ONION SOUP—Cut three onions small, put one-quarter cup of butter in a kettle and toast one tablespoon flour till bright yellow in color; in it mix with this the onions, pour on as much broth as is wanted, add a little mace and let boil, then strain, allow to cook a little longer, add yolk of two eggs, and serve.
PEANUT SOUP—Made like a dry pea soup. Soak a pint and one-half nut meats over night in two quarts of water. In the morning add three quarts of water, bay-leaf, stalk of celery, blade of mace and one slice of onion. Boil slowly for four or five hours, stirring frequently to keep from burning. Rub through a sieve and return to the fire, when heated through again add one cupful of cream. Serve hot with croutons.
SAGO SOUP—Wash one-half cup sago in warm water, add desired amount of boiling broth (meat or chicken), a little mace, and cook until the sago is soft, and serve.
SALMON SOUP—Take the skin and bones from canned salmon and drain off the oil. Chop fine enough of the fish to measure two-thirds of a cup. Cook a thick slice of onion in a quart of milk twenty minutes in a double boiler. Thicken with one-quarter cup of flour rubbed smooth with one rounding tablespoonful of butter. Cook ten minutes, take out the onion, add a saltspoon of pepper, one level teaspoon of salt and the salmon. Rub all through a fine strainer, and serve hot. The amount of salmon may be varied according to taste.
SORREL SOUP—Wash thoroughly a pint of sorrel leaves and put in a saucepan with two tablespoonfuls of butter, four or five of the large outside leaves, a sliced onion, and a few small sprigs of parsley. Toss over the fire for a few minutes, then sift into the pan two tablespoonfuls of flour and stir until blended with the butter remaining. Transfer to the soup kettle and pour in gradually, stirring all the time, three quarts of boiling water. Cook gently for fifteen or twenty minutes, then add a cupful of mashed potato and one of hot milk. Season with salt, pepper and a little nutmeg. Have in the soup tureen some croutons of bread toasted brown, pour the hot soup over them and serve. The sorrel should be cut in fine pieces before cooking. This is one of the delicacies of the early spring, its slightly acid flavor making it particularly appetizing.
TOMATO SOUP—Put one quart can of tomatoes, two cups of water, one-half level tablespoon of sugar, one level teaspoon of salt, four whole cloves, and four peppercorns together in a saucepan and simmer twenty minutes. Fry a rounding tablespoon of chopped onion and half as much minced parsley in a rounding tablespoon of butter until yellow, add two level tablespoons of cornstarch. Stir until smooth, then turn into the boiling soup and simmer ten minutes. Add more salt and pepper and strain.
TOMATO SOUP—Into a saucepan put one quart can of tomatoes and two cups of broth from soup bones. To make this cover the bones and meat with cold water and simmer slowly for several hours. Add to tomato and stock a bit of bay leaf, one stalk celery cut in pieces, six peppercorns, a level teaspoon of salt and a rounding teaspoon of sugar. Cook slowly until tomato is soft. Meanwhile put a rounding tablespoon of butter in a small saucepan and when melted and hot turn in a medium-sized onion cut fine. When this has cooked slowly until yellow, but not browned, add enough of the tomato to dilute it, then turn all back into the larger saucepan. Mix and press through a strainer to take out the seeds and bits of vegetables, reheat, and serve with small croutons.
TOMATO SOUP, CORNED BEEF STOCK—Put one quart can tomatoes on to boil, add six peppercorns, one-half inch blade of mace and a bit of bay leaf the same size. Fry one sliced onion in one level tablespoonful butter or beef fat until slightly colored, add this to the tomato, and simmer until the tomato is quite soft, and the liquor reduced one-half. Stir in one-fourth teaspoon of soda, and when it stops foaming turn into a puree strainer and rub the pulp through. Put the strained tomato on to boil again and add an equal amount of corned beef liquor, or enough to make three pints in all.
Melt one heaped tablespoon butter in a smooth saucepan, add one heaped tablespoon cornstarch, and gradually add part of the boiling soup. Stir as it thickens, and when smooth stir this into the remainder of the soup. Add one teaspoon salt and one-fourth teaspoon paprika. Reserve one pint of this soup to use with spaghetti. Serve buttered and browned crackers with the soup.
VEGETABLE BROTH—Take turnips, carrots, potatoes, beets, celery, all, or two or three, and chop real fine. Then mix with them an equal amount of cold water, put in a kettle, just bring to a boil, not allowing it to boil for about three or four hours, and then drain off the water. The flavor will be gone from the vegetables and will be in the broth.