RECIPES.

Apple Jelly.—Cut nice tart apples in quarters, but unless wormy, do not peel or core. Put into a porcelain kettle with a cup of water for each six pounds of fruit, and simmer very slowly until the apples are thoroughly cooked. Turn into a jelly-bag, and drain off the juice. If very tart, allow three fourths of a pound of sugar to each pint of juice. If sub-acid, one half pound will be sufficient. Put the sugar into the oven to heat. Clean the kettle, and boil the juice therein twenty minutes after it begins to boil thoroughly. Add the sugar, stirring until well dissolved, let it boil up once again, and remove from the fire. The juice of one lemon may be used with the apples, and a few bits of lemon rind, the yellow portiononly, cooked with them to give them a flavor, if liked. One third cranberry juice makes a pleasing combination.

Apple Jelly without Sugar.—Select juicy, white fleshed, sub-acid fruit, perfectly sound and mature but not mellow. The snow apple is one of the best varieties for this purpose. Wash well, slice, and core without removing the skins, and cook as directed in the preceding recipe. Drain off the juice, and if a very clear jelly is desired, filter it through a piece of cheese cloth previously wrung out of hot water. Boil the juice,—rapidly at first, but more gently as it becomes thickened,—until of the desired consistency. The time required will vary with the quantity of juice, the shallowness of the dish in which it is boiled, and the heat employed. One hour at least, will be required for one or two quarts of juice. When the juice has become considerably evaporated, test it frequently by dipping a few drops on a plate to cool; and when it jellies sufficiently, remove at once from the fire. A much larger quantity of juice will be needed for jelly prepared in this manner than when sugar is used, about two quarts of juice being required for one half pint of jelly. Such jelly, however, has a most delicious flavor, and is excellent served with grains. Diluted with water, it forms a most pleasing beverage.

Berry and Currant Jellies.—Express the juice according to the directions already given. For strawberries, red raspberries, and currants, allow three fourths of a pound of sugar to a pint of juice. Black raspberries, if used alone, need less sugar. Strawberry and black raspberry juice make better jelly if a little lemon juice is used. The juice of one lemon to each pint of fruit juice will be needed for black raspberries. Two parts red or black raspberries with one part currants, make a better jelly than either alone. Boil the juice of strawberries, red raspberries, and currants twenty minutes, add the sugar, and finish, as previously directed. Black raspberry juice is much thicker, and requires less boiling.

Cherry Jelly.—Jelly may be prepared from cherries by using with the juice of cherries an equal amount of apple juice, which gives an additional amount of pectose to the juice and does not perceptibly change the flavor.

Crab Apple Jelly.—Choose the best Siberian crab apples; cut into pieces, but do not pare or remove seeds. Place in a porcelain-lined or granite-ware double boiler, with a cup of water for each six pounds of fruit, and let them remain on the back of the range, with the water slowly boiling, seven or eight hours. Leave in the boiler or turn into a large china bowl, and keep well covered, all night. In the morning drain off the juice and proceed as for apple jelly, using from one half to three fourths of a pound of sugar to one of juice.

Cranberry Jelly.—Scald the berries and express the juice for otherjellies. Measure the juice, and allow three fourths of a pound of sugar to one of juice. Boil twenty minutes, add the sugar hot, and finish as directed for other jellies.

Grape Jelly.—Jelly from ripe grapes may be prepared in the same manner as that made from the juice of berries. Jelly from green grapes needs one half measure more of sugar.

Orange Jelly.—Express the juice of rather tart oranges, and use with it an equal quantity of the juice of sub-acid apples, prepared in the manner directed for apple jelly. For each pint of the mixed juice, use one half pound of sugar and proceed as for other jellies.

Peach Jelly.—Stone, pare, and slice the peaches, and steam them in a double boiler. Express the juice, and add for each pint of peach juice the juice of one lemon. Measure the juice and sugar, using three fourths of a pound of sugar for each pint of juice, and proceed as already directed. Jelly prepared from peaches will not be so firm as many fruit jellies, owing to the small amount of pectose contained in their composition.

A mixture of apples and peaches, in the proportion of one third of the former to two thirds of the latter, makes a firmer jelly than peaches alone. The apples should be pared and cored, so that their flavor will not interfere with that of the peaches.

