CHAPTER V.

SOUPS.

BEAN SOUP.

Wash one and one-half cups of black, white, red or mixed beans and soak in 1 quart of warm soft water over night. The next day add 5 pints of cold or boiling water, let come to a boil; add 2 finely cut onions and a potato, parsley or other flavoring. Let simmer slowly for 3 hours or longer; then strain. Heat some oil or butter, mix with 2 or 3 tablespoonfuls of flour in a clean saucepan over the fire, add the strained bean soup gradually, let boil a few minutes and serve. A cupful of strained tomato juice and chopped parsley may be added. Serve with fried bread or bread and butter and raw carrots.

CREAM OF BEAN SOUP.

Prepare like the foregoing. Leave out the fat, flour and tomatoes; mix with one-fifth part or less of hot cream before serving. Add plenty of chopped parsley.

LENTIL OR PEA SOUP.

Prepare like bean soup. Flavor with celery roots if desired.

VEGETABLE SOUP.

Use Carque’s dried vegetables and follow directions on the package. Add butter and flour or thicken with barley, rye, or flaked wheat.

Soups. Many American housekeepers do not know how to prepare soups and do not like them. The fact that people of many nations in the world, with smaller incomes than the average American working man, use soups daily, once or twice, and are far superior in physical strength and endurance to the latter, should convince every one that nutritious soups are an important article of diet.

KNORR’S VEGETARIAN SOUP.

Knorr’s dried legumes and vegetable soups can be bought in first class grocery stores. Some are prepared with meat, others without. Legumes soups can be prepared in many different ways. Sample: Cut up a few onions and potatoes and cook in the desired quantity of water. When partly done, dissolve some dried legume powder, use less than the directions call for. Let all cook 20 minutes. Mash up fine and run through a colander. Add plenty of chopped parsley and a little cream or thicken with butter and flour.

SPLIT PEA SOUP.

Soak one-third of a cup of green or yellow split peas in soft water. Put to cook with two or three cups of water and let simmer slowly for an hour or longer, add salt and flavoring to suit the taste. When done, mash the peas fine with potato masher. Dissolve 2 teaspoonfuls of cornstarch in cold water and add while stirring it. Let boil 5 to 10 minutes, remove from the fire and add a teaspoonful of butter or two ounces of hot cream and some chopped parsley. Serve with soda crackers or zwieback. Raw celery, carrots, parsnips or cucumbers may be substituted for the bread or eaten in addition at the end of the meal.

ASPARAGUS SOUP. No. 1.

Cut off one-third of the upper end of the asparagus, then wash, cut in pieces and put to boil in water, add some salt; when tender thicken the water with mixed flour, let boil 10 minutes. Add one-half hot milk. Flavor with pepper. Serve.

ASPARAGUS SOUP. No. 2.

Prepare as No. 1; when tender heat some butter, thicken with mixed flour, add the asparagus water gradually and boil a few minutes. Then remove from the fire, stir several yolks of eggs with a little cold water on a soup plate, add the asparagus soup gradually. Flavor with lemon and serve.

Close study and persistent effort will enable every homekeeper with small means to learn how to prepare a soup that is palatable and nutritious.

ASPARAGUS SOUP. No. 3.

Prepare like No. 1; add three tablespoonfuls of fresh rich cream or 3 yolks of eggs dissolved with a little cold water. Add lemon juice and a tablespoonful of butter before serving if eggs are used. Hygienic crackers or black crusts are a good addition. Serve as a whole meal mornings or evenings or as an entree for dinner.

CORN SOUP. No. 1.

Dilute a can of corn with two canfuls of barley water and press through a colander. Heat some butter, mix with flour and add the hot broth. This is more suitable for breakfast or dinner than for supper. Serve with black toast.

CORN SOUP. No. 2.

Dilute the corn with hot milk or water. Thicken with corn starch, add a little hot cream or piece of butter.

BUTTERMILK SOUP.

Mix some white flour with cold buttermilk, stir over the fire until it boils, add sugar and boil ten minutes. Add hot cream or yolks of eggs or flavoring before serving, as desired.

MILK SOUP WITH MACARONI.

Break some macaroni into boiling water, boil fast for 45 minutes. When done, add an equal part of buttermilk or sweet milk. Thicken with a little rice flour.

MILK SOUP WITH FLOUR DUMPLINGS.

Prepare some flour dumplings with or without eggs. Drop into boiling salted water; when done, add some hot milk or buttermilk. Thicken with a little flour, add salt and serve. Sweet dried fruits can be added.

