Gardening à la Mode: Vegetables

by Harriet Anne De Salis

Overview

What's the best way to protect vegetables from frost? How do you dry herbs and banish slugs? There's much to learn about making the most of your backyard vegetable garden, and this handy little guide is brimming with advice for novice gardeners. Written by a popular magazine columnist of the nineteenth century, these timeless suggestions offer straightforward guidance for every step of the way, from planting, watering, and fertilizing to cooking and preserving your homegrown produce.
Author Harriet Anne de Salis was an expert at counseling Victorian housewives on the domestic arts, writing commonsense manuals for everything from cooking on a budget to raising poultry and training dogs. This companion volume to Gardening à la Mode: Fruits features alphabetized entries and an index for easy reference. Even seasoned gardeners and cooks are likely to find it a source of useful hints and enduring charm.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780486814940
Publisher:	Dover Publications
Publication date:	04/19/2017
Pages:	128
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 7.70(h) x 0.30(d)

About the Author

London-based author Harriet Anne de Salis had a regular column in the popular Lady's Realm magazine. She also wrote several books on cooking and household management.

Read an Excerpt

Gardening à la Mode Vegetables

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By Harriet Anne De Salis

Dover Publications, Inc.

Copyright © 2017 Harriet Anne De Salis
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-486-82109-2

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CHAPTER 1

GARDENING — VEGETABLES

ARTICHOKES (GLOBE)

The artichoke, originally a native of Italy, was introduced into England during the reign of Henry VIII., and it is generally believed that the name refers to the part which is not eaten, and which is called 'the choke,' though that is quite a fallacy, as it is merely the English way of spelling its French name, artichaut, which is explained by old writers, who say it is a corruption of its Arabic name (alcocalos), from its heads being shaped like a pineapple.

Artichokes are strong growing plants, and will grow almost in any kind of soil as long as it is properly prepared; but, though they prefer a good rich garden soil, the ground should be manured and trenched in the middle of January, and the land should be broken up deeply and left with a rough surface till the end of March, then forked over, and the suckers planted (suckers are better than seeds) early in April four feet apart. The suckers are best when about nine inches long. Good manure should be placed between the rows every autumn, and the plants covered with straw in severe weather in the winter.

To prepare them for planting, the brown hard part by which they are attached to the parent stem must be removed, and the large outside leaves should be taken off so that the heart appears above them. If the weather is favourable, it is a good plan to put them into a pan of water for a few hours before they are planted, especially if they have been separated from the parent stem for some time.

A large flower-pot should be placed over each, and they should be watered liberally every evening till the flower heads appear. About June all side shoots should be cut off, and all the care they will require during the summer is the frequent use of the hoe and occasionally a mulching of liquid manure. The plants will produce a succession of heads from July to October. In the autumn cut down the stalks which have produced heads, and place a thick covering of litter about the stems and roots to exclude frost.

One has to guard against the ravages of an insect called Cassida viridis, a very small beetle with a black and green body.

Globe artichokes are not adapted for small gardens, as they take up such an amount of room.

There are two varieties, the green globe and the purple globe. In the latter the heads are tinged with purple, and the scales curved inwards and compactly.

RECIPES FOR COOKING

Artichokes à la Barigoule

Prepare and blanch four artichokes, take out the inside, squeeze the water out, and season them with a pinch of salt and one small pinch of pepper. Put six tablespoonfuls of oil in the frying-pan and fry the top of the leaves. Prepare one gill of 'fines herbes' as for sauce. Put into a quart stewpan four ounces of grated bacon, quarter of an ounce of butter, quarter of an ounce of flour, one gill of broth, and the gill of 'fines herbes.' Stir over the fire for five minutes; put a fourth part of this stuffing into each artichoke; place a thin slice of bacon two inches square on the top of each, tie round with string to keep them in shape; put them into a sauté pan with two gills of stock; bake in the oven for twenty minutes; ascertain if done; then dish up and serve.

Artichokes à l'Italienne

These must be cut into quarters and boiled in water enough to enable them to swim with ease, with a little salt and butter. When done, drain them well and lay them all round the dish with the leaves outwards. Then take some Italian sauce, with which mix a small piece of butter, and pour the sauce over the part that is to be eaten, but not over the leaves.

Artichokes à la Provençale

Choose some artichokes that are very tender, cut them into four quarters, pare them nicely, and rub them over with lemon, that they may preserve their white colour. Throw them into cold water, the quantity to be in proportion to the size of the dish in which they are to be served. Trim a stewpan with a little olive oil or butter, salt, and pepper, then put the artichokes all round, the bottoms downward, and set the whole to bake in a moderately hot oven. When done, drain the artichokes and serve them up with French melted butter on them, to which add a little glaze and the juice of a lemon; or some sauce espagnole worked with a small lump of butter and the juice of a lemon.

ARTICHOKES (JERUSALEM)

These are a tuberous-rooted variety, and are planted like potatoes in rows four feet apart in any soil, and succeed well in any odd part of the garden. The tubers will keep good in the ground during the winter, and may be dug up as required. Jerusalem artichokes are considered very nutritious, and certainly they are very delicious, and their flavour is very useful in seasoning many dishes.