Quince Jelly.—Clean thoroughly good sound fruit, and slice thin. Put into a double boiler with one cup of water for each five pounds of fruit, and cook until softened. Express the juice, and proceed as with other jellies, allowing three fourths of a pound of sugar to each pint of juice. Tart or sweet apples may be used with quinces, in equal proportions, and make a jelly of more pleasant flavor than quinces used alone. The seeds of quinces contain considerable gelatinous substance, and should be cooked with the quince for jelly making.

Plum Jelly.—Use Damsons or Green Gages. Stone, and make in the same way as for berry and other small fruit jellies.

Fruit in Jelly.—Prepare some apple jelly without sugar. When boiled sufficiently to form, add to it, as it begins to cool, some nice, stoned dates or seeded raisins. Orange jelly may be used instead of the apple jelly, if preferred.

As sauces for desserts and for summer beverages for sick or well, the pure juices of fruits are most wholesome and delicious. So useful are they and so little trouble to prepare, that no housewife should allow the fruit season to pass by without putting up a full stock. Strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, currants, grapes, and cherries are especially desirable. In preparing them, select only the best fruit, ripe, but not over-ripe. Extract the juice by mashing the fruit and slowly heating in the inner cup of a double boiler, till the fruit is well scalded; too long heating will injure its color. Strain through a jelly bag and let it drain slowly for a long time, but do not squeeze, else some of the pulp will be forced through. Reheat slowly to boiling and can the same as fruit. It may be put up with or without sugar. If sugar is to be used, add it hot as for jelly, after the juice is strained and reheated to boiling. For strawberries and currants, raspberries and cherries, use one cup of sugar to a quart of juice. Black raspberries and grapes require less sugar, while blueberries and blackberries require none at all, or not more than a tablespoonful to the quart. A mixed juice, of one part currants and two parts red or black raspberries, has a very superior flavor.

Grape Juice, or Unfermented Wine.—Take twenty-five pounds of some well ripened very juicy variety of grapes, like the Concord. Pick them from the stems, wash thoroughly, and scald without the addition of water, in double boilers until the grapes burst open; cool, turn into stout jelly bags, and drain off the juice without squeezing. Let the juice stand and settle; turn off the top, leaving any sediment there may be. Add to the juice about four pounds of best granulated sugar, reheat to boiling, skim carefully, and can the same as fruit. Keep in a cool, dark place. The wine, if to be sealed in bottles, will require a corker, and the corks should first be boiled in hot water and the bottles well sterilized.

Grape Juice No. 2.—Take grapes of the best quality, picked fresh from the vines. Wash well after stripping from the stems, rejecting any imperfect fruit. Put them in a porcelain or granite fruit kettle with onepint of water to every three quarts of grapes, heat to boiling, and cook slowly for fifteen minutes or longer, skimming as needed. Turn off the juice and carefully filter it through a jelly bag, putting the seeds and skins into a separate bag to drain, as the juice from them will be less clear. Heat again to boiling, add one cupful of hot sugar to each quart of juice, and seal in sterilized cans or bottles. The juice from the skins and seeds should be canned separately.

Another Method.—Wash the grapes, and express the juice without scalding the fruit. Strain the juice three or four times through muslin or cheese cloth, allowing it to stand and settle for some time between each filtering. To every three pints of juice add one of water and two cupfuls of sugar. Heat to boiling, and keep at that temperature for fifteen minutes, skim carefully, and bottle while at boiling heat. Set away in a cool, dark place.

Fruit Syrup.—Prepare the juice expressed from strawberries, raspberries, currants, or grapes, as directed above for fruit juices. After it has come to a boil, add one pound of sugar to every quart of juice. Seal in pint cans. It may be diluted with water to form a pleasing beverage, and is especially useful in flavoring puddings and sauces.

Currant Syrup.—Boil together a pint of pure currant juice and one half pound of best white sugar for ten minutes, and can or bottle while at boiling temperature. One or two spoonfuls of the syrup in a glass of water makes a most refreshing drink. Two parts currants and one of red raspberries may be used in place of all currants, if preferred.

Orange Syrup.—Select ripe and thin-skinned fruit. To every pint of the juice add one pound of sugar, the juice of one lemon, and a little of the grated rind. Boil for fifteen minutes, removing all scum as it rises. If the syrup is not clear, strain through a piece of cheese cloth, and reheat. Can and seal while boiling hot.

