Chapter I: Part 1

THE KITCHEN GARDEN AND THE COOK

The Kitchen Garden and the Cook

An Alphabetical Guide to the Cultivation of Vegetables With Recipes for Cooking Them

COLLECTED AND ARRANGED BY

CECILIA MARIA PEARSE AUTHOR OF “THE ROMANCE OF A GREAT SINGER”

LONDON SMITH, ELDER & CO., 15 WATERLOO PLACE 1913

[All rights reserved]

Printed by BALLANTYNE, HANSON & CO. at the Ballantyne Press, Edinburgh

FOREWORD.

My thanks are due to all those who have allowed me to quote from them in compiling this book. For permission to use some of their recipes I am indebted to Mrs. C. W. Earle; George Savage & Sons, The Garden City, Letchworth; Dr. Josiah Oldfield’s _Fruitarian Diet_; Olive Green’s _How to Cook Vegetables_; Mr. C. Herman Senn’s _How to Cook Vegetables_; Mrs. Ross’s _Tuscan Kitchen_; and Mr. Sydney Beard’s _Order of the Golden Age_; while the extracts from the lecture by Mr. W. F. Giles are given by permission of Messrs. Sutton & Sons.

Most of all, however, I owe thanks to Mr. A. C. Curtis, author of _The Small Garden Beautiful_ and _The Small Garden Useful_, for cultural directions and for his great help in general revision of the whole book.

CECILIA MARIA PEARSE.

_November 1913._

CONTENTS.

PAGE
THE KITCHEN GARDEN AND THE COOK--CULTURE AND RECIPES 1

SALAD PLANTS AND SALADS 189

MISCELLANEOUS SAUCES 207

MISCELLANEOUS SOUPS 213

MISCELLANEOUS DISHES 225

CHEESE DISHES 248

CAKES AND PUDDINGS WITHOUT EGGS 249

COOL DRINKS 255

SUCCESSIONAL CROPPING IN SMALL GARDENS 259

LITTLE KNOWN VEGETABLES 274

HINTS ON VEGETABLE COOKING IN BAGS 284

THE KITCHEN GARDEN AND THE COOK.

In preparing vegetables care should be given to cleanse them by washing them in cold salted water, but they should not be made sodden by long immersion. Fresh vegetables should be cooked the day of gathering, and one cannot be too careful about all tinned vegetables, especially tomatoes, mushrooms, and lentils. All green vegetables should be removed from the water as soon as cooked, and well drained. To avoid any offensive smell caused by cabbage or other greens, put a piece of bread or toast with them while cooking; this will absorb the odour. All vegetables should be served very hot.

GLOBE ARTICHOKE (_Cynara Scolymus. Compositæ_).

This is a perennial plant, but is apt to deteriorate under cultivation; therefore, if possible, a third of the plantation should be renewed yearly. It does not always stand our cold and damp winters, though it may be considered hardy in the south of England.

The Globe Artichoke does not always come true to seed, so that it is better to renew or start a plantation by means of rooted suckers, which the plant freely throws off. If seed be selected it should be sown in a mild hotbed in March and planted in its permanent bed in May.

A light, rich loam is preferred, heavy soils holding too much damp for this somewhat delicate plant, which requires perfect drainage yet plenty of water during the growing season. A sunny position should be chosen for the bed, the ground should be trenched and well manured, and the plants be put out in April about three feet apart according to the variety.

Keep the soil stirred with the hoe, and give plenty of water during drought, with occasional doses of weak liquid manure. In giving manure water to this, as to all other subjects, it should be extremely dilute, and should be applied during showery weather, or, if in dry weather, should be preceded and followed by copious watering with plain water.

In the autumn the plants must be trimmed up, and winter protection given in the shape of straw or fern covering.

The crop comes in over a longish period, beginning in late June with the older plants and going on into the Autumn with the plants put out in the spring. The flowering heads should be gathered when they are about three-parts grown, and well before they open.

JERUSALEM ARTICHOKE (_Helianthus tuberosus. Compositæ_).

This perennial sunflower gives, perhaps, the heaviest yield per square yard of any garden crop. It is of the easiest culture, and may be grown in the same plot of ground year after year, an advantage in its case, as once in the ground it is very difficult to get rid of it. The ground should be prepared in late winter by trenching in a moderate quantity of manure. The tubers may be planted any open day in February or March in rows three feet apart, the sets eighteen inches in the rows. The rest of the culture simply consists in hoeing up weeds; the crop may be left in the ground and dug as required from September onwards, but it should be all cleared up before the tubers start to grow in March.

CHINESE ARTICHOKE (_Stachys tuberifera_).

These require exactly similar treatment to Jerusalem Artichokes, except that the plants need be only a foot to fifteen inches apart. They withstand frost well, and may stay in the ground and be dug as wanted.

DISHES.

=Boiled Artichoke (Jerusalem).=--Wash well, as many artichokes as will be required, then put them in plenty of fresh clean water to cover and peel them rapidly, keeping them under water during the process, and then plunging them in a bowl of cold water till all are finished.

This is very important, as artichokes turn black if exposed to the air without their skins, even after they are cooked. Every one knows the disgusting appearance a dish of black artichokes floating in their milk and water presents. This can be avoided by carefully following these directions.

Put them in a saucepan of cold water, sufficient to cover them well, add one tablespoonful of salt, allow twenty minutes to half an hour after they reach boiling point. Drain, and arrange on a drainer in a very hot vegetable dish, pour over a good white sauce (_see_ White Sauce) immediately, being careful to mask each artichoke with the sauce, thus protecting it from the air. If properly cooked the sauce will cling to the vegetable and not drop to the bottom of the dish. If the artichokes have to wait, draw the saucepan to one side and keep them in the water till wanted.

