The progress meatless cook book

BAKED ASPARAGUS

Cook the asparagus and parsley together in a stew pan, same as Boiled Asparagus. When tender, remove from fire and stir in the well beaten eggs. Smooth the flour in part gradually adding all of the milk, and pour over asparagus in stew pan over fire, add butter and salt and when well mixed, but not boiling, turn into a buttered baking mould, set the mould in a pan of hot water and bake until firm. Serve with melted butter.

BOILED ASPARAGUS

Cut off the tough ends of the stalks, scrape the stem and leave the asparagus in cold salt water thirty minutes. Tie in a bunch, put upright in a kettle holding enough water to reach to the tips. Cook till the stalks are tender, and the tips will be done just right. Serve with butter, pepper and salt, or on toasted bread, or with a cupful of hot cream or milk poured over it.

BAKED BEANS

Soak the beans in cold water over night. In the morning, drain off the water, put into cold water, let boil fifteen minutes, drain off, put again into cold water and boil second fifteen minutes, and repeat a third time. Be sure the beans are put in very cold water each time. After the third boiling, pour off the water, cover with cold water, stir in the other ingredients and boil ten minutes. Then pour into a bean pot and bake all day, adding boiling water if the water bakes out. Leave off the cover ten minutes before finishing the baking.

They may be baked at two different times, if the oven is being used two successive half days.

A chopped onion is good added to the beans.

A cupful of cream stirred in during the last hour of baking is a delicious addition.

Peanuts are good nut to use with beans.

A half teaspoonful of mustard and a half cupful of butter instead of a fourth cupful, omitting the nuts, but using the other ingredients, makes a nice dish.

In winter, set the beanpot on the ledge or shelf inside your furnace door. In the summer, if possible, bake in a fireless cooker, leaving in four hours. Re-heating for ten minutes and putting in the cooker for another four hours.

Serve with Boston Brown Bread.

Most people enjoy catsup on beans.

BEAN CROQUETTES

Put the beans through a colander, work in the other ingredients, shape into small croquettes, roll in crumbs, dip in the beaten egg, roll again in crumbs and fry in deep cooking oil.

BEAN HASH

Put two cupfuls baked beans through a colander, add four cupfuls chopped cooked potatoes, mix, put in a frying pan with a little water and butter size of an egg, season with pepper and salt, stir and heat till of the desired consistency.

BAKED LIMA BEANS

Soak one cupful dried lima beans over night. Next morning, drain and cover with boiling water. Let them cool, drain, cover the second time with boiling water, cool and repeat for the third time. Slip off the loosened skins, put the beans in a baking dish, cover with hot milk, sprinkle with salt and pepper, cover and bake for two hours. Remove the cover after about one hour’s baking, add two tablespoonfuls of butter in small pieces, scatter over the top of the beans, and complete baking with the cover off.

FRESH LIMA BEANS

Shell and put in boiling water and boil till tender. Drain off the water, add one-fourth cupful butter to an ordinary kettle of beans, season with salt and pepper, and serve hot.

STEWED BEANS

Prepare as for Baked Beans; after the third boiling, put again in cold water and stew till tender.

Beans continue to improve by warming over. Put them in a buttered frying pan, with a little water, cover a few minutes, stir to prevent sticking and as soon as heated, remove from fire.

Sliced raw onions are fine with beans.

SUMMER BEANS

Wash, cut in small pieces, cover with boiling water and cook till tender. Drain off water and season with butter, pepper and salt.

BAKED BEETS

Scrub thoroughly after green tops are removed, and place in oven to bake till tender.

BOILED BEETS

Scrub and wash the beets after green tops are removed, place in cold water, let boil till tender, remove from fire, drain, immerse quickly in cold water to make skins peel easily. Peel and serve with butter, pepper and salt.

BEET HASH

Use boiled beets and boiled potatoes in the proportion of two cupfuls chopped potatoes to one of beets. Mix, and put in a buttered frying pan with a little water. Add butter size of a walnut to each cupful of the vegetables, season with pepper and salt, and stir and cook till not too moist.

Pick off the old leaves and wash the sprouts. Put a pinch of soda in a little boiling water in a kettle, turn in the sprouts, adding boiling water to cover. Boil until tender, drain, add butter, and season with pepper and salt.

BAKED CABBAGE

Hollow out the cabbage, and fill with the dressing well stirred together. Place in a bag tied at the top and boil about one hour. When done, remove from bag, add a few small pieces of butter on top, and serve hot. Egg plant may be cooked as above.

BOILED CABBAGE

Remove the outer leaves till those exposed are clean and fresh. Wash, cut in pieces and put in cold water in a kettle with a little salt. Boil about thirty minutes, drain and serve with this—

CREAM SAUCE FOR VEGETABLES

Smooth the flour into just water enough for it to be pasty, add a little of the milk, heat the remainder milk in a double boiler and add flour mixture, stirring constantly.