The only attention Jerusalem artichokes require is an occasional hoeing to loosen the surface, and draw a little of the earth up round the stems. In August the stems should be cut off about the middle, so that they get more air and light.

They can be taken up in October, or as soon as their stems have withered entirely, and put into sand to preserve them for winter use.

In many situations the stems of these plants form a very useful screen during the summer and autumn.

RECIPES FOR COOKING

Jerusalem Artichokes à la Reine

Wash and wipe the artichokes, cut off one end of each quite flat, and trim the other into a point; boil them in milk and water, lift them out the instant they are done, place them upright in the dish in which they are to be served, and sauce them with a good béchamel, or with nearly half a pint of cream thickened with a dessertspoonful of flour mixed with one and a half ounces of butter and seasoned with a little mace and some salt. When cream cannot be procured, use new milk and increase the proportion of flour and butter.

Jerusalem Artichokes Fried

Boil them in plenty of water for about twenty minutes. Beat two eggs, season two ounces of fine crumbs of bread with a grain of pepper, a quarter of a grain of cayenne, and a tablespoonful of Parmesan cheese; dip the artichokes into the egg and strew them over with the crumbs; fry in butter to a pale brown colour eight minutes, and serve uncovered.

ASPARAGUS

Asparagus was originally a wild sea-coast plant, is a native of Great Britain, and formerly grew wild in many parts of England and Scotland, but is now to be found all over the world, and is grown more largely in France than in other countries, large quantities being raised among the vines. It was a very favourite vegetable with the ancient Romans.

Asparagus is grown from seed, and it does not do well in a heavy soil. The ground should be prepared in February, and left till March roughly exposed to the weather; then, after the frost has worked upon it, it should have a good top dressing with sand, clay, burnt earth, leaf mould, soot, also old stable manure, and worked in well, and the bed left so that the surface may become dry and sweet. A very excellent thing for an asparagus bed is to get sea-sand and plenty of seaweed to dress it with. The seeds should be sewn thinly about the end of March.

To make an asparagus bed, a good dressing of manure should be first applied on the soil, and then deeply trenched to a depth of three feet, leaving all the best soil at the bottom of the trench, when it should be broken up with a fork and then well drained. Asparagus beds cannot be too much manured; it takes three years to raise asparagus from seed, therefore it is advisable for those who cannot wait so long to procure plants of three or four years' growth, and even then the asparagus should not be attempted to be cut its first year. Where seed is planted it should be drilled shallowly in fine mould and planted ten inches apart; and all that is necessary for the first year is to keep the seeds down, and the next year, about April, the plants must be thinned out to nine inches apart, and the seedlings can be used to make another bed if required.

For the first two years it should be allowed to run to stalk.

In planting asparagus the greatest care is necessary, as the roots are so very delicate, and should be carefully spread out and the crowns of the plants be left just visible above the surface.

A writer of great experience says that 'not one gardener in twenty properly manages asparagus beds, as the soil should not be touched with fork or hoe, for fear of bruising the plants.

'It is most necessary to keep all weeds down. Salt, if given liberally three times a year, will effect this, besides being a first-rate fertiliser. Proper knives are sold for cutting asparagus, as great care is required in cutting it, so as to prevent wounding the plants by cutting invisible heads. Cutting may commence as soon as the heads are high enough to cut, and after June the stems will go to seed till the autumn, when those which are ripe should be cut down and the berries sprinkled over the beds and the stems cut off.'

The beds must be then arranged for the winter by dressing them with salt and good short stable manure, and over that some good rich soil, and flattened evenly with the back of the spade, and in the spring should have another dressing of salt, and the soil and manure left on.

The Battersea and Connover's Colossal are the favourite kinds to sow or plant, but the Argenteuil early purple and late purple are becoming very popular, and are cultivated in Argenteuil expressly for the French and English markets.

RECIPES FOR COOKING

To cook asparagus it should be arranged in bundles, the heads together, and the tough part of the stalk should be removed before cooking. The stalks should be carefully washed, then tied together and put into boiling salted water deep enough to cover them. There is now what is termed an asparagus kettle, which is really a necessity to cook asparagus properly. The bundle is laid on a drainer, which fits into the kettle, and the cook is enabled to lift the cooked asparagus out of the water without breaking the heads. One or two tablespoonfuls of vinegar are sometimes put in the water: it helps to keep the green colour of the vegetable. The time for cooking it varies according to its age and freshness; from ten minutes to half an hour is about the usual time. Where there is no proper asparagus kettle the asparagus should be stood up in the saucepan, so that the green tops will be at least an inch above the surface, that the stalks may be well cooked before the heads are broken.

When cooked they should be thoroughly drained and placed on a silver or china drainer in the dish in which they are to be served. There are now sold asparagus dishes, a kind of rack in electro-ware, which are most handy as well as ornamental.

