A Course of Lectures on the Principles of Domestic Economy and Cookery

fire until they are melted together, then put in a pint of water gradually--a pint of hot water--stirring it smooth; and the tomato pulp. If that does not make the soup as thin as you desire--and it should be about the consistency of good cream--add a little more boiling water. Season with salt and pepper, and stir it until it boils, and then it is ready to use. Next take directions for boiling vegetables, so that the color is perfectly kept. I told you yesterday that we should have spinach if we could get it, if not, that we would use lettuce. I think that next week, in the course of the lessons, I shall succeed in having some spinach from Cleveland. However, I shall use lettuce to-day. First, thoroughly wash it in salted water. For a quart of water use a tablespoonful of salt. As I told you the other day, the salt in the water is for the purpose of killing any little insects that are in the leaves, especially of the lettuce. You know that it is very troublesome to dislodge them, but the salt kills them, and of course you can wash them out. As long as they are alive they cling there. If you sprinkle salt on the leaves it will wither them, but if you put it in the water it will not. Salted water is intensely cold, you know, and it would restore the freshness of the leaves of lettuce, even if they were wilted, unless they were really on the verge of decay. If you will remind me, after I have finished giving the recipe for cooking the vegetables, I will tell you how to keep lettuce fresh. After your vegetables, whatever they may be, whether lettuce, or spinach, or asparagus, or string beans, are washed perfectly clean--I do not say wash peas, and I will tell you after a little the reason why--after they are thoroughly washed put them over the fire in enough boiling salted water to more than cover them--plenty of water, so that they can float about--the water