=Purée of Jerusalem Artichokes.=--Melt a heaped tablespoonful of butter, add a sliced onion, one bay leaf, three pounds of Jerusalem artichokes washed, pared, and cut into slices. Cook slowly for ten minutes, add gradually one cupful of milk. When the vegetables are thoroughly cooked, add another cupful of milk, salt and pepper to season. Serve on toast or boil until tender in milk to cover, drain and press through a colander, and reheat, seasoning with salt and pepper.

=Baked Artichokes.=--Peel and trim one dozen artichokes, and season with salt and pepper. Put into a buttered baking dish and bake for half an hour. Baste frequently with butter, and serve in the same dish.

_Another Method._--Wash and pare the artichokes, put into cold water, with one tablespoonful of salt, boil till tender, cut into slices and put into a baking dish. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese. Cover with white or cream sauce, sprinkle with crumbs, dot with butter, and bake until the crumbs are brown.

=Braised Artichokes.=--Peel, wash, and parboil the artichokes. Drain and put into a baking dish with enough water to moisten, add a small bunch of parsley, a few slices of carrot, and a small onion. Cover and bake slowly for an hour, add a little more liquid if required, remove the carrot, onion, and parsley, and serve in a vegetable dish with the strained liquid thickened, seasoned, and poured over.

=Mashed Artichokes.=--Wash and peel fifteen artichokes, cover with cold, salted water, bring to the boil, and cook until tender, drain, rub through a sieve, season with salt and pepper, add a piece of butter, and serve very hot. Brown sauce may be added if liked.

=Brown Sauce.=--Two onions, one tablespoonful of flour, three-quarters of a pint of salted water; seasoning, one ounce of butter or a tablespoonful of oil; chop the onion, fry brown in the butter, add the flour, which must be browned, pour in the water and stir until the mixture thickens, then season it to taste. Any kind of vegetable stock is preferable to water.

_Another Method._--One onion, half a carrot, half a turnip, parsley, herbs, one bay leaf, one ounce of butter, one pint of water, one dessertspoonful of vinegar, one lump of sugar, spice, one tablespoonful of ketchup or other condiment sauce. Fry the chopped vegetables in the butter until they are a good brown, add the flour, stir well, and add the water and stir until the mixture boils, then put in the parsley, herbs, vinegar, sugar, spice, and seasoning to taste, simmer by the side of the fire for about one hour, strain, and add the ketchup.

=Jerusalem Artichokes with Brown Sauce.=--Peel the artichokes, cut into dice, cook them till tender in salted water. Drain and reheat in brown sauce.

=Artichokes à la Crême.=--Prepare according to directions given for above recipe. Sprinkle with crumbs and grated cheese. Dot with butter, and brown in the oven, using the dish in which it is to be served.

=Jerusalem Artichoke Balls.=--Take eight boiled artichokes, rub through a sieve, and put into a saucepan with a little milk, one ounce butter, and one ounce Parmesan cheese. Stir over the fire until smooth, then add pepper and salt to taste, and the yolks of two eggs. Mix well and let it cool. Make balls of equal size, brush over with the white of egg, dip in bread-crumbs, and fry in hot nuttage or butter. Serve in pyramids with fried parsley scattered over.

=Jerusalem Artichokes with Hollandaise Sauce.=--Take twelve artichokes, trim them to the shape of pears, boil in water till tender, then drain well, and arrange them in the shape of a pyramid, pour over them some sauce Hollandaise, and serve.

=Jerusalem Artichokes with White Sauce and Parmesan Cheese.=--They must have been previously cooked and cut up in small pieces.

=Fried Chinese Artichokes.=--Boil the artichokes until tender, drain them, egg and bread-crumb them, fry until crisp, and serve with parsley sauce and slices of lemons.

=Artichokes à la Provençale.=--Clean and cut two dozen Jerusalem artichokes in pieces about half an inch in length. Wash and put them into a stewpan with half an ounce of fresh butter and half an ounce of white castor sugar. Put them on a slow fire for a few minutes, add four tablespoonfuls of white sauce, eight tablespoonfuls of milk, and simmer until the artichokes are soft, then skim. Mix the yolk of an egg with two tablespoonfuls of milk, pour it into the stewpan and stir quickly, and serve hot. Jerusalem artichokes must be well cooked, but not reduced to a pulp.

=Artichoke Purée.=--Wash well and peel twelve artichokes, boil them in three pints of water and one tablespoonful of salt; when soft take them up, probably in twenty minutes. Meanwhile cook slowly in a stewpan one sliced onion, a little celery, one turnip, two ounces of butter, one bay leaf, and a little grated nutmeg. Stir and add one tablespoonful of flour and one pint or less of milk to form a proper thickness. Put in the artichokes. When boiled pass through a fine hair sieve and serve hot. Put two tablespoonfuls of cream or two yolks of eggs in the tureen and stir while adding the purée.

=Boiled Globe Artichokes.=--Cut off the tips of the leaves and round off the bottoms. Remove the stalks and trim away the outer leaves. Soak for half an hour in salt water, washing thoroughly. Boil until tender in a large quantity of salted water, put into a serving dish, dot with butter, and heat till the butter is melted, and serve. Hollandaise sauce can be served with them.

=Boiled Italian Artichokes.=--Cut off the stems and boil till tender in salted water. Cut in half from top to bottom and serve to each person. Pass with them Hollandaise sauce. The scales must be stripped off and the soft end dipped into the sauce and eaten. The fuzzy part should be scraped off and the bottom eaten with a fork.

