“The more liquid there is taken into the stomach with the meals, the more difficult it is for the food to digest, for the liquid must first be absorbed.”

Consequently, the most perfect hygiene in the use of soups, would call for a few sips only, at the beginning of the meal, which in some cases stimulates the flow of the digestive juices.

With a hearty dinner of other foods, a small portion of some light soup or broth should be served, while a legume soup a chowder or a purÉe may make the principal dish of the meal.

We seldom make a soup after a recipe. When we serve soups every day, we purposely cook more than is required for other dishes of such things as will make good ingredients for soups; or, if used occasionally only, we make soup at a time when there are left-overs that are suitable. We get better results from these combinations, both from the variety of flavors, and because, with few exceptions, reheating develops richer flavors in foods.

“Our Famous Soups” are some that we have made, at different times, after this plan.

Under the head of soups are classed, bouillons or consommÉs, bisques, purÉes and chowders; though some of them are not soups in the strictest sense. For instance, a chowder is often made of the consistency of a stew, with a small proportion of liquid, and, as Francatelli says, “a purÉe is a kind of pulpy maceration of legumes, vegetables, etc., which have been passed through a fine colander,” but both of these are sometimes made with a larger proportion of liquid and served as thick soups.

The word “bisque” means rich soup, so in using it we do not say “tomato bisque soup” because the word soup is comprehended in bisque.

Bouillons (boo-yon´ or bool-yon´) or consommÉs are broths.

Suggestions

Do not put everything through the colander, (celery and oyster plant, never). Mastication in connection with soups is an aid to their digestion as well as being more satisfying.

Use potatoes seldom in any but potato soups; potato water, not at all. The addition of potatoes to an otherwise wholesome soup might convert it into a fermentable combination: as well as to remove it from the dietary of those who cannot use starchy foods.

Cook turnips and carrots by themselves and drain before adding to soups. The flavor of turnip in soup is often disagreeable.

Utilize the food cutter in preparing vegetables for soups.

As a rule, use oyster plant in slices, ¼ in. thick in the largest part and a little thicker toward the end; but if desired fine, grind it before cooking. In this way it retains its characteristic flavor.

Often the best way to thicken a soup is to heat the flour in oil or butter (without browning) and add some of the hot soup to it as for gravy, so avoiding a scorched taste.

Dried mushrooms washed well, soaked 2 to 4 hours, simmered 5 m., cut fine and added, with their juice, give a fine flavor to many soups. Three or four small pieces are sufficient for 1½ to 2 qts. of soup.

Always keep a quantity of consommÉ or bouillon on hand, for soups or sauces, or to pour over hash, or chopped potatoes, or to moisten roasts.

Serve bouillon or consommÉ in cups with or without the beaten white of egg in teaspoonfuls on each.

Whipped cream may be added to bouillon just before serving or dropped by teaspoonfuls on the cups, with a leaf of parsley laid on each.

When soups are lacking in character, the addition of water and salt will develop a meaty flavor, relieving the “porridgy” taste. Raw nut butter may be added to any of the combinations of vegetables in the proportion of 1 or 1½ tablespns. to each quart of soup.

The water drained from boiled peanuts may be used in place of raw nut butter, taking care not to use too much.

If you should have the thick nut stock, use not more than 2 tablespns. to each quart of soup.

Use herbs sparingly, some, such as mint and thyme, in minute quantities.

In putting corn through a colander, first crush the kernels in a pan or grind them through a food cutter, and put a very little into the colander at a time.

Use poor or top parts of stalks of celery, crushed, for flavoring soups.

Okra is a valuable addition to some soups, tomato soups especially. When using it, take about ¼ less water for the soup, and add from ¼–½ of a pint can to each pint of soup. Heat carefully and serve at once.

The water from spinach is an invaluable addition to vegetable soups, and with the addition of a little cream it alone makes a delightful broth. The water from nearly all greens is desirable in soups.

A little stewed asparagus adds very much to any vegetable soup or chowder.

If soup has thickened by standing, add water or milk before serving.

WATER SOUPS

? Nut Bouillon

• 1½ tablespn. raw nut butter
• 3–4 tablespns. chopped onion
• ½ cup strained tomato
• 2–3½ teaspns. browned flour
• 1–1¼ teaspn. salt
• 1 qt. water

Rub the nut butter smooth with part of the water, simmer all ingredients together 1½–2 hrs., strain vegetables out, add water to make 1¼ qt., heat, serve.

To Clear—Add water for one quart only, cool, beat with the white and shell of one egg, set over a slow fire and stir often until the broth boils rapidly, then boil without stirring until it looks dark and clear below the scum. Let stand off the fire about 10 m., strain through 2 or 3 thicknesses of cheese cloth laid over a colander; pour through wire strainer on to the cheese cloth. Add more water if necessary after straining, to develop a meaty flavor. Reheat, serve.

? Vegetable ConsommÉ

• 1–2 large onions, sliced
• ¼ cup dried celery tops pressed down
• 2 large bay leaves
• 2 large tomatoes or ½–? cup stewed tomato
• ¼ level teaspn. thyme
• 1 level tablespn. browned flour
• 2–3 cloves garlic, if desired
• 2½–3 teaspns. salt
• 2 qts. water

Cook together 1–2 hours, strain, add water to make 2 quarts, more salt if necessary, heat, serve.

? Vegetable ConsommÉ, No.2

Omit browned flour and garlic in preceding recipe, substitute celery salt for celery tops, and add a trifle of sage.

White Stock

• ¼ cup raw nut butter or meal
• 1 large onion, sliced
• 1½ level teaspn. celery salt or seed
• ¼ level teaspn. powdered sage
• ? level teaspn. thyme
• 1 medium bay leaf
• 1½–2 teaspns. salt
• 2–3 qts. water

Mix dry ingredients, add nut butter which has been stirred with water, simmer all together 1½–2 hours, strain, and add water to make 2½ pints, heat, serve.

Dark Stock

• ¼ cup raw nut butter or meal
• 1 medium bay leaf
• 1 level teaspn. celery salt
• ½ level teaspn. powdered sage
• ¼ level teaspn. thyme
• 1 level tablespn. salt
• 1 level tablespn. browned flour
• 1 cup sliced onion
• 1 clove garlic
• 2½ qts. water
• ½ cup strained tomato

Finish the same as white stock, leaving 2½ pts. of stock.

Vegetable Stock

• ¼ cup each beans and split peas
• 1 each medium onion and carrot, sliced
• 1 stalk celery or ¼ cup celery tops or ¼ teaspn. celery seed or salt
• 1–2 tablespns. chopped parsley
• ? level teaspn. thyme
• ½ level teaspn. leaf sage or ¼ powdered
• Salt

Simmer all together 3–4 hours; strain, serve. Parsley may be added after straining soup. Savory, marjoram and other herbs may be used, or the herbs may be omitted altogether.

