HOME INTERESTS.

Otago Witness, Volume 23, Issue 2684, 23 August 1905, Page 67

HOME INTERESTS.

A NOTE TO THE HOUSE MOTHEE.

I have long intended giving my own respectful tribute to the excellence of bean cookery of various .kinds as an agreeable addition to our somewhat limited list of wintei vegetables. To this end I had begged a dear and notable housekeeper of niy acquaintance to favour me with her recipes. In giving them, it was my intention to urge upon -those readers who ivre inteiested in kitohen gardens as well as flower borders to- grow a plentiful supply of both large and small haricot beans this summer, so that they might prove the excellence and economy of bean disbcis — in which really there are possibilities quite unfathomed by the English and colonial cook. Meanwhile., however, in the pages of one of my American journals I came across a column of recipes, which I shall first transplant to our especial Witness corner for your benefit — merely adding that for the bean soup you will find dry broad beans, or Windsor beans, as they are usually called, equally good. EMMELINE. VALUE OF BEANS, PEAS, AND «•■ LENTILS. Peas, beans, and lentils are rich in nitrogenous matter, and pan therefore, in a measuie, replace meat in the dietary. These vegetables require careful cooking to> make them easy of digestion. Whether green or dried, they should always be well ventilated during the process of cooking. They require a generous amount oi fat either in the form of butter, pork, bacon, or sweet dripping. The dried vegetables should be washed, then soaked in cold water for 32 hours. The oooking of the dried vegetables should be long and slow. Dried peas and lentils are particularly valuable for soup. Dried beans are useful for stewing, baking, and soups. The most deli-cately-flavoured beans are the lirnas. They may be employed for baking, for soups, and as a vegetable. BAKED BEANS : NEW YORK STYLE. Wash and soak one quart of beans over nighi. In the morning poui off the water and put ou to boil with three qutirts of cold water. When the beans begin to boil, pour off the water and add three quarts of boiling water. Let them simmer gently until they begin to crack. Pcmr off the water, which should be saved for soup. Wash and score lib of mixed salt pork. Into a gianitevvare or tin pan, that will hold three or four quarts, put a layer of beans. Put the pork in the centre of the dish.

having the rmcl side up. Mix together two traspocmfiils of salt, and half a tea spoonful of ljepper, sprinkle a little of this over each ]av?r of beans as they are put in the dish. Ariel enough hot water to cover the beans. Bate iil a slow oven for eight or ten hours. Add a little hot water from time to time. Serve from the dish in which they are baked. DRIED LIMA BEANS IN WHITE SAUCF. Soak one pint of baans ovei night. About two hours and a-ha-lf before dinner time pour off the water. Put the beans on to boil in two quarts of boiling water; simmer gently for two houns. Pour o£ the water, which save for soup. Beat together one generous tablespoonful of butter, one teaspoonful of floui, one teaspoonful of salt, and a little pepper. Sfcir ■:his into a. pint of hot milk. Season the beans with a little pepper, and a level teaspoonful of salt. Add the sauce and simmer gently for 20 minutos. SAVORY BEAKS. Cook the beans as for white sauce. Fry 2oz of salt pork cr smoked bacon. Tak^ up the pork and into the fat put one tablespoonful of chopped onion. Cook for five minutes, then add the beans, one tablespoonful of sa-lt, and one-fourth of a teaspoonful of pepper.

Cook for 35 minutes, stirring frequently with » fork. Just before serv.ag, add a teaspoomiu of minced parsley if yoa have it. Serve m a hot dish a^d garnish with the slices of pork. BEAK SOUP Take one pint of boans, wash and soak them over night. Put them on to boil with two quarts of cold water. When the water boils pour off and j.dd two quarts of boiling water. Cook slcwly for three hours. The last hour arid a spray of dried celery leaves. Put into a stewpan two "tablespoonfuls o-f sweet drippings, ar.d one large onion minced fine. Cook slowly for 20 minutes, then add one tablespoonful of flour. Pour the water from the beans on this, stirring all the while. Mash, the beans into a paste, and add to the other ingredients. Serson with one-fourth of a teaspoonful of pepper and two teaspoonfuls of salt. Rub through a sieve. Return to the fire When the soup boils up add one pint oC hot milk and one tablespoonful of butter. Soup may be made from beans left over fror" the baked or stewed beans and the water in which they were boiled Double the amount cf onion given may be usod if desired. I DriH pea and lentil soups may be maae t3i|S same as bean soup. ,