1 small apple.

1 onion.

A pinch of powdered mace.

1 teaspoon flour.

1 teaspoon salt.

6 peppercorns.

teaspoon white sugar.

1 teaspoon curry powder.

2 teaspoons vinegar.

Simmer the lentils with the peppercorns (tied up in a piece of muslin) and mace for one hour, add the salt, remove the peppercorns and strain.

In the meantime slice the onion, mince the apple, and fry them together in the b.u.t.ter for ten minutes, place in a stewpan together with two tablespoons of the lentils, the sugar, flour and curry powder, mix well together, add the liquor of the lentils, and simmer for half an hour, stirring frequently; add the vinegar before serving. Serve rice in a separate dish.

No. 141.--Curried Tomatoes.

6 tomatoes.

1 ounce of b.u.t.ter.

pint curry sauce.

Pepper and salt.

Slice the tomatoes without peeling them, and lay in a tin greased with half the b.u.t.ter; divide the rest of the b.u.t.ter into small pieces, and place a piece in the centre of each slice; sprinkle with pepper and salt, and bake for fifteen to twenty minutes. When done, place in a hot dish, pour over them the sauce, which should be rather thick, and serve.

No. 142.--Curried Turnips.

Turnips.

b.u.t.ter.

Curry sauce.

Boiled rice

Peel and slice the turnips, and stamp or trim the slices so as to have them as even as possible; fry them a golden brown in a little b.u.t.ter, lay in a hot dish, pour over them the sauce (hot), make a border of the rice, and serve.

Note.--The rice may be omitted.

VEGETABLES.

No. 143.--Artichokes with Sauce Royale.

3 pounds artichokes.

pint water.

teaspoon salt.

1 pint sauce No. 172.

Wash and peel the artichokes, and boil for twenty minutes in the salt and water. Should any of the water then remain, leave lid off for a few minutes to allow it to evaporate. Turn the artichokes into a hot vegetable dish and pour over them the sauce, which must have been thoroughly heated previously.

No. 144.--Fried Beetroot.

(A Breakfast Dish.)

1 medium-sized beet.

2 ounces b.u.t.ter for frying.

1 teaspoon salt.

teaspoon pepper.

2 teaspoons flour.

2 tablespoons vinegar.

1 tablespoon water.

Peel the beetroot, and cut into slices about a quarter of an inch thick.

Dissolve the b.u.t.ter in a frying pan, place in the beetroot and fry for twenty minutes, sprinkling each slice on both sides with the pepper and salt. When done, arrange the slices on a hot dish. Reset the frying pan on the fire, stir in the flour, thoroughly mixing it with the b.u.t.ter, and fry for a couple of minutes, stirring all the time, then pour in the water and vinegar, stir until quite smooth; pour over the beetroot and serve quickly.

No. 145.--Brussels Sprouts.

Sprouts.

Salted water.

Clean the sprouts _very thoroughly_, removing all the decayed and outside leaves, and when perfectly free from dirt and insects, place them in plenty of fast-boiling salted water, and boil for about twenty minutes, or until quite tender but not broken. Keep the lid off all the time they are cooking, remove the sc.u.m as it rises, and be sure and use _no_ soda. When they are tender, have ready a colander with a cloth laid in it, lift the sprouts out with an egg slice, and lay them carefully on the cloth to drain, place about a dozen of the best shaped ones on a hot plate or dish, slide the remainder gently off the cloth on to a hot drainer in a vegetable dish, and arrange the reserved ones on the top.

Sprouts are often spoiled in the dishing up, but no vegetable looks and tastes nicer if properly cooked and served.

No. 146.--French Beans.

1 pint tomato juice.

1 shalot.

1 pound cooked French beans.

teaspoon salt.

A little pepper.

Thickening of flour and b.u.t.ter.

Slice the shalot, and stew it in the tomato juice for about half an hour. Strain, add pepper and salt, and thicken the juice with the flour and b.u.t.ter. Lay the French beans in, and thoroughly re-heat.

Note.--Tinned beans may be used, when fresh ones are not obtainable.

No. 147.--A nice way of serving Greens.

2 pounds greens.

Salted water.

1 ounce b.u.t.ter.

Boil the greens (Scotch kale, broccoli tops, etc.) in the usual way.

When quite tender, strain and press well, place on a board and chop very finely; dissolve the b.u.t.ter in a stewpan, place in the greens, add a little pepper and more salt if required, and stir briskly over the fire for two or three minutes. Serve in a hot vegetable dish.