A Handbook of Cookery for a Small House

cooking into a bowl of cold water with a good piece of salt, head down and the stump cut four times across. Spinach requires washing in several waters with a liberal quantity of salt. But the last water without salt. Have ready a large saucepan at least half full of boiling water. If, as some people direct, you put spinach into a nearly dry saucepan on the assumption that it has absorbed enough water to be cooked in, there will be an unpleasant smell. Add salt and a piece of ordinary soda about as big as a large pea. Boil with the lid off till quite tender. The spinach should then be a beautiful shade of green. Treat sorrel the same way; only it will be noticed that it will change colour directly it is put into the boiling water, becoming a greeny yellow, and is slightly acid in taste. It is usually eaten with veal, with poached eggs served on it, or as a dish by itself served with fried bread round the edge. Tomatoes are always very useful and can be accommodated in many different ways. For a breakfast dish--take, for two persons, four nice sound tomatoes. Place in a large basin and scald with boiling water over them. The skin will then peel off quite easily leaving the tomatoes perfectly whole. Cut into slices and put into a cold pan with a piece of butter about the size of a tablespoon and a pinch of salt and pepper. Place on the fire and break the tomatoes in the butter as they cook. Let them fry frequently and serve under poached eggs. Another way: Take four or more tomatoes, remove the stalk but not the skin. Cut the top off, scoop the fruit out leaving a wall, have ready some chopped lean ham, chicken or other meat, add a little onion to the inside which has been taken out of the tomatoes, pepper and salt. Put into a small frying pan, and fry lightly, put the mixture into the tomato, have a little dripping melted in a baking