Turtle Soup Stock

Prepare and cut up a turtle. Put the pieces of shell in a saucepan over the fire with sufficient boiling water to cover them, and boil for two or three hours, or until the outer edges of the shell are soft. As the water boils away add more, always keeping the shells entirely covered. Cut the soft parts of the shells into pieces about one-half inch square, place them in an earthenware bowl, cover over with a wet napkin, and keep in a cool place until wanted. Place the hard parts, of the shells again into water in which it was boiled, put in also one-eighth of the first weight of the turtle of beef bones, and one-sixteenth of the weight of veal bones, or of calf's feet and head as directed for soup, skinning the calf's head. On the top of these ingredients lay the neck and fins of the turtle, and the cushions or rounded muscles at top of the turtle fins, unless part of the latter is to be reserved raw for broiling as steaks; add enough water to cover all, together with two tablespoonfuls of salt, and allow all to boil gently for two hours or more, or until the bones of the fins separate easily from the flesh. Remove any scum which may rise, and keep the soup kettle closely covered. When the fins and cushions are tender, take them out of the stock, separate the flesh from the bones, keeping it in good sized pieces, and put it aside, in a cool place until wanted, in an earthenware vessel covered with a wet cloth. Return the bones to the stock, add to it the proportions usually employed for soup stock, of carrots, turnips, onions, parsley, sweet herbs, whole cloves, mace and peppercorns, and boil gently for five or six hours, keeping the pan closely covered. After the liver, legs, fat and intestines have been soaked in cold water boil them in the stock, the intestines being turned outward like the reversed finger of a glove, and well washed and scraped. When the stock is boiled it should be strained through a folded towel, laid in a colander placed over a large earthenware bowl, until clear. All those parts of the turtle which have been cooked and covered with wet cloths or napkins should now be placed in the bowls and covered with the strained turtle stock; all the stock remaining should be saved for soup. Most turtle cooks advise leaving out the intestines, chiefly because they are more trouble to prepare than they are worth.

Vegetable Soup

Chop finely sufficient onion, carrot and celery in equal proportions to fill five breakfast cups, also one teacupful each of turnip, cabbage and parsnip. The cabbage, parsnip and onion should have been partially boiled for five minutes and then well drained. Put all the vegetables into a saucepan, pour in one quart of stock and one quart of boiling water and boil gently until tender; then put in with them one break-ast cupful of tomatoes, one tablespoonful of chopped parsley, one teaspoonful each of salt and sugar and one-half teaspoonful of pepper. Turn the soup into a tureen and serve.