SUCCOTASH.—­Boil one part Lima beans and two parts sweet corn separately until both are nearly tender.  Put them together, and simmer gently till done.  Season with salt and sweet cream.  Fresh corn and beans may be combined in the same proportions, but as the beans will be likely to require the most time for cooking, they should be put to boil first, and the corn added when the beans are about half done, unless it is exceptionally hard, in which case it must be added sooner.

PULP SUCCOTASH.—­Score the kernels of some fresh green corn with a sharp knife blade, then with the back of a knife scrape out all the pulp, leaving the hulls on the cob.  Boil the pulp in milk ten or fifteen minutes, or until well done.  Cook some fresh shelled beans until tender, and rub them through a colander.  Put together an equal quantity of the beans thus prepared and the cooked corn pulp, season with salt and sweet cream, boil together for a few minutes, and serve.  Kornlet and dried Lima beans may be made into succotash in a similar manner.

LENTILS.

DESCRIPTION.—­Several varieties of the lentil are cultivated for food, but all are nearly alike in composition and nutritive value.  They have long been esteemed as an article of diet.  That they were in ordinary use among the Hebrews is shown by the frequent mention of them in Scripture.  It is thought that the red pottage of Esau was made from the red variety of this legume.

The ancient Egyptians believed that a diet of lentils would tend to make their children good tempered, cheerful, and wise, and for this reason constituted it their principal food.  A gravy made of lentils is largely used with their rice by the natives of India, at the present day.

The meal which lentils yield is of great richness, and generally contains more casein than either beans or peas.  The skin, however, is tough and indigestible, and being much smaller than peas, when served without rejecting the skins, they appear to be almost wholly of tough, fibrous material; hence they are of little value except for soups, purees, toasts, and other such dishes as require the rejection of the skin.  Lentils have a stronger flavor than any of the other legumes, and their taste is not so generally liked until one has become accustomed to it.

Lentils are prepared and cooked in the same manner as dried peas, though they require somewhat less time for cooking.

The large dark variety is better soaked for a time previous to cooking, or parboiled for a half hour and then put into new water, to make them less strong in flavor and less dark in color.

RECIPES.

LENTIL PUREE.—­Cook the lentils and rub through a colander as for peas puree.  Season, and serve in the same manner.

LENTILS MASHED WITH BEANS.—­Lentils may be cooked and prepared in the same manner as directed for mashed peas, but they are less strong in flavor if about one third to one half cooked white beans are used with them.