=Artichokes à la Babette.=--Put green artichokes into water and remove the choke. Trim the leaves neatly, parboil five minutes in salt water, and drain. Put into a buttered casserole, season with salt and pepper, and add a little butter. Cover and cook in a moderate oven for twenty-five minutes. This can be served with Hollandaise sauce.

=Fried Artichokes.=--Cut off the leaves and trim away the choke part. Chill on ice. Make a batter of half a cupful of flour, a pinch of salt, and baking powder, mix with a cupful of milk and a beaten egg. Cut each artichoke into pieces, season with salt and pepper, dip in the batter, and fry in deep fat, drain, and serve with any kind of sauce.

=Stuffed Artichokes.=--Clean and trim the artichokes, boil in salted water until tender, drain, scoop out the soft part with a spoon, season with a cupful of chopped nuts, salt, pepper, melted butter, and lemon juice. Put the artichokes into a buttered baking dish, fill with nuts, tie into shape with string, add two cupfuls of stewed and drained tomatoes, a sliced onion, a pinch of salt, and a tablespoonful of butter. Bake slowly for an hour, basting frequently with the liquid. Take off the strings and strain the sauce, and serve.

=Stuffed Fonds of Artichokes.=--Cook eight artichoke bottoms in boiling water, drain, season with salt and pepper, fill with nuts, sprinkle with crumbs, dot with butter, and bake for ten minutes, basting with butter, and serve in the same dish.

=Artichokes à la Crême.=--Trim the artichokes and soak for half an hour in cold water and a little vinegar water to cover, rinse in fresh water and cook in salted water until tender. Drain and reheat in a cream sauce. An egg beaten and the juice of a lemon or a few drops of vinegar may be added.

=Artichokes à la Mode.=--Prepare and trim four or more artichokes, put into a saucepan with two tablespoonfuls of butter, the juice of a lemon, a pinch each of salt and pepper. Simmer until tender, drain, and brown in the oven. Put into the pan in which they were cooked two tablespoonfuls of butter, one heaped tablespoonful of flour, stir well, add half a cupful of milk, and half a cupful of water. Let it boil four minutes, stirring continually. Add one wineglassful of white wine, and serve in a sauce-boat.

=Artichokes à l’Italien.=--Wash, quarter, and trim the artichokes, and boil in salt water until tender. Drain, remove and discard the chokes, arrange the artichokes on a dish with the leaves outwards, pour over a white sauce flavoured with mushrooms, and garnish with watercress.

=Artichokes à la Lyonnaise.=--Prepare and clean the artichokes, boil till tender in salt water, drain, wipe dry, fry in equal parts of butter and oil, when brown add two tablespoonfuls of flour, stir well, then half a cupful of water, and boil for three minutes, season with salt, pepper, minced parsley, and lemon juice, and serve.

_Second Method._--Pull off the leaves and cut the artichokes into quarters, parboil in salt water for five minutes, drain and arrange in a thickly buttered baking dish, sprinkle with sugar, salt, and white pepper, add one wineglassful of white wine and one tablespoonful of water. Simmer slowly for three-quarters of an hour. Add one tablespoonful of butter and a little lemon juice poured over the artichokes before serving.

=Artichokes à la Pompadour.=--Cover eight artichoke bottoms with cream sauce, lay on each one a large floweret of boiled cauliflower previously boiled for a quarter of an hour, cover with more of the sauce, sprinkle with crumbs and grated cheese, dot with butter. Bake brown in a buttered pan, basting with the sauce as needed.

=Artichokes à la Provence.=--Peel the artichokes and boil in salt water until tender. Drain and serve with a cupful of brown butter sauce to which has been added the yolks of two eggs well beaten, with a teaspoonful of lemon juice. The sauce must not be allowed to boil after the eggs are added.

=Artichokes à la Tartare.=--Cut the artichoke stalks close, cut the sharp points from the leaves, removing not more than half an inch from each. Wash in cold water to which a little vinegar has been added. Drain and cook gently in salt water, drain upside down until dry, fill the hollow left by the choke with Tartare sauce or with a sauce made as follows:--Beat together half a cupful of melted butter, one tablespoonful each of lemon juice and olive oil, a little salt, finely chopped parsley, French mustard, and grated onion to season. Bring to the boil, take from the fire and pour it very slowly upon one beaten egg, stirring all the time. Pour over the artichokes and serve.

(French mustard is mustard mixed with vinegar instead of water.)

=Purée of Artichokes.=--Clean some artichoke bottoms and cook in salted water. Drain, rinse, and cut into small pieces. Reheat in a saucepan with an equal quantity of Béchamel sauce, and cook until slightly reduced. Rub through a fine sieve, season, add butter and cream, and serve.

_Another Method._--Put two tablespoonfuls of butter and two tablespoonfuls of flour in a saucepan and stir for five minutes. Pour one and a half pints of boiling milk in gradually, beat well with a wooden spoon and flavour with herbs, a quarter of a teaspoonful of grated nutmeg, twelve peppercorns, a pinch of salt, and three ounces of chopped mushrooms. Cook for a quarter of an hour and rub through a fine sieve.

=Italian Dishes.=--Clean and cut the under leaves of three large globe artichokes. Boil them sufficiently to be able to pick out the chokes and put them in cold water for five minutes. Drain thoroughly, then fill the hole in the artichoke with a forcemeat made of two shallots well chopped, six mushrooms minced, a tablespoonful of chopped parsley, a little butter and grated nutmeg, mix well together, tie up the artichokes with string. Heat three tablespoonfuls of good olive oil in a pan, and brown them well on both sides and then place the artichokes in a fireproof dish and put a bit of butter on the top of each, bake for forty minutes in the oven, and serve. Pour any kind of sauce over them.

