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 always possible to have them fresh, the following recipe to prepare dried mushrooms will be found useful.

First of all wait until there is a sunny day Choose young mushrooms middle sized or big, but not too soft. Scrape the stem, clean them well in order to remove the earth and, without washing cut them in big pieces. This because when dried they diminish considerably in size. Keep these pieces exposed in the sun for two or three days, then thread them on a string (practising a hole in them) and keep in a well ventilated room or in the sun until they become quite dry. Then put them away well closed in a paper bag, but don't fail to look at them from time to time to see if it is necessary to expose them some more to sun and ventilation.

To use them soften in warm water, but keep them in as little as possible, so that they do not lose their delicate flavor. The best time to dry the mushrooms is June or July.

Egg-plant or, as they are also called, mad-apples are an excellent vegetable which may be used as dressing or as a dish by itself. Small or middle-sized egg-plants are to be preferred, as