Lemon Syrup.—Grate the yellow portion of the rind of six lemons, and mix with three pounds of best granulated white sugar. Add one quart of water and boil until it thickens. Strain, add the juice of the six lemons, carefully leaving out the pulp and seeds; boil ten minutes, and bottle. Diluted with two thirds cold water, it forms a delicious and quickly prepared lemonade.

Lemon Syrup No. 2.—To every pint of lemon juice add one pound of sugar; boil, skim, and seal in cans like fruit.

Blackberry Syrup.—Crush fresh, well-ripened blackberries, and add to them one fourth as much boiling water as berries; let them stand for twenty-four hours, stirring frequently. Strain, add a cup of sugar to each quart of juice, boil slowly for fifteen minutes, and can.

Fruit Ices.—Express the juice from a pint of stoned red cherries, add the juice of two lemons, one cup of sugar and a quart of cold water. Stir well for five minutes, an freeze in an ice cream freezer. Equal parts currant and red raspberry juice may be used instead of cherry, if preferred.

This method of preserving fruit, except in large establishments where it is dried by steam, is but little used, since canning is quicker and superior in every way. Success in drying fruits is dependent upon the quickness with which, they can be dried, without subjecting them to so violent a heat as to burn them or injure their flavor.

Pulpy fruits, such as berries, cherries, plums, etc., should be spread on some convenient flat surface without contact with each other, and dried in the sun under glass, or in a moderate oven. They should be turned daily. They will dry more quickly if first scalded in a hot oven. Cherries should be first stoned and cooked until well heated through and tender, then spread on plates, and the juice (boiled down to a syrup) poured over them. When dried, they will be moist. Pack in jars. Large fruit, such as apples, pears, and peaches, should be pared, divided, and the seeds or stones removed. If one has but a small quantity, the best plan is to dry by mean of artificial heat; setting it first in a hot oven until heated through, which process starts the juice and forms a film or crust over the cut surfaces, thus holding the remaining: quantity of juice inside until it becomes absorbed in the tissues. The drying process may be finished in a warming oven or some place about the range where the fruit will get only moderate heat. If a larger quantity of fruit is to be dried, after being heated in the oven, it may be placed in the hot sun out of doors, under fine wire screens, to keep off the flies; or may be suspended for the ceiling in some way, or placed upon a frame made to stand directly over the stove. As the drying proceeds, the fruit should be turned occasionally, and when dry enough, it should be thoroughly heated before it is packed away, to prevent it from getting wormy.

The nuts, or shell fruits, as they are sometimes termed, form a class of food differing greatly from the succulent fruits. They are more properly seeds, containing, in general, no starch, but are rich in fat and nitrogenous elements in the form of vegetable albumen and casein. In composition, the nuts rank high in nutritive value, but owing to the oily matter which they contain, are difficult of digestion, unless reduced to a very minutely divided state before or during mastication. The fat of nuts is similar in character to cream, and needs to be reduced to the consistency of cream to be easily digested. Those nuts, such as almonds, filberts, and pecans, which do not contain an excess of fat, are the most wholesome. Nuts should be eaten, in moderation, at the regular mealtime, and not partaken of as a tidbit between meals. It is likewise well to eat them in connection with some hard food, to insure their thorough mastication. Almonds and cream crisps thus used make a pleasing combination.

Most of the edible nuts have long been known and used as food. TheAlmondwas highly esteemed by the ancient nations of the East, its native habitat, and is frequently referred to in sacred history. It is grown extensively in the warm, temperate regions of the Old World. There are two varieties, known as the bitter and the sweet almond. The kernel of the almond yields a fixed oil; that produced from the bitter almond is much esteemed for flavoring purposes, but it is by no means a safe article to use, at it possesses marked poisonous qualities. Fresh, sweet almonds are a nutritive, and, when properly eaten, wholesome food. The outer brown skin of the kernel is somewhat bitter, rough, and irritating to the stomach but it can be easily removed by blanching.

Blanched almonds, if baked for a short time, become quite brittle, and may be easily pulverized, and are then more easily digested. Bread made from almonds thus baked and pulverized, is considered an excellent food for persons suffering with diabetes.

