Tomato Soup

From Mrs. C. F. Aked

Peel and slice one large onion; fry it in butter until well browned but not burnt. Cut up 4 large tomatoes and put them, together with the fried onion, into a lined saucepan; add 2 tablespoonfuls of bread-crumbs, a little pepper and salt, and 3 pints of good brown stock, flavored with celery and carrots. Boil for 1 1/2 hours, then strain through a hair sieve. A little ham boiled with the stock greatly improves this soup.

Tomato Bisque

From Mrs. John C. Coleman

One-half can of tomatoes, 1 quart of milk, 2 tablespoonfuls of butter, 1 tablespoonful of corn-starch, 1 teaspoonful of salt, 1/2 saltspoonful of pepper, 1 salt-spoonful of soda, dash of cayenne. Stew the tomatoes until very soft; then pass them through a fine sieve or strainer. Put the strained tomatoes into a granite ware saucepan, and add 1 saltspoonful of soda; when it has ceased foaming add the butter, a small piece at a time (if put in all at once it will show an oily line); add salt, pepper, and cayenne. Put the milk into a double boiler, and stir into it a tablespoonful of cornstarch which has been mixed with a little of the cold milk; to make it smooth let it scald for ten minutes or long enough to cook the corn-starch; then pour the milk into the tomatoes; beat well together and serve at once. It is better not to add the milk to the tomatoes until just ready to serve, for fear of curdling.

Clam Chowder

From Mrs. Maginnis

Ingredients: 2 dozen clams, 1 onion chopped fine, 1/2 pound salt pork, 2 medium-sized potatoes cut in cubes, 1 1/2 pints of milk, 1 pint of hot water, seasoning to taste.

Method: Cut salt pork in small cubes and fry a light brown, then add onion. To this add the necks of the clams which have been chopped fine. Pour this mixture in a saucepan with a pint of hot water. Let boil 40 minutes. Add potatoes. Boil 15 minutes longer, then add bodies of clams; let boil for 5 minutes; then at the last add hot milk and serve at once with crackers.

Meat Soups

From Mrs. John C. Coleman

In making meat soups, put the meat into cold water and allow it to boil slowly, then simmer for 3 or 4 hours, never ceasing to simmer; watch carefully for the albumen to rise, when it must be skimmed off again and again until it is perfectly clear. Soup should always be made in a granite or enamel-lined kettle, as it is more healthful and the color is at the same time clearer. Beware of using too much salt, a little is better; more can be added as the soup boils down. Onions should be added as soon as the soup boils.

When making a thick soup, the vermicelli, rice, or whatever thickening is used, should be partly cooked before adding.

Ox-Tail Soup

From Miss Frances Jones

Two ox-tails, 2 tablespoonfuls of butter, 1 onion, 2 quarts of cold water or stock, 1 turnip, 1 bay leaf, 4 cloves, 1 carrot, salt and pepper to taste. Wash and wipe the ox-tails. Cut them into pieces about 1 inch long. Put the butter into a frying-pan; when hot throw in the ox-tails and stir until they turn brown, then skim them out, and put them into a soup kettle with the onion, the cloves, the carrots, the turnip, or stock (the latter is the better); simmer until the tails are tender, about 2 hours. Then remove the vegetables, add salt and pepper and serve.