Take a large slice of ham (cold boiled ham is best) and two pounds
of the lean of fresh beef; cut all the meat into small pieces. Add
a quarter of a pound of butter slightly melted; twelve large
tomatas pared and cut small; five dozen ochras cut into slices not
thicker than a cent; and salt and cayenne pepper to your taste.
Put all these ingredients into a pot; cover them with boiling
water, and let them stew slowly for an hour. Then add three quarts
of _hot_ water, and increase the heat so as to make the soup
boil. Skim it well, and stir it frequently with a wooden or silver
spoon.
Boil it till the tomatas are all to pieces, and the ochras
entirely dissolved. Strain it, and then serve it up with toasted
bread cut into dice, put in after it comes out of the pot.
This soup will be improved by a pint of shelled Lima beans, boiled
by themselves, and put into the tureen just before you send it to
table.