Plentywood herald. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1908-current, 1927-06-10
90 liable Talks.
ny Jeannette Boyer. Home Service Dent.
Royal Milling Company
DO YOU LIKE sPINACHg

~ hihh iANfNNtiA
"Spinach-ughi"
Is that the exclamation which you give
when this most delicious. healthful and
beautiful spring dish appears on your
table? / hope not. / hope you say
'Spinach-hurrayl" and really mean It'll
One of the most popular cooking teach
ers which l had In college always told
her classes OF all the wonders of spinach
and said that some day she would write
a poem about 1t. But she never did.
I'm not a poet but suppose we try:
Spinach, spinach-gorgeous jade green.
OF all the vegetables, you should be
queen;
you,
Rich in iron and vitamins too;
Delicious and beautiful. a meal you1l
enhance
If only the cook will give you a chance.
There now. see what we've done. Isn't
that a beautiful poem2 BUT let us tell
the cook how to give spinach a fair
chance.
How t. Cook Green Vegetables
All the green vegetables such as spin
ach. peas. string beans and asparagus re-
quire the same general system OF cooking
because they have chlorophyl, the green
color pigment. in them.
Acids turn green vegetables brown.
That is why. If tap water is hard, the
vegetables which are cooked in 1t will
remain q bright green. When a little
soda is added to the water, the color is
also frightened. Soda softens the cellu-
lose of vegetables and they do not require
as long a cooking when it is added. How
ever. some food experts think that 1t
destroys the vitamins.
The green vegetables, as do many
others. contain volatile acids. When the
lid is kept on the kettle, the volatile
acids which would otherwise go of in
the steam are retained and draw out the
color. So keep the lid of the kettle in
which you are cooking green vegetables
and their fresh original color will be
kept. II vinegar is to be added after the
cooking. since 1t delays the softening OF
the cellulose and turns the green color
to brown.
The green vegetables cooked the short
est time have the best color and also
the most delicate flavor. These as a rule
should be done in twenty minutes or
less. String beans are especially fine
sliced lengthwtse, and boiled twenty
minutes. A boiled dinner In which the
cabbage is cooked only ten MINUTES and
the rest OF the vegetables with the ex-
ception OF the onions not longer thar
twenty minutes is usually fine.
Spinach in Particular
I never will forget the disappointment
Of a housewife who cooked some fine
fresh spinach in a pressure cooker. 1t
came out brown and slippery, very bitter
with a quantity of liquid. And I'll not
cooked 1t the right way.
Use no more water than that which
clings to the leaves. Spinach is mostly
water anyway n 1t is plenty liquid
enough without adding more. Leave the
lid of the kettle. Use a rather slow fire
so there will be no danger or its burning.
push it down often and turn 1t over.
Don't cook 1t toe long. ten to fifteen
minutes should be enough. And you will
be delighted with the brilliant green.
tender and sweet dish which you'll have.
1t will be a true refreshment and en-
nance your meal as we said in the poem.
II you wish to serve spinach in other
ways than with vinegar and salt and
pepper, perhaps the following rules will
give you some suggestions:
Nodded Spinach INT Bacon.
Two lbs. fresh spinach, 2 tbsp. butter,
salt and pepper, 6 strips bacon. sliced
thin and broiled crisp.
Cook spinach until tender Drain, sea-
son with butter, salt and pepper. Add
bacon which has been crisped and broken
into mall pieces. Pack into individual
mOlds or cups and set In the oven to
keep hot. Turn on serving plate and
garnish with half slices OF lemon which
have been sprinkled with paprika. This
will make 8 servings.
PURGE of Spinach
Wash, pick over and cook one-half peck
spinach. Drain, chop finely and rub
through a sieve. Reheat. adding three
tablespoons butter, one tablespoon Rex
flour, n one-half cup cream. Arrange
on serving dish and garnish with yolk
and wrhste OF hard-boiled egg and fried
bread cut in fancy shapes. Personally.
/ like this dish best Then the spinach Is
simply chopped finely and not put
through a sieve.
Spinach In a Crown OF Eggs
Cook a peck Of spinach until tender,
then chop fine. Melt two tablespoons of
butter, and cook in it, without browning,
two tablespoons Rex flour. Add q dash
Of nutmeg and then the spinach. When
we'll blended, add half a cup of hot stock.
Spinach with Sardines
Heat one cup of grated bread crumbs
in one-fourth cup of butter; add a peck
of spinach which has been cooked and
chopped, and the flesh Of a dozen or
more sardines. Mix and add broth, II
needed, also salt and pepper. When hot.
form into an oblong. Garnish with
slices Of eggs, and place sardines over
the top. Serve as q luncheon dish.
Cooked spinach make a good mound
against which broiled chops may be
served.