Pea Soup

1 cup (1/2 lb.) dried peas

8 cups (2 qts.) water

1 tablespoon (1/2 oz.) drippings

1 onion

1 carrot

1 turnip 1 bunch herbs 1 cup (1/2 pt.) milk 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon pepper

Cubes toast

Wash peas and then pour over the water and let them soak overnight. Next day strain off liquid and reserve it for the soup. Prepare vegetables and cut them in thin slices. Melt drippings in a saucepan, add peas and vegetables, and stir over fire until fat is absorbed. Add reserved liquid and herbs and allow to simmer slowly three hours. Stir soup occasionally to prevent sticking, then rub through a sieve. Rinse out saucepan and return soup to it to reheat; add milk, seasonings, bring to the boil and simmer five minutes. Serve with toast cubes.

A ham bone may be boiled in the soup to give it flavor.

Potato Soup

2 pounds potatoes, cut in slices 2 onions, cut in slices 1/4 cup (2 ozs.) drippings 8 cups (2 qts.) water

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 cup (1/2pt.) milk

1 tablespoon sago or tapioca

Put potatoes and onions into saucepan, add drippings and heat over the fire ten minutes, shake pan occasionally so that they will not stick, add water and cook until vegetables are tender, then rub through a sieve, put back into saucepan with seasonings, milk, and sago, boil twenty minutes and serve.

Rice Soup

3/4 cup (6 ozs.) rice (unpolished) 3 tablespoons (1 1/2 ozs.) butter substitute 2 large onions, sliced

8 cups (2 qts.) vegetable stock or skimmed milk 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon celery salt

Wash and drain rice. Melt fat, add onions, and fry them until soft. Pour in stock and bring it to the boil. Now sprinkle in rice and let cook gently until quite soft. Season and serve hot.

Many persons like two tablespoons of grated stale cheese added to this soup just before serving, but this is a matter of taste.

St. Germain Soup

1 can peas

7 cups (3 1/2 pts.) water

1 ham bone

2 carrots, diced 1 onion, sliced

1 leek, diced

1 bay leaf

1 tablespoon chopped parsley

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

Put into, a saucepan peas, water, bone, vegetables, bay leaf, parsley, and seasonings, and allow to simmer three hours, stirring occasionally. Strain and rub vegetables through a sieve. Return to saucepan and let it boil up, adding to it some whole peas and one tablespoon of chopped mint. Serve hot.

The chopped mint may be omitted as some people may not care for the flavor.

Soup Maigre

3 leeks

4 potatoes

2 stalks celery

4 cups (1 qt.) water

2 tablespoons (1 oz.) butter substitute 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon pepper 2 cups (1 pt.) milk

1 tablespoon sago or tapioca

Prepare vegetables and let them lie in water one hour. Cut them into small pieces, using only the white of leeks. Put into a clean saucepan; add water, butter substitute, and seasonings. Bring to the boil without the lid, then stir and skim. Cover with lid, and cook until vegetables are soft enough to press through a sieve. Return to pan with milk, and stir in gradually tapioca, and continue stirring until tapioca is clear. Boil quickly ten minutes. Serve very hot. A little cream or an egg may be added before serving. A little chopped parsley may be added if liked.