Boiled Artichokes trim the artichokes neatly and cut away the stems and outer leaves, which are tough. Soak half an hour to free from any insect which may have crept in the leaves. Have boiling enough salted water to cover the artichokes. Add a few drops of vinegar to the water and lay in the vegetables. Boil nearly or quite two hours. When thoroughly done drain and serve with drawn butter.

Boiled Asparagus

Wash the asparagus in cold water and cut off the tough ends. Scrape the white part which remains and throw into cold water for thirty minutes. Tie in small bundles and put into a kettle of boiling water. A tin kettle is the best, for the reason that thicker vessels do not boil fast enough. Tin asparagus boilers come for this purpose. Boil until tender, adding a little salt to the water. Now have ready slices of toast, which should be cold. If the loaf of bread is small, use the whole slice; if large, half a slice. Heat as many plates as you have tied bunches, and melt butter enough for all. Dip the toast quickly into the hot asparagus water, lay a piece on a plate; sprinkle a very little salt on this, and pour over it a small quantity of the melted butter. Lift a bunch of the asparagus from the water with a fork, cut the string with scissors and draw it away. Sprinkle more salt on the asparagus and pour over it melted butter. Serve hot, a bunch and a piece of toast to a plate.

Scalloped Asparagus

Wash a large bunch of asparagus, cut in inch lengths, drop in boiling water and boil ten minutes. Have five eggs boiled hard and chopped fine. In a baking dish put a layer of the asparagus, over this sprinkle the chopped egg and add salt, pepper, and small bits of butter. Again put on a layer of asparagus, and again the chopped egg and seasoning. Have the top layer of the vegetable. Into a cup and a half of hot milk stir two tablespoons of flour which has been wet with a little of the milk. When the milk thickens pour it over the vegetable in the pudding dish, add a topping off of breadcrumbs, and bake in a hot oven from ten to twenty minutes.

Baked Bananas.

A Cuban Dish remove one section of peel from each banana, and lay the bananas lengthwise in an earthen baking dish with this exposed side up. Stick the fruit with a fork. Squeeze over each banana the juice of quarter of a lemon, and on each banana lay one teaspoon of sugar and a lump of butter the size of a pea. Grate a little nutmeg over each banana. Add some water in the bottom of the pan to keep from burning, and bake half an hour in a moderate oven. For special occasions it is recommended to add one teaspoon of sherry or Marsala to each banana.

Fried Plantain Or Banana.

A Louisiana Receipt if plantain is not available, use the large bananas that have green ends. Slice the fruit lengthwise, dip the slices in white of egg, dust them with flour, and fry in a deep pan of boiling lard. When brown, remove to a flat dish, and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Serve with the roast.

How To Boil Beets

Wash the beets and cook till soft. The time for cooking is difficult to say. Sometimes when young and tender the beets will cook soft in an hour. Again they need four hours. And not cooked soft they are tasteless and indigestible, and should be tabooed. When cooked slip off the skin, slice and serve hot with butter spread upon them.

How To Cook Brussels Sprouts

Let the sprouts lie for half an hour in cold water strongly salted, so that any insects which have burrowed in them will come to the surface. Then drop them in boiling water, allowing a quart of water to a pint of sprouts. After they have boiled fifteen minutes add a small tablespoon of salt for the quantity named above, and boil till tender. The time will be twenty minutes or half an hour. Do not cook them till they mush.

After they have boiled the sprouts may be served in three forms. First, they may be served plainboiled, as directed above. A second way is to drain off the water in which they were boiled, and to add a dash of pepper, a cup of cream in which a teaspoon of flour has been stirred, and to simmer ten minutes, and serve. A third way is to drain off the water in which the sprouts are boiled, to place them in a saucepan with a tablespoon of butter, a dash of celery salt, and a minced red pepper, to brown a little, and serve.

Boiled Cabbage

Select a firm bead of cabbage. Cut in large pieces. Cut out the core and lay the cabbage in cold water for half an hour. At the end of that time put into a granite kettle with enough boiling water to cover, and cook until very tender. Drain well before serving.

Another nice way to prepare cabbage after boiling is to put it in a saucepan, chop it with a strong knife, rather coarse, season it with salt and a little red pepper to taste, half a cup of vinegar and two tablespoons of melted butter. Mix this together and cook five minutes and serve, very hot.

How To Make Sauerkraut

Choose large cabbages with white heads, take off the outer leaves and shred the cabbages very fine. Lay the outer leaves round the sides and bottom of a cask or tub. Then put in the shredded cabbage in layers about three inches deep, sprinkling each layer with a handful of salt. Press down the layers and repeat the cabbage and salt till you have used your material. Then put on a layer of outer leaves, spread a cloth over the top and also a cover smaller than the top of the cask. Put a heavy weight on the cover for instance, a perfectly clean stone. Set the cask in a warm place till the cabbage begins to ferment, then set it in a cool place. In making the change skim off the scum, wash the cloth, and wash or replace the outer leaves. Let the fermentation go on between two and three weeks. The sauerkraut is then ready for use.