Other legumes may be substituted for the ones given. Tomato or browned flour or both may be added. This stock is excellent for gravies and sauces. A thick soup may be made by rubbing the vegetables through the colander instead of straining them out.

? Cereal Bouillon

2½ pts. nice fresh bran pressed down. 2½ qts. boiling water. Simmer together 2 hours or more; strain, add

• 1 pint strained tomato
• 1 bunch celery stalks, crushed
• 1 large onion, sliced
• ¼ teaspn. powdered mint in a muslin bag

Simmer together ½–1 hour, strain, salt to taste, heat, serve. This should make 2½ qts. of soup. Other flavorings maybe used.

In using the bran put up in packages, sift it and use only the coarse part.

Tomato Broth

• 1 qt. stewed tomato
• 1 onion, sliced
• 1 bay leaf
• salt
• 1 pt. water

Simmer all together about 20 m., strain and add water for 1½ qt. of broth. Use plenty of salt. This broth may be cleared the same as bouillon, leaving 1 qt. only. 3 or 4 teaspoons of browned flour may be used.

Legume Broths

Cook beans, lentils or whole green peas, until the water looks rich, but not until the skins begin to break. Strain, making 1 pt. of broth from each pint of legumes. (The legumes remaining may be used for stews and soups). Add salt, heat and serve. These broths are very satisfying. They may be varied by adding different flavorings to legumes while cooking or to broths after straining. Tomato, celery, onion with or without browned flour, or thyme are suitable. Brown beans with onion have quite a different flavor from white beans with onion.

? Nut French Soup

• 2 tablespns. raw nut butter
• 2 cups stewed tomato
• 6 cups water
• ½ tablespn. browned flour
• ½ large onion, sliced
• 1 large bay leaf
• ¼ teaspn. powdered sage
• ¼ teaspn. thyme
• 2½–3 teaspns. salt

Simmer ½–1 hour, strain, reheat, serve. An English woman in sampling this soup after I had made it up, remarked that it tasted like some of the French soups, hence its name.

Egg Soup

Add salt and butter to water, break eggs into a cup, one for each cup of water, leave whole and turn slowly into the rapidly boiling water, beating briskly with fork or wire whip until the egg is in white and yellow shreds. Boil up well and serve with crackers and celery. This is an emergency soup. Cream may be added to the water instead of butter, or part milk may be used.

? Nut and Barley Soup

• 4 tablespns. raw nut butter
• 2 qts. water
• 2½ tablespns. coarse pearl barley
• ½ bay leaf
• 2 small sticks celery, or a few celery tops
• 2½–3 teaspns. salt

Cook barley and nut butter in part of the water for 3–5 hours. Add water to make 2 qts., with celery and bay leaf. Simmer from 15–20 m., no longer. Remove celery and bay leaf, serve. Bay leaf may be omitted.

? Cabbage and Tomato Soup

Cook chopped or finely-shredded cabbage in boiling salted water until tender; add stewed tomatoes, simmer 15–20 m., add necessary salt and water, serve. Excellent.

? Celery and Tomato Soup

Use stewed celery instead of cabbage in cabbage and tomato soup. A delightful combination.

? Savory Rice Soup

• 4 tablespns. raw nut butter
• 2 qts. water
• 2½ tablespns. rice
• 1 teaspn. chopped onion
• ?–¼ teaspn. sage
• 2½ teaspns. salt

Blend nut butter and water. Heat to boiling, add rice, onion, sage and salt. Boil rapidly until rice is tender.

It may be necessary to add 1–2 cups of water after rice is cooked.

Onion Soup

Simmer sliced onions in butter without browning; add water, boiling, cook until onions are tender, thicken slightly with flour, rub through colander, add salt and a little browned flour, more water if necessary, and chopped parsley.

May cook raw nut butter with onion instead of using dairy butter.

Split Peas and Onion Soup

Split peas, water, salt, raw nut butter and onion, a little tomato sometimes. Cook all ingredients together until peas and onion are tender. Strain or not as preferred.

Potato Soup with Onion or Celery

Simmer chopped onion in oil or butter, add boiling water, potatoes cut in small pieces, and salt. Cook until potatoes are tender, add water to make of the right consistency, salt, and chopped parsley.

Serve with shelled nuts and croutons.

Finely-sliced celery may be cooked with the potatoes, and onions omitted.

Vegetable Soup No.1

• 1 cup each carrot, turnip and parsnip in small pieces
• 2 cups each onion and celery
• 2 tablespns. raw nut butter
• 2 qts. boiling water
• salt
• ½ cup rice

Cook all except rice for ½ hour, add rice and cook until it is tender; add 1 tablespn. parsley, more salt and water if necessary.

Vegetable Soup No.2

Equal quantities carrot and turnip in small pieces, twice as much onion and celery, with raw nut butter and water. Cook until vegetables are tender; add salt and necessary water. In their season, asparagus, peas, and string beans may be added.

Vegetable Soup No.3

Simmer sliced onions, celery or carrots and cabbage in water, with raw nut butter, until tender. Add browned flour, salt and necessary water; heat.

Mashed legumes may be used in place of nut butter in these vegetable soups. Or they may be made into cream soups by using milk instead of nut butter and water, with or without thickening. Chopped parsley may be used in any of them.

Tomato Soup

• 1 tablespn. oil or butter
• 2 tablespns. flour
• 1 teaspn. salt
• 1 pt. boiling water
• 1 qt. stewed tomatoes

Add flour to melted butter in saucepan, pour boiling water over, stirring, add tomatoes and salt. Boil up well.

Chopped onion may be simmered in the oil before adding flour.

Nut Gumbo

• 3–4 tablespns. raw nut butter
• 1? qt. water
• ? cup nutmese in small oblong pieces
• ? cup trumese in small oblong pieces
• ? pt. stewed or canned okra
• ? cup finely-sliced celery, stewed
• 1 tablespn. rice, cooked
• ½ tablespn. chopped parsley
• salt

Cook raw nut butter in part of the water, add other ingredients, heat well. Cooked noodles may be used instead of rice.

? Tampa Bay Soup

• 1 tablespn. oil
• 1 tablespn. flour
• ½ tablespn. browned flour
• 1 cup boiling water
• 1 cup stewed tomato
• 3 tablespns. raw nut butter
• 1–1¼ qt. water
• ½ cup sliced okra
• ½ cup sliced onion
• ½ cup trumese in dice
• ¼ cup nutmese in dice
• chopped parsley

Cook tomato, raw nut butter, the 1¼ qt. of water, okra and onion all together, rub through colander and add to sauce made with oil, browned and white flour and the 1 cup of water. Add salt and more water if necessary, and when boiling, the trumese and nutmese, with chopped parsley. Throw egg balls into the soup just before serving, or serve separately in each dish. Or, pass a dish of boiled rice with the soup.

