BEANS (DRIED).

Lima beans should be soaked in warm water over night.  In the morning drain off this water and cover with fresh warm water.  Two hours before needed drain, cover with boiling water and boil 30 minutes; drain again, cover with fresh boiling water, and boil until tender.  Add a teaspoonful of salt while they are boiling.  When cooked drain them, add a little butter, pepper and salt, or a cream sauce.

ASPARAGUS.

Wash the asparagus well in cold water, reject the tough parts, tie in a bunch or cut into pieces 1 inch long.  Put it in a kettle, cover with boiling water, and boil until tender.  Put it in a colander to drain.  Serve with melted butter, pepper and salt, or with a cream or drawn butter sauce.

ONIONS.

Scald in boiling water, then remove the skins.  Put them in boiling salted water; when they have boiled 10 minutes, change the water.  Boil until tender but not until broken.  Drain and serve with either cream sauce or butter, pepper and salt.

POTATOES.

Wash and scrub with a brush.  If old, soak in cold water after paring.  Put them in boiling water, when about half cooked add a tbsp. of salt.  Cook until soft but not broken.  Drain carefully.  Expose the potatoes for a minute to a current of air, then cover and place on the back of the stove to keep hot, allowing the steam to escape.

RICE POTATOES.

Press the cooked potatoes through a coarse strainer into the dish in which they are to be served.

MASHED POTATOES.

To 1 pint of hot boiled potatoes, add 1 tbsp. butter, 1/2 tsp. of salt, 1/2 ssp. of white pepper and hot milk or cream to moisten.  Mash in the kettle in which they were boiled, beat with a fork until they are light and creamy.  Turn lightly into a dish.

POTATO PUFFS.

Prepare as for mashed potatoes, adding a little chopped parsley or celery salt if the flavor is liked.  Beat 2 eggs, yolks and whites separately.  Stir the beaten whites in carefully, shape into smooth balls or cones, brush lightly with the beaten yolks, and bake in a moderately hot oven until brown.

CREAMED POTATOES.

Cut cold boiled potatoes into thin slices.  Put them in a shallow pan, cover with milk and cook until the potatoes have absorbed nearly all the milk.  To 1 pint of potatoes, add 1 tbsp. of butter, 1/2 tsp. of salt, 1/2 ssp. of pepper and a little chopped parsley or onion.

BAKED POTATOES.

Select smooth potatoes of uniform size, wash and scrub well.  Bake in a hot oven about 45 minutes or until soft.  Break the skin or puncture with a fork to let the steam escape and serve at once.  This is the most wholesome method of cooking potatoes, as the mineral matter is retained.