Mrs. Lincoln's Boston cook book

Bummer Squashes are good only when young, fresh, and tender. Wash, and cut into quarters or small pieces. The skin and seeds need not be removed. Cook in boiling salted water twenty minutes, or until tender. Place the squash in a strainer cloth, mash it thoroughly, squeeze the cloth until the squash is dry. Add a little cream or butter, salt and pepper, and heat again before serving. The Boston Cook Book. Carrots and Turnips. Carrots and turnips contain, instead of starch, a gelatinous gummy substance, called pectine. They are useful in soups, giving them a fine flavor and color. Soups in which carrots are used are gelatinous when cold. Carrots are not a favorite vegetable for the table; but if young and tender, they are palatable when boiled, and served in a white sauce. They should be washed and scraped (not pared) before boiling. Old carrots are sometimes boiled, and served with corned beef and salt fish. Their rich color makes them effective as a garnish. The red, outside part is considered the best, as the inside is stringy. Turnips contain but little nutriment. They are very watery, and having no starch are agreeable food to be eaten with potatoes. They contain no salt, and therefore need more than other vegetables. Being wholly deficient in starch and fat, they are good with fat meat, corned beef, roast pork, and mutton. Turnips in White Sauce. — Wash and cut French turnips into half or three-quarter inch slices ; pare and cut each slice into strips, and then into cubes. Boil in boiling salted water until tender. Drain and pour white sauce over them. Turnips may also be mashed, drained, and seasoned with butter, pepper, and salt. Parsnips. Parsnips contain starch and sugar, a small portion of gluten, and less water than carrots or turnips. They are eaten with salt fish and corned beef. Those which have remained in the ground through the winter are considered the best. They should be washed and scrubbed thoroughly, but are more easily peeled after boiling. Cut them into half-inch cubes, and serve in white sauce, JParsnip Fritters, — After boiling the parsnips, plunge them into cold water and the skins will slip off easil}^ mash them, and season to taste with butter, salt, and pepper. Flour the hands, and shape the mashed parsnip 3o6 The Boston Cook Book, into small, flat oval cakes. Eoll them in flour, and fry them in butter until brown ; or dip them in molasses, and then fry. Salsify, or Oyster Plant. Scrape, and throw at once into cold water, with a little vinegar in it to keep them from turning black. Cook in boiling salted water one hour, or until tender. Drain, mash, and season, and fry like parsnip fritters ; or cut into inch lengths, and mix with a white sauce ; or dip the pieces in fritter batter, and fi^ in hot fat. Beets.