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Vegetables: Cabbage
Blanching of vegetables means a saving of time, because they may be cooked in the leisurely hours of the morning, then quickly reheated when dinner is being prepared. Cabbage, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, string beans, peas, onions, celery, kohl-rabi, carrots, parsnips, spinach, Swiss chard, artichokes, and salsify are vegetables which may be blanched before the final cooking. Before using vegetables which form heads, such as lettuce, cabbage, cauliflower, kale and Brussels sprouts, cleanse thoroughly by soaking half an hour, head down, in cold, salted water, with a few tablespoonfuls vinegar in it. This makes insects or worms concealed among the curly leaves crawl out. Spinach requires no end of washing. The best way to cleanse it is to keep filling two pans with cold water and washing the greens till not a grain of sand settles in the bottom. Celery also requires thorough washing, as considerable dirt clings to both stalks and roots during the blanching process. Different vegetables require different methods of boiling. All of them should be dropped into water which is vigorously bubbling. For a few minutes the process will be interrupted, but set it over a hot part of the stove, where it will begin to boil again rapidly. This must be continued for herbaceous vegetables, young peas, and beans. Root vegetables and cauliflower require gentler treatment. To quote a French cook, "Do not let the water grin; keep it smiling."
As soon as vegetables are tender, lift them off the fire and drain, never allowing anything to stay in hot water a minute after it has been cooked, This soaking process is what so often makes vegetables indigestible, when, if properly treated, they would be perfectly wholesome. While cooking vegetables of any kind, leave the saucepan uncovered; volatile bodies liberated by heat pass off in steam.
Cabbage and onions closely lidded are sure to fill the house with an unpleasant odor as soon as they are uncovered; if cooked without a lid, odors are scarcely noticeable. When peas and beans are so ripe as to be slightly tough, they may still be made appetizing and digestible if½ teaspoonful soda is added to the water. This helps to make them tender as well as retain the color, but beware of adding too much soda; it will give the food an exceedingly nasty flavor. When possible, a skilled cook boils every vegetable in distilled water. The country cook who has clean, soft, cistern water at her command, should always use it in boiling vegetables.
The housewife who is compelled to use very hard water to cook vegetables should soften it slightly by adding a dash of soda. Vegetables are invaluable for making cream soups. Take green peas, for instance. Boil 1 quart peas and 1 small onion in 3 pints water. When soft, squeeze the purée through a potato ricer; add it to the liquor in which the vegetables were boiled. Rub together 1 tablespoonful flour with 2 tablespoonfuls butter. This makes sufficient thickening. Season with 2 level teaspoonfuls salt and teaspoonful pepper; then add 1 quart scalding-hot milk. Cook ten minutes, stirring frequently. Serve with croutons or wafers. The outside stalks of celery, corn, beans, onions, potatoes, cauliflower, spinach, leeks, tomatoes, or lettuce may often be economically converted into cream soups. In this way a vegetable left-over is deliciously re-served.
Boiling potatoes is such an everyday task that it seems almost unnecessary to offer a recipe for it, yet VEGETABLES how seldom do we find a cook make the best of potatoes. If potatoes are "new," they should merely have their skins rubbed off with the burlap scrubber; if old, wash them well, soak half an hour in cold water, then pare off a ring lengthwise around the potato. This allows the skin to be taken off easily after boiling. Put them in a saucepan with plenty of boiling water, add a tablespoonful salt, boil another fifteen minutes, then drain off every drop of water, and leave them to dry for ten minutes covered with a folded towel. A favorite method for serving many vegetables is in cream sauce. A dish of creamed cauliflower will illustrate how potatoes, carrots, cabbage, peas, parsnips, artichokes, salsify, celery, onions, Brussels sprouts, and asparagus may be cooked. Blend 1 tablespoonful butter with 1 tablespoonful flour; then add gradually 1 pint hot milk, and beat till creamy. Add 1 teaspoonful salt, a dash pepper, and a small head blanched cauliflower broken into branches. Set it at the back of the stove where it may cook slowly for ten minutes.
The best way to cook spinach for preserving its refreshing and laxative qualities is not to add water, for after thorough washing the leaves retain enough moisture to steam it. Put it dry in a saucepan over the fire; in ten minutes it will be ready to drain and chop. Afterwards return it to the pan and season with 2 tablespoonfuls butter and a teaspoonful salt. Let it simmer ten minutes before serving. Old, tough spinach is better if blanched before it is seasoned and served. Boiled Lettuce.