You may afterwards place a napkin, folded up to the size of the
saucepan's diameter, over the potatoes, to keep them hot and mealy till
wanted.

This method of managing potatoes is in every respect equal to steaming
them, and they are dressed in half the time.

There is such an infinite variety of sorts and sizes of potatoes, it is
impossible to say how long they will take doing: the best way is to try
them with a fork. Moderate sized potatoes will generally be done enough
in fifteen or twenty minutes.

PEAS.

Your infant _peas_ to asparagus prefer;
Which to the supper you may best defer.
KING.

Young green peas, well dressed, are among the most delicious delicacies
of the vegetable kingdom. They must be young. It is equally
indispensable that they be fresh gathered, and cooked as soon as they
are shelled, for they soon lose both their color and sweetness. After
being shelled, wash them, drain them in a cullender, put them on, in
plenty of boiling water, with a teaspoonful of salt; boil them till they
become tender, which, if young, will be less than half an hour; if old,
they will require more than an hour. Drain them in a cullender, and put
them into a dish, with a slice of fresh butter in it. Some people think
it an improvement to boil a small bunch of mint with the peas; it is
then minced finely, and laid in small heaps at the end or sides of the
dish. If peas are allowed to stand in the water, after being boiled,
they lose their color.

RICE.

Every week dispense
English beans or _Carolinian rice_.
GRAINGER.

Wash the rice perfectly clean; put on one pound in two quarts of cold
water; let it boil twenty minutes; strain it through a sieve, and put it
before the fire; shake it up with a fork every now and then, to separate
the grains, and make it quite dry. Serve it hot.

TURNIPS.

On _turnips_ feast whene'er you please,
And riot in my beans and peas.
GAY.

Wash, peel, and boil them till tender, in water with a little salt;
serve them with melted butter. Or they may be stewed in a pint of milk,
thickened with a bit of butter rolled in flour, and seasoned with salt
and pepper, and served with the sauce.

SPINACH.

Much meat doth Gluttony procure,
To feed men fat as swine;
But he's a frugal man, indeed,
That on _the leaf_ can dine.

Pick it very carefully, and wash it tho