CHAPTER II.
Soups.—Canned Soups.—The Brunswick Goods Cheap, Wholesome, and Convenient.—Huckins' Soups.—Oyster, Clam, Onion, and Tomato Soups.
Canoeists will hardly take the time and trouble to make soups out of meats and vegetables, unless they are in a permanent camping place for some length of time. Nearly all soups require several hours to cook properly, as they must be boiled very slowly to retain the aroma of the ingredients used.
Canned soups, therefore, are the handiest for the canoeist or single-hand cruiser. I can recommend the Brunswick variety as cheap, convenient, wholesome and easy to prepare if the directions on the cans are implicitly followed. Any variation from these instructions, however, is certain to result in an unpalatable mess. The higher priced soups, Huckins' and other varieties, are more like home-made soups than the Brunswick kind, and hence a fastidious taste will prefer them. They are bulkier to carry, but are quite as easily prepared, and I would recommend those made by Huckins as especially good. The great objection to them is their high price.
There are a few good soups that can be prepared from materials readily accessible to the canoeist, and in a comparatively short time. These are:
Oyster Soup.
Put a quart of milk and a piece of butter as large as an egg into the pot and heat gradually. When hot, stir in the strained liquor of one pint of oysters, very gradually, to prevent the milk from curdling, then one-quarter pound of crushed crackers or bread crumbs. When it has come to a boil put in the oysters (one pint), and let it cook till the edges of the oysters curl up, when it should be seasoned and served.
Clam Soup.
Exactly the same as oyster soup, using clams instead of oysters.