Evening star., 1933-03-24
VEGETABLES are valuable In the
! diet, principally for their bulk
and the mineral salts and Vita
minis which they contain. A


salts and yitamins are soluble in water,
and when the vegetables are cooked IN
large amounts of water, which Is thrown
away, all Of this food material is lost.
II the vegetables are cooked inside the
oven, very little water Is necessary, and
often the small amount used Is en-
tirely absorbed.
All the valuable minerals and vita
minis are In this way retained in the
vegetable. It must be remembered,
however, that vitamins retain their VI
tality at q comparatively low tempera-
ture. The same utensils which are
used for cooking vegetables on top o4
the stove may be used for these Inside
the oven" meals. Any saucepan with
q tight-fi fitting cover Is entirely salts
factory, and casseroles or oven-glass
bakinf dishes make excellent utensils
for this type Of cooking.
One great advantage in cooking vege-
tables in the oven Is that they require
very little attention. After they are
put in, there Is little danger OF scorch-
ing, and long. slow cooking only makes
them tender and, In some cases, supe-
rior in flavor.
Usually vegetables can be cooked at
any temperature at which any other
foods are cooked II the oven Is to
be heated to q high temperature, the
vegetables may be put in when the heat
is turned on and allowed to remain IN
the even until all the water Is ab-
sorbed or the vegetables are tender.
The vegetables may be prepared for
cooking in exactly the same way as Tor
boiling, except that they are put into
the container in which they are to be
cooked with only a very small amount
Of water For most vegetables one
fourth Of an inch Of water on the bot
tom of the utensl Is sufficient
amount. With strong favored vegeta-
b,es, however such as onions and cab
bage 1t is more satisfactory to have
them entirely covered with water, and
to leave the cover off the utensils dur
ing the entire time OF cooking.
Spring Vegetables.
Cabbaee-Raw as . salad, cooked as
. salad, as a vegetable, au gratin,
stuffed, In soups.
Caulihower - Boiled, creamed, au
sratin, in salads.
Tomatoes-In soups and salads, seal
loped, baked. fried, in sauces.
Eggplant - Boiled, baked, fried,
stuffed.
Green peppers-sweet peppers may
be boiled, stuffed, or used in salads.
cucumbers-Boiled, creamed. stuffed,
Or in salads.
Onions Boiled baked, fried. creamed,
in salads.
Turnips-Boiled or creamed.
Beets-Boiled, picked, or in salads.
Radishes-Raw. boiled or creamed.
Dandelions-1n soups and salads,
green, cooked.
Mustard tops, kale or dock-.As
greens
Chard-As greens. in soups and
salads.
Iettuce-As green's, as salad in soups.
Watercress and endive-As salad.
Brussels sprouts served hot
Of cold rs o salad.
Tomato Bases.
There is one vegetable, the tomato.
which almost every one enjoys. and
which contains the necessary vitamins
and also has q good supply Of mineral
salts. Another valuable thing about
tomatoes Is that the acid contained in
them prevents the destruction Of vita
minis during cooking. 1t is said that
the acid also conserves the vitamins
in other foods cooked with this vege-
table.
By cooking a large amount Of toma-
toes and keeping the unused part IN
q cool place, the housewife can always
have on hand most valuable food.
There are several different methods Of
cooking tomatoes and using the base
thus obtained with other ingredients
to give an entirely different flavor to
the resulting food. One base Is espe-
cially good used as sauces for eggs and
omelets. This base can be easily made
and kept for some time It Is best to
use fresh tomatoes when they are OBJ
tainable, a. their vitamin content Il
higher than that Of canned ones, but
the latter contain all three vitAmins
as well ~ the calcium. iodine and
Iron.
It Is possible to make many dishes
which contain tomatoes and with such
. variety in taste as they present. the
housewife who always keeps on hand
the following tomato base need never
worry about the vitamin content OF
her meals. and to : lesser extent that
CT mineral salts. L The base is bottled
anti kept in a cool place. it will last
for some time in perfect condition.
Tomato base: Eight cupfuls of to-
matoes, two small chopped onions
three tahlespoonfuls Of water, two table
spoonfuls chopped celery. two teaspoon
fuls each of salt and sugar, one-fourth
teaspoonful Of pepper, two tablespoon
fuls -four and two tablesp0onfuls but