=Artichokes and Eggs.=--Cut off the sharp tops of young artichokes and slice them into four pieces, flour them and put them into a fireproof dish with boiling, pure olive oil. Beat up two or three eggs with some salt, pour over the artichokes, and cook till the eggs are set. Serve hot in the dish in which they were cooked.

=Fried Artichokes.=--Cut off the sharp ends of the leaves of quite young artichokes and any hard leaves off the stalks, which must be peeled. Cut the artichokes into four pieces, put them in a saucepan with butter, salt and pepper. Shake the saucepan occasionally, and when they have absorbed all the butter pour over them a cup of water to finish the cooking. Take them out, dry them, and put into a saucepan some chopped parsley, a tablespoonful of finely grated bread, and the juice of a lemon. Boil the sauce for a few minutes, then take it off the fire and add a little more water, heat again over the fire, pour over the artichokes, and serve hot.

ASPARAGUS (_Asparagus officinalis. Liliaceæ_).

As asparagus is a perennial plant of long life it is of great importance that the bed in which it is to spend fifteen years or more should be well prepared and suitable for it. A light sandy loam is the very best of soil for this purpose. If, however, the gardener has only heavy soil at his command, he can still grow good asparagus by providing ample drainage and by raising his asparagus beds a few inches above the level of the surrounding garden.

Ground should be prepared for asparagus in the early winter, when it must be thoroughly trenched, and left in a rough condition for the winter frosts to pulverise and open it. A good dressing of manure should be dug into the second spit.

Asparagus is generally planted far too closely, with the result that only very second-rate sticks are grown. Now a mature asparagus plant will be from three to four feet across the roots if properly grown, and this definitely points to the fact that the plants should be at least three feet apart. There is no doubt whatever that plants four feet apart will give the finest heads, and the ideal width for the beds would be three feet, with two-foot alleys between, the plants being put four feet apart down the middle of the beds. Unfortunately few gardeners (except nurserymen growing for the market) will afford this ample space, therefore we lay down as the absolute minimum distances two and a half feet between the rows, the plants the same distance in the row. By placing the plants alternately and not opposite each other in the adjoining row a little more distance apart is given.

No asparagus bed should contain more than three rows--two are plenty--as it injures the heads if the gardeners are tramping about over them gathering the crop. The edge of the bed should be at least eighteen inches distant from the nearest row of plants, and between the beds eighteen-inch alleyways should be left for traffic and cultural purposes.

Since asparagus is four years coming to bearing size from seed, many people prefer to start a plantation with two or three year old plants, but it is difficult to transplant safely, and certainly the best plantations come from seed. This should be sown in March or April. At each point where it is wished to establish a crown three seeds should be planted an inch apart and two inches deep. When the seedlings are well up the strongest should be left and the two others pulled away.

If, however, plants are to be put out the utmost care is necessary. In the first place it is no use planting in autumn or winter. The only safe time is just when the plants are beginning to make their spring growth. If moved when they are dormant the plants will lie quietly rotting in the ground, and the gardener will be lucky if ten per cent. of autumn-moved plants survive.

March and April are the months in which to plant; February is generally too early and May is sometimes too late, though we have this year made a small plantation at the end of April every plant of which has survived. The ground is prepared for the plants by opening it out to a depth of four inches, and by means of the garden line and a rake or hoe ridges should be formed along the line the plants are to be placed. When the plants arrive from the nursery they should be at once unpacked, a few at a time, and planted forthwith, as drying winds are most injurious to the roots. The roots should be laid on and over the ridges and earth at once drawn over them. Repeat the operation, half a dozen plants at a time, until the whole is finished. Earth should be returned from the alleys till the beds stand some four inches above them, and all raked level and tidy. The crowns should not be more than four inches beneath the surface of the finished bed.

The after culture of asparagus is not difficult. The beds should be kept weeded; the hand fork and hand weeding are preferable to using a hoe to cut the plants as well as the weeds. In the autumn the beds should be cleaned up and the stems cut down to within six inches of the soil, the top two inches of earth should be removed to the alleys, and a good mulch of fat manure spread over the bed.

In February the long straw and debris of this mulch should be raked off, and the earth returned from the alleys; at the same time a top-dressing of two ounces superphosphate of lime and of four ounces of kainit per square yard should be applied. About mid-March give a top-dressing of half an ounce of nitrate of soda per square yard, and repeat this dose every fortnight till the end of May, always selecting showery days, or if these are not to be found, give a thorough watering with the hose after the application.

The bed should not be cut from for two seasons; thereafter it maybe cut until mid-June. It is better not to allow the plants to develop seed, as it will weaken the plants, and it is important not to disturb the earth in the alleyways too deeply, as the plants will send their roots right out into them. For the first two years radishes, lettuce, or even spinach may be grown in them, but for the first two years only.

=Forcing Asparagus.=--Where there is sufficient space and labour it is not difficult to obtain a winter supply of this delicious vegetable. But as the plants can only be forced once, and then must be thrown away, it is necessary to devote a special bed to growing forcing plants. A quarter of the area of the bed must be sown yearly, thus providing for one, two, three, and four-year-old plants. Seed should be sown in early April, in rows two feet apart, and the plants should be left two feet in the rows. The general treatment is much as given above, except that the spring top-dressing of nitrate of soda must be limited to two applications, one in April, one in May.

Beginning in November, prepare a hotbed as for cucumbers with about three feet of fermenting material; when the heat is mild and even, spread three inches of light soil on top, lift the four-year-old plants, a few at a time, very carefully, and pack them into the frame as close as possible. Cover with four inches of light soil, and give a good watering with tepid water. Admit some air on mild days by lifting the back of the light; if there be frost, cover with mats. Do not over-water the frame, but do not let it get really dry. If the heat dies away too soon, line with hot manure round the frame. Extra care will have to be exercised in cutting the heads; in fact the best way is to remove the soil and break them off with the fingers. A frame so treated will yield asparagus for about four weeks, and when the asparagus is out of the way will grow early radishes, lettuce, and carrots.