Brazil Nutsare the seeds of a gigantic tree which grows wild in the valleys of the Amazon, and throughout tropical America. The case containing these seeds is a hard, woody shell, globular in form, and about the size of a man's head. It is divided into four cells, in each of which are closely packed the seeds which constitute the so-called nuts, of commerce. These seeds are exceedingly rich in oil, one pound of them producing about nine ounces of oil.

TheCocoanutis perhaps the most important of all the shell fruits, if we may judge by the variety of uses to which the nut and the tree which bears it can be put. It has been said that nature seldom produces a tree so variously useful to man as the cocoanut palm. In tropical countries, where it grows abundantly, its leaves are employed for thatching, its fibers for manufacturing many useful articles, while its ashes produce potash in abundance. The fruit is eaten raw, and in many ways is prepared for food; it also yields an oil which forms an important article of commerce. The milk of the fruit is a cooling beverage, and the woody shell of the nut answers very well for a cup from which to drink it. The saccharine juice of the tree also affords an excellent drink; and from the fresh young stems is prepared a farinaceous substance similar to sago.

The cocoanuts grow in clusters drooping from the tuft of long, fringed leaves which crown the branchless trunk of the stately palm. The cocoanut as found in commerce is the nut divested of its outer sheath, and is much smaller in size than when seen upon the tree. Picked fresh from the tree, the cocoanut consists first of a green outer covering; next of a fibrous coat, which, if the nut is mature, is hairy-like in appearance; and then of the woody shell, inside of which is the meat and milk. For household purposes the nuts are gathered while green, and before the inner shell has become solidified; the flesh is then soft like custard, and can be easily eaten with a teaspoon, while a large quantity of delicious, milk-like fluid is obtainable from each nut.

As found in our Northern markets, the cocoanut is difficultof digestion, as is likewise the prepared or desiccated cocoanut. The cocoanut contains about seventy per cent of oil.

TheChestnutis an exception to most nuts in its composition. It contains starch, and about fifteen per cent of sugar. No oil can be extracted from the chestnut. In Italy, and other parts of Southern Europe, the chestnut forms an important article of food. It is sometimes dried and ground into flour, from which bread is prepared. The chestnut is a nutritious food, but owing to the starch it contains, is more digestible when cooked. The same is true of theAcorn, which is similar in character to the chestnut. In the early ages, acorns were largely used for food, and are still used as a substitute for bread in some countries.

TheHazelnut, with theFilbertandCobnut, varieties of the same nut obtained by cultivation, are among the most desirable nuts for general consumption.

TheWalnut, probably a native of Persia, where in ancient times it was so highly valued as to be considered suited only for the table of the king, is now found very commonly with other species of the same family, theButternutandHickory nut, in most temperate climates.

ThePecan, a nut allied to the hickory nut, and grown extensively in the Mississippi Valley and Texas, is one of the most easily digested nuts.

ThePeanutorGroundnutis the seed of an annual, cultivated extensively in most tropical and sub-tropical countries. After the plant has blossomed, the stalk which produced the flower has the peculiarity of bending down and forcing itself under ground so that the seeds mature some depth beneath the surface. When ripened, the pods containing the seeds are dug up and dried. In tropical countries the fresh nuts are largely consumed, and are thought greatly to resemble almonds in flavor. In this country they are more commonly roasted. They are less easily digested than many other nuts because of the large amount of oily matter which they contain.

To Blanch Almonds.—Shell fresh, sweet almonds, and pour boiling water over them; let them stand for two or three minutes, skim out, and drop into cold water. Press between the thumb and finger, and the kernels will readily slip out of the brown covering. Dry between clean towels. Blanched almonds served with raisins make an excellent dessert.

Boiled Chestnuts.—The large variety, knows as the Italian chestnut, is best for this purpose. Remove the shells, drop into boiling water, and boil for ten minutes, take out, drop into cold water, and rub off the brown skin. Have some clean water boiling, turn the blanched nuts into it, and cook until they can be pierced with a fork. Drain thoroughly, put into a hot dish, dry in the oven for a few minutes, and serve. A cream sauce or tomato sauce may be served with them if liked.

Mashed Chestnuts.—Prepare and boil the chestnuts as in the preceding recipe. When tender, mash through a colander with a potato masher. Season with cream and salt if desired. Serve hot.