Left-over skim-milk is best utilized for cheese, pancakes, whey gruel, whey or milk sauce, or boiled and served with stale rye or corn bread. Vegetables prepared with milk do not make a good combination. Soft puddings prepared with skim-milk, sugar and eggs, are not very wholesome unless the necessary amount of fat is added in the form of butter.

Skim-milk and fruit is not a good combination.

BUTTERMILK SOUP WITH RICE.

Cook some rice with water as directed for “Water Rice”; when done add one quart of buttermilk to one quart of cooked rice, mix well and stir over the fire until it boils. Add one-third cup of sugar and simmer with a piece of cinnamon or vanilla for half an hour longer. Add more salt if necessary. Some dried soaked cold prunes, currants or raisins may be mixed with the soup before serving. This forms a perfect meal for dinner on hot summer days or for supper in winter or summer.

MILK SOUP WITH EGG.

Mix two tablespoonfuls of corn starch, arrowroot or fine white flour with a cupful of cold water; add a little salt and the yolks of two eggs and beat with an egg beater. Then mix one quart of fresh milk with a cup of water and heat over a quick fire to about 170° F. Then add the flour and egg, some lemon rind, vanilla bean or bitter almond. Stir fast or beat with an egg beater over the fire until it comes to a boil. During hot weather this soup can be served cold, as a light luncheon or for supper. For this purpose it should be stirred for a while after removing it from the fire until it is nearly cold. Serve with crackers, toast or strawberries. If a sweet flavor is desired, add a tablespoonful of sugar, honey or Eagle brand Condensed Milk with the other flavoring. If skim milk is used add a tablespoonful of butter also.

MILK SOUP WITH BARLEY.

Wash and soak a cup of pearl barley with soft water for several hours or over night. Put on to cook with a quart of water and a little salt. Let simmer slowly for about one hour; then add a quart of cold or hot milk. Stir well and let cook 10 to 20 minutes longer. Serve with toast or with bread and butter for a lunch or supper or as an entree.

People who are not able to digest a sufficient amount of protein or cereals, require more fats. The latter can be made easily digestible if rightly combined and prepared in the form of soups, warm sauces, boiled custards and mayonnaise dressing. In this way the fat globules are equally divided in the food and can be better emulsified.

MILK SOUP WITH RICE.

Wash four tablespoonfuls of rice, boil in 1½ pints of water with a little salt until the grains burst. Then add 1½ pints of hot or cold milk and cook 10 minutes longer. Flavor to suit the taste. Serve with soda crackers or with toast. If skim milk is used add butter after removing the soup from the fire or cook the butter with the grains before the milk is added.

MILK SOUP WITH OATS OR BUCKWHEAT.

Wash one-half cup of either with cold water several times. Put on to boil with a quart of water and salt to taste. Let cook for about 40 minutes or until the grains burst. (Buckwheat requires nearly an hour to cook). Then add 2 cups of rich milk and let come to a boil. Serve plain or with dried soaked fruit. Bread is not needed at this meal.

MILK SOUP WITH CORN MEAL OR RICE FLOUR.

Bring three cups of milk and 1½ of water to a boil. Dissolve 4 to 6 tablespoonfuls of meal with half a cup of cold water and stir into the hot milk. Add salt and cook it for 20 minutes.

MILK SOUP WITH CORN STARCH.

Prepare as the foregoing. Cook 10 minutes. Dried currants are a good addition. Corn meal being rich in oil and pure in nitrogen, combines better with skim milk than some of the other cereals.

MILK SOUP WITH WHEY.

Prepare a pint of sweet whey according to directions; then heat to the boiling point and add a cup of hot water. Heat some butter or vegetable oil, mix with two tablespoonfuls of mixed flour, add the hot whey gradually and salt to taste. Let cook a few minutes, then add one cup of hot milk. Flavor.

MILK SOUP WITH CHOCOLATE.

Bring 3 cups of milk and 1 of water to a boil, add a piece of vanilla bean. Dissolve chocolate and pour into the boiling milk. Let cook a minute; then dissolve 2 to 3 tablespoonfuls of corn starch or arrowroot with a little cold water and stir into the hot chocolate. Add salt and serve. Black crusts or toast are a good addition. Potato-flour can be used instead of arrowroot. It is cheaper, and can be bought at a first class store.

If this soup is prepared from cocoa, add the necessary amount of sugar and prepare the same as the foregoing.

