SOUPS
Reading edition
Asparagus Soup
4 bunches asparagus 1 small onion 1 pint milk ½ pint cream 1½ tablespoon sugar 1 large tablespoon butter 1½ tablespoon flour pepper to season
Wash and clean asparagus, put in saucepan with just enough water to cover, boil until little points are soft.
Cut these off and lay aside. Fry onion in the butter and put in saucepan with the asparagus. Cook until very soft mashing occasionally so as to extract all juice from the asparagus.
When thoroughly cooked put through sieve. Now add salt, sugar and flour blended.
Stir constantly and add milk and cream, and serve at once. (Do not place again on stove as it might curdle. Croutons may be served with this).
Spinach Soup
½ peck spinach 2 tablespoons butter 1½ tablespoon sugar 1½ teaspoons salt 1 small onion 1 pint rich milk 2 tablespoons flour ½ cup water
Put spinach in double boiler with the butter and water. Let simmer slowly until all the juice has been extracted from the spinach.
Fry the onion and add. Now thicken with the flour blended with the water and strain. Add the milk very hot. Do not place on the fire after the milk has been added.
Half cream instead of milk greatly improves flavor.
Crab Gumbo
3 doz. medium Okra 1 doz. Crabs cleaned 2 onions fried
Add the Crabs, then small can tomatoes. Thyme, parsley, bay leaf.
Tomato Soup
1 large can tomatoes or equivalent of fresh tomatoes. 1 small onion 1 tablespoon salt dash paprika 2½ tablespoons sugar 1 tablespoon butter 2½ tablespoons flour 2 cups hot milk 1 pint water
Put tomatoes with 1 pt. water to boil, boil for at least half hour. Fry onion in butter and add to soup with sugar and salt. When thoroughly cooked thicken with the flour blended with a little water. Now strain. Have the milk very hot, not boiling. Stir constantly while adding milk to soup and serve at once.
Do not place on the stove after the milk is in the soup. 1 cup of cream instead of 2 cups of milk greatly improves the soup.
Vegetable Soup
2½ lbs. of beef (with soup bone) 3 quarts of water 1 tablespoon sugar salt to suit taste a few pepper corns 1 cup of each, of the following vegetables diced small carrots Potatoes Celery 2 tablespoons onion cut very fine ½ head cabbage cut very fine ½ can corn (or its equivalent in fresh) ½ can peas (or its equivalent fresh) 2 tablespoons minced parsley ¼ cup turnip and parsnip if at hand (not necessary) ½ can tomatoes (or equivalent fresh)
Put meat in large kettle and boil for an hour; now add all the other ingredients and cook until soft. Ready then to serve.
This soup can be made as a cream soup without meat and is delicious. In this case you take a good sized piece of butter and fry all the vegetables slightly, excepting the potatoes. Now cover all, adding potatoes with boiling water and cook until tender.
When done season and add hot milk and 1 cup cream. This is very fine.
In making this soup without meat omit the tomatoes and use string beans instead.
Tell me what you eat, and I'll tell you what you are.
Brillat Savarin.
Chestnut Soup
1 qt. chestnuts (Spanish preferred) 1 pint chicken stock 2 tablespoons flour 1 teaspoon sugar salt and paprika to taste
Cover chestnuts with boiling water slightly salted. Cook until quite soft and rub through coarse sieve, add stock, and seasoning; then thicken with flour blended with water.
Let simmer five minutes and serve at once.
In case stock is not available milk can be used with a little butter added.
Peanut Butter Broth
1 pt. fresh sweet milk 1 pt. water 1½ tablespoons peanut butter 1 tablespoon catsup Salt, pepper or other season to taste.
Pour liquid with peanut butter into double boiler; dissolve butter so there are no hard lumps. Do not let milk boil but place on moderately hot fire.
Just before serving add the catsup and seasoning.
Soup for Invalids
Cut into small pieces one pound of beef or mutton or a part of both. Boil it gently in two quarts of water. Take off the scum and when reduced to a pint, strain it and season with a little salt. Give one teacupful at a time.
Peanut Soup
Peanut soup for supper on a cold night serves the double duty of stimulating the gastric juices to quicken action by its warmth and furnishing protein to the body to repair its waste. Pound to a paste a cupful of nuts from which the skin has been removed, add it to a pint of milk and scald; melt a tablespoon of butter and mix it with a like quantity of flour and add slowly to the milk and peanuts; cook until it thickens and season to taste.
Chestnuts, too, make a splendid soup. Boil one quart of peeled and blanched chestnuts in three pints of salt water until quite soft; pass through sieve and add two tablespoons of sweet cream, and season to taste. If too thick, add water.
Mock Oyster Soup
The oyster plant is used for this delicious dish—by many it is known as salsify. Scrape the vegetable and cut into small pieces with a silver knife (a steel knife would darken the oyster plant). Cook in just enough water to keep from burning, and when tender press through a colander and return to the water in which it was cooked. Add three cups of hot milk which has been thickened with a little butter and flour and rubbed together and seasoned with salt and white pepper. A little chopped parsley may be added before serving. ½ cup cream instead of all milk greatly improves taste.
French Oyster Soup
1 quart oysters 1 quart milk 1 slice onion 2 blades mace 1/3 cup flour 1/3 cup butter 2 egg yolks salt and pepper
Clean oysters by pouring over ¾ cup cold water. Drain, reserve liquor, add oysters, slightly chopped, heat slowly to boiling point and let simmer 20 minutes; strain.
Scald milk with onion and mace. Make white sauce and add oyster liquor. Just before serving add egg yolks, slightly beaten.
Split Pea Soup (Green or Yellow)
1½ pints split peas (green or yellow) 2¼ quarts water 2 small onions 1 carrot 1 parsnip (if at hand) 1 cup milk ½ cup cream 1 teaspoon salt (more if liked) Pepper and paprika to taste 1½ teaspoons sugar
Soak 1½ pints of split peas over night; next day add 2¼ quarts water and the vegetables, cut fine; also the sugar, salt and pepper and cook slowly three hours; now mash through sieve. If it boils down too much add a little water. After putting through sieve place on stove and add hot milk and cream. If it is not thin enough to suit add more milk.
Stock may be used if same is available.
Black Bean Soup
One pint of black beans soaked over night in 3 quarts of water.
In the morning pour off the water and add fresh 3 quarts. Boil slowly 4 hours. When done there should be 1 quart. Add a quart of beef stock, 4 whole cloves, 4 whole allspice, 1 stalk of celery, 1 good sized onion, 1 small carrot, 1 small turnip, all cut fine and fried in a little butter.
Add 1 tablespoon flour, season with salt and pepper and rub through a fine sieve.
Serve with slices of lemon and egg balls.
Carrot Soup
One quart of thinly sliced carrots, one head of celery, three or four quarts of water, boil for two and one-half hours; add one-half cupful of rice and boil for an hour longer; season with salt and pepper and a small cupful of cream.
Veal Soup
Knuckle of veal 2½ pounds 2 raw eggs 3 quarts water 2 tomatoes cut fine ½ onion salt and pepper to season a little flour ½ cup vermicelli or alphabet macaroni 2 eggs, beaten very light 1½ tablespoons parmesan cheese
Put veal in stewing pan and allow it to cook until thoroughly done. Now chop meat and add cheese, flour, salt and pepper if needed and form into little balls about the size of a marble. While preparing these, drop in macaroni and cook until tender. Now add the meat balls.
If too thick use a little water. Beat the eggs lightly and add while boiling.