Pea Soup

Use half a pint of dried peas for thick soup, or one pint for a. puree, to two quarts of stock or cold water. Bring slowly to a boil; add a bone or bit of ham, one turnip and one carrot peeled, one onion stuck with three cloves, and simmer three hours stirring occasionally to prevent burning; then pass the soup through a sieve with the aid of a potato masher; and if it shows any sign of settling stir into it one tablespoonful each of butter and flour mixed together dry; this will hold the meal in solution; meantime fry some dice of stale bread, about two slices, cut half an inch square, in hot fat, drain them on a napkin, and put them in the bottom of the soup tureen in which the pea soup is served.

Lentil Soup

The seed of the lentil tare commonly cultivated in France and Germany as an article of food, ranks nearly as high as meat, as a valuable food, being capable of sustaining life and vigor for a long time; this vegetable is gradually becoming known in this country, from the use of it by our French and German citizens; and from its nutritive value it deserves to rank as high as our favorite New England beans. For two quarts of lentil soup half a pint of yellow lentils should be well washed, and put to boil in three pints of cold water, with a small carrot, an onion, two sprigs of parsley, and two bay leaves, and boiled gently until the lentils are soft enough to break easily between the fingers; every half hour one gill of cold water should be added, and the lentils again raised to the boiling point, until they are done; they should then be drained in a colander, and passed through a sieve with a wooden spoon, using enough of the liquor to make them pass easy, and mixed with the rest of the soup; it is then ready to simmer for half an hour, and serve hot, with dice of fried bread half an inch square, like those used for pea soup. These dice of fried bread are called Conde crusts.