The Laurel Health Cookery: A Collection of Practical Suggestions and Recipes for the Preparation of Non-Flesh Foods in Palatable and Attractive Ways

after they begin to soften they will scorch. Now keep the vessel over a slow, even fire until the lentils are well dried out. The drying may be finished in the oven if the dish is covered so the lentils will not become hard on the top. This drying is imperative. It develops a rich flavor that we do not get without it. When well dried, add a little water and rub the lentils, a few at a time, through a fine colander with a potato masher. (Do not deceive yourself by thinking that you can get along faster by putting a large quantity into the colander at once.) Throw the hulls into a dish of boiling water. At the last, stir the hulls well and rub again in the colander, reserving what goes through this time for soups and gravies. When all the lentils are through the colander (of course care should be taken to keep them hot during the process), add plenty of salt and beat until smooth and creamy. Keep hot in a double boiler, covered, till serving time. Beat again just before serving. Serve piled in rocky form or in smooth mound on hot platter (or in a hot covered dish if to be long on the table), with different garnishes: a wreath of celery tops, sprays of parsley or chervil, spinach leaves or cooked vegetables. Serve with sauce 16, 17, 53 or 54. Do not be afraid of the simple dishes; they are the best. =Mashed Lentils--Rice= Make well in center of lentil mound and fill with sauce 8, 53 or 54. Surround mound with hot boiled rice; garnish with green. =★ Mashed Peas= Prepare dried green peas the same as mashed lentils. Serve with sauce 16, 17, 18, 21, 22, 57 or 59. Sauce 1, flavored or not, combines nicely with peas. Serve mashed peas and rice with sauce 16 sometimes. =Mashed Beans= Sauce 16, 18, 19, 34, 57, 58 or 75, or Mayonnaise or French dressing are all suitable for mashed beans. Some beans will all go through the colander in mashing. =★