Baked Chestnuts.—PutItalian chestnuts in the shell on a perforated tin in a rather hot oven, and bake for ten minutes, until tender. Remove the shells, and serve hot. If preferred, they can be roasted on a clean shovel or in a corn popper over a bed of coals.

To Keep Nuts Fresh.—Chestnuts and other thin-shelled nuts may be kept from becoming too dry by mixing with an equal bulk of dry sand and storing in a box or barrel in some cool place.

Who lives to eat, will die by eating.—Sel.

Fruit bears the closest relation to light. The sun pours a continuous flood of light into the fruits, and they furnish the best portion of food a human being requires for the sustenance of mind and body.—Alcott.

The famous Dr. John Hunter, one of the most eminent physicians of his time, and himself a sufferer from gout, found in apples a remedy for this very obstinate and distressing malady. He insisted that all of his patients should discard wine and roast beef, and make a free use of apples.

Do not too much for your stomach, or it will abandon you.—Sel.

The purest food is fruit, next the cereals, then the vegetables. All pure poets have abstained almost entirely from animal food. Especially should a minister take less meat when he has to write a sermon. The less meat the better sermon.—A. Bronson Alcott.

There is much false economy: those who are too poor to have seasonable fruits and vegetables, will yet have pie and pickles all the year. They cannot afford oranges, yet can afford tea and coffee daily.—Health Calendar.

What plant we in the apple tree?Fruits that shall dwell in sunny June,And redden in the August moon,And drop, when gentle airs come by,That fan the blue September sky,While children come, with cries of glee,And seek there when the fragrant grassBetrays their bed to those who passAt the foot of the apple tree—Bryant.

LEGUMES

The legumes, to which belong peas, beans, and lentils, are usually classed among vegetables; but in composition they differ greatly from all other vegetable foods, being characterized by a very large percentage of the nitrogenous elements, by virtue of which they possess the highest nutritive value. Indeed, when mature, they contain a larger proportion of nitrogenous matter than any other food, either animal or vegetable. In their immature state, they more nearly resemble the vegetables. On account of the excess of nitrogenous elements in their composition, the mature legumes are well adapted to serve as a substitute for animal foods, and for use in association with articles in which starch or other non-nitrogenous elements are predominant; as, for example, beans or lentils with rice, which combinations constitute the staple food of large populations in India.

The nitrogenous matter of legumes is termedlegumin, or vegetable casein, and its resemblance to the animal casein of milk is very marked. The Chinese make use of this fact, andmanufacture cheese from peas and beans. The legumes were largely used as food by the ancient nations of the East. They were the "pulse" upon which the Hebrew children grew so fair and strong. According to Josephus, legumes also formed the chief diet of the builders of the pyramids. They are particularly valuable as strength producers, and frequently form a considerable portion of the diet of persons in training as athletes, at the present day. Being foods possessed of such high nutritive value, the legumes are deserving of a more extended use than is generally accorded them in this country. In their mature state they are, with the exception of beans, seldom found upon the ordinary bill of fare, and beans are too generally served in a form quite difficult of digestion, being combined with large quantities of fat, or otherwise improperly prepared. Peas and lentils are in some respects superior to beans, being less liable to disagree with persons of weak digestion, and for this reason better suited to form a staple article of diet.

All the legumes are covered with a tough skin, which is in itself indigestible, and which if not broken by the cooking process or by thorough mastication afterward, renders the entire seed liable to pass through the digestive tract undigested, since the digestive fluids cannot act upon the hard skin. Even when the skins are broken, if served with the pulp, much of the nutritive material of the legume is wasted, because it is impossible for the digestive processes to free it from the cellulose material of which the skins are composed. If, then, it be desirable to obtain from the legumes the largest amount of nutriment and in the most digestible form, they must be prepared in some manner so as to reject the skins. Persons unable to use the legumes when cooked in the ordinary way, usually experience no difficulty whatever in digesting them when divested of their skins. The hindrance which even the partially broken skins are to the complete digestion of the legume, is well illustrated by the personal experiments of Prof. Strümpell, a German scientist, who found that of beans boiled with the skins on he was able to digest only 60 per cent of the nitrogenous material they contained. When, however, he reduced thesame quantity of beans to a fine powder previous to cooking, he was enabled to digest 91.8 per cent of it.

