Baked Beans

Pick over the beans carefully, wash and soak them in soft water as directed in chapter on legumes. If the beans are to be cooked with fat, scald or parboil the meat first, add it to the beans after they have cooked for about an hour. If the beans require long cooking, take the meat out when it is tender. When the beans are tender, pour them into a bean pot or round pan, cover the top with part of the fat meat cut into slices, or pour some cooking oil over the beans, and add a few whole onions. Bake for about an hour. Onions and fat meat eaten at the same meal are liable to disagree, therefore serve the onions at another time, or use them only for flavoring purposes.

Baked Lentils Or Peas

Prepare in the same manner as baked beans. They require less fat for cooking, and are more palatable if served without meat than are beans. Onions are rich in oil, therefore if plenty of onions are used, the meat is not missed so much. In cooking legumes, it is best not to add the salt until they are nearly done, because the salt hardens the water. If legumes are preferred cooked instead of baked, it is better to add a thickening of flour and butter before serving, otherwise they may produce flatulent dyspepsia.

Legumes lose their natural flavor and. stimulus in the drying and soaking process, therefore they are not palatable or easy to digest without some form of fat and appetizing raw salad, which supplies the needed stimulant. Many people add sweets to legumes or make them more indigestible by adding ground nuts and other rich foods to them, as in many vegetarian dishes. Such foods are a dangerous burden to a weak stomach and liver. Heavy protein foods require an acid medium for proper digestion and utilization. If legumes are used in the form of soups and purees, nothing should be added but a little flour, dry toast, fats, or raw vegetables. If we wish to be strict vegetarians we must live upon raw foods. If we wish to live on cooked foods, a moderate amount of meat is necessary for most people.

Lima Beans. No. 1

Soak some lima beans in soft water. Cook in a small amount of water with a little salt. When tender, dissolve some cornstarch with cold water and add to the beans; boil for 10 min-i-tes, then add a few tablespoonsful of hot cream and remove from the fire. Flavor with chopped parsley, if desired. Serve with frankfurter or other lean, smoked meats. Mashed or raw carrots are also a good addition.

Lima Beans. No. 2

Prepare like the foregoing. Drain off the water and add a piece of butter, the yolk of an egg, a little lemon juice and parsley, if desired.

Lima Beans. No. 3

Prepare like the foregoing. Drain off the water and prepare a butter-sauce, mix with beans and serve plain, or add the yolk of an egg, a little lemon, and parsley.

Pea Puree

Soak 3/4 cup of dried green peas in soft water. Boil with 1 quart of water and 1 onion for about an hour. Bake in a bean-pot for 1 1/2 hours or longer; add more water if necessary. Keep the peas covered. When done run through a colander and add 1 teaspoonful of butter. This makes about 3/4 of a cup of puree. One-third of this portion is sufficient for a sick person or a young child. Serve on toast, or with raw carrots, or cold fat meat.