ITALIAN DISHES.

=Plain Asparagus.=--Take a bundle of asparagus, scrape the white of each stalk lightly, put them in cold water. Then tie them in bundles of twenty-five, or, if very large, of twelve or fifteen, keep the heads together, and keep the ends of one length. Cook them quickly for fifteen minutes in two quarts of boiling water, in which one ounce of salt has been put. Dish up on a piece of toast and serve very hot with oiled fresh butter (not sauce) or Dutch sauce.

=Dutch Sauce.=--Rub four ounces of butter to a cream in a saucepan or bowl, add four yolks of eggs, beat well together and put in half a teaspoonful of salt, the juice of half a lemon, a pinch of Cayenne, and a cupful of hot water, poured in by degrees, mix well, and put in a “bain-marie.” Stir until the sauce becomes of the consistency of thick cream. Be careful it does not boil, or it will curdle. Take it off the fire and stir for some minutes. Dutch sauce ought to be quite smooth and creamy. Half these quantities of butter and eggs would make an excellent dish.

=Asparagus à l’Espagnolle.=--Cut off the green heads of a bunch of asparagus and wash well, boil for fifteen minutes in salted boiling water, strain carefully. Put in a saucepan two ounces of butter, stir in one good tablespoonful of flour, add half a pint of cream or milk, and a little pepper and salt. Stir carefully, let it boil for three minutes, add the asparagus heads and serve very hot.

=Asparagus à la Suprême.=--Choose asparagus of about the same size, break off the tenderest part with your finger and cut into small bits, cooking the tips last. Put them into salted boiling water, boil for fifteen minutes, then drain, and place in a baking pan with a little melted fresh butter. Put on the fire for a few minutes, add some salt and lemon juice. Serve hot.

=Asparagus à la Pompadour.=--Cut cleaned asparagus into two-inch lengths, boil until tender in salted water, and drain. Bring to the boil two tablespoonfuls of vinegar and one tablespoonful of butter, salt and pepper to season. When boiling, take from the fire, add the well-beaten yolk of an egg, pour over the asparagus, and serve.

=Asparagus Soufflé.=--Take some asparagus (previously boiled) and rub it through a sieve. Add the yolks of three well-beaten eggs and three tablespoonfuls of milk, with pepper and salt to taste. Beat the whites to a stiff froth, mix in, add the asparagus purée, and put in buttered soufflé dishes and bake for ten minutes. This makes a tasty course for a luncheon or dinner.

=Asparagus Omelette.=--Beat six eggs, whites and yolks separately, add three tablespoonfuls of cream or milk, cut the green part of thirty-six heads of asparagus (which have been previously boiled) in small pieces, mix with the eggs, add a spoonful of grated Parmesan cheese, pepper, and cook in an omelette pan in which an ounce of butter has been dissolved. Serve very hot.

=Asparagus Omelette (2).=--Break four eggs into a bowl and beat until light and foamy without separating whites and yolks. Add four tablespoonfuls of cream or rich milk, a saltspoonful of salt, and a dash of pepper. Have a smooth, clean omelette pan ready, and melt a tablespoonful of butter or vegetable oil in it, tilting it so that it will run all over the pan to grease the sides as well as the bottom. When hissing hot pour in the egg mixture. As it cools, prick in several places with a fork until the whole is of a creamy consistency. Have in readiness several spoonfuls of cooked asparagus points, mixed with a little melted butter, a few drops of lemon juice, and a tablespoonful of chopped parsley. Slip the omelette on to a sheet of kitchen paper on a hot dish, put on one half the asparagus tips, fold over, and slip off the paper on to a hot dish and send to table quickly; nothing spoils so quickly as an omelette. Three minutes waste of time makes it as tough as leather. If liked, the edges of the omelette may be garnished with more asparagus tips.

=Asparagus Mould.=--Well butter a pudding mould, put in a layer of the tender part of cooked asparagus cut up small, next a layer of cooked green peas, then two hard-boiled eggs cut in slices, another layer of asparagus, and lastly of peas. Beat up three eggs, stir in two ounces of flour rolled in one ounce of butter, add a cupful of milk, stirring all the time, and salt and pepper to taste. Pour the mixture into the mould, cover with buttered paper, steam for two hours, turn out on to a hot dish, and serve with white sauce round it.

=Aspérge à la Mousseline.=--Place cooked and well-drained asparagus on square or diamond slices of toast; keep hot. Prepare a sauce beforehand by heating two ounces of butter with the yolks of four eggs, and two tablespoonfuls of lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste. Cook in a double pan until it thickens, then add two tablespoonfuls of butter in small pieces, and two tablespoonfuls of cream or a little more. Pour very hot over the asparagus and toast. Serve immediately.

=Baked Asparagus.=--Cook the asparagus in boiling salted water until tender, drain, and put into a buttered baking dish with a little grated Parmesan cheese between the layers. Chop a small onion finely and fry in butter, and spread over the asparagus, and sprinkle with cheese and crumbs, and brown in a hot oven.

=Asparagus Baked with Cheese.=--Prepare according to directions given for boiled asparagus. Make a sauce of three tablespoonfuls each of butter and flour, one cupful of water and half a cupful of cream or milk, let it boil for three minutes, add the yolks of two eggs, and two tablespoonfuls of grated cheese. Heat thoroughly but do not boil. Lay the asparagus full length into an oval buttered baking dish, cover with the sauce, and sprinkle with cheese. Repeat until the dish is full, having sauce on the top. Sprinkle with crumbs and cheese, dot with butter, and bake for half an hour.

