Page:Australian enquiry book of household and general information.djvu/50

butter and warm milk. Roll into balls, flour slightly, dip in egg and then in bread crumbs, and fry in plenty of hot fat.

New Potatoes should never be peeled, and should be boiled in only sufficient water to prevent burning. Keep close covered and boil slowly. When the skin cracks they are done. Drain off the water and place over the fire again to steam or dry. Some people serve new potatoes with melted butter, but I think it is quite unnecesary.

Sweet Potato.—A most popular vegetable in some countries is the sweet potato. It can be baked, boiled, or even stewed as fruit. To boil them use no salt, as it gives them a dark tinge. They are very good mashed with chopped eschalot and parsley; boiled plain with melted butter, or baked with meat. For tarts they can be boiled, mashed, and flavored with lemon-juice, lemon-peel and sugar, turned into a pie-dish, and covered with a short crust; also treated with sugar, nutmeg, lemon and sweet spice, the same as pumpkin pie, they are very good.

To Boil Cabbage.

Ingredients: Cabbage, salt and soda.

Mode: First cut away the coarse outside leaves, cut it into quarters and wash well in plenty of cold water. Have ready a saucepanful of boiling water, in which has been dissolved half a teaspoonful of coarse salt and a small piece of soda about the size of a pea. Plunge the cabbage in while it is boiling, push it well down and let it boil with the lid off till done. This is the simplest and most surely successful way of having the cabbage a good colour.

Time: Twenty minutes or half-an-hour.

Cauliflower.—It is a mistake to cut off the green leaves round the flower, rather tie them over the top, as they prevent the heart from getting broken. Plunge into boiling water with some salt and a piece of soda. Serve with melted butter.

Peas should always have a sprig of mint boiled with them.

Stuffed Vegetable Marrow.

Ingredients: One medium-sized marrow, some cold meat minced with a little bacon, bread-crumbs, mixed herbs, pepper and salt.

Mode: Peel the marrow, cut off one end and scoop out the seeds, fill the hollow so made with minced meat, bread-crumbs, herbs, etc., replace the end, roll the marrow in a cloth and put into a saucepan of boiling water, and boil half-an-hour for a good-sized one. Serve with hot tomato sauce poured over it.

Time: From twenty minutes to half-hour, according to size.

Stuffed Onions.

Ingredients: Three or four large onions, cooked meat, bread-crumbs, pepper and salt, milk or one egg, one cup stock.

Mode: Take the onions and remove the outer skin, carefully cut a thin slice off the top of each and put it aside for a lid. Take all the centre out of the onion, leaving three or four coats, taking care not to pierce them. Then chop up some cooked meat of any kind, mix with some bread-crumbs, pepper and salt to taste, and a little milk or an egg to moisten it with. Mix smoothly and then fill up the onions and put the lids on. Place in a stew-pan, pour the stock over them, put the lid on and let them stew. Serve with the gravy poured round.

Time: One hour.

Onions boiled, and served with melted butter, form a pleasant change.

Tomato—One of the most useful vegetables we have in the colonies. It can be served in many ways. Peel them and put over the fire with pepper, salt and a teaspoonful of sugar, and a very little water. Boil half-an-hour. This is a French dish.

Baked Tomatoes.—Peel and slice a number of large tomatoes. Take a pie dish and butter it well, then put a layer of tomatoes, one of bread-crumbs, pepper, salt, and some pieces of butter,