Steamed Summer Squash

There are many varieties of this vegetable. Unless the squash is very tender, pare it thinly, cutting away little but the outer rind. Cut it in slices, and if the seeds are young and small, do not remove them ; if at all large, however, take them out, lay the squash on a plate, set it in a steamer over a kettle of boiling water, and steam until tender, usually from thirty to forty minutes. Take it from the steamer, drain off any water that may be upon it, place it in a stew-pan, and mash well. Add butter, salt and pepper to taste, and set the stew-pan on the back of the range for fifteen minutes, uncovered, for the squash to dry as much as possible, stirring it once or twice meanwhile. Re-heat, and serve. This kind of squash may also be boiled and served in the same way, but it is rather more wet when boiled than when steamed.

Fried Squash

Summer squash, which is often disappointing because of its sogginess, will be found very satisfactory when cooked in the following way : Peel the squash thinly, cut it into slices a-quarter of an inch thick, sprinkle each slice with salt and pepper, dip it in beaten egg and then in cracker-crumbs, and fry in a frying-pan until crisp and brown. Drain well, and serve.

Winter Squash

When the shell is hard, split the squash, remove the seeds, and steam or boil until soft. Scrape out the soft part of the squash, and to every pint add a table-spoonful of butter, half a tea-spoonful of sugar, and salt and pepper to taste. Winter squashes are also baked in the shell after the seeds have been removed. The soft part is then scraped out, mashed, seasoned as directed above, and served hot.