Select smooth potatoes of medium size, scrub carefully, and place in a baking-pan. Bake in a hot oven from 45 minutes to one hour. When soft, break the skin to let the steam escape and serve at once. METHOD OF WORK Discuss very briefly the food that is to be cooked and the method of cooking it. Have as many apples or potatoes baked as there are members of the class or as the baking-dish will hold. Assign tasks to special members of the class. As quickly as possible put the vegetable or fruit in the oven to bake. While the baking is in process, take up a general discussion of foods and cooking and a special discussion of the food which is being used and the method of cooking that is being employed. Give as thorough a lesson on the stove and combustion as time permits. Examine the baked article and discuss the methods of serving it, the time for serving, and so on. Use the finished product for the school lunch or have it served daintily in the class. Encourage the pupils to bring a dish to school in order to take the results of their work home for the family meal, if a school lunch is not served or if they do not need a lunch. Give careful directions for washing the dishes and supervise the housework carefully. (See pages 52, 53, _Household Management._) _Note._--It may be necessary to go on with some other recitation before the baking is completed, in which case one member of the class should be appointed to watch the oven. Questions Used to Develop the Lesson What food have we on hand for use to-day? Does this food need cooking? Why? How shall we prepare it for cooking? How shall we prepare the oven? How shall we care for the fire? How long will it be necessary to cook this food? (Time the baking carefully and discuss more thoroughly at the close of the lesson.) How can we tell when it is cooked? How shall we serve it? For what meal shall we serve it? Of what value is it to the body? _Home assignment._--The pupils should prepare the baked dish at home and at the next lesson report the result of their work. _Note._--The recipes given in this Manual are prepared for normal times; but in every case the Regulations of the Canada Food Board should be observed, and substitutes used wherever possible. LESSON II: PREPARING AND SERVING VEGETABLES _Water and mineral matter in vegetables. How to prepare and serve uncooked vegetables--lettuce, cress, cabbage, etc. Cooking by moist heat. How to boil, season, and serve beet tops, turnip tops, cabbage, sprouts, kale, spinach, mustard, or other vegetable greens._ SUBJECT-MATTER _Water._--All fluids and tissues of the body contain large quantities of water, therefore water is regarded as one of the most important food-stuffs required by the body. Practically all foods contain some water. Fresh vegetables and fruits provide the body with a high percentage of water.