Tomatoes and Okra au Gratin

1 cup okra, cooked

6 tomatoes

1 cup grated cheese

1 cup chopped leftover meat

1/2 cup bread crumbs 1 tablespoon butter

Grease a baking dish and cover the bottom with some of the cooked okra. Slice the tomatoes and place a layer over the okra, season and sprinkle with cheese, bread crumbs, and some of the onion. Alternate layers until all the ingredients are used. Finish with a layer of bread crumbs and cheese. Bake for half an hour in a moderate oven.

Turnips in Sugar

Scrape and dice the turnips; boil in salted water until they are tender.

Make a thick sauce of two tablespoons of flour in two table-spoons butter; add a cup of milk, three tablespoons of sugar, and season. When thick, add to the turnips and simmer for about ten minutes.

Puree of Turnips

Press the turnips through a coarse mesh sieve. Add butter and seasoning. Reheat before serving.

Corn Oysters

Take one-half dozen ears of sweet corn; with a sharp knife split each row of corn in the center of each kernel lengthwise. Scrape out all the pulp, add one egg well beaten, a little salt, one tablespoonful of milk, flour enough to make a stiff batter. Drop into hot lard and fry a delicate brown.

Beans

Wash beans carefully and cut in uniform lengths. Heat a tablespoon lard (this is proportion to use for about a half gallon beans after they have been cut). Slice an onion in this hot grease and allow to cook for a few minutes. Add beans and a cup of hot water. Allow to simmer for two hours or until tender. Then thicken this with a level tablespoon cornstarch dissolved in two tablespoons water. Season with salt and pepper. (If desired seasonings can be added at first.)

Hot Slaw

Cook one head of cabbage, cut fine, until tender in salt water; pour off water; let dry; add a lump of butter; mix well. Make a mayonnaise dressing:

Two tablespoons of flour, two tablespoons of sugar, one tea spoon of mustard, one egg, one-half teacup of vinegar, one cup sour cream. Mix all together and add to cabbage.

For Dried Fruits

An over-night soaking is essential for haricots and butter-beans. Dried fruits, such as prunes and figs, also make a far more delicate dish if soaked for twelve hours in water to which the sugar has already been added. A baked apple which prior to its cooking has been soaked in cold water for a couple of hours is more succulent than the ordinary rather dried up dish. It plumps out to a large size. and when the skin is broken, the inside is found to be full instead of half empty.

Lettuce and radishes should not be served without having been soaked for at least an hour in slightly salted water to bring out the crispness. If either be left over for a second meal the soaking should be repeated for ten minutes. This will enhance the crispness without producing a sodden effect.

Chestnut Balls

Boil, hull, and blanch enough Spanish or Italian chestnuts to measure a cupful when mashed smooth, or run through the ricer.

Put into the double boiler:

1 cup sweet milk

1 tablespoonful butter

1/2 teaspoonful grated onion

1/2 cup ground bread

crumbs Salt and pepper to taste

Stir until thick; remove from fire and add the chestnuts. When cold, form into balls the size of a walnut; dip in egg, then in cracker crumbs, and fry in deep fat.