? Mother’s Soup

• 1 qt. clean wheat bran pressed down in the measure
• 3 qts. boiling water
• 2 large onions, sliced or chopped
• ¼ cup grated carrot
• 1 bay leaf
• 1–2 tablespns. browned flour
• ½ cup chopped turnip
• ? teaspn. thyme
• salt

Cook all except turnip and thyme together 1½–2 hours. About 20 m. before removing from the fire add the turnip, and in 10 m. the thyme; after another 10 m., strain, add salt and more water if necessary, heat.

When soup is boiling rapidly, turn in slowly, in a slender stream, batter for cream noodles, stirring constantly. Boil up well, remove from fire, serve at once.

3–4 tablespns. raw nut butter may be used for stock instead of bran, and 1½ teaspn. lemon juice added when soup is done.

? Bean Soup

Put the beans into boiling water and cook rapidly until the skins begin to break, then simmer until tender and well dried out. The longer and more slowly the beans are cooked the richer the soup will be. Rub beans through colander, keeping them where they will remain hot during the process. Return to the fire, add boiling water and salt, and simmer for an hour. Stir well and serve.

There are three things essential to the perfection of bean soup: 1st., cook the beans without soaking or parboiling, 2nd., dry out well after they become tender, 3rd., do not let the beans or soup get cold at any time before serving. Warmed-over bean soup is very good, but there is a certain meaty flavor lost by cooling and reheating. Left-overs of bean soup, we usually combine with other ingredients. Brown beans and red make very rich soups, much better than black. One pint of beans will make about 3 qts. of soup.

? Chick Peas Soup

Make the same as bean soup (except that peas require longer cooking), or cook in consommÉ. Very rich in flavor.

? Unstrained Bean Soup

Cook nice tender white beans until partially cooked to pieces. Add salt, and water to make of the right consistency, and simmer slowly ½ hour or longer.

? Swiss Lentil Soup

• 1 pint lentils
• 1 large onion
• 2–4 tablespns. browned flour
• salt

Cook lentils and sliced onion together until lentils are tender and well dried out, rub through colander, add the browned flour and salt, with water to make of the right consistency. (There should be from 2½–3 qts. of soup). Heat ½–1 hour. This makes an unusually meaty-flavored soup.

The idea of combining onion and browned flour with lentils was given me by one who had spent some years among the French in Switzerland.

Swiss Peas or Swiss Bean Soup—May be made the same.

? Canadian Peas Soup

Cook whole ripe peas with onion and a little garlic, rub through colander, add salt, a little browned flour and powdered sage, with water to make like a broth. Unusually good.

? Green Peas Soup

Cook green peas until tender, put ¾ of them through the colander, add water and salt, boil up, thicken with a little flour and butter rubbed together, add the whole peas, heat to boiling and serve.

CREAM AND MILK SOUPS

Cream soups do not necessarily contain cream, though the addition of a little improves their flavor.

The simplest ones consist of milk thickened to the consistency of very thin cream, salt, and a vegetable or some other ingredient. If the vegetable is mashed, or is one that does not break to pieces easily, the milk may be added to it, and the whole brought to the boiling point and thickened. In a few exceptional cases the ingredient may be cooked in the milk; nice tender green corn, for instance.

A richer sauce is made by making a roux of 2 level tablespns. of butter, and 1–1½ level tablespn. flour, with a pint of milk, put together in the regular way for sauces; but you will be surprised to see how much better soups (with few exceptions) are without thickening, being free from the porridgy taste of those thickened a trifle too much.

A little cream with the water in which the vegetable was cooked often gives a finer flavored soup than milk and is no more expensive.

Sour cream makes a delightful as well as wholesome substitute for sweet cream in corn, cabbage, tomato, in fact, nearly all vegetable soups.

The following is a list of soups in which the general directions are understood when no exceptions are noted. Salt is understood in all.

? Cream of Asparagus—Cook tougher parts and rub through colander. Throw cooked tips in last unless desired for some other dish. The very toughest parts only make a nice, delicate flavored soup. This is one which favors cream and water instead of milk.

Cream of Bean—Lima, common white, or colored. Cook as for water bean soup, rub through colander or leave in broken pieces. Milk, or cream and water, no flour. 1 cup beans to 1½–2 qts. soup.

Cream of Bouillon—¼–½ cup cream salted and whipped, to each quart bouillon just before serving, either stirred in, or laid on top of each cup in spoonfuls with a leaf of parsley.

? Cream of Cabbage, or Celery and Tomato—Cabbage or celery, and tomato soup, with a little heavy cream added.

Cream of Carrot—1 cup of ground or grated carrot, cooked, 3 pts. milk and water, 1½–2 tablespns. butter, 1¼ tablespn. flour; or, 1 cup strained tomato, ½–¾ cup cream, with water to make 3 pts., and no butter.

Without the tomato, soup may be flavored with onion or celery, and bay leaf, with chopped parsley. Cream of Celery—1 pt. finely-sliced celery, stewed, milk and cream added to make 3 pts., 1–1½ tablespn. flour with or without 1 or 2 tablespns. of butter. Do not strain. When soup is thickened, crushed stalks of celery may be steeped in it for 15 m., then removed.

? Cream of Celery No.2—Steep leaves or poor stalks of celery in milk for 15 m., add cream and flour, or flour and butter, to make of the consistency of thin cream. Strain. May add a little celery salt.

Cream of Chestnut—Mashed boiled chestnuts, milk to thin, cream, plain or whipped, or, milk and butter. May be flavored with celery or onion or both.

? Cream of Corn—1 pt. canned or grated corn to 3 pts. rich milk, 1 level tablespn. only, of flour, a very little salt. Do not let soup stand long before serving. A little onion improves the flavor. If fresh corn is used, the milk may be heated in a double boiler, the corn added and cooked 20–30 m., or it may be boiled in a small quantity of water 6–10 m. The cobs may be boiled in the water for 10 m. before and removed; or they may stand in the milk while it is heating and be removed before corn is added.

Fine fresh cracker meal gives a nice flavor to cream of corn soup when used instead of flour for thickening.

A very little strained tomato imparts a delightful flavor and makes a different soup.

Cream of Dried Corn—Soak corn, grind, add to hot milk, or cream and water. Heat in double boiler 1 hour, add salt, serve. If necessary, thicken a trifle.

Cream of Dried Corn and Carrot—Add cooked grated carrots to corn and milk in above recipe and heat. Delicious.

Cream of Leek—Boil sliced leeks to pulp or cook only until tender.

Cream of Lentil—1 cup lentils cooked and rubbed through colander. 1½–2 qts. soup. No flour. May flavor with celery and onion.

Cream of Onion—Cook sliced onions in salted water. Do not strain. Nice thickened with tapioca instead of flour.

Cream of Oyster Plant—Cook sliced oyster plant in water until just tender, not soft; add salt, simmer 5 m. Add cream and more water if necessary. Or, grind oyster plant before cooking. May thicken a trifle.

