Vegetables

Harvard Beets

6 medium-sized beets.

½ cup sugar.

½ tablespoon cornstarch.

½ cup vinegar.

2 tablespoons butter.

Wash beets, cook in boiling water until tender, remove the skins, and cut the beets into thin slices or cubes. Mix the sugar and cornstarch. Add the vinegar, and let the sauce boil for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Just as the sauce is taken from the fire add the butter. Pour sauce over beets. Let them stand on the back of the stove for a few minutes so that the beets may absorb the sweet-sour flavor of the sauce.

Baked Cucumbers

3 good-sized cucumbers.

¾ cup fine dry breadcrumbs.

3 tablespoons butter.

½ teaspoon salt.

1½ tablespoons chopped onion.

1½ teaspoons finely chopped parsley.

1 tablespoon chopped celery.

1 cup tomatoes cut in pieces.

Wash cucumbers and cut in half lengthwise. Scoop out as much as possible of the pulp without breaking the skin. Brown the onion in the fat, add other ingredients mixed with the cucumber pulp. Stir constantly, and cook five minutes, or until dry. Place the filling in the cucumber shells and bake until the shells are soft and the mixture is brown on top.

Browned Parsnips

Scrub parsnips clean, drop into boiling, lightly salted water, and cook for 15 to 30 minutes or until tender. Drain, scrape off the skin, split lengthwise, and pull out the stringy cores. Dip the pieces in flour and fry in fat until golden brown.

6

Corn Fritters

1 cup liquid, either juice from canned corn or milk, or the two mixed.

1 cup drained canned corn.

1¾ cups sifted cake flour

1 tablespoon melted fat.

1 egg.

2 teaspoons baking powder.

¾ teaspoon salt.

Mix the flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix the juice from the canned corn or milk, or whatever liquid is used, the egg after it has been beaten slightly, and the canned corn. Stir this liquid mixture gradually into the dry ingredients. Add the melted fat. If the corn is very moist, even after the liquid has been drained from it, more flour may be needed.

Fry the corn fritters in deep fat, or if preferred, in a skillet in shallow fat. In either case, drop the mixture by spoonfuls into the fat and fry rather slowly. The fritters need time to cook through to the center before the outside becomes too brown. Drain the fritters on absorbent paper and serve hot.

Scalloped Onions and Peanuts

6 medium-sized onions.

½ cup peanuts, ground.

1 cup thin white sauce, made with 1 tablespoon flour, 1 tablespoon butter, and 1 cup milk.

Cook the skinned onions in boiling water until tender. Drain and slice with a sharp knife. Place the onions in layers in a greased baking dish, cover each layer with the cream sauce and the peanuts, and continue until all ingredients are used. Cover the top with buttered crumbs and bake in a moderate oven (350°F.) until golden brown. Serve from the baking dish.