When very hot, not boiling, add the other ingredients, heat for a few moments and remove from fire.

Always soak cabbage in salty water a half hour before cooking.

Place a piece of bread in the kettle with boiling cabbage to do away with the odor.

CARROTS

Always soak carrots in cold water three or four hours before using. And always cut them in slices when they are to be served in creams, because the outer part is richer in flavor than the center.

BOILED CARROTS

Wash, scrape and put into cold water and boil till tender.

Drain off the water, and serve whole with butter, pepper and salt.

CARROTS WITH DRESSING

Wash, scrape and cut the carrots into thin slices. Cover with boiling water in a stew pan and cook till tender. Drain off the water and return to fire, adding the butter and seasoning. Smooth the flour into a little milk gradually adding all of it, and stir it into the carrots, letting all come to boiling heat, then remove from fire.

Always soak cauliflower in cold water one hour before boiling in salted water about thirty minutes. Place it head down in the kettle, and be sure it is all covered with water.

CELERY

Wash the stalks after breaking them apart, leave part of the green tops on, put in cold water for an hour, and dry quickly on a soft towel before serving.

CORN

Do not use salted water in which to boil corn, as the salt toughens it.

BOILED CORN

Husk the corn, cut off any brown ends or spots, put in cold water, and boil for ten or fifteen minutes.

Re-wrap the ears in the inner husk, tie around with twine and boil.

CORN IN MILK

With a sharp knife, cut the kernels from boiled corn, place in a stew pan, cover with milk, add butter size of an egg, pepper and salt, heat to boiling point, and serve.

CORN IN TOMATOES

Wash, peel and scoop out the centers of firm tomatoes, turn down and drain for a few minutes, then fill with a mixture of uncooked sweet corn kernels cut from the ear, a few chopped mushrooms, one-half teaspoonful of butter, and pepper and salt for each tomato. Pack closely in a buttered pan and bake for about thirty minutes.

FRIED CORN CAKES

Add the beaten yolks to the milk, salt and corn. Stir in a cupful of flour containing the baking powder, then a little more flour to make a stiff batter, and stir in very lightly the stiffly beaten whites. If more flour is needed, stir it in carefully. Fry on a hot buttered griddle and serve with syrup or molasses.

CUCUMBERS

Wash, peel and slice cucumbers, soak in cold salt water one hour, drain, put on a cloth to dry, and serve cold.

EGG PLANT

Wash, peel and cut into slices about three-fourths of an inch in thickness. Soak in salted water for an hour. Put a heavy earthen dish on the slices to keep them under water. Remove from the salt water, dip in egg, then in flour and fry slowly in a buttered frying pan. Use butter enough to prevent the slices sticking. Cover part of the time. Turn them to brown on the other side, using a pancake turner. Serve hot. Egg plant may also be baked like cabbage.

Save leaves of celery, parsley and other herbs, and dry in the warming oven. When thoroughly dry, pack away in glass jars to have ready for flavoring soups and vegetables.

A pinch of soda in the water in which green vegetables are boiled, is a help to keeping color.

When root vegetables have withered, to revive them, slice off the ends, then put the vegetables in cold water, leaving them for several hours.

If a small piece of charcoal is placed in the vegetable kettle, disagreeable odors will be removed, and vegetables not injured.

SPINACH GREENS

Wash spinach very carefully in at least three waters to remove all dirt. Cook in boiling water till tender, drain and season with butter, pepper and salt.

A little cream may be heated and poured over it.

WATER CRESS GREENS

Wash, leave out the large stems, and put the other pieces in a kettle of boiling water to cook thirty minutes. Drain well, and season with butter, pepper and salt.

LENTILS

Soak dried lentils in water over night, drain and put in a kettle with plenty of cold water and cook till tender. Drain, add butter, and season with pepper and salt.

Break macaroni into inch pieces, boil thirty minutes, drain and put one-half of it in a buttered baking pan about the size of a bread pan. Cover with milk, put one-half the corn over it, add the remainder of the macaroni, then the last of the corn. Scatter a few bits of butter over the top, sprinkle with salt and bake.

Cooked sweet corn cut from the ears may be used, or canned corn.

MACARONI AND RICE

Cook like Macaroni and Corn.

MACARONI WITH CREAM SAUCE

Break macaroni into inch pieces, put in boiling water to cover, boil thirty minutes and drain. Then cover it with cold water and put on the fire to boil fifteen minutes. Smooth the flour into a little milk gradually using all of it, add butter and salt, and stir into the macaroni, removing from fire as soon as mixture thickens.