Cream of Peas, dry—Canadian, dried green, split or chick; 1 cup to 1½–2 qts. of soup. Cook, rub through colander; milk, or cream and water. No flour. Celery or onion flavor or not.

Cream of Potato, or Sweet Potato—1½–2 qts. of milk, or cream and water, for each pint of mashed potato. Flavor with onion, celery salt or bay leaf.

Cream of Spinach—Use a very small proportion of cooked spinach rubbed through a colander, with rich milk, or with cream and the water in which the spinach was boiled. Whipped cream may be added just before serving. Thicken with tapioca sometimes.

Cream of String Beans—Cook beans in small pieces, add rich milk, thicken with flour or tapioca.

Cream of Succotash Soup

Use 1 part of beans to 2 parts of corn; put either, neither or both through a colander; add rich milk and salt.

For variety, flavor the soup with celery or onion or both, and add a sprinkling of chopped parsley just before serving.

Cream of Corn and Celery Soup

Equal quantities cooked celery and corn, rich milk thickened a trifle if desired, salt.

Cream of Corn and Peas Soup

• 1 cup dried green peas
• 1 cup canned corn
• 2 or 3 stalks of celery
• milk

Cook peas, rub through colander, corn also if preferred. Add milk to make of the right consistency. Put over fire in double boiler with salt and the stalks of celery crushed. Heat for 15 m., remove the celery and serve. 1 pint of canned green peas may be used instead of dried ones.

Okra Soup with Cream

1 pt. canned okra, vegetable consommÉ to make of the right consistency, ½–1 cup cream, salt. If the okra is in large pieces, cut smaller.

Cream of Rice Soup

• ½ cup rice
• 1½ teaspn. salt
• 1½ pint water
• 1¾ pt. milk
• ½ cup cream

Cook rice with salt and water in a double boiler or in a pan in the oven until the water is absorbed, add the milk hot, and cook stirring often, on top of stove or in double boiler till rice is soft and creamy. Add cream and more salt and water if necessary. Soup may be flavored with 2 teaspns. finely-chopped onion, a crushed half clove of garlic, or ?–¼ teaspn. sage, or with a bay leaf, or crushed stalks of celery. All milk may be used.

? Paris Onion Soup

Cook sliced onion with browned flour in salted water until tender. Rub through colander, add cream or butter, milk and salt. Thicken a trifle, heat and add chopped parsley.

Soup of Peas Pods

Wash peas pods, stew 3 hours with a small sprig of mint. Rub through a coarse wire sieve (a few at a time) until nothing is left but the membrane. Add milk and butter, or cream and water, with a little flour to thicken if desired, then a few whole peas; season with salt.

Split Peas Soup

1 pt. split peas, 1 onion sliced; cook in water till soft. Add milk to make of the right consistency and salt to season. Good without onion.

? Peas and Tomato Soup

• 1 cup dried green peas (2 cups after being cooked and mashed)
• 1¼ qt. water
• 2–4 cups tomato
• ½ cup cream
• Salt

Cook peas and rub through colander, add water, tomato, cream and salt. Heat. Serve.

Cream of Green (or canned) Peas Soup

1 pt. stewed or canned, well matured green peas, 1–1½ qt. rich milk, salt. Heat peas, rub through colander, add hot milk gradually, stirring, then salt. Heat well, serve. If peas are not sweet, 2 teaspoons of sugar may be added. The soup may be thickened with 1 level tablespn. of flour. It also may be flavored with stalks of celery or slices of onion, for variety; but nice-flavored peas do not require any additional flavoring.

? Tomato Cream Soup

• 1 qt. rich milk
• 1–1½ tablespn. flour
• 1 cup strained tomato
• 1 teaspn. salt

Heat milk, thicken with flour, add tomato, then salt; serve hot.

Cream of Tomato Soup

Same as Tomato Cream Soup, with 2½ cups of tomato instead of 1 cup, and 1½–2 teaspns. salt.

? Another

• 1 tablespn. butter
• 1 level tablespn. flour
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup strained tomato
• ? teaspn. salt

Heat butter, add flour, then water, milk, tomato and salt, stirring smooth.

Cream Broths

Cauliflower, cabbage or spinach water, with a little cream, make delightful broths; also barley or rice water or juice of tomato.

Brazil Nut Soup

• ½ lb. (1 large cup) ground Brazil nut meats
• 1–1½ pt. water
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1½ cup finely-sliced celery (crushed stalks of celery may be used)
• 2 cups milk
• Salt

Cook ground nuts in the water for 2 hrs., add onion and celery, and cook 15 m., to ½ hr., add the milk, heat, strain, add salt and more milk or water if necessary, reheat. Other flavorings may be used.

This may be used as a white stock with or without the milk.

Sister Cooley’s Brown Potato Soup

1 pt. of potato, in small pieces, cooked, mashed and well beaten, 3 tablespns. butter and oil mixed, 4–6 tablespns. chopped onion, 2 or 3 teaspns. browned flour, 1½ teaspn. white flour, 3 cups milk, salt. Heat onion in oil, add flour and mashed potato, then milk and salt with a little chopped parsley. If too thick, add a little more milk or water.

Sliced Potato Soup

1 pt. of potato in thick slices, 1 medium sized onion chopped, salt. Cook until potatoes are tender but not soft; add 1 tablespn. butter, or 2–3 tablespns. cream with milk to make 1¼–1½ qt. of soup, salt, and chopped parsley. Finely-sliced celery may be used in place of onion.

For parsnip soup substitute parsnip for half or all of the potato.

Vegetable Soup—Milk

• 1½ tablespn. oil, or 2 tablespns. melted butter
• 4 tablespns. finely-sliced celery
• 2½ tablespns. chopped cabbage
• 2½ tablespns. chopped carrot
• 2 medium sized onions sliced thin
• scant ½ cup stale bread crumbs
• 2 cups boiling water
• 1½ cup milk
• salt
• 1 tablespn. parsley

Simmer, but do not brown, vegetables in oil 10–20 m., add boiling water and bread crumbs and cook till vegetables are very tender. Rub through colander or not as preferred. Add milk, salt and parsley. Reheat. If too thick add more milk or water. Soup may be thickened slightly with pastry or rice flour instead of crumbs.

Mayflower Soup

• 3 level tablespns (¼ cup) raw nut butter or meal
• 1 cup each tomato, onion and corn
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 tablespn. butter
• 1–1½ tablespn. flour
• 1 qt. milk
• salt
• ½ teaspn. celery salt

Cook nut butter, onion and garlic in salted water; when tender add tomato and corn; heat. Rub butter and flour together, pour hot milk over gradually, stirring. Boil up well, combine with vegetables, add salt and celery salt, and if necessary, water to thin.

A little cream may be used in place of butter, but the soup is excellent without either.

