CREAM OF CELERY
Wash and scrape and cut into half-inch pieces what will make 1 cup of celery; put it into 1 quart of boiling salted water and cook for nearly an hour or until very soft, then mash it in the water in which it was boiled. Put 1 teaspoon of chopped onion, 2 bay leaves, some mace, and 2 cloves into 2 cups of milk, let simmer for ten minutes, and add it to the celery pulp. Now press through a sieve and return to the double boiler in which the milk was cooked. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter and blend it with 1 tablespoon of flour until smooth, and stir it into the boiling soup; then season with salt and pepper. Boil five minutes and strain into a hot tureen in which a pat of butter and 1 tablespoon of whipped cream have been put. The addition of 1 tablespoon of chopped chives is an improvement to the appearance and taste, or parsley may be used if preferred.