=Asparagus Tips à la Polonaise.=--Clean and cut some asparagus three or four inches long, season with salt and pepper, and put them in a buttered paper bag with a teaspoonful of fried bread-crumbs and a little melted butter. Close the bag and cook in a moderate oven for half an hour.--_Newark News._

=Asparagus “Alla Casalinga.”=--Take fifty heads of asparagus and cook the green part in boiling salted water, then drain and put the asparagus into a baking dish with four ounces of butter (or two ounces would suffice). Sprinkle with grated cheese, salt and pepper to taste, brown slightly, garnish with eggs fried in butter. Serve hot.--Mrs. ROSS, _Leaves from a Tuscan Kitchen_.

=Asparagus “Alla Crema.”=--Take the heads only of the asparagus, as many as are required; put them into boiling water with a little salt; boil for fifteen minutes. Prepare meanwhile some thick squares of roll or white bread without the crust, scoop out the centre of each piece without breaking through, and put in a piece of butter, then fry or bake until the bread turns a golden-yellow colour. After draining the heads of the asparagus, place them in the holes in the bread. Take care to keep them hot. Then heat half a pint of milk and two or three yolks of eggs, and stir until it thickens to a smooth custard, but it must not boil. Take off the fire, and add a little butter and a sprinkling of salt and pepper. Pour over the asparagus and croûtons, and serve very hot.--Mrs. ROSS, _Leaves from a Tuscan Kitchen_.

=Baked Asparagus with Eggs.=--Cut the tender parts of the asparagus into half-inch lengths, boil until tender in salted water. Drain, and mix with a drawn-butter sauce, seasoning with salt and pepper, and pour into a buttered baking dish. Break five or six eggs carefully on the surface, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and put into the oven until the eggs have set.

=Asparagus Tips Sauté.=--Boil the tips until cooked, about fifteen minutes, in salted water, then drain them thoroughly. Sauté in melted butter, season with salt and pepper, grated nutmeg, and a little sugar.

=Creamed Asparagus.=--Boil the green parts of the asparagus until tender in salted water with a tiny bit of soda, drain and chop. Reheat in cream sauce. Season with salt and pepper, and cool; stir into it three eggs, well beaten, with two tablespoonfuls of cream. Pour into a buttered baking dish, cover, and bake for twenty minutes, but do not let it boil; then uncover and brown.

=Crême Asparagus.=--Cut the heads of the asparagus into two-inch lengths. Parboil for ten minutes in salted water and drain. Put a heaped tablespoonful of butter in a saucepan, when hot sprinkle with a tablespoonful of flour, add a cupful of boiling milk, salt and pepper to season; cook until thick, stirring all the time.

=Asparagus with Egg Sauce.=--Cook three cupfuls of asparagus tips until tender, and drain. Reheat one cupful of cream sauce, put the rest into a well-buttered baking dish, pour over the asparagus, and set the dish in a pan of boiling water, and put into the oven for fifteen minutes. Sprinkle with parsley, and serve with egg sauce.

=Escalloped Asparagus.=--Wash and cut up a bunch of asparagus, discarding the tough ends. Boil in salted water about twenty minutes until tender, and drain. Boil three eggs hard, throw into cold water, remove the shells, and chop finely. Butter a shallow baking dish, and put in a layer of asparagus, covered with chopped eggs, sprinkle with grated cheese, repeat until the dish is full, having asparagus on the top. Pour over four tablespoonfuls of drawn butter or half a pint of cream sauce, cover with crumbs, dot with butter, sprinkle with grated cheese, and bake until brown.

=Asparagus Fricassée.=--Clean and cut up twenty-five stalks of asparagus, discarding the tough ends, drain and chop one head of lettuce, half a head of endive, and a small onion. Put a heaped tablespoonful of butter into a saucepan and cook in it a tablespoonful of flour, add one cupful of milk or water, and stir until it thickens. Stir constantly, add the chopped vegetables, with salt and pepper to season; simmer over a slow fire for half an hour, and serve very hot.

=Ragout of Asparagus.=--Chop finely a little parsley, two or three young onions, and a few leaves of lettuce, fry them brown in butter, dredge with flour, add a cupful of water, and salt and pepper to season. Reheat the cooked asparagus in this sauce, sprinkle with grated nutmeg, and serve very hot.

=Asparagus= (_American Recipe_).--Take thick slices of bread about two inches thick, and stamp them out into neat rounds with a biscuit cutter; with a smaller cutter mark a circle in the centre of each, round and scoop out the crumbs to the depth of an inch, taking care to leave the sides and bottom quite firm; arrange these in a shallow dish and pour over them half a pint of milk to which a beaten egg has been added. Then take up carefully and fry in a frying basket in a pan of boiling fat. They will brown immediately, and must be removed when a pale golden brown; drain on kitchen paper. Cut the tender part of the asparagus into pieces of an equal size, rejecting that which is woody. Wash, and simmer in salted water until tender, and drain. Put a heaped tablespoonful of butter into a saucepan with a heaped tablespoonful of flour, then add a quarter of a pint of the water in which the asparagus was cooked; let it come to the boil and add the asparagus, the juice of a lemon, and one teaspoonful of finely chopped parsley. Fill the canapes with this mixture and arrange on a dish and garnish with cress or parsley and sliced lemon.

=Asparagus à la Tartare.=--Cool cooked asparagus on ice, and serve very cold with mayonnaise or Tartare sauce.

=Tartare Sauce.=--Mix six tablespoonfuls of olive oil, two of vinegar, two teaspoonfuls of French mustard, salt and pepper to taste, and a pinch of sugar. Bring to the boil and pour hot over boiled and drained asparagus. Cover, stand on ice, and serve very cold.