The fact that the mature legumes are more digestible when prepared in some manner in which the skins are rejected, was doubtless understood in early times, for we find in a recipe of the fourteenth century, directions given "to dry legumes in an oven and remove the skins away before using them."

The green legumes which are more like a succulent vegetable are easily digested with the skins on, if the hulls are broken before being swallowed. There are also some kinds of beans which, in their mature state, from having thinner skins, are more readily digested, as the Haricot variety.

Suggestions for Cooking.—The legumes are best cooked by stewing or boiling, and when mature, require prolonged cooking to render them tender and digestible. Slow cooking, when practicable, is preferable. Dry beans and peas are more readily softened by cooking if first soaked for a time in cold water. The soaking also has a tendency to loosen the skins, so that when boiled or stewed, a considerable portion of them slip off whole, and being lighter, rise to the top during the cooking, and can be removed with a spoon; it likewise aids in removing the strong flavor characteristic of these foods, which is considered objectionable by some persons. The length of time required for soaking will depend upon the age of the seed, those from the last harvest needing only a few hours, while such as have been kept for two or more years require to be soaked twelve or twenty-four hours. For cooking, soft water is best. The mineral elements in hard water have a tendency to harden the casein, of which the legumes a largely composed, thus rendering it often very difficult to soften them.

The dry, unsoaked legumes are generally best put to cook in cold water, and after the boiling point is reached, allowed to simmer gently until done. Boiling water may be used for legumes which have been previously soaked. The amount of water required will vary somewhat with the heat employed and the age and condition of the legume, as will also the time required for cooking, but as a general rule two quarts of soft water for one pint of seeds will be quite sufficient. Salt should not be added until the seeds are nearly done, as it hinders the cooking process.

Description.—The common garden pea is probably a native of countries bordering on the Black Sea. A variety known as the gray pea (pois chiche) has been used since a very remote period. The common people of Greece and Rome, in ancient times made it an ordinary article of diet. It is said that peas were considered such a delicacy by the Romans that those who coveted public favor distributed them gratuitously to the people in order to buy votes.

Peas were introduced into England from Holland in the time of Elizabeth, and were then considered a great delicacy. History tells us that when the queen was released from her confinement in the tower, May 19, 1554, she went to Staining to perform her devotions in the church of Allhallows, after which she dined at a neighboring inn upon a meal of which the principal dish was boiled peas. A dinner of the same kind, commemorative of the event, was for a long time given annually at the same tavern.

Peas, when young, are tender and sweet, containing a considerable quantity of sugar. The nitrogenous matter entering into their composition, although less in quantity when unripe, is much more easily digested than when the seeds are mature.

When quite ripe, like other leguminous seeds, they require long cooking. When very old, no amount of boiling will soften them. When green, peas are usually cooked and served as a vegetable; in their dried state, they are put to almost every variety of use in the different countries where they are cultivated.

In the southeast of Scotland, a favorite food is made of ground peas prepared in thick cakes and called peas-bainocks.

In India and southern Europe, a variety of the pea is eaten parched or lightly roasted, or made into cakes, puddings, andsweetmeats. In Germany, in combination with other ingredients, peas are compounded into sausages, which, during the Franco-Prussian war, served as rations for the soldiers.

Dried peas for culinary use are obtainable in two forms; the split peas, which have had the tough envelope of the seed removed, and the green or Scotch peas.

The time required for cooking will vary from five to eight hours, depending upon the age of the seed and the length of time it has been soaked previous to cooking.

Stewed Split Peas.—Carefully examine and wash the peas, rejecting any imperfect or worm-eaten ones. Put into cold water and let them come to a boil; then place the stewpan back on the range and simmer gently until tender, but not mushy. Season with salt and a little cream if desired.

Peas Puree.—Soak a quart of Scotch peas in cold water over night. In the morning, drain and put them to cook in boiling water. Cook slowly until perfectly tender, allowing them to simmer very gently toward the last until they become as dry as possible. Put through a colander to render them homogeneous and remove the skins. Many of the skins will be loosened and rise to the top during the cooking, and it is well to remove these with a spoon so as to make the process of rubbing through the colander less laborious. Season with salt if desired, and a cup of thin cream. Serve hot.