MILK SOUP WITH BROWN FLOUR.

Brown some flour according to directions. Dissolve with warm water and stir into boiling milk or half milk and half water. Let boil a few minutes. Flavor.

MILK SOUP WITH WHITE FLOUR.

Prepare as above. Use plain or mixed flour. Add the yolk of an egg and a piece of butter, if desired.

Water Soups and Gruels.

WATER SOUP. No. 1.

Melt a tablespoonful of butter or oil, mix with 1 tablespoonful of white or mixed flour over the fire. Then add gradually a pint or less of boiling salted water while stirring. Boil a few minutes. Serve.

WATER SOUP. No. 2.

Prepare as above. Add a grated carrot or half of an apple and boil for about 10 minutes. Add 2 to 3 ounces of rich hot milk before serving.

WATER SOUP. No. 3.

Cut up an onion or any desired vegetable and soak for half an hour. Strain and prepare as No. 1. Add 2 tablespoonfuls of cream, if desired.

WATER SOUP. No. 4.

Prepare as No. 1. After removing from the fire add two tablespoonfuls of hot cream or dilute the yolk of an egg or one-half tablespoonful of almond butter with an ounce of cold water. To this add the hot soup gradually. Two ounces of cold buttermilk may be used instead of cream.

WATER SOUP. No. 5.

Prepare as No. 1. Add an ounce of fresh or preserved fruit juice or a tablespoonful of fruit jelly before serving.

BARLEY SOUP.

Wash and soak a cup of pearl barley. Boil with 2 to 3 quarts of water and a teaspoonful of salt for 2 hours very slowly. Tie some celery stalks with a string and cook with it. Carrots or asparagus make also a good flavoring. When done, add a piece of butter and serve with soda crackers. Dried soaked fruit may be added before serving, if the flavor of vegetables is not desired. Cream and parsley are also good additions.

RICE SOUP.

Prepare as barley soup No. 1. Flavor with fruit or vegetables. Add the yolk of an egg, if desired. Follow directions as in Water Soup No. 4. Cream is also a good addition.

WHEY GRUEL OR SOUP.

Heat one and one-half cupfuls of sweet or slightly sour whey to the boiling point. Melt a tablespoonful of butter, mix with a tablespoonful of mixed flour and add the hot whey gradually. Boil a few minutes. Remove from the fire, add the yolk of an egg and a few drops of lemon juice. If sour whey is used, add a tablespoonful of cane sugar while it boils, or mix the gruel with a few soaked or stewed prunes or with dried currants. Add cream in place of egg and butter, if desired.

WHEY GRUEL FOR TWO PERSONS.

Wash one-fourth of a cupful or 4 tablespoonfuls of sago several times with cold and warm water until the water becomes clear, then soak in one-half cup of cold or warm water for several hours or over night. Bring 2 cups of whey to a boil with the peeling of one-half a lemon or a piece of cinnamon bark. Stir in the sago, let boil 20 minutes, and add one-fourth teaspoonful of salt. Remove from the fire and add a teaspoonful of butter, the yolk of an egg diluted with a tablespoonful of cold water, and a few drops of lemon, or leave out the egg, butter and lemon, and add 3 ounces of hot cream. Mix well, pour on soup plates and serve with soda crackers or zwieback, or one-half of a raw red Oregon apple. One tablespoonful of sugar may be added, if allowed. Sour whey may be used instead of sweet whey.

CELERY SOUP.

Wash celery stalks, scrape and cut into one inch pieces. Boil in a very little water, with a pinch of salt. When tender, put the celery into one cup and the water into another cup. Squeeze the juice of one-half lemon on the celery stalks and let stand for 10 or 15 minutes. Heat a tablespoonful of butter and mix with a tablespoonful of mixed flour, and add the hot celery water. If there is not sufficient fluid, add more boiling water. When done, remove from the fire, add another teaspoonful of butter, then add the celery; mix well.

If the lemon makes it too sour, pour some boiling water over the celery, and let it drain through a colander. When ready to serve, combine the soup with the yolk of an egg.

If vegetables cause fermentation, they are less liable to do so if treated with acids as directed above.

CREAM OF CELERY SOUP. No. 2.

Prepare like No. 1, omitting lemon, egg and extra butter, and using three ounces of hot cream instead.

CREAM OF CELERY SOUP. No. 3.

Cook the celery as directed in No. 1. Add 2 teaspoonfuls of corn starch with water, and 3 ounces of hot cream.

