Cream soups do not necessarily contain cream, though the addition of a
little improves their flavor.
The simplest ones consist of milk thickened to the consistency of very
thin cream, salt, and a vegetable or some other ingredient. If the
vegetable is mashed, or is one that does not break to pieces easily,
the milk may be added to it, and the whole brought to the boiling point
and thickened. In a few exceptional cases the ingredient may be cooked
in the milk; nice tender green corn, for instance.
A richer sauce is made by making a roux of 2 level tablespns. of
butter, and 1-1½ level tablespn. flour, with a pint of milk, put
together in the regular way for sauces; but you will be surprised to
see how much better soups (with few exceptions) are without thickening,
being free from the porridgy taste of those thickened a trifle too much.
A little cream with the water in which the vegetable was cooked often
gives a finer flavored soup than milk and is no more expensive.
Sour cream makes a delightful as well as wholesome substitute for sweet
cream in corn, cabbage, tomato, in fact, nearly all vegetable soups.
_The following is a list of soups in which the general directions are
understood when no exceptions are noted. Salt is understood in all._
=★ Cream of Asparagus=--Cook tougher parts and rub through colander.
Throw cooked tips in last unless desired for some other dish. The very
toughest parts only make a nice, delicate flavored soup. This is one
which favors cream and water instead of milk.
=Cream of Bean=--Lima, common white, or colored. Cook as for water bean
soup, rub through colander or leave in broken pieces. Milk, or cream
and water, no flour. 1 cup beans to 1½-2 qts. soup.
=Cream of Bouillon=--¼-½ cup cream salted and whipped, to each quart
bouillon just before serving, either stirred in, or laid on top of each
cup in spoonfuls with a leaf of parsley.
=★ Cream of Cabbage, or Celery and Tomato=--Cabbage or celery, and
tomato soup, with a little heavy cream added.
=Cream of Carrot=--1 cup of ground or grated carrot, cooked, 3 pts.
milk and water, 1½-2 tablespns. butter, 1¼ tablespn. flour; or, 1 cup
strained tomato, ½-¾ cup cream, with water to make 3 pts., and no
butter.
Without the tomato, soup may be flavored with onion or celery, and bay
leaf, with chopped parsley.
=Cream of Celery=--1 pt. finely-sliced celery, stewed, milk and cream
added to make 3 pts., 1-1½ tablespn. flour with or without 1 or 2
tablespns. of butter. Do not strain. When soup is thickened, crushed
stalks of celery may be steeped in it for 15 m., then removed.
=★ Cream of Celery No. 2=--Steep leaves or poor stalks of celery in
milk for 15 m., add cream and flour, or flour and butter, to make of
the consistency of thin cream. Strain. May add a little celery salt.
=Cream of Chestnut=--Mashed boiled chestnuts, milk to thin, cream,
plain or whipped, or, milk and butter. May be flavored with celery or
onion or both.
=★ Cream of Corn=--1 pt. canned or grated corn to 3 pts. rich milk, 1
level tablespn. only, of flour, a very little salt. Do not let soup
stand long before serving. A little onion improves the flavor. If fresh
corn is used, the milk may be heated in a double boiler, the corn
added and cooked 20-30 m., or it may be boiled in a small quantity of
water 6-10 m. The cobs may be boiled in the water for 10 m. before
and removed; or they may stand in the milk while it is heating and be
removed before corn is added.
Fine fresh cracker meal gives a nice flavor to cream of corn soup when
used instead of flour for thickening.
A very little strained tomato imparts a delightful flavor and makes a
different soup.
=Cream of Dried Corn=--Soak corn, grind, add to hot milk, or cream and
water. Heat in double boiler 1 hour, add salt, serve. If necessary,
thicken a trifle.
=Cream of Dried Corn and Carrot=--Add cooked grated carrots to corn and
milk in above recipe and heat. Delicious.
=Cream of Leek=--Boil sliced leeks to pulp or cook only until tender.
=Cream of Lentil=--1 cup lentils cooked and rubbed through colander.
1½-2 qts. soup. No flour. May flavor with celery and onion.
=Cream of Onion=--Cook sliced onions in salted water. Do not strain.
Nice thickened with tapioca instead of flour.
=Cream of Oyster Plant=--Cook sliced oyster plant in water until just
tender, not soft; add salt, simmer 5 m. Add cream and more water if
necessary. Or, grind oyster plant before cooking. May thicken a trifle.
=Cream of Peas, dry=--Canadian, dried green, split or chick; 1 cup
to 1½-2 qts. of soup. Cook, rub through colander; milk, or cream and
water. No flour. Celery or onion flavor or not.
=Cream of Potato, or Sweet Potato=--1½-2 qts. of milk, or cream and
water, for each pint of mashed potato