Vegetables should be used generously in our daily meals. They are chiefly valuable for the pure water and mineral matter they contain, which act as a tonic in our bodies. They contain cellulose or wood fiber, which stimulates the digestive organs to carry on their work. The cellulose stimulates the intestines so that their contents are kept constantly moving. Some vegetables contain starch, sugar and other substances.

Peas, beans and lentils will take the place of meat. Spinach is rich in iron, etc. It is well to eat many different kinds of vegetables in order to supply the body with the different kinds of mineral matter and acids they contain.

Buying Vegetables

In buying vegetables, choose those that are in season and plentiful.

Potatoes. - Never buy sprouted potatoes. To test potatoes, cut one in halves, and if they are juicy enough to stick together the potato is good.

Cabbage. - Select those that are hard and heavy, with crisp, white leaves.

Winter Squash. - Select those that are medium-sized with no soft spots.

Summer Squash. - Select those that are light yellow in color, with the shell so tender that it can be broken with the finger nail.

Summer Carrots. - See that the leaves are green and fresh.

Corn. - See that the silk is brown and that the ear is well filled with good kernels that are full of sweet milky juice.

Peas. - Pods should be green and brittle; the peas green and not too large.

String Beans. - Break a pod. It should be brittle.

Lima Beans. - Select those with green, juicy pods.

Spinach. - Choose that with leaves fresh and dirty.

General Rules For Cooking Vegetables

Wash thoroughly. Pare, peel or scrape, if skins must be removed. Skins should be left on to keep in all the food value possible. Soak in cold water until ready to cook. Cook in freshly boiling salted water until tender. Drain off the water, shake over the fire, serve hot with seasoning, using 2 tablespoons fat, ½ teaspoon salt, and a few grains pepper to 1 cup cooked vegetables, or serve with white sauce.

Note. - Allow 1 teaspoon salt to 1 quart of water. Use enough boiling water to cover vegetables. Salt may be added when vegetables are put in, except in the case of delicate green vegetables, as peas, spinach, etc., when it should not be added until the vegetables are nearly done. To preserve the color of green vegetables, cook uncovered. Cabbage, onions and turnips should be cooked uncovered in a large quantity of water. By changing the water once or twice during the cooking, much of the strong odor and flavor may be lost. If dried bread be tied in a cheesecloth and placed on top of vegetable during cooking, it absorbs some of the odor. Water in which vegetables have been cooked is called vegetable stock and should never be thrown away but used in soups and sauces.

Winter vegetables should be kept in a cool, dark, dry place. Fresh vegetables may be washed and kept on ice in a clean piece of cloth.

Time Table For Cooking Vegetables In Water

How To Prepare Different Kinds Of Vegetables

Carrots. - Boil in skins, peel, slice, cube or cut lengthwise. Serve with seasonings, in white sauce or in thickened meat stock; or mash to a pulp, mix with egg and cream and bake in greased cups.

Beets. - Boil in skins, peel, cut in slices, cube or cut as desired, serve plain with seasonings or in white sauce or pickle in diluted vinegar, to which a few cloves, a slice of onion and a little sugar have been added. Cubed boiled beets may be added to corn beef hash mixture.

Parsnips. - Boil in skins, peel, cut as desired, serve hot in seasoned butter or white sauce, or brown in fat, or mash to a pulp, add an egg, teaspoon salt, tablespoon sugar and a few grains pepper to each cup; shape into croquettes, dip in crumbs, egg and crumbs again, and fry in deep fat; or bake mixture in greased molds; or arrange slices or cubes of boiled parsnips, white sauce, and crumbs in layers in a well-greased baking dish and serve as scalloped parsnips.

Turnips. - Boil in skins, peel, serve plain with seasonings or in white sauce. Mix with carrots or prepare as parsnip croquettes.

Rutabago. - Wash and pare, slice, boil and mash, season with fat, salt and pepper and sugar, or scoop out pared and boiled rutabagos; fill with a mixture of chopped meat, chopped green pepper, onion, parsley, salt, bread crumbs and moisten with white sauce. Brush outside of rutabagos with melted fat, place in a greased pan and bake.

Sweet Potatoes. - Boil in skins, peel boiled sweet potatoes, slice and brown in fat; or put in baking pan, cover with syrup, to which a little salt and fat have been added and bake in the oven until nicely browned. Serve as Glaced Sweet Potatoes. Mash boiled sweet potatoes, serve as Mashed Sweet Potatoes, or add 1 egg, 2 tablespoons sugar, to each 2 cups and shape into croquettes, dip in crumbs, egg and crumbs again, and fry in deep fat. Serve as Sweet Potato Croquettes. Bake in skins, and serve as Baked Sweet Potatoes.

Potatoes. - Boil with or without skins, peel and serve plain or mashed; or prepare as sweet potato croquettes, omitting the sugar. Cut boiled potatoes in slices or cubes and reheat in white sauce and serve as Creamed Potatoes, using 1½ cups sauce to 2 cups potatoes; or, cut boiled or raw potatoes in slices and arrange in layers with a little onion and white sauce, and bake until potatoes are done; or browned on top and serve as Scalloped Potatoes. Hash cold boiled potatoes, and to 4 cups add ½ teaspoon salt, few grains pepper, few drops onion Juice, 4 tablespoons milk and mix. Melt 4 tablespoons dripping in frying pan; when melted and browned, pack in potatoes, cook slowly until nicely browned. Fold and serve as Hashed Browned Potatoes. Bake raw potatoes, serve as Baked, or scoop out, mash and cream, and serve as Baked Stuffed Potatoes.