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Some Kitchen Kinks: Soup

Herb Soup. ½ pint finely shredded spinach. ¼ pint shredded sorrel. 1/4 blanched and sliced leek.

The white heart leaves of head of lettuce. 4 potatoes, medium size. 3 level teaspoonfuls salt. 4 tablespoonfuls butter. 1 tablespoonful chervil. 2 quarts boiling water. a ½ pint bread cut in dice and fried in butter or browned in the oven.

Have the sorrel, spinach, and lettuce fresh, tender, and free from tough midribs. Wash and shred. Cut the washed leek into thin slices. Put in the stewpan with the butter and cook fifteen minutes, being careful not to brown. Now add the potatoes, salt, and boiling water. Place the stewpan where the contents will boil quickly, and when the soup begins to boil draw the stewpan back where the contents will boil gently for one hour.

At the end of this time crush the potatoes with a fork, add the chervil, and simmer five minutes longer. Turn into the soup tureen, add the crisped bread, and serve.

If preferred, the soup may be rubbed through a purée sieve, returned to the fire, and when boiling hot be poured on the yolks of 2 eggs which have been beaten with 2 tablespoonfuls of milk. This soup may be varied indefinitely. Any number of green vegetables can be employed in making it, care being taken to use only a small quantity of those of pronounced flavor. Sorrel Soup. 3 pints boiling water. 3 tablespoonfuls butter. 1/3 cup shredded sorrel. 3 tablespoonfuls milk. 1 teaspoonful salt.

Yolk 2 eggs. ½ cupful bread cut in dice and dried in the oven or fried in butter.

Tear the tender green parts from the midribs of the cultivated sorrel; wash in cold water and shred very fine. Put half the butter in a stewpan and add the shredded sorrel. Place on the fire and cook five minutes, stirring frequently. Now add the boiling water and salt and boil ten minutes. Beat the yolks of the eggs well, then add the milk and pour into the soup tureen, and add the remaining half of the butter cut into bits. Gradually pour the boiling-hot soup in the soup tureen, stirring all the while to combine the hot mixture with the egg yolk. Add the bread dice and serve.

Leek Soup. 3 quarts boiling water. 2 cupfuls leeks, cut fine. 4 cupfuls potatoes, cut in dice. 2 tablespoonful butter or drippings. 3 teaspoonfuls salt. ½ teaspoonful pepper. 4 slices stale bread cut in small pieces. 4 tablespoonfuls minced onion.

Wash the leeks and cut off the roots. Cut the white part in thin slices. Pare the potatoes and cut in dice. Put them in a bowl of cold water. Put the butter, leeks, and onion in the soup pot and on the fire.

Cook twenty minutes slowly, stirring frequently, then add the hot water, potatoes, and seasoning, and cook at least half an hour longer. Serve very hot. If it is convenient and liked, cook with the leeks and butter the white stalks of 4 or 5 cibols, or 1 shallot may be cut fine and cooked with the leeks.

This is a delicious and wholesome soup, and is even better reheated the second day than the first.

Cream of Leek Soup.

APPENDIX Make this soup as directed for leek soup, using only 3 pints of water.

When it is cooked, rub through a sieve, return to the soup pot, and add 1 quart of hot milk. Beat with whisk until smooth. Half a cupful of the milk can be reserved cold and added to 2 well-beaten yolks of eggs. Stir this into the soup just as it is taken from the fire.

The yolks of the eggs make the soup very much richer.

Potato Soup. 8 medium-sized potatoes. 1/2 pint chopped celery. 4 tablespoonfuls minced onion. 1 tablespoonful butter. 1 tablespoonful flour. 1½ teaspoonfuls salt. ½ teaspoonful pepper. 1 teaspoonful minced chervil or parsley. 1 quart milk.

Pare the potatoes and put in a stewpan with the celery and onion.

Cover with boiling water and put over a hot fire. Cook thirty minutes, counting from the time the pan is put over the fire. Reserve half a cupful of the milk cold, and put the balance to heat in the double boiler. Mix the flour with the cold milk and stir into the boiling milk. When the potatoes, etc., have been cooking thirty minutes pour off the water, saving it to use later. Mash and beat the vegetables until light and fine, then gradually beat in the water in which they were boiled, rub through the purée sieve and then put back on the fire. Add the salt and pepper. Beat with an egg whisk for three minutes, then gradually beat in the boiling milk.

