Beef Soup

The best cuts for beef soup are from the rump, shoulder or plate, the latter being the cheaper grades of the sides and flank. Oxtails also make a strong, rich soup, and lean meat is better than fat meat, greasy soup being unwholesome. Always cook a few beef or veal bones with the soup, and a little piece of beef liver the size of an egg imparts a delicious flavor, which, however, cannot be recognized as liver. Soup requires long and slow boiling to extract the juice from the meat. If boiled too hard, the meat will be hard and tough and will not yield its juices. Put the meat and bone on with cold water, and when it comes to a boil, skim carefully and do not add salt until after you are through skimming. For 1 lb meat, allow 1 qt water, 1 small onion, a small stalk of celery, sprig of parsley, and 1 teasp rice may be added, if liked, or 1 small potato. Oxtails should be chopped into pieces and boiled 4 or 5 hours. If it should become necessary to add water to the soup while boiling, add boiling water, as the addition of lukewarm or cold water will stop the boiling and spoil the flavor. Be very careful not to over-salt. Before serving, strain the soup through a fine sieve. This soup is nice to serve clear, or to use as a foundation stock for other soups.-[Mrs. G., "Wis.

Beef and Tomato Soup

Boil a good soup bone in about 1 gal cold water, with salt to taste, until the meat is nearly tender. Then add 1 pt tomatoes, 1/2 cup rice and 1 pt sliced potatoes, with 2 or 3 stalks of celery and a small onion, cut fine.-[B. O., Kan.