Soft water is best suited for boiling vegetables, and they require plenty of water; a little salt should be put in the saucepan with them, and the water should almost invariably be boiling when they are put in.

Potatoes are much better when steamed.  Peas and several other vegetables are also improved by this mode of cooking them, although it is seldom adopted in England.

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MASHED POTATOES.

Boil till perfectly tender; let them be quite dry, and press them through a cullender, or mash and beat them well with a fork; add a piece of butter, and milk, or cream, and continue beating till they are perfectly smooth; return them to the saucepan to warm, or they may be browned before the fire.  The chief art is to beat them sufficiently long, which renders them light.

Potatoe balls are mashed potatoes formed into balls glazed with the yolk of egg, and browned with a salamander.

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POTATO WALL, OR EDGING.

Raise a wall of finely-mashed potatoes, of two or three inches high, round the dish; form it with a spoon to the shape required, brush it over with egg, and put it in the oven to become hot and brown; if it does not brown nicely, use the salamander.  Rice is arranged the same way to edge curries or fricassees; it must be first boiled till tender.

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POTATOE SHAVINGS.

Take four fine large potatoes, and having peeled them, continue to cut them up as if peeling them in ribbons of equal width; then throw the shavings into a frying-pan, and fry of a fine brown; they must be constantly moved with a silver fork to keep the pieces separate.  They should be laid on a cloth to drain, and placed in the dish lightly.

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THE FRENCH WAY OF DRESSING SPINACH.

Wash and boil till tender, then squeeze and strain it; press it in a towel till almost dry; put it on a board, and chop it as finely as possible; then return it to the saucepan, with butter, pepper, and salt; stir it all the time, and let it boil fast.

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STEWED SPINACH.

Scald and chop some spinach small; cut up an onion; add pepper and salt and brown sugar, with a little vinegar, stew all together gently; serve with poached eggs or small forcemeat fritters.  This forms a pretty side-dish, and is also a nice way of dressing spinach to serve in the same dish with cutlets.

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TO STEW SPANISH BEANS AND PEAS.

Soak the beans over night in cold water; they must be stewed in only sufficient water to cover them, with two table spoonsful of oil, a little pepper and salt, and white sugar.  When done they should be perfectly soft and tender.

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PEAS STEWED WITH OIL.