? Oyster Bay Soup

• 1 qt. sliced oyster plant (about 20 roots, 3 bunches or less)
• 1–1½ pt. chopped cabbage
• 1 pt. milk
• ¼–½ pt. cream
• 1–1½ tablespn. flour
• 2–2½ teaspns. salt
• ½–1 teaspn. olive oil

Cook oyster plant in 1½ pt. water; when nearly tender, add salt. Cook cabbage till tender (20–25 m.), in so little water that it will be nearly dry when done. Add milk, heat, strain; add liquid from oyster plant. There should be 3 pts. of liquid in all. Boil, stir in flour rubbed smooth with the oil and part of the cold milk. Boil up well. Add cooked oyster plant. Heat. Do not make too thick. The flour may be omitted entirely. The oil may be cooked with the oyster plant.

Milk Stew of Cabbage—White or Red

• 1 pt. chopped cabbage
• 1 tablespn. chopped onion
• 1 pt. water
• 2 level tablespns. butter
• 1½ level tablespn. flour
• 1 pt. boiling milk
• chopped parsley

Cook cabbage and onion in the water 20–25 m. leaving ½ pt. of liquid. Blend butter and flour and pour hot milk over; boil, add cooked cabbage and chopped parsley. Heat. Serve.

Milk Stew of Oyster Plant

Cook 1 qt. of sliced oyster plant in a small quantity of water. Add salt when nearly tender; drain, add rich milk to liquor to make 1 qt. Pour over oyster plant, heat, add salt. Turn into tureen containing ¼ cup heavy cream, or 1 tablespn. butter.

Cream Stew of Oyster Plant

Cook oyster plant in water and add heavy cream.

Oyster Plant and Celery Soup

Equal quantities sliced oyster plant and celery cooked; water, cream, with or without a little flour to thicken, salt.

Oyster Plant and Corn Soup

• ? qt. (1 bunch) sliced oyster plant
• ¼ cup corn
• 3½ cups water
• ¾–1 tablespn. flour
• ½ cup cream, salt

Cook oyster plant, drain, add water to liquor to make 3½ cups. When boiling, thicken and add corn, oyster plant and cream, with salt. Heat, serve.

BISQUES

Bisque of Corn

• 1 pt. corn
• 2½ pts. water
• 1 tablespn. flour
• 1–1½ tablespn. butter
• ½–¾ cup cream, whipped

Heat butter, add flour, then hot water; stir into corn with salt; heat, turn over whipped cream in soup tureen and send to table at once.

Butter may be omitted, and the water thickened with flour.

Bisque of Cucumber

• 2 tablespns. raw nut butter
• 1 pt. water, salted
• 2 small onions, sliced
• 4 large cucumbers, grated
• ½–1 teaspn. celery salt
• 1 pt. rich milk
• 1 level tablespn. flour
• ¼–½ cup cream
• salt

Cook onion in nut milk (made by blending raw nut butter and water) until tender, add the cucumbers and cook 5 m., add celery salt and milk, thicken with flour; rub through colander, add salt, milk or water to thin if necessary, and cream, whipped or plain. Serve immediately.

? Milk and Tomato Bisque

• 1 pt. chopped cabbage
• 1 pt. milk
• 1 tablespn. butter
• 2 teaspns. flour
• 1 qt. stewed tomatoes, strained
• 1 tablespn. flour
• ½ cup cream
• salt

Cook cabbage 20–25 m., in just enough water to cook it tender. Add milk, heat, strain. Heat butter and the 2 teaspns. of flour and add cabbage flavored milk.

Thicken tomato with 1 tablespn. of flour and add thickened milk just before serving. Add salt the last thing. Turn over whipped cream in soup tureen or serve the cream by teaspoonfuls on each plate of soup. Cream may be omitted.

Milk may be flavored with onion instead of cabbage, or not flavored at all, but the cabbage gives an exceptionally fine flavor to the combination. Equal quantities of milk and tomato may be used, or twice as much milk as tomato, remembering to thicken both milk and tomato (if all the flour is put into the milk it makes it too thick to blend well with the tomato), to combine just before serving, and to add the salt last.

Milk and Tomato Bisque, with Eggs—Starchless

• 1½ cup rich milk
• ½ cup water
• ½ tablespn. oil or melted butter
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup strained tomato
• salt

Cook milk, water, oil and eggs the same as a boiled custard. Remove from fire, add the hot tomato gradually, stirring, then salt. Serve at once.

? Nut and Tomato Bisque

• ? cup roasted nut butter
• 1 cup rich strained tomato
• 3 cups water
• salt

Stir butter smooth with tomato, add boiling water, heat and add plenty of salt. This soup requires no flavoring, but onion, garlic, mint, caraway, or a delicate flavoring of thyme, are all nice with it.

? Nut and Tomato Bisque No.2

2 tablespns. raw nut butter cooked in water ½ to 1 hr., instead of the roasted nut butter. Flavor with onion, garlic, or delicately with thyme, if desired.

Bisque of Spinach

• 2 qts. spinach
• 3 pts. milk
• 1–1½ tablespn. oil or melted butter
• 1½ tablespn. flour
• 1½ tablespn. chopped onion
• 1–3 stalks celery
• ¾ teaspn. celery salt
• salt

Heat milk, onion and celery in double boiler for 20 m., strain, pour liquid over oil and flour heated (without browning) in saucepan; add salt and celery salt and turn on to spinach (which has been cooked and chopped fine or rubbed through a colander) gradually, stirring. Serve hot.

CHOWDERS

Many of the chowders are almost a “full meal” in themselves. I can think of no luncheon more delightful than a nut chowder with finger croutons, beaten biscuit or whole wheat wafers, with fruit or other not too rich, dessert.

Raw nut butter may be used in all these chowders in place of butter or oil, giving a meaty flavor.

A smaller proportion of liquid may be used when desired. The vegetable strainings left from a consommÉ, rubbed through the colander, make an excellent foundation for chowders.

? Seashore Chowder—Corn

• 1 pt. to 1 qt. milk
• 1 pt. water
• 1 pt. corn grated or chopped
• 2–3 tablespns. oil or melted butter
• 5 small onions sliced
• 1 qt. potato in small pieces (not slices)

Heat oil (without browning) in kettle, add onions, simmer 10 m., then add the water, boiling, with salt and potatoes. Cook until potatoes are just tender, not soft; add the milk, hot, and then the corn. Heat to boiling and serve with crackers. When fresh grated corn is used, of course it should be cooked in a double boiler for 10–15 m. before adding to chowder.

The chowder may be thickened a trifle if the larger quantity of milk is used, but the smaller is the usual quantity. Sometimes only one-half as much potato as of corn is used.

Dried corn chopped after soaking makes an unusually fine chowder.

Water and cream are better than milk.

A little browned flour is thought by some to be an improvement.

Fine chopped trumese gives the chowder a little more of the seashore effect.