Mashed Peas.—Soak and cook a quart of peas as for PeasPureeWhen well done, if the Scotch peas, rub through a colander to remove the skins. If the split peas are used, mash perfectly smooth with a potato masher. Season with a teaspoonful of salt and a half cup of sweet cream, if desired. Beat well together, turn into an earthen or granite-ware pudding dish, smooth the top, and bake in a moderate oven until dry and mealy throughout, and nicely browned on top. Serve hot like mashed potato, or with a tomato sauce prepared as follows: Heat a pint of strained, stewed tomato, season lightly with salt, and when boiling, thicken with a tablespoonful of flour rubbed smooth in a little cold water.

Peas Cakes.—Cut cold mashed peas in slices half an inch in thickness, brush lightly with cream, place on perforated tins, and brown in the oven. If the peas crumble too much to slice, form them into small cakes with a spoon or knife, and brown as directed. Serve hot with or without a tomatosauce. A celery sauce prepared as directed in the chapter on Sauces, is also excellent.

Dried Green Peas.—Gather peas while young and tender and carefully dry them. When needed for use, rinse well, and put to cook in cold water. Let them simmer until tender. Season with cream the same as fresh green peas.

Description.—Some variety of the bean family has been cultivated and used for culinary purposes from time immemorial. It is frequently mentioned in Scripture; King David considered it worthy of a place in his dietary, and the prophet Ezekiel was instructed to mix it with the various grains and seeds of which he made his bread.

Among some ancient nations the bean was regarded as a type of death, and the priests of Jupiter were forbidden to eat it, touch it, or even pronounce its name. The believer in the doctrine of transmigration of souls carefully avoided this article of food, in the fear of submitting beloved friends to the ordeal of mastication.

At the present day there is scarcely a country in hot or temperate climates where the bean is not cultivated and universally appreciated, both as a green vegetable and when mature and dried.

The time required to digest boiled beans is two and one half hours, and upwards.

In their immature state, beans are prepared and cooked like other green vegetables. Dry beans may be either boiled, stewed, or baked, but whatever the method employed, it must be very slow and prolonged. Beans to be baked should first be parboiled until tender. We mention this as a precautionary measure lest some amateur cook, misled by the term "bake," should repeat the experiment of the little English maid whom we employed as cook while living in London, a few years ago. In ordering our dinner, we had quite overlooked the fact that baked beans are almost wholly an American dish, and failed to give any suggestions as to the best manner of preparing it. Left to her own resources, the poor girl did the best she knewhow, but her face was full of perplexity as she placed the beans upon the table at dinner, with, "Well, ma'am, here are the beans, but I don't see how you are going to eat them." Nor did we, for she had actually baked the dry beans, and they lay there in the dish, as brown as roasted coffee berries, and as hard as bullets.

Beans to be boiled or stewed do not need parboiling, although many cooks prefer to parboil them, to lessen the strong flavor which to some persons is quite objectionable.

From one to eight hours are required to cook beans, varying with the age and variety of the seed, whether it has been soaked, and the rapidity of the cooking process.

Baked Beans.—Pick over a quart of best white beans and soak in cold water over night. Put them to cook in fresh water, and simmer gently till they are tender, but not broken. Let them be quite juicy when taken from the kettle. Season with salt and a teaspoonful of molasses. Put them in a deep crock in a slow oven. Let them bake two or three hours, or until they assume a reddish brown tinge, adding boiling water occasionally to prevent their becoming dry. Turn, into a shallow dish, and brown nicely before sending to the table.

Boiled Beans.—Pick over some fresh, dry beans carefully, and wash thoroughly. Put into boiling water and cook gently and slowly until tender, but not broken. They should be moderately juicy when done. Serve with lemon juice, or season with salt and a little cream as preferred.

The colored varieties, which are usually quite strong in flavor, are made less so by parboiling for fifteen or twenty minutes and then pouring the water off, adding more of boiling temperature, and cooking slowly until tender.

Beans Boiled in a Bag.—Soak a pint of white beans over night. When ready to cook, put them into a clean bag, tie up tightly, as the beans have already swelled, and if given space to move about with the boiling of the water will become broken and mushy. Boil three or four hours. Serve hot.