STRING BEAN SOUP.

Select young, tender string beans, wash, trim and shred fine or break into one-half inch pieces. Cook in a very little water. Finish like Cream of Celery Soup, with or without lemon, egg or cream.

Add plenty of chopped parsley just before removing from the fire. This soup is very purifying to the liver and intestines, but should not be given to fever patients.

CREAM OF CAULIFLOWER SOUP.

Prepare the same as Cream of Celery Soup. The use of lemon is important for people who suffer with gas and flatulent dyspepsia.

SPINACH SOUP.

Prepare from spinach water, with butter and flour. When done, add a few tablespoonfuls of finely chopped spinach. Flavor with grated onion and lemon.

TOMATO SOUP.

Strain a can of tomatoes, and heat. Add an equal amount of boiling water or soup stock. Heat some oil, butter or fat; add flour, boil a few seconds; then add the tomato juice gradually and a little salt. Boil 3 to 5 minutes, then serve. It must be of the consistency of gravy. Raw cucumbers and celery are a good addition.

CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP.

Prepare like the foregoing. Add one-fourth part or more of hot cream before serving. If milk is used, it must be more in proportion than cream.

CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP. No. 2.

Mix one quart of hot water with one quart of strained hot tomato juice. Dissolve two to three tablespoonfuls of corn starch in cold water and stir into the boiling fruit juice. Boil 10 minutes, and season with salt and a little sugar, if desired. Remove from the fire, add hot cream, mix and serve. Good in the summer.

APPLE SOUP. No. 1.

Heat a tablespoonful of olive oil and one of butter, mix with a tablespoonful of white flour, gradually add a pint of boiling water and stir. When done, wash and grate one apple with the skin. Add the grated apple to the soup, also a pinch of salt, a tablespoonful of sugar and a stick of cinnamon. Let all boil for about 10 minutes. Remove from the fire, add another teaspoonful of butter and a few drops of lemon; mix well, pour on a soup plate and serve with crusts. If the stomach is very delicate the soup must be strained.

APPLE SOUP. No. 2.

Prepare as the foregoing. Add one-half of hot cream before serving; mix well. Omit the extra teaspoonful of butter, oil and lemon.

APPLE SOUP. No. 3.

Soak some stale or French bread with a little boiling water and a pinch of salt for an hour or longer, then add about a quart of boiling water, also one or two apples which have been cut up with the skins on, simmer slowly for an hour. Then run through the colander, add a piece of butter, or a little hot cream and serve. For flavoring use some dried raisins or currants or prunes; soak them with a little boiling water for an hour and add the soup before serving. In place of the fruit add vanilla bean, cinnamon or lemon rind and a tablespoonful of sugar with the soup in boiling.

HUCKLEBERRY SOUP.

Wash one quart of huckleberries and boil with two quarts of water and a piece of cinnamon. When done strain or leave the berries in the soup. Shape some dumplings with a dessert spoon and boil in the fruit soup until they rise to the top. Use recipe for flour dumplings No. 1. Cherry soup from fresh cherries may be prepared with dumplings instead of thickening.

All who are in the habit of eating more than their systems require and especially those who indulge in large amounts of bread at dinner, would do well to begin their meal with a soup. Legume and cream soups will furnish a satisfactory meal by themselves. For combinations, see “Menus”.

BLACKBERRY SOUP.

Prepare the same as the foregoing or see recipe for blackberry gruel.

CHERRY SOUP.

Remove the stones from one quart of cherries, and bring two quarts of water to a boil with a stick of cinnamon, pour in the cherries and let them simmer for 20 to 30 minutes. Add enough sugar to counteract the tart taste and thicken with a little cornstarch. Cool and serve with zwieback. If used for supper on hot days it should be prepared in the morning and allowed to cool. Beaten whites of eggs with a little sugar may be placed on top. Serve on soup plates.

DRIED CHERRY SOUP.

Soak some dried cherries for several hours. Cook with the desired amount of water and a little sugar and cinnamon. Finish as the foregoing. This is excellent for convalescents during the winter.

PLUM SOUP.

Wash one pound of blue plums and boil with three to four pints of water, a stick of cinnamon and sugar until well done. Thicken with cornstarch, or with sago which has been soaked. Cook 15 to 20 minutes or longer. Run through a colander and add a piece of butter. Cool and serve with zwieback and beaten whites of eggs, if desired. Hot cream may be added in place of butter.

POTATO SOUP. No. 1.