Corn and Carrot Chowder—Unusually Fine

• 1–1½ tablespn. oil or melted butter
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 1 cup carrot in small, thin pieces
• 1 pt. water
• ¾–1 cup corn
• 2½–3 cups rich milk
• salt

Heat onion and carrot in oil, add water, cook tender, add hot milk, and corn with salt. Heat.

½–¾ cup of tomato may be added for variety.

? Nut Chowder

• 2–3 tablespns. raw nut butter
• 1 medium onion, sliced fine
• ½ cup carrot in small pieces (fancy shapes if convenient)
• ½ cup finely-sliced celery
• 1 cup stewed tomato
• 1 cup nutmese, shredded or in dice
• ½–1 cup trumese, shredded or in dice
• 2 hard boiled eggs, shredded parsley, chopped or picked into small pieces
• ½–1 cup cream
• water
• salt

Rub nut butter smooth with water, add the tomato and more water; cook ½ hour. Cook together carrots and onion and add without draining to nut butter stock. Cook celery till perfectly tender and add with the water in which it was cooked; add salt, nutmese and trumese, eggs, parsley and cream, with more water if required. Let stand a few minutes and serve.

One cup of oyster plant with the water in which it was cooked is a great improvement. ½ cup of turnip in dice, cooked by itself and drained, and a few pieces of cooked red beet, in fancy shapes, may be added just as the chowder goes to the table.

Potato and Onion or Celery Chowder

• 2 tablespns. raw nut butter
• 1 pt. potato in small pieces
• 1 pt. water
• 2 or 3 onions, sliced

Rub nut butter smooth with water, heat to boiling, add salt and onions, cook 10 m., add potatoes and cook until tender. Finish with water and cream, or water alone. 1 cup finely-sliced celery may be cooked with the potato instead of the onion, and chopped parsley added at the last.

Nut butter may be omitted and cream used.

? Tomato Cream Chowder

• 2–3 tablespns. oil or butter
• 2 large onions, sliced
• 1 pt. stewed tomato
• 1 pt. thin cream sauce
• Salt

Simmer onion, carefully, in oil until tender, add tomato, heat and add cream sauce with necessary salt. Onion may be cooked in a small quantity of salted water and oil omitted.

Add stewed celery for Celery and Tomato Chowder.

? Oyster Plant Chowder

• 1½ tablespn. oil or butter
• 1 large onion, sliced
• 1 pt. potato, in small pieces
• 1 pt. oyster plant, partly cooked
• 1½ pt. water (including that in which the oyster plant was cooked)
• 1½ pt. rich milk or thin cream
• salt, crackers

Simmer onion in oil, add water, potato and oyster plant, with salt; cook; add hot milk and more salt if necessary. Pour over split or whole crackers in tureen.

? Another

Leave out potato and use more oyster plant and onion.

String Bean and Celery Chowder

1 part cooked celery and 2 parts string beans with rich milk, thickened a trifle. Salt.

Celery, Onion and Corn Chowder

Equal parts celery and corn. Cook onion and celery in butter (or salted water only), add water, then milk and cream, corn and parsley. Heat. Serve.

Rice and Vegetable Chowder (of things on hand)

• split peas soup
• string beans
• celery in tomato
• tomato and okra soup
• hard boiled eggs
• boiled rice

Slice hard boiled eggs, mix all ingredients, heat and serve.

? Royal Vegetable Chowder

• a few mashed green or yellow split peas
• carrot
• onion
• canned peas
• canned asparagus tips
• tomato
• parsley
• milk, a little
• cream, a little

A little canned okra when convenient.

PURÉES

The term “purÉe,” as used in this connection, means a thick soup of ingredients rubbed through a fine colander. Thicker purÉes of cooked nuts, fruits, legumes or vegetables are served as true meat dishes, entrÉes, side dishes or relishes, according to their nature.

Almond PurÉe—small quantity

Rub 2 tablespns. of almond butter smooth with 1–1? cup of water. Just boil up over the fire (or cook in double boiler till thick), add salt, serve. The proportion of water may be varied.

Split Peas PurÉe

• 1 cup split peas
• 3–4 tablespns. raw nut butter
• ½ large bay leaf
• a few celery tops or ¼ teaspn. celery seed in piece of muslin
• a pinch of sage
• 1 small onion, sliced
• salt
• water
• 1 tablespn. butter
• ½ tablespn. flour
• 1 teaspn. grated onion

Cook peas, raw nut butter, bay leaf, celery tops and onion all together in salted water, rub through colander, turn on to butter and flour which have been heated together (or the butter and flour may be rubbed together and stirred into the purÉe), add necessary water, salt, sage and the teaspoon of fresh grated onion; simmer for 5 m. Serve with strips of bread, or finger croutons. The teaspoon of onion at the last is very important.

PurÉe of Potatoes

Boil potatoes cut in small pieces, sliced onion, stalks of celery and a sprig of parsley in plenty of salted water till potatoes are tender. Rub through colander, reheat, thicken just enough to hold the ingredients together, turn over whipped cream in the tureen and sprinkle with chopped parsley. Raw nut butter gives a fine flavor to this purÉe, cook it with the potatoes and use less or no cream.

PurÉe of Sago

• ¼ cup sago
• 1 pt. water
• ¼ small bay leaf
• 1 large stalk of celery, crushed, or a few celery tops
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• a sprig of parsley
• 1¼–1½ pt. milk
• salt
• yolk of 1 small egg
• ¼ cup cream
• chopped parsley if desired

Wash sago and cook with bay leaf, celery, parsley and onion in the water until clear; add hot milk, rub through colander, add salt and keep hot. Just before serving, beat together the yolk of the egg and the cream, stir several spoonfuls of hot soup into the mixture, turn all into the soup, stir well, but do not boil, add chopped parsley, serve at once.

OUR FAMOUS SOUPS

This is the list of soups, made from left-overs, for which people most often ask our recipes.

They are from a small institution, with a family of from twenty-five to thirty members.

The cream is usually a little from the top of the can, but it gives the finishing touch.

The ingredients are usually heated together and put through the colander.

No. 1—Seashore chowder with fine trumese and nutmese, and onion and tomato stew.

No. 2—Nut and tomato bisque, with remains of above, put through colander.

No. 3—Asparagus on toast put through colander; milk, consommÉ, a trifle of tomato,—oyster flavor.

No. 4—ConsommÉ, strainings from consommÉ, chick peas, trumese and gravy from trumese pie.

No. 5—Cream of asparagus soup, dry Lima beans and dried corn succotash, consommÉ, baked beans, green peas, milk and cream.

No. 6—Baked beans, Lima beans, cream of peas soup, milk.

No. 7—Strainings from consommÉ, put through colander, thin cream, tomato.

No 8—Left-overs from above, string beans, lentils, milk; thickened a little.

No. 9—ConsommÉ of nut butter instead of stock, lentils, water, cream.

No. 10—Left-over from above, tomato, creamed onions.

No. 11—ConsommÉ, spinach water, carrots, onions, garlic, tomato, chopped parsley.

