Put 4 tablespoons of butter in a large saucepan, and when melted add to it 1/2 cup of sliced onions, 1/2 cup of diced carrots, 1 cup of shredded celery, and 1/4 cup of turnips cut in oblong pieces, and toss them in the butter for fifteen minutes; then pour over them 6 cups of cold vegetable broth or water, add 1 teaspoon of salt, 2 bay leaves, 6 small onions halved, 4 carrots cut in quarters, 6 small squares of turnip, and let simmer slowly for half an hour; then add 5 potatoes cut in half, and let cook for half an hour more, and add more vegetable broth to keep the vegetables covered. Make dumplings, and drop into the boiling stew, cover tightly, and cook ten minutes more; season well with salt and pepper, and serve with enough of the stock, thickened with a little flour and butter, to cover. VEGETABLE CASSEROLE In order that this dish should taste and appear at its best, it should be cooked and served in an Italian casserole dish from eight to ten inches in diameter. Peel 8 medium-sized onions, and take the layers off until a centre about three quarters of an inch in diameter is left; toss the centres in hot butter until browned, and chop the outside. Cut 3 medium-sized sweet green peppers in half, lengthwise, and fill each half liberally with a mixture of bread crumbs, chopped tomato, chopped onion, and salt and pepper. Stuff 6 solid, medium-sized tomatoes in any of the ways described under stuffed tomatoes. Put 2 tablespoons of butter in a saucepan, and when melted add to it 2 tablespoons of chopped onions; fry these for ten minutes, then stir in 2 tablespoons of flour, and use vegetable stock or milk, 2 cups of either, to make a sauce; add 1 bay leaf, and enough soup-browning to make a rich colour. Put the stuffed peppers in a casserole dish with the glazed onion hearts and the sauce, cover, and let cook for ten minutes; then arrange the stuffed tomatoes in the casserole, distribute among them 1/2 can of button mushrooms, halved, 1/2 can of flageolets or peas, and leave the cover off the dish, letting it cook for fifteen minutes very slowly. This casserole can be varied in many ways, using different filling for the peppers and tomatoes, and either truffles, string beans, or fresh mushrooms in the sauce, which should not be too thick. VEGETABLE RAGOUT