General Directions for Cooking Vegetables.

Select the vegetables carefully, choosing each in the season when it is at its best.

Those which are sent to market from a great distance are expensive and usually wilted, and so unsatisfactory that we tire of them by the time local garden products are in their prime. Many of the vegetables in the markets are overgrown and, therefore, tough and unpalatable.

All vegetables must be well cleaned before cooking, and a small scrubbing brush and a sharp-pointed knife are great helps in this process.

Wilted vegetables sometimes may be freshened by soaking or sprinkling with water before cooking.

The water in which strong flavored vegetables are cooked should be changed several times. All others should be cooked in little water that sugary juices may be retained. On this account steaming or baking is sometimes better.

Color is retained best when vegetables are boiled in an uncovered kettle, and the odor of onions and cabbage is less disagreeable in the house. Vegetables should be put in boiling water, which is usually salted at first. If the water is hard a very little soda may be added. Any vegetable may be served in many different forms, plain, with various sauces, in a soup or a salad or croquettes.

Artichokes.

French artichokes are expensive usually and but a small part is edible. The stem, outside leaves, and choke must be removed. Cook in boiling salted water until a leaf can be pulled out, about thirty minutes. Drain and serve with melted butter or Hollandaise sauce. Or serve cold with mayonnaise.

The artichoke bottoms after boiling and seasoning may be dipped in batter and fried in deep fat.

Jerusalem artichokes are pickled or served as a salad. They may be pared, put into vinegar and water to prevent discoloring, then boiled tender, and served with a white sauce.

Asparagus

Break off tough lower end, wash the stalks, and cook them in boiling salted water from twenty to forty-five minutes, until tender. Or break in inch pieces, scraping off the lower end, cooking tough portions first and adding tips for fifteen minutes. Serve on buttered toast or with white or Hollandaise sauce. The water where the asparagus was boiled may be used to soften the toast, or in the sauce, or for a soup.

The asparagus with sauce may be served in rolls crisped in the oven after the centers are removed and the sides spread with butter.

Left-over asparagus may be used for soup or salad or in an omelet.