=Asparagus à la Tyson.=--Boil the asparagus in salted water, drain, cut the strings, and arrange on buttered toast. Cook together a tablespoonful each of butter and flour, add a cupful of the water in which the asparagus was boiled, and cook until thick, stirring constantly. Season with salt, red and black pepper, and pour over the asparagus and serve.

BASIL (_Ocymum Basilicum. Labiatæ_).

Sow in pans in a hotbed in April. Transplant in May into a light, rich border, setting the plants nine inches apart. The flower stems should be cut as soon as ready and dried for winter use, in the way of lavender. They are used for seasoning, as also are the young leaves, which the plants will continue to grow until the frosts.

BROAD BEAN (_Vicia Faba. Leguminosæ_).

Broad beans may be grown in any good garden soil, but they prefer a rich, well-drained loam. A sandy loam will produce early and mid-season crops, but will be found to be too hot for late crops; while a heavy soil is more suited to mid-season and late crops than to early ones.

The ground for beans should be prepared early in the autumn, and in light soils plenty of manure trenched in will keep the plants growing through a dry season. In a light soil a sowing may be made during open weather in mid-December. This early sowing gives the beans time to get their roots well down, out of the reach of drought, and will yield in June, but about once in five years frost and damp will destroy the whole sowing.

In normal soils February is perhaps early enough to make the first sowing, and in heavier ground, March. Where there is plenty of space, if late beans are in great request, sowings may be made till mid-June in heavy soils, but in moderately light ground it is not worth while to sow after April. March and April are the best months, however, in the generality of gardens for successional sowings.

Where an extra early supply is needed, sow in boxes in gentle heat, early in February; grow on in cold frames as soon as up; harden off and plant out early in March. A sheltered and warm border must be chosen for this planting, and the plants should be set in rows two feet apart, the plants six inches in the row. This procedure should provide broad beans about the 14th of June.

Some gardeners plant beans with a dibber, but it is much better practice to open out a trench six inches wide with the hoe, and place the beans in this trench in two rows, the beans nine inches apart in the row, and set W fashion. This method ensures the seed being planted at an even depth, and obviates any poaching of the soil by the dibber, which always tends to leave a cylindrical hole with compressed sides. The double rows of beans should be thirty inches apart.

In June, when the beans are well in flower, they are too often attacked by the black aphis. This may be washed off and killed by syringing with an emulsion of soft soap and paraffin. It is good practice to break off the infected tops and burn them. Topping the plants will be no detriment, but will throw the strength back into the pods already forming. Finally, gather the beans as soon as they are at all large enough to cook; old beans are good, but young beans are far better.

DISHES.

=Boiled Broad Beans= are best when gathered young, about two-thirds grown; the flavour is then very delicate. Some consider this plan wasteful, but it is not so, really, as if one waits for the crop to attain its full size, an enormous quantity of beans are ready at once. By beginning early one can keep pace with nature.

Shell the beans, and put them into boiling water with one tablespoonful of salt and a very small piece of soda. Boil for ten minutes if very young, increasing the length of time as they grow older. Drain and heap up on a drainer, pour over parsley sauce, and serve very hot.

=Parsley Sauce.=--Pick and wash some fresh parsley, dip into boiling water for a minute, place in the corner of a towel, and wring out. This process eliminates some of the bitter flavour, and saves the trouble of boiling the parsley. Chop with a Lightning Mince Cutter. Make a good white sauce (_see_ Sauces), put in the chopped parsley, stir well, and pour over the beans.

=Polenta Beans.=--Boil two cupfuls of haricot or butter beans, which have soaked overnight, until soft, drain, add two tablespoonfuls of molasses, a teaspoonful each of salt, mustard, and olive oil, pepper to taste, and a little vinegar. Cook in a baking dish in the oven for twenty minutes and serve very hot.

=Cream Beans.=--Soak one pint of haricot or butter beans overnight in cold water, drain and boil until soft in salted water. Haricots will take two or three hours, butter beans about one and a half hours. Press through a sieve, and mix with a sufficient quantity of cream sauce to make very soft, season with salt and pepper, add two eggs well beaten, turn into a buttered baking dish, sprinkle with crumbs, dot with butter, and bake brown.

=Broad Bean Pudding.=---When broad beans get too old for eating plain, boil them and rub them through a sieve, pound smoothly with a little pepper and salt, some cream, and the yolk of one egg, boil one hour in a buttered basin that will just hold the mixture, and serve with parsley sauce.

=French Bean Curry.=--Cook your beans and drain, and when cold add other cold vegetables that may be left over, carrots, peas, &c., mix them with butter and onions, previously cooked together, add a teaspoonful of curry powder and a little flour, let them simmer a long time, adding a little stock as the moisture dries up, then serve as a curry, with well-boiled rice separately.

=Haricot Beans.=--Soak twelve hours, boil three hours, and serve with piquant sauce.

=Broad Beans= (_South American Dish_).--Take one pint of shelled beans, and put them into boiling water. Boil rapidly for six or seven minutes, then drain and skin them. Put into a stewpan one ounce of butter and a small onion finely chopped, let them sweat for five minutes. Add six button mushrooms finely chopped and a teaspoonful of chopped parsley, stir in an ounce of flour and a little salt and pepper, a teaspoonful of lemon juice and a teacupful of boiling water; add the beans, and simmer gently for fifteen minutes; just before serving add a wineglassful of sherry.

=Bean Soufflé= (_Haricot_).--Soak two cupfuls of dry haricot beans overnight, and boil until soft in water to cover, about three hours, changing the water once. Drain, press through a sieve, season with salt and pepper, add a little butter, and four tablespoonfuls of hot milk, and mix well. Fold in the stiffly beaten whites of two eggs, turn into a buttered baking dish, bake for twenty minutes.

