The Cook County cook book

ASPARAGUS— CREAMED.— Clean and cut into quarters 1 or 2 bunches of asparagus. Boil in salt water. In another pan put 1 tablespoon each of butter and flour. Pour this over the asparagus, add salt and pepper, and serve. — Mrs. Schmalzried, Maywood, ASPARAGUS SHORTCAKE.— Sift 3 times 2^ cups flour, 1 teaspoon salt, and 2J^ teaspoons of baking powder; work in J/2 cup shortening, and mix to a dough with sweet milk, knead lightly, and roll out to fit a large layer cake-pan. Bake about 20 minutes. Split the cake and spread each half with butter. Have the tender portion of the asparagus cut in inch lengths, cook tender. Make a drawn butter sauce of a cup of flour, J4 cup butter, ^ teaspoon salt and the asparagus liquid. Place half of this sauce on the buttered halves of the cake. Press the other half on top, and serve with the remaining cream sauce, peas, lentils, okra, string beans, corn, succotash, chopped beets, cabbage, cauliflower, in fact almost any vegetables may be served in this manner. — Mabel Sturtevant, 105 S. Dearborn St,, Chicago, 111. BOILED ARTICHOKES.— The Jerusalem artichoke should be washed well in several waters and picked over carefully to see that no insects are about them. Trim the leaves at the bottom. Cut off the stems and put the artichokes into 'boiling water with a heaping tablespoon of salt, and a piece of soda size of a quarter. Keep the saucepan uncovered, and let them boil quickly, until tender. When done you can thrust a fork through them. Take out and drain, serve with white sauce poured over them, made of flour, butter, new milk, 2 small onions, cut up thin, and pepper. A tureen of melted butter should accompany them. It takes 25 minutes to cook. — Mrs. E. D. Kelley, Winnetka, 111. FRIED ARTICHOKES.— Boil the artichokes 8 to 10 minutes, lift out, drain on a sieve, and let them cool. Dip into beaten egg, cover with fine bread crumbs, fry a light brown, drain, pile in hot dish, and serve quickly. — Mrs. E. D. Kelley, Winnetka, 111. BOSTON BAKED BEANS.— Soak 1 qt. beans over night, bring to a boil in cold water and drain. Boil 30 minutes and drain. Put in a stone jar J4 teaspoon mustard, 1 onion, season beans with salt, put into the jar and pint 1 lb. of pork on top, add a little molasses and brown sugar. Fill jar full of cold water and bake nearly all day, without cover. — Mrs. Clara Stone, 228 S. 16th Ave., Maywood, 111. PLAIN BAKED BEANS.— To those who tire of baked beans, or whose stomachs cannot digest beans or pork, try the following: Boil 2 cups common beans until tney crack, drain, add melted butter, pepper, and salt; mash with potato masher, put in your puding-pan or baker, add the liquid from a can of tomatoes, cover thickly -with ground peanuts, then a layer of bread or cracker crumbs, with dots of butter, bake in even oven until brown. .Good either hot or cold. — E. G. Hattis, Winnetka, 111. BAKED BEANS. — Soak 1 qt. small white beans over night. The next morning boil in water. Do not boil until the skins crack; to test them blow on a spoonful; if done enough the skins will crack. Put the beans into a colander, pour cold water through them and let drain. Cut thin slices from a lb. of sweet pork to cover the bottom of the bean jar. On the slices lay some thin slices of raw onion. Mix 2 tablespoons of sugar and 1 teaspoon