Scalloped Beans.—Soak a pint of white beans over night in cold water. When ready to cook, put into an earthen baking dish, cover well with new milk, and bake in a slow oven for eight or nine hours; refilling the dish with milk as it boils away, and taking care that the beans do not at any time get dry enough to brown over the top till they are tender.When nearly done, add salt to taste, and a half cup of cream. They may be allowed to bake till the milk is quite absorbed, and the beans dry, or may be served when rich with juice, according to taste. The beans may be parboiled in water for a half hour before beginning to bake, and the length of time thereby lessened. They should be well drained before adding the milk, however.

Stewed Beans.—Soak a quart of white beans in water over night. In the morning drain, turn hot water over them an inch deep or more, cover, and place on the range where they will only just simmer, adding boiling water if needed. When nearly tender, add salt to taste, a tablespoonful of sugar if desired, and half a cup of good sweet cream. Cook slowly an hour or more longer, but let them be full of juice when taken up, never cooked down dry and mealy.

Mashed Beans.—Soak over night in cold water, a quart of nice white beans. When ready to cook, drain, put into boiling water, and boil till perfectly tender, and the water nearly evaporated. Take up, rub through a colander to remove the skins, season with salt and a half cup of cream, put in a shallow pudding dish, smooth the top with a spoon, and brown in the oven.

Stewed Lima Beans.—Put the beans into boiling water, and cook till tender, but not till they fall to pieces. Fresh beans should cook an hour or more, and dry ones require from two to three hours unless previously soaked. They are much better to simmer slowly than to boil hard. They should be cooked nearly dry. Season with salt, and a cup of thin cream, to each pint of beans. Simmer for a few minutes after the cream is turned in. Should it happen that the beans become tender before the water is sufficiently evaporated, do not drain off the water, but add a little thicker cream, and thicken the whole with a little flour. A little flour stirred in with the cream, even when the water is nearly evaporated may be preferred by some.

Succotash.—Boil one part Lima beans and two parts sweet corn separately until both are nearly tender. Put them together, and simmer gently till done. Season with salt and sweet cream. Fresh corn and beans may be combined in the same proportions, but as the beans will be likely to require the most time for cooking, they should be put to boil first, and the corn added when the beans are about half done, unless it is exceptionally hard, in which case it must be added sooner.

Pulp Succotash.—Score the kernels of some fresh green corn with a sharp knife blade, then with the back of a knife scrape out all the pulp, leaving the hulls on the cob. Boil the pulp in milk ten or fifteen minutes, or until well done. Cook some fresh shelled beans until tender, and rub them through a colander. Put together an equal quantity of the beansthus prepared and the cooked corn pulp, season with salt and sweet cream, boil together for a few minutes, and serve. Kornlet and dried Lima beans may be made into succotash in a similar manner.

Description.—Several varieties of the lentil are cultivated for food, but all are nearly alike in composition and nutritive value. They have long been esteemed as an article of diet. That they were in ordinary use among the Hebrews is shown by the frequent mention of them in Scripture. It is thought that the red pottage of Esau was made from the red variety of this legume.

The ancient Egyptians believed that a diet of lentils would tend to make their children good tempered, cheerful, and wise, and for this reason constituted it their principal food. A gravy made of lentils is largely used with their rice by the natives of India, at the present day.

The meal which lentils yield is of great richness, and generally contains more casein than either beans or peas. The skin, however, is tough and indigestible, and being much smaller than peas, when served without rejecting the skins, they appear to be almost wholly of tough, fibrous material; hence they are of little value except for soups,purees, toasts, and other such dishes as require the rejection of the skin. Lentils have a stronger flavor than any of the other legumes, and their taste is not so generally liked until one has become accustomed to it.

Lentils are prepared and cooked in the same manner as dried peas, though they require somewhat less time for cooking.

The large dark variety is better soaked for a time previous to cooking, or parboiled for a half hour and then put into new water, to make them less strong in flavor and less dark in color.

Lentil Puree.—Cook the lentils and rub through a colander as for peaspuree. Season, and serve in the same manner.

Lentils Mashed with Beans.—Lentils may be cooked and prepared in the same manner as directed for mashed peas, but they are less strong in flavor if about one third to one half cooked white beans are used with them.

Lentil Gravy with Rice.—Rub a cupful of cooked lentils through a colander to remove the skins, add one cup of rich milk, part cream if it can be afforded, and salt if desired. Heat to boiling, and thicken with a teaspoonful of flour rubbed smooth in a little cold milk. Serve hot on nicely steamed or boiled rice, or with well cooked macaroni.

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