Asparagus and Eggs

Cut cold boiled asparagus into small pieces, put them into a buttered baking dish, season well, and drop eggs over the top without beating, and bake till the eggs are cooked.

Asparagus (Italian Fashion)

Take some asparagus, break them into pieces, then boil them soft, and drain the water off; take a little oil, water, and vinegar, let it boil, season it with pepper and salt, throw in the asparagus, and thicken with the white of eggs. Endive done this way is good; green peas done as above are very good, only add a lettuce cut small and two or three onions, and leave out the eggs.

Belgian Asparagus

Boil in the usual way as much asparagus as required, and arrange it neatly on a folded napkin in a flat dish. Boil some eggs hard (allowing one egg to each person), and divide them into halves lengthwise. Border the asparagus with these, placing them with the yolks upwards. Serve this dish very hot, and send to table with it a sufficient quantity of butter, simply melted and made quite hot, but without any thickening.

AUBERGINES

This vegetable is not yet common in England, but it is becoming more generally appreciated, as the fruit makes many delicious dishes. Aubergines are the fruits of the egg-plant. Seeds may be sown in heat, in the same manner as vegetable marrows, and planted out in a sunny spot. In the summer the soil must be rich. There are two kinds, but, for table use, Melongena, which is the purple, is the one adapted for table culture. In every respect treat as for marrows. Such appetising dishes are produced from this vegetable that it is surprising it is not more grown in this country, and if there be space enough, I recommend all amateurs to try it.

RECIPES FOR COOKING

Aubergines Farcies

Cut the aubergines down the middle lengthwise, scoop out the inside, taking care not to break the skin. What has been scooped out put into a stewpan with a couple of ounces of butter; let it simmer till soft; mash it up with a few breadcrumbs, a couple of hard-boiled eggs run through a wire sieve, a little pounded chicken, with pepper and salt to taste. Mix thoroughly, and stuff the aubergines with it, and brush over with beaten egg; strew some crumbs on the top, and put a few dabs of butter on each. Bake in the oven a few minutes, till they become a nice brown colour; then serve, and garnish with tufts of parsley. (Mrs. Grace Johnson.)

Aubergines (Another Way)

Put the aubergines into the oven to roast, but they must not burn; when soft, take them out, and cut them through; likewise take out the inside carefully, mash it with butter, pepper, and salt; fill in the skins again, and serve on a piece of fried bread. Garnish the tops with minced hard-boiled eggs and tufts of parsley. (Mrs. Grace Johnson.)

Aubergines à la Parmesan

Peel the aubergines, cut them up into slices, sprinkle them over with salt, drain, and fry them quickly until nearly done, season, and cover them with white sauce; then put the slices in layers in a white china fire-proof dish, and sprinkle each layer with Parmesan cheese; baste with melted butter and put the dish into a moderate oven for a quarter of an hour. (Dubois.)

Aubergines à la Turque

Cut some aubergines into slices about half an inch thick, sprinkle them with salt, and let them remain about an hour. Put a couple of ounces of flour into a basin, and mix it to a smooth paste with a little water, but not too thick. Then dip the pieces of aubergine into it, and fry them in butter till a nice golden colour; when done, take them out, drain, and dish up.

BALM

This herb thrives in any ordinary garden soil, and is propagated by division in the spring.

BASIL

There are two kinds — the common, or sweet, and the bush basil. March is the best time for sowing in a slight hot bed, and in May it can be planted out in a warm border in light soil.

BEANS (BROAD OR WINDSOR)

The bean is said to be a native of Egypt, and is supposed to have been brought to England by the Romans.

The priests of Egypt held it a crime even to look at beans; the very sight of them was unclean. Pythagoras forbade his disciples to eat beans because they were formed of the rotten ooze out of which man was created. The Romans ate beans at funerals with awe, from the idea that the souls of the dead were in them.

These beans are extremely nutritious, and, when gathered young and nicely cooked, are very digestible.

They succeed best in a deep, stiff, loamy, moderately rich soil, and, once the seed is sown, require little attention beyond earthing up the plants well by drawing the soil freely against them on either side when the young plants are a few inches high. They should be planted in single rows, with a distance of six to twelve inches from plant to plant. The dwarfs should have less space between them than the tall varieties.

The Long-pod varieties should be sown in February and March for early crops.

Immediately the plants have ceased blooming pinch off the points beyond the blooms, and if the weather is very dry, damp the blooms over with water from a syringe. Broad beans are subject to the attacks of the black fly. The best preventive of this pest is early planting and pinching out the points of the plant.

Norfolk Giant, Giant Seville Long Pod, and Green Windsor are some of the best sorts.

RECIPE FOR COOKING

Broad Beans au Jus

Take a sufficient quantity of young beans ready shelled, and put them on to boil with a great deal of salt and water; when nearly done drain them, and put them into a stewpan with a piece of butter, some minced parsley, and chives; toss them well in the butter; add three spoonfuls of espagnole sauce, and let them simmer; then skim off the fat, reduce the sauce, and serve.

(Continues...)

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