No. 12—Left-over from above, baked beans, skimmed milk.

No. 13—Carrot water, onions, garlic, tomato, browned flour, beans, bay leaf. This tasted like beans with tomato sauce.

No. 14—Corn chowder, peas and tomato soup, pilau, milk and water.

No. 15—Baked beans, string beans, milk and cream.

No. 16—Cream of peas soup, lentil, spinach water, tomato, a little consommÉ.

FRUIT SOUPS

Served with nuts, nut wafers or popped corn, are very refreshing often, for luncheon or supper.

And when something must be served in the evening, those not too tart, may be served with cocoanut crisps, pastry in fancy shapes, cookies or sponge cakes and nuts.

Fruit soups are served hot, in cups, and cold or slightly frozen, in glasses.

Sea moss, sago or tapioca (? to ½ cup sago and ¼ to ? cup tapioca to each 3 pts. of soup) make the most suitable foundations for them.

Honey instead of cane sugar may be used to sweeten.

The white of egg beaten, sweetened a trifle and flavored delicately with rose, lemon or orange may be put on to each cup in roses with a pastry tube or dropped on by teaspoonfuls.

Whipped cream may be used with some.

Berries, pieces of orange or slices of banana are sometimes served in the soup.

Odds and ends of sauces can be utilized, and in the summer, all sorts of fresh fruits.

Thin slices of Brazil nuts, crisp toasted almonds, English walnuts, pecans or hickory nuts are suitable accompaniments.

Strawberry and Pineapple Soup

• ?–½ cup of sago
• or
• ¼–? cup of tapioca
• 2½ cups strawberry juice
• ¼ cup lemon juice
• 1½ cup pineapple juice
• sugar, if necessary
• salt

Put sago or tapioca into the inner cup of a double boiler with 1 cup of warm water. Soak sago 1 hr., tapioca 10 m. to 2 hrs., according to the kind. When soaked, pour 1 cup of boiling water over, add a little salt and cook until transparent. Add strawberry, pineapple and lemon juice, and sugar to make delicately sweet. Heat to just below the boiling point and serve at once, or cool.

Small pieces of pineapple make a pleasant addition.

Cherry or currant juice may be used in place of the strawberry.

If too thick, a little water or juice may be added.

Other suitable fruit juices may be substituted for the ones given: with those of strong and positive flavor a larger proportion of water may be used. Of course, with some tart juices, no lemon juice would be required.

Cherry Soup

¼ cup tapioca, 3 cups water, 1 pt. juice from dark red canned or stewed cherries. Flavor with oil of lemon or orange rind if desired.

May add some of the cherries just before serving.

Sea Moss Fruit Soup

• 2 cups diluted red raspberry juice
• 2 level teaspns. sea moss farine if soup is to be served cold, or 5 if warm
• ? cup orange juice
• 3 or 4 teaspns. lemon juice
• 2 tablespns. sugar flavored with the oil of the orange

Stir moss into cold fruit juice, heat in double boiler 25–30 m., stirring often; add lemon and orange juice and sugar, stir till sugar is dissolved. Serve warm or cold.

Scandinavian Fruit Soup

• ½ cup sago
• 5 cups water
• 1 cup cooked prunes in pieces
• ½ cup stewed raisins
• ½ cup tart fruit juice
• ½–1 cup sugar

Soak sago in 1 cup warm water, add the quart of water boiling. with salt, and cook until sago is transparent. Add other ingredients, heat, serve.

Dried peaches, apricots or apples may be used sometimes. Grape, currant or cranberry are suitable juices.

Grape Juice Cream Soup

• 1 pt. water
• 1 cup Concord grape juice
• 4 tablespns. raisins
• 4 tablespns. currants
• 2 tablespns. finely-sliced citron
• 2 tablespns. sugar
• ½ cup cream

Stew raisins, currants and citron together, add other ingredients, heat, serve.

Excellent without cream.

Raisin and Almond Broth—small quantity

Stew 1 tablespn. raisins cut fine, in 1 cup of water ½ to 1 hour. Add 2 teaspns. almond butter stirred smooth with 2 tablespns. of water, a trifle of salt and a little sugar if desired or allowed.

Blueberry and Cocoanut Soup

Steep grated cocoanut in rich blueberry juice in a not too hot place for 20 m. Strain. Add sugar as required and a little lemon juice if necessary, with or without dairy cream. Serve cold with sponge cake or cookies. Rich cocoanut milk may be used instead of grated cocoanut.

Tomato and Raisin Soup

1 cup seeded raisins; stew till tender. Drain and add to the liquid, water to make 1½ cup, 1½ cup strained tomato, salt, 4 tablespns. cream with 2 teaspns. sugar.

SOUP GARNISHES AND ACCOMPANIMENTS

Croutons

Of all the accompaniments to soups, croutons (crusts of bread) are perhaps the most desirable as well as most practical. To make them, cut slices of bread, not too fresh, into any desired shapes, dry, slowly at first, in a warm oven, then gradually increase the heat until they are of a delicate cream color, for such soups as bean, Swiss lentil or bouillon; but for cream soups, dry to crispness without browning.

A favorite shape is made by cutting rather thin loaves of bread into half inch slices, laying 3 or 4 together and cutting them diagonally across the narrow way of the slice. This gives dainty strips, convenient and attractive. The most common way is to cut slices straight across each way, leaving the bread in dice.

Miscellaneous

Croutons, however, are not suitable for very delicate flavored soups, such as cream of corn or cream of rice. For these, there is nothing equal to dainty cream or nut-shortened sticks, or little soup crackers.

Cook some of the small Italian pastes (you can be sure that they are Italian only by buying them of the Italian dealer himself), vermicelli, soprafini, ditalini, acini di pepe, or others, in boiling salted water until tender (from 10 to 15 m.), drain and add to suitable soups in the proportion of one ounce to ¾–1 qt. of soup.

Add a few kernels of popped corn to each plateful of corn soup.

Roll lettuce leaves in tight rolls and cut off in slender rings; pick up with the fingers and drop into hot soup; or cut lettuce with vegetable cutter, round or in any not too fine shapes and scatter into plates of soup as served.

Cut left-overs of pie crust into fancy shapes. Bake and drop into each plate of soup in serving. They must not stand in the soup long or they will dissolve.

Dice Royale

Coat ¾ in. dice of bread with beaten egg. Bake just before serving. Serve a few in each dish of soup, or throw into tureen just before sending to table. May roll cubes in finely-chopped onion or parsley.

Cream Soup Balls

• 1 large tablespn. oil
• ½ cup pastry flour
• 1 cup boiling water
• ? teaspn. salt
• 4 tablespns. finely-sliced celery, or
• ¼ teaspn. celery salt
• 2 teaspns. chopped parsley
• (parsley may be omitted)

Heat oil in frying pan until hot, not brown. Add half the flour and rub to a paste, then add boiling water gradually, stirring until smooth. Stir in remainder of flour dry.

