(A VERY SIMPLE SOUP QUICKLY MADE)

Slice two or three large onions; fry them in a tablespoonful of butter or drippings until they are soft and red, then add three tablespoonfuls of flour, and stir until it is a little cooked. To this add slowly a pint of boiling water, stirring all the time, so it will be smooth.

Boil and mash three good-sized potatoes. Add to them slowly a quart of scalded milk, stirring well so it will be smooth. Add the potato and milk mixture to the onion mixture. Season with salt and pepper. Let it get very hot, and pass it through a strainer into the tureen. Sprinkle over the top a little parsley chopped very fine, and a few croûtons. The soup will be better if stock is used instead of water to dilute the onion mixture.

POTATO SOUP

Boil and mash three or four potatoes.

Make a roux of one tablespoonful of butter, one half tablespoonful of flour, and one teaspoonful of chopped onion, letting the onion cook in the butter a few minutes before adding the flour. When the roux is cooked add to it a pint of milk, making a thin, white sauce. Add this to the mashed potato and pass the whole through a strainer. Return it to the fire for a few minutes to heat and blend it. Season it with salt and pepper.

Sprinkle on the soup, when it is in the tureen, a teaspoonful of chopped parsley and a few croûtons.

If the soup is too thick, add a little more milk or a little hot water. The roux prevents the milk and potato from separating, and also gives it smoothness. The soup can be made richer by using more milk, and stirring into it, just before serving, the beaten yolks of two eggs. This soup may also be made of sweet potatoes.

TOMATO BISQUE