N the cooking of vegetables nutritive value and digestibility need not be sacrificed when a method is used which secures the best flavor and a palatable result. First one should understand that the framework of vegetables, known as cellulose, and the starch which most contain, are almost impossible of digestion in their raw state. These must be softened and changed by cooking, or the vegetable remains incapable of nourishment.

Take an unripe apple. We have been warned against them ever since we made our first furtive trial upon forbidden fruit. The green apple is hard and woody because of its cellulose framework. Then nature sets to work, and aided by the heat of the sun, forms the acids in the fruit, and the hard, cellulose framework in part breaks down and dissolves. The same process takes place when cabbage is changed into sauerkraut.

In general, vegetables need long, slow cooking, and the drier, the more compact they are, the longer cooking and more moisture they need.

Boiled Asparagus

All green vegetables, roots, and tubers should be crisp and firm and thoroughly clean when put on to cook.

With asparagus, cut off the woody part and wash well. If this is to be cooked in the casserole, lay it in with heads all in one direction, and half cover with boiling water. Cover the casserole and place in an oven sufficiently hot so the water will simmer. Cook until the asparagus is tender, a matter of from twenty to forty minutes, depending upon the tenderness and freshness of the vegetable. Serve on toast with or without a thin cream sauce; or the juice in which the asparagus has been cooked may be cooked down, a little cream added, seasoned, and poured over the asparagus. The water should not be thrown away, for valuable salts and much flavor are held in it, and it may be used for soup. The asparagus may be cut into short pieces if desired. One bunch will serve four.

Spinach

Spinach has comparatively little food value, but it is valuable in other ways. It is a most abused vegetable in cooking. It is not difficult, but takes much time and water and patience to prepare, for every leaf must be scrupulously clean if it is to be eaten with delight. To clean the spinach, cut off the roots, break each leaf apart, and drop them into a large pan of cold water. Rinse and put in another pan, letting fresh water run over them. Continue doing this until there is not a trace of sand or dirt in the pan. Drain and put the spinach in a large kettle, adding for a half-peck of spinach about half a cupful of water. Cover carefully and boil ten minutes. Pour into a colander to drain. Pour cold water over it and let it thoroughly drain. Chop fine and reheat in milk, cream, or butter, and serve. Spinach holds enough water for ten minutes of cooking, and the half-cupful is added merely for precaution's sake. The spinach should be pressed down, and if possible, turned over once during the cooking. When cooked in this way the vegetable will retain its salts and its flavor and be much more delicately palatable than when boiled in a quantity of water for a longer time. One-half peck will serve four.