharp knife. Slice them and lay in a dish; they are very much improved by standing on ice for an hour or two before being eaten. Do not season before placing on the table, as some prefer salt, while others like sugar best.

Stewed Tomatoes

Select ripe tomatoes, pour boiling water over them and let them stand a few moments; then remove to a pan of cold water, and slip off the skins; cut out the core and hard part, slice, and put to cook in a sauce-pan; stir them occasionally; cook half an hour; season with salt, pepper and sugar, if liked, and add a small piece of butter; stir ten minutes longer. If desired, the tomatoes may be thickened before being served, by adding bread crumbs, or, if preferred, toast some pieces of bread and lay in the bottom of the dish in which they are to be served. Some think a small onion, minced, improves the flavor; others add a quarter as much green corn as tomatoes, and stew gently.

Tomato Fritters

Take one quart of stewed tomatoes, stir in one egg, one small teaspoonful of soda, and flour enough to make as stiff as pancakes. Fry by dropping in hot lard.

Stuffed Tomatoes

Choose large and smooth tomatoes, cut out a lid, scoop out the seeds, and cook them with the juice twenty minutes; add an equal quantity of bread crumbs, or partly cooked rice, and one finely chopped onion to a dozen tomatoes; stew ten minutes longer; season with salt, pepper and butter, and a little sugar, if you like. Stuff the tomatoes with this, replace the lid, dust with bread crumbs, season as for inside and bake half an hour.

Scalloped Tomatoes

Pour boiling hot water over the tomatoes and then peel and slice them. Butter a deep dish and put a layer of tomatoes upon the bottom; season with salt and pepper; add a layer of bread crumbs, another of tomatoes, seasoning as before, then another of bread crumbs, and proceed in this way until the dish is full, ending with bread crumbs, over which lay many little bits of butter; bake an hour. Add sugar to pepper and salt, if preferred.

Salsify, or Vegetable Oyster, Stewed

Scrape the roots and drop into cold water as soon as cleaned, as exposure to the air causes them to turn dark. Cut into inch pieces; put into a stew-pan with enough boiling water to cover them and cook until tender. Drain off nearly all the water and add a cup of rich milk or cream. Stew a few minutes, rub a teaspoonful of flour in a lump of butter, stir it in and season with salt and pepper. It will be found to have a good deal of the oyster taste.

Salsify Fried

Scrape the roots and let them lie in cold water a few minutes; boil in salt water till tender; mash thoroughly, picking out all the fibres; season with butter, salt and pepper. Beat an egg and stir in, and if not moist enough to work out into cakes, add a little milk. Make into cakes an inch thick, roll in flour and fry a light brown.

Salsify on Toast

Prepare as for stewing. Boil, and instead of draining off the water, add butter, salt and pepper and a little flour. Toast some slices of bread; lay a slice of toast and pover with salsify, then another slice and more of the salsify until all is used. A covered dish is preferable.

Spinach

Wash well; boil a few minutes in plenty of water; then dip into cold water, press well to free from water and chop fine. Stew it with plenty of butter for fifteen minutes; sprinkle with flour and cook a few minutes more. Then add some strong meat gravy in which may be the gravy of a roast. After this, it must not boil any more, and must be served as soon as possible. The dish may be ornamented with slices of hard boiled eggs.

Young Turnips Boiled Whole

Pare smoothly, and lay in cold water half an hour. Put them in boiling water, with a tablespoonful of butter, and stew until tender; drain dry without breaking, place in a deep dish and cover with butter drawn in milk. Care should be taken to serve hot.

Mashed Turnips

Peel, cut in half inch slices and lay in cold water half an hour; put to cook in boiling water with a little salt—cook till tender; if young, it will require thirty minutes to boil them, and a longer time for older ones. Drain well, let them stand over the fire a few moments for the moisture to escape and then mash; season with salt, pepper, butter and cream.

Mashed Turnips (2)

Pare and quarter the turnips; then dip into a sauce pan, some of the liquor in which you are boiling corned beef or pork; skim off the grease and boil till tender. Serve hot, with the rest of your boiled dinner. They are apt to give the meat an unpleasant flavor if boiled in the same vessel with it.

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