When the sauce is smooth and creamy and well cooked, remove from the fire, cool a little, and stir in celery, parsley and salt. The mixture will be very stiff.

Stand in cool place until perfectly cold, then shape into balls 1¼ to 1½ in. in diameter, or cones 1½ in. at the base, or cubes of 1¼ in., or sticks 3½ to 4 in. in length by ¾ of an inch in diameter. Roll in fine zwieback or cracker crumbs, then in beaten egg (add salt and a tablespoon of water to each egg), then in crumbs again.

Place on oiled tins a short distance apart, and set in cool place till 15 m. before serving, then put into a quick oven and bake until a delicate brown and cracked a little. Serve immediately.

If baked too long or too slowly, they will not keep their shape.

This makes 12 to 14 balls. ½ a beaten egg may be added when the celery is, but the balls are more creamy without it.

The balls may be made the day before required, kept in the ice box and baked at serving time.

Variation No. 1. Use 2 tablespns. of small pieces of hickory or other nut meats instead of the celery.

Variation No. 2. Use 2 tablespns. of black walnut meal (made by rubbing meats through a fine colander with a potato masher), and a little onion.

Variation No. 3. Use ¼ to ? teaspn. grated lemon rind, instead of other flavorings. Variation No. 4. Use chopped trumese, with sage and onion in place of the celery.

The savory balls are used with the plainer soups, and vice versa; or if both soups and balls are highly seasoned, use contrasting flavors; for instance, the balls with lemon rind in Nut French soup.

The egg balls should be used with care as they destroy the flavor of many soups. They, poached eggs, and hard-boiled yolks of eggs are especially suitable for some cream soups.

? Soup Balls—Choux batter

• 1 cup water
• 2 tablespns. butter or oil
• 1 cup pastry flour
• 4 eggs

Heat water and oil to boiling, stir flour in dry, stirring and beating well with batter whip. When nearly cold, add eggs, one at a time, mixing well, until all are in. Beat for 5 m., stand in ice box for from 1 to 12 or more hours. Drop small quantities from point of spoon into boiling soup, or bake or boil in tiny balls, flattened.

Excellent baked, but unusually fine boiled, so delightfully free from stickiness or doughiness.

Egg Balls

Rub 4 poached yolks of eggs to a paste. Beat with salt and the white of 1 raw egg. Form into balls ¾ to 1 in. in diameter. Roll in browned flour No.1, bake just before serving. May beat white of egg first.

The raw yolk is sometimes used in place of the white. The balls may be boiled for 5 m. in the soup, instead of being baked.

? Royal Paste

Beat together 4 eggs, ½ cup thin cream, ½ teaspn. salt. Pour into oiled tin, place in pan of water; bake slowly until firm. Turn from molds at once.

When paste is to be cut into fancy shapes with vegetable cutters it should not be over ¼ in. deep in the pans; but if for dice, it may be any depth.

This quantity is sufficient for 6 qts. of soup.

I often tint parts of paste with vegetable or fruit colors, spinach green, parsley, carrots or cranberries.

The left-overs from cutting may be chopped for another soup or a roast.

Use 1½ tablespn. of cream for 1 egg.

Royal may be flavored with onion juice. A little very fine chopped parsley may be added to it before baking.

ConsommÉ is sometimes used in place of cream.

4 yolks of eggs and 1 white may be used instead of 4 whole eggs with the same quantity of liquid, and rich milk will do instead of cream, but the paste will not be as tender.

Spun Eggs

Break eggs into cup (2 for each quart of soup). Leave whole and turn slowly into rapidly boiling soup, beating briskly with fork or wire batter whip, until egg is in white and yellow shreds. Boil up well and serve soup at once. Or, beat eggs and let them stand until the froth subsides, then add to the soup in the same way.

Thickening for Potato Soup

• 1 tablespn. flour
• ½ cup cold water
• yolks 2 eggs

Blend flour and water, add to boiling soup, boil up well.

Turn some of the hot soup slowly on to the beaten yolks, stirring, add them to the soup, do not boil, serve at once.

Whipped cream may be added to potato soup just before serving.

Rice Timbales

• ? cup rice
• 1 cup water
• ½ teaspn. salt
• ½ teaspn. oil or melted butter

Soak rice in water for half an hour, add salt and oil, stir well and steam without stirring, ¾ to 1 hour. Press into small oiled molds. Set in a pan of hot water covered, for 10 m. Put one in the center of each plate of soup, with or without a small leaf of parsley on top. Rice may be boiled.

Dumplings

Cut bread or universal dough into small rounds or make into very small balls; let rise and steam 20 m. or boil 10 to 15 m. in rich soup just before serving, or boil in water and add to soup.

Noodles

I have had equally good success with all three of the following combinations:—

• 4 eggs,
• salt,
• 1¾–2 cups bread flour. (Always use bread flour.)

• 3 eggs,
• 2 tablespns. water,
• salt,
• 1 teaspn. melted butter,
• about 2 cups flour.

• Yolks 4 eggs,
• 2 tablespns. water,
• salt,
• about 1¼ cup flour.

Beat eggs a little with salt, add water if used, and flour for stiff dough. Knead on floured board until dry but not flakey.

Then cut into three or four pieces and knead each piece, without more flour, until very smooth. Roll each piece as thin and as large as possible, some say to the thickness of a fifty cent piece, hang on clothes bars, away from the fire, turning often until dry but not brittle.

Roll up without flour and cut into fine slices from the end; or fold in 1½ in. accordion pleats and cut fine, or cut into strips of any desired width and cut these into narrow match-like pieces; or cut into rounds or fancy shapes with vegetable cutters. If cut in the first two ways, shake out upon a cloth or board and dry ½ to 1 hour.

Add noodles to boiling consommÉ and boil rapidly, stirring occasionally with a fork, for 10 to 20 m., or until tender.

Serve soup at once or noodles will become pasty.

Noodles may be cooked in boiling salted water, drained and added to soup, or cooked for 5 m. in water and finished in soup, giving a clearer consommÉ. Noodles may be cooked in Mother’s and Nut French soup, as well as in bouillon or consommÉ.

Noodles may be dried thoroughly and stored in jars or close-covered box, almost indefinitely; but will require a much longer cooking.

? Cream Noodles

Beat 1 egg light, add 1 tablespn. milk and a pinch of salt; then beat in 3–4½ tablespns. flour.

Turn slowly in a slender stream into rapidly boiling soup, stirring constantly; boil up well and serve at once.

When the mixture is poured slowly from the point of a spoon, it will be in shreds, and when cooked will be firm enough to hold its shape, but not hard.

“Cooking is not drudgery—it is an art.... No one who stands by a hot stove ever cooks. That party only waits. The cook is always on the qui vive. In the exaltation and exhileration of his artistic services, he forgets that the stove is hot.”

—Dr. Harvey W. Wiley.