Miss Parloa's kitchen companion

This vegetable, so scarce and expensive a few years ago, is now quite common in our large markets. It is raised in this country and also is imported from England. It belongs to the cabbage family ; grows from three to five feet in height, and produces from the stem small heads resembling miniature cabbages. The stalk is usually covered with these little heads. The top of the stalk terminates in a large head similar to a cabbage. Brussels sprouts should be compact and firm, like heads of cabbage. The loose heads will prove unsatisfactory. The sprouts should be fresh and crisp. The outer leaves are taken off, and the firm heads are soaked in salted cold water for an hour before cooking. Broccoli. Broccoli closely resembles cauliflower, and is treated in much the same manner. It does not grow so well in this country as cauliflower, and therefore is not cultivated to the same extent. Salsify. This is found in the market the greater part of the year. Its root is the part eaten, and it is about the shape and color of a parsnip, but much smaller. Salsify is sold in small bunches. It is a cheap and delicate vegetable, and can be served in many ways. Kohl-Rabi. This is sometimes called turnip-rooted cabbage. When this root is cooked it is treated like a turnip, and the result is a dish with a flavor between that of a turnip and a cabbage. Kohl-rabi can be kept through the winter. Sweet Spanish Peppers. The large sweet Spanish pepper is now used while green as a vegetable. It is much milder than the common bell-pepper, although they look so much alike that it is often difficult to distinguish them. They are generally stuffed and baked. The ripe pods may be dried and kept for seasoning many dishes which are improved by the peculiar pungent flavor given by the pods. The Egg-Plant. This vegetable can be found in the market the greater part of the year. It is in perfection through the summer, fall, and early part of winter. Like most of our vegetables, this is supplied to the North by the South in the early weeks of summer, and later in the season the North reciprocates. The egg-plant is popular and cheap, and when properly cooked is delicious. Okra. This is found in the market nearly all the year. Always highly prized at the South, it is becoming more popular at the North every year. It is delicious as a vegetable or in soup. The price varies considerably with the season and supply. The pods should be green and crisp. Celeriac. This vegetable is sometimes called German, and sometimes knob, celery. It is an irregular brownish root, and is used as a vegetable and as a salad. It is cheap, and keeps well for winter use if packed in sand or earth. Shallot. The shallot belongs to the onion family. The large bulb is made up of a number of small ones, which are called cloves. This plant has not so strong an odor as the common onion, and for that reason is preferred by many in soups, sauces, ar?d salads. Garlic. Garlic is like the shallot in many ways. The root is composed of numerous small bulbs, which are called cloves. They are smaller than the cloves of the shallot, and the flavor and odor differ somewhat. Rocambole. This vegetable is very much like garlic, but is milder. Spanish Onions.