Add the butter and minced herbs and serve at once.

Cream of Celeriac Soup. 1 quart celeriac cut in cubes. 1 quart white stock. 1 pint cream. 1/2 pint canned peas. 2 tablespoonfuls butter. 2 tablespoonfuls salt.. 1/2 tablespoonful pepper.

Yolks of 2 eggs.

Follow the rule given for purée of celeriac, gradually adding the hot white stock, rub through a fine sieve, return to the fire, and add a cupful of canned peas. Reserve one cupful of the cream cold and add the remainder to the soup. Beat the yolks of the eggs well and add the cold cream to them, then stir the mixture into the soup. Draw back from the fire and beat with the whisk for one minute, then serve at once.

Tomato Soup. 1 quart peeled and finely cut tomatoes. 1 quart cold water. 1 onion. 1 tablespoonful sugar. 2 teaspoonfuls salt. 1/2 teaspoonful pepper. 2 tablespoonfuls butter. 4 tablespoonfuls cornstarch. 1 tablespoonful flour.

Mix the cornstarch with the water and put into a stewpan with all the other ingredients, except the butter and flour, the onion being left whole.

Stir frequently until the soup boils, then cook half an hour, counting from the time it begins to boil. At the end of this time beat the butter and flour together until light and smooth and stir into the soup. Cook ten minutes longer, then take out the onion and serve the soup with toasted or fried bread. If a smooth soup is desired strain through a fine sieve.

This is the simplest kind of tomato soup. It may be varied by the addition of rice, macaroni, beans, peas, and other vegetables. Instead of the fried bread stale bread may be cut in small pieces and put in the bottom of the soup tureen.

Okra and Tomato Soup. 1 pint sliced okra. 1½ pints tomatoes pared and cut fine. 2 quarts water. 3 tablespoonfuls rice. 3 tablespoonfuls minced onion. 1 green pepper, seeds removed and pepper cut fine. 3 teaspoonfuls salt. 1/4 teaspoonful pepper.

Put all the ingredients into the soup pot and cook gently for two hours, then add two tablespoonfuls of butter or sweet drippings and serve.

The bones from roast meat or broiled meat cooked with this soup add to the flavor.

Onion Chowder. 3 quarts boiling water. 1 pint minced onion. 1 quart potatoes cut in dice. 3 teaspoonfuls salt. 1/2 teaspoonful pepper. 3 tablespoonfuls butter or savory drippings. 1 tablespoonful fine herbs.

Cook the onion and butter together for half an hour, but slowly, so that the onion will not brown. At the end of this time add the boiling water, potatoes, salt, and pepper and cook one hour longer, then add the fine herbs and serve.

Green Pea Soup. 1 quart shelled peas. 3 pints water. 1 quart milk. 1 onion. 2 tablespoonfuls butter. 1 tablespoonful flour. 3 level teaspoonfuls salt. 1/2 teaspoonful pepper.

Put the peas in a stewpan with the boiling water and onion and cook until tender, which will be about half an hour. Pour off the water, saving for use later. Mash the peas fine, then add the water in which they were boiled, and rub through a purée sieve. Return to the saucepan, add flour and butter, beaten together, and the salt and pepper. Now gradually add the milk, which must be boiling hot. Beat well and cook ten minutes, stirring frequently. Split Pea Soup. 1 pint split peas. 4 quarts water. 1/2 pound salt pork. 1 large onion. 2 tablespoonfuls celery. 1 tablespoonful flour. 1 tablespoonful butter. 1 teaspoonful pepper. 1 sprig parsley.

Pick the peas over, that there may be no blemished ones among them, then wash and soak in cold water over night. In the morning turn off the water and put them in the soup pot, with the cold water and salt pork. Simmer gently seven hours, being careful that the soup does not burn. When it has cooked six hours add the seasoning. Have a large wooden spoon to stir the soup. When done it should be thin enough to pour. By boiling it may become too thick; if so, add boiling water.

When thoroughly cooked, the soup is smooth and rather mealy. If not cooked enough, after standing a few minutes the thick part will settle, and the top look watery. At the end of seven hours strain the soup through a sieve and return to a soup pot. Beat the flour and butter together until creamy, then stir into the soup and simmer half an hour longer. If the salt pork has not seasoned the soup sufficiently add a little salt. For some tastes the soup would be improved by the addition of a quart of hot milk.

Serve little squares of fried bread in a separate dish.