=Bean Croquettes= (_Haricot_).--Boil two cupfuls of butter or haricot beans until soft, two or three hours, drain, press through a sieve, season with salt and red pepper, and add one tablespoonful each of molasses and vinegar, mix thoroughly, cool and shape into croquettes, dip in egg and bread-crumbs, fry in butter, and serve with tomato sauce.

FRENCH BEANS (_Phaseolus vulgaris. Leguminosæ_).

French or kidney beans may be sown in April if an early sort be chosen and a sunny bed selected. The rows should be thirty inches apart, and the plants thinned to nine inches in the rows; as they will transplant well, gaps can be made up where there have been failures. For later sorts the plants should be at least a foot apart. The main sowings should be made from about the 20th of April till the end of May in light soils, in heavy ground they may be sown right through June; for later sowings choose quick-growing, forcing varieties. If climbing varieties be used the rows must be four or five feet apart, and sticks provided for the plants to climb over. Catch crops of early lettuce may be planted between the rows at the time of sowing (or the beans may be set between rows of established lettuce plants). Radishes and mustard and cress are other crops which may be grown between rows of kidney beans with advantage.

=Flageolet and Haricot Beans= need the same treatment as kidney beans. All these subjects are tender and will not stand frost.

=Forcing Kidney Beans.=--The dwarf forcing varieties may be sown on hotbeds, with six inches of good soil on top, beginning in February. They must have plenty of air on mild days, and not be over-watered; at the same time they must not be allowed to dry out; the plants may stand a foot apart. Gathering should begin in such a frame about the end of April.

If there be an orchard-house available the beans may be sown in heat in boxes in February, and transplanted to the orchard-house. Or beans sown in this way in March may be transplanted to a warm border sheltered from slight frosts, with the possibility of giving ample protection from sharp frost by means of mats or litter overhead. But after all, forcing kidney beans is a job that requires a good deal of time or of labour, and is hardly for the single-handed gardener.

SCARLET RUNNER BEAN (_Phaseolus multiflorus. Leguminosæ_).

This noble bean gives the most reliable crop of late summer and early autumn vegetables. It is easy to grow, and cottage and hall alike enjoy its succulent fruit. There are many new and improved varieties, and it is now possible to grow beans a foot long, an inch deep, and as tender as possible.

The best runners are grown in soil trenched and manured some months in advance, but where space is a consideration we find that they follow spring cabbage well. By clearing the middle row of three in a bed of cabbage, room will be found to open a trench fifteen inches wide and two spits deep; this should be done late in April. Into the bottom of this trench a heavy dressing of very old, buttery manure (such as comes from the heart of an exhausted hotbed) should be dug deeply. The soil should then be returned and trodden firm, until the trench is four inches deep; rake the surface level and place the beans on it in two rows, the beans nine inches apart in the row, or even a foot will be none too far apart. Then return most of the rest of the earth, leaving a trench one inch below the general level of the garden. This leaves a useful depression for watering.

By the time the beans are well up and are ready for staking, the cabbage will be mostly cleared away, and will have taken no harm from their neighbours; indeed there need be no hurry to clear the last of the cabbages, which may prove useful to the end of June. A long, strong stake should be placed by each bean, and thrust a good foot into the ground. These stakes should incline inwards from each side of the double row, and be tied together at their intersection. These ties should be at a uniform height, and in the V-shaped crossing of the stakes other stakes should be laid lengthways, and also tied to the uprights. By these means a rigid hedge is provided, which will carry the great weight of haulm in safety. A second sowing may be made about the end of May, but if the beans are kept rigorously picked the plants will go on bearing right up to the early frosts. As the haulm reaches the tops of the stakes it must be pinched, in order to make it break from joints lower down. Weeds should be pulled up, and in dry weather a good soaking of water every three days will be a great help in promoting the setting of the beans.

Make a practice of gathering all the beans as fast as they come to perfection; it is important that none should be allowed to mature seed; one pod with ripe seed on a plant will certainly check the further growth of fresh beans.

DISHES.

=French Beans en Fricassé.=--Cut off the ends and strings of some young French beans. Cook them in salted water, then drain them well. Put them into a saucepan with two ounces butter and chopped onion, or if liked, garlic and parsley chopped very fine, with a little salt. Be careful to add some sauce if the beans dry up before they are completely cooked. Toss them in the pan for a few minutes, and before taking them off the fire add the yolks of one or two eggs (according to the quantity of beans) well beaten up, with a little water, the juice of a lemon, and some grated Parmesan cheese. Stir from time to time, never allowing them to boil, or the eggs will set. To keep the beans a good colour, put a pinch of salt, with a pinch of soda, in the water when boiling them.

=French Beans al Pomodoro.=--Take your French beans, cut off the ends and string. Wash in cold water, boil till tender, and drain. While still wet, put them into a baking dish with some good olive oil, some chopped onion and parsley, salt and pepper to taste. Put the dish on the fire with the cover on, and cook slowly. As the beans dry add the juice of some tomatoes or some good tomato conserve. Take care they do not burn.

=Beans with Cream.=--Cut off the ends, remove the strings, and cut into two or three pieces. Wash in cold water, drain, and boil until tender in salted water. Beat the yolks of three eggs, add half a cupful of cream, and a tablespoonful of melted butter. Heat thoroughly and add gradually a tablespoonful of vinegar; when smooth and thick pour over the beans, keep hot a few minutes, and serve.

=Beans with Parsley.=--String the beans, cut in strips, and cook until tender, then put them in melted butter. Sprinkle with minced parsley, keep warm for ten minutes, and serve.