The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1913-06-08
Some Asparagus Tips

Asparagus Is too fine vegetable 4
to be carelessly prepared Think for !,
a moment how absurd it Is to boil the
delicate green tips for the same length 4
OF time as the solid stalks! And yet
this Is just what the average cook
does
With this in mind. hunt through your
kitchen utensils until you find a re-
ceptacle that will hold bunch Of
asparagus upright during the entire
cooking process. An agateware pail is (
good thing. and the inner kettle of
a double boiler Is often OF desirable
height and narrowness for this pur-
pose. One ingenious housewife al
ways buys big. new coffee pot at the
beginning OF each asparagus season.
1t Is a common tin one, such as
campers use, but she claims there IL
nothing we'll adapted to the proper
boiling OF asparagus. The heavy stalks
have an abundant depth OF boiling
water. while the delicate tips extend
! above the water line and are steamed,
rather than boiled, to delicious ten
| derness
| Where many punches OF asparagus
must be boiled at the same time. tho
| desired result may be gained by place
| inS the punches horizontally in a large
vessel. with boiling water to cover,
and letting them cook for the first ten
| minutes In that position. Then prop
| the punches against the sides OF the
kettle. SO that the tips shall be en-
tirely out OF the water for the remain :
! Ing time. In this way the tips are not,
| overlooked, as they would otherwise
be. and as they usually are.
| An excess Of water dissipates the~
flavor OF the asparagus Strongly im-l
I Al s-.lA
| asparagus flavor, it Is valuable in many
ways Slightly thickened and with the
| addition OF milk or white stock as.
| paragus soup is an easy and econom-
ical possibility.
| Where the asparagus Is to be served
on toast the flavor Ia increased by
moistening the toast with few spoon
fuls of this asparagus water. 1t is
also desirable substitute for milk or
cream In the making OF a sauce. In
such case any formula for white sauce
| can be used, simply adding TO the
blended butter and -four the water in
| which the asparagus has been boiled.
The same suggestion applies to the
| making OF Hollandaise sauce when 1t
is to be served with boiled asparagus
When the asparagus is to be served
sold with French dressing or sauce
vinaigrette reserve little OF the water
In which the vegetable has been boiled,
| squeeze the juice OF a half lemon into
1t, ard let the asparagus marinate In
this while on the Ice. At serving time
drain and add the dressing. BY fol-
lowing this sugsestion the asparagus
will have a noticeably stronger flavor
than II Its liquor Is drained far in
advance Of serving time.
Punched Work.
Among needlewomen the popularity
Of punched work Is assured. for many
OF the lovelieet articles displayed in
work and either solid or tapestry
| stitches
The newest development of punched
work is done on linen scrim and COM
bined with darning. 1t is very simple
work and produces surprisingly artis-
tic results
Purchase fne ecru linen scriin,
which Is woven the same In both d.
rections. with three fine threads to-
sether forming regular groups. The
small squares formed In this manner
serve as q foundation for the punched
work
To the scrfm transfer the pattern
you select and. using fine linen thread
and a medium sized needle. work the
background In punched work.
The spaces within the lines OF the
design are darned with a twisted
thread Of moderate weight. Outline
with the same thread the edges Of the
darned design
Bureau sets are lovely when fash
Toned OF scrim Cut the scarf the exact
dimensions OF the bureau top, allow
ing material for AN inch wide hem to
form hemsttched border. At both
ends work a border In a conventional
flower design combining punched and
darned work. The oblong pincushion
car be embroidered to correspond with
the scarf. Scallop the edges with
rather wide scallops, using a coarse
twisted thread to buttonhole- stitch
them. Cover the pincushion first with
color and over this place the scrim.
Oblong pillows are effective when
covered with scrtm decorated with
punched and darned work.
Hints for the Kitchen.
AS rule, recipe should be faith
fully followed. For instance, In MAX
Ing soup you cannot. because you are
short of the given quantity OF meat.
put in the same quantity OF water
without damaging the soup. but you
may reduce the amount Of the water