Vaughans Vegetable Cook Book (4th edition) | Page 5

BEANS.
Steep one pint of haricot beans for a night in cold water, then remove them, drain and put on the fire with two quarts of soft water. When boiling allow the beans to simmer for another two hours. While they are cooking thus, put on in another saucepan two ounces of butter, an ounce of parsley (chopped) and the juice of one lemon, and when the butter has quite melted throw in the beans and stir them round for a few minutes. To be served with rice.
HARICOT BEANS.
Soak a pint of beans over night, cook the next morning until perfectly soft, strain through a sieve and season with one teaspoonful of salt and a saltspoonful of pepper. From this point this mass is capable of many treatments. It is made into a plain loaf sprinkled with bread crumbs, dotted with butter and baked, or it is mixed with a cream sauce and treated the same way, or it is made into a plain croquet, dipped into batter and fried, or it is seasoned with a tablespoonful of molasses, vinegar and butter and made into croquets, or it is mixed with a French dressing and eaten while it is warm as a warm salad.
LIMA BEANS.
After shelling a quart of lima beans, cook in boiling salted water until tender, then stir in a lump of butter the size of an egg and pepper and salt to taste; or season with milk or cream, butter, salt and pepper, or melt a piece of butter the size of an egg, mix with it an even teaspoonful of flour, and a little meat broth to make a smooth sauce. Put the beans in the sauce and let them simmer very slowly for fifteen minutes. Just before serving add a tablespoonful of chopped parsley and salt and pepper to taste.
STRING BEANS BOILED.
Take the pods as fresh and young as possible and shred them as finely as a small knife will go through them, cutting them lengthwise. Put into salted water and boil until tender. Then drain and serve with plenty of sweet butter, and they will be as delicate as peas. If one likes vinegar, a little of it will improve the dish.
STRING BEANS PICKLED.
Boil beans until tender, and then put into strong vinegar; add green peppers to taste.
STRING BEAN SALAD.
Cook the beans in salted water, drain and season while warm with salt, pepper, oil and vinegar. A little onion juice is an improvement. (See French Salad Dressing.)
STRING BEAN SOUP.
Boil one pint of string beans cut in inch lengths, in one pint of veal or celery stock and one pint of water, add a few slices of potatoes, a stalk of tender celery chopped, half a small onion, two or three leaves of summer savory and a clove. When soft rub through a sieve. Put in a saucepan and cook together a tablespoonful of butter, a heaping tablespoonful of flour and a pint of rich milk. Add this to the stock and pulp, season with pepper and salt and serve.
WHITE NAVY BEANS CURRIED.
If the fresh kidney beans are not obtainable soak a pint of the dried over night. Boil in two quarts of water for two hours or until tender. Drain, when soft, and put into a saucepan with an ounce of butter, one small onion chopped fine, one saltspoonful of salt and a half-teaspoonful of curry powder. Toss the beans in this mixture for a few moments over the fire; then mix smoothly a tablespoonful of flour with a large cup of milk and season highly with a tablespoonful each of chopped parsley, chopped bacon, tomato catchup and chutney, adding also a saltspoonful of salt, and add to the beans; set the saucepan on the back of the range and let the contents simmer three-quarters of an hour, adding more milk if the curry becomes too thick. Serve with plain boiled rice.
CHICAGO RECORD.
BAKED BEETS.
[Illustration]
Bake two large beets, take off the hard outside, and the inner part will be surprisingly sweet. Slice and pour over a sauce made with two tablespoonfuls of butter, juice of half a lemon, a half teaspoonful of salt and a dash of pepper.
BEETS AND BUTTER SAUCE.
Boil three or four beets until tender in fast boiling water, slightly salted, which must entirely cover them. Then scrape off the skin, cut the beets into slices, and the slices into strips. Melt an ounce of butter, add to it a little salt, pepper, sugar and a teaspoonful of vinegar. Pour over the beets and serve. A small minced onion added to the sauce is sometimes considered an improvement.
BEET SALAD.
Slice cold boiled beets; cut into neat strips, and serve with white crisp lettuce; pour over a mayonnaise dressing; or slice the beets and put in layers with slices of hard boiled eggs, or, with new