Crab Soup
Open, and cleanse of the deadman's fingers and sandbag, twelve small fat crabs raw. Cut the crabs into two parts. Parboil and extract the meat from the claws, and simply extract the fat from the back shells of the crabs. Scald eighteen ripe tomatoes, skin them and squeeze the pulp from the seeds through a colander. Chop them fine and pour boiling water over the seeds and juice, and strain them. Stew a short time in the soup pot one large onion, one clove of garlic, in one spoonful butter and two spoonfuls lard, and put them in the tomatoes.
After stewing a few minutes, add the meat from the claws, then the crabs, and lastly the fat the back shells. Season with salt, cayenne and black pepper, parsley, sweet marjoram and thyme, one-half teaspoonful lemon juice, and peel of one lemon. Pour in the water, with which the seeds were scalded, adding more should there not be the quantity of soup required. Boil moderately one hour. About a quarter of an hour before serving, sift in grated bread crumbs or pounded crackers as a thickening. Any firm fish prepared by this recipe is excellent.--Mrs. J. I.
Crab Soup.
One dozen crabs to one gallon water. Take of top shell; clear body of crabs. Cut through the middle, put them into a kettle, mix with some butter, and brown them. Then add one gallon water, and simmer for half an hour. Skim slightly, and add the hock of an old ham, and strained tomato juice one pint. Boil two hours. Season with pepper, spice if liked, and half-pint wine. The claws are to be cracked and divested of the jaws. A Hampton recipe.--Miss