Caramel For Coloring Soups And Gravies

One pound of brown sugar, one pint of cold water; put sugar in a perfectly dry saucepan, and when it changes color, add a little cold water to cool the sugar, then add the rest of the water; as soon as it boils, take from the fire, and it is then ready for use. D.

Asparagus Soup. One Hour

Boil a bunch of asparagus until quite soft; in another saucepan boil some milk ; thicken it with flour and quarter-pound of butter; season with pepper and salt; and just before serving, strain the water from the asparagus on the milk and flour and butter; then serve.

Bean Soup

Two pounds of salt pork, four quarts of water, a quart of beans; add a teaspoonful of soda. Let the beans boil until the hulls will easily slip off; take them out and throw them in cold water ; rub well with the hands—the hulls will rise to the top—drain carefully, and repeat until the hulls are removed; put the beans back in the pot with the pork. Season with pepper, salt, thyme, some potatoes cut small, and grated carrot. Cut toast in pieces and put in the tureen.

Beef Tea

Take one pound of beef, remove the fat and cut it up in very small pieces, and cut up one bunch of celery, or a tea-spoonful of celery-seed, and a very small red pepper; pour on one pint of cold water, and let it stand two hours; then take out the pepper, and put the saucepan on the range and let the tea simmer slowly two hours. Strain it before giving it to the patient.

Black Or Turtle Bean Soup

Take one quart of beans and soak for twrenty-four hours before cooking. Take the remains of a roast of beef, as free from fat as possible, or two pounds of beef and one pound of salt pork—this is better than the ribs, as it flavors the soup better. Boil together in a large pot, in six or eight quarts of water, first adding six onions, cut up fine. Boil the whole for five hours. Mash and strain out the bean-skins ; flavor w7ith a bunch of herbs, thyme and celery ; pepper and salt to taste ; add a half-pint of wine to a tureen of soup. Put in six or eight hard boiled eggs, and serve with lemon.

Clam Soup

Put a quart of clams, with their liquor, on the fire with a pint of water; boil them about three minutes, during which skim them well, then strain them and remove the soft portions of the clams and keep them warm ; return the liquor to the fire, with the hard portions of the clams, half an onion, a sprig of thyme, three or four sprigs of parsley, and one large blade of mace; cover it and let it simmer for half an hour. In the meantime put three ounces of butter into a stewpan, and Avhen it bubbles sprinkle in two ounces or one heaping tablespoonful of (lour; stir it on the fire until cooked, and then stir in gradually a pint of hot cream or milk ; add this to the clam liquor (strained), with a seasoning of salt and a little cayenne pepper, also the soft clams, without chopping them. When well mixed, and thoroughly hot (without boiling) serve immediately.