Boil potatoes with salt water and an onion; pour off water, mash potatoes fine, and add the potato water. Bring to a boil some fresh cream and milk in a separate saucepan, and add it to the potatoes. Flavor with a little pepper, and chopped parsley.

POTATO SOUP. No. 2.

Boil the potatoes in plenty of water with salt and onions; drain off water, mash potatoes, and return to the potato water. Then melt some butter, thicken with flour, add the hot potato soup to it gradually, and boil all a few minutes. Bring some fresh milk and cream to a boil, add it to the soup, and flavor with chopped parsley and pepper.

MIXED VEGETABLE SOUP.

Chop up some celery, onion, potatoes, and parsley stems. Simmer in water slowly for 30 minutes. Strain, and prepare with butter and flour. Add plenty of chopped parsley. Finely cut cauliflower, string beans, and peas can be prepared in the same manner. For people with delicate stomachs the pulp of the vegetables should never be pressed through.

BREAD SOUP. No. 1.

Soak some stale white and black bread in boiling water for half an hour. Put on to boil with more water. Cut up a few apples with the skin and add a stick of cinnamon, a little sugar, salt, and some lemon rind. Simmer for 30 minutes or longer. Press through a colander and add some cold soaked raisins or currants and a piece of butter, also the yolk of an egg, if desired.

BREAD SOUP. No. 2.

Prepare like the foregoing. Leave out the apples. Add hot cream or milk in place of butter and egg. Use dried soaked currants or prunes, if desired.

BRAN SOUP. No. 1.

Use equal parts of stale bread and bran. Prepare like the foregoing. Leave out the egg.

BRAN SOUP. No. 2.

Prepare like the foregoing. Use more water, and strain. Melt some butter, thicken with mixed flour, add the hot broth gradually. When done, remove from the fire and mix with soaked cold raisins and a few drops of lemon.

BRAN SOUP. No. 3.

Use one cup of bran, four cups of water, four tablespoonfuls of milk sugar. Strain and thicken with butter and flour as directed for Bran Soup No. 2. Omit the fruit. A little lemon may be used, if desired. Good for invalids.

BARLEY GRUEL.

Soak a half cup of pearl barley, put to boil with three pints of water, add salt and three tablespoonfuls of milk sugar. Let boil slowly for one hour, then strain. Heat a tablespoonful of butter, thicken with mixed flour, add the barley gruel gradually, let all boil a few minutes, then serve.

WHEAT GRUEL.

Put two to three tablespoonfuls of cream of wheat or farina into a saucepan. Add a pint of boiling water, a pinch of salt, and a tablespoonful of milk sugar. Let boil half an hour. Remove from the fire and mix with a teaspoonful of butter or two to three ounces of hot cream. Dried soaked raisins or currants may be added.

GLUTEN GRUEL.

Prepare as directed on package. Add cream or butter and the yolk of an egg.

RAW CEREAL GRUEL.

Soak one-half to one-third cup of flaked raw cereal with a cup or more of warm salted water. Let stand for several hours or over night in a warm place. Serve plain or with sweet dried fruits and fresh cream.

MIXED FLOUR GRUEL. No. 1.

Mix two tablespoonfuls of mixed flour with a little cold water, add two to three cups of boiling water, salt and a tablespoonful of milk sugar. Let boil 10 to 15 minutes, remove from the fire. Add two to four ounces of hot cream. Flavor with vanilla, cinnamon, grated lemon rind or bitter almond.

MIXED FLOUR GRUEL. No. 2.

Put to boil the same amount of flour as in number one. Use a cup of rich milk and one and one-half of water instead of water alone. Flavor and serve.

ARROWROOT GRUEL.

Prepare the same as mixed flour gruel. Add hot cream.

Barley is rich in lime; it should take a more prominent place among food substances than it does. Pearl barley should be soaked with soft water before cooking.

NUT GRUEL. No. 1.

Mix two tablespoonfuls of mixed flour with a little cold water, add two to three cups of boiling water, salt, and a teaspoonful of sugar, if desired. Boil 10 to 15 minutes. Stir a tablespoonful of almond-butter or combination nut-butter with one or two tablespoonfuls of water to a smooth paste, add the gruel gradually, mix all well and serve.

NUT GRUEL. No. 2.

Heat a tablespoonful of butter in a flat saucepan, thicken with mixed flour, add two cups of boiling water, and salt, let boil a few minutes. Stir smooth a teaspoonful of almond-butter with cold water, add the gruel, mix well, flavor with lemon, if desired.

SAGO GRUEL.

Wash and soak a half cup of sago for several hours in a cup or more of cold water. Put into three cups of boiling water, add salt, a tablespoonful of milk sugar, or a teaspoonful of cane sugar, a stick of cinnamon, vanilla or lemon rind. Boil the sago 20 to 30 minutes. Remove from the fire, add three to six ounces of hot cream. Less sago may be used and a tablespoonful of rice flour dissolved with cold water added to it while boiling.

CORNSTARCH GRUEL.

Mix two tablespoonfuls of cornstarch with a little cold water, add three cups of boiling water, salt, a tablespoonful of milk sugar or a teaspoonful of cane sugar, boil 10 to 15 minutes. Add two to three ounces of hot cream. One-half of rice flour and one-half of cornstarch may be used in place of pure cornstarch. Flavor as desired.

MILK GRUEL. No. 1.

Mix a tablespoonful of rice flour and one of cornstarch with a little cold water. Add one quart of boiling milk. Boil 10 to 20 minutes. Add salt and flavor, as desired.

Sago and Tapioca are manufactured from certain palms and roots, and can be partially substituted for cereals. Cornstarch, arrowroot, potato-flour and agar agar belong to the same class. They are all valuable for the sick and for young children.

MILK GRUEL. No. 2.

Bring one pint of milk and one pint of water to a boil. Dissolve two or three tablespoonfuls of white flour with a little cold water and stir into the hot milk. Let boil 10 to 15 minutes. A stick of cinnamon, vanilla or lemon rind can be boiled with the milk. If the flavor of almonds is desired, grate one bitter almond on it after it is removed from the fire. The yolk of an egg may be added, if desired.

PEPTONIZED GRUEL.

Prepare a gruel from any farinaceous article. Pour into a bowl and allow it to stand until lukewarm. Add peptonized powder according to direction.

ONION GRUEL. No. 1.

Cut fine three or four onions, stew them in a quart of water very slowly and keep them well covered. When tender strain; heat butter or olive oil and thicken with mixed flour; add the onion broth slowly, let boil a few minutes. Flavor with salt and lemon. Cream can be added if desired.

ONION GRUEL. No. 2.

Put one-half of a cup of barley to soak, boil with four dried or green onions. Add salt, and strain.

BREAD GRUEL. No. 1. (WITH BARLEY.)

Soak and boil one-half cup of barley with salt in three pints of water, very tender, until there remains about a cup of liquid. Strain this. Then take some French bread or soda crackers, pour sufficient boiling water and a tablespoonful of milk sugar or cane sugar on it, let stand until it is perfectly soft, or until the water is all soaked into the bread. Then add the cup of barley water, let all boil for a few minutes or until bread and barley are well united. It may be strained, if desired.

Brown Flour: Put some white flour on a pie tin and brown in the oven.

OATMEAL GRUEL.

Wash half a cup of steel cut oats. Put on to boil with three pints of boiling water and salt. Let boil half an hour. Strain, add butter and serve. This is excellent for nursing mothers. Use more water if it is desired thin. Do not press through the pulp.

RICE GRUEL. No. 1.

Mix two to three tablespoonfuls of rice flour with a little cold water, add to it a pint of boiling water, two level tablespoonfuls of sugar of milk, salt to taste, boil 15 to 20 minutes. Put on a soup plate, pour hot or cold sterilized cream over it.

RICE GRUEL. No. 2.

Prepare as number one. After removing from the fire, add a piece of butter, and the yolk of an egg, mix thoroughly, then put on a soup plate. Serve with or without cream.

CHOCOLATE CORNSTARCH.

Bring a pint of water to a boil, mix with two tablespoonfuls of chocolate, let boil two minutes, then thicken with two tablespoonfuls of cornstarch. Flavor with salt and vanilla. Pour on a soup plate. Serve with sterilized cream, hot or cold.

BOILED CUSTARD.

Bring one pint of sweet cream or rich milk and one pint of water to a boil with a piece of vanilla. Then mix one tablespoonful of cornstarch with a little cold water and three yolks of eggs, two tablespoonfuls of sugar, and a little salt. Add all to the boiling milk, stir over the fire or in a double boiler until it thickens. Remove and beat until nearly cold. Put on ice. It may be served with zwieback and fruit juice or with fresh berries. For dyspeptics, it is better if prepared with water and butter instead of milk and served with sterilized cream.