To Color Soups
A fine amber color is obtained by adding finely-grated carrot to the clear stock when it is quite free from scum.
Red is obtained by using red skinned tomatoes from which the skin and seeds have been strained out.
Only white vegetables should be used in white soups, as chicken.
Spinach leaves, pounded in a mortar, and the juice expressed and added to the soups, will give a green color.
Black beans make an excellent brown soup. The same color can be gotten by adding burnt sugar or browned flour to clear stock.
To Get Up a Soup in Haste
Chop some cold cooked meat fine, and put a pint into a stew-pan with some gravy, season with pepper and salt and a little butter if the gravy is not rich, add a little flour moistened with cold water, and three pints boiling water, boiled moderately half an hour. Strain over some rice or nicely toasted bread, and serve. Uncooked meat may be used by using one quart of cold water to a pound of chopped meat, and letting it stand half before boiling. Celery root may be grated in as seasoning, or a bunch of parsley thrown in.
Noodles for Soup
Rub into two eggs as much sifted flour as they will absorb; then roll out until thin as a wafer; dust over a little flour, and then roll over and over into a roll, cut off thin slices from the edge of the roll and shake out into long strips; put them into the soup lightly and boil for ten minutes; salt should be added while mixing with the flour--about a saltspoonful.
Egg Balls for Soup
Boil four eggs; put into cold water; mash yolks with yolk of one raw egg, and one teaspoonful of flour, pepper, salt and parsley; make into balls and boil two minutes.
Lobster Soup
Procure a large hen fish, boiled, and with all its coral, if possible. Cut away from it all the meat in neat little pieces; beat up the fins and minor claws in a mortar, then stew the results in a stew-pan, slowly, along with a little white stock; season this with a bunch of sweet herbs; a small onion, a little bit of celery, and a carrot may be placed in the stock, as also the toasted crust of a French roll. Season to taste with salt and a little cayenne. Simmer the whole for about an hour; then strain and return the liquor to the saucepan, place in it the pieces of lobster, and having beat up the coral in a little flour and gravy, stir it in. Let the soup remain on the fire for a few minutes without boiling and serve hot. A small strip of the rind of a lemon may be boiled in the stock, and a little nutmeg may be added to the seasoning. This is a troublesome soup to prepare, but there are many who like it when it is well made.
Corn Soup
One can corn
1 pint boiling water
1 pint milk
1 slice onion
2 tablespoonfuls butter
2 tablespoonfuls flour
1 tea spoonful salt
few grains pepper.
Chop corn, add water, and simmer 20 minutes, rub through a sieve, scald milk with onion, remove onion and add milk to corn, bind with butter and flour. Cook together and add salt and pepper.
Oyster Soup
Two quarts of oysters
one quart of milk
two tablespoonfuls of butter
one teacupful hot water
pepper
salt.
Strain all the liquor from the oysters; add the water and heat. When near the boil, add the seasoning, then the oysters. Cook about five minutes from the time they begin to simmer, until they "ruffle." Stir in the butter, cook one minute and pour into the tureen. Stir in the boiling milk and send to table.
Lima Bean Chowder
One-half cup dried Lima beans
3 cups cold water
1 tablespoonful butter
1/4 cup sliced carrots
1/8 cup sliced onions
1/4 cup sliced raw potato
2 tablespoonfuls rice
1 cup milk
Salt and pepper to taste
Method: Soak beans in cold water over night; drain well and add the 3 cups of cold water. Cook slowly until soft. Take out one-half of beans and put rest through sieve. Put in carrots and onions and when these are done add potato, rice, butter, salt and pepper. When rice is well cooked add milk and the whole beans. Heat well and serve. This will serve four people.
Celery Soup
Celery soup may be made with white stock. Cut down the white of half a dozen heads of celery into little pieces and boil it in four pints of white stock, with a quarter of a pound of lean ham and two ounces of butter. Simmer gently for a full hour, then drain through a sieve, return the liquor to pan and stir in a few spoonfuls of cream with great care. Serve with toasted bread, and, if liked, thicken with a little flour. Season to taste.
Tomato Soup
Two quarts tomatoes (remove seeds)
1 green pepper
1 large onion
3 or 4 stalks celery, using outside stalks
Cook until very soft; strain through sieve, getting all the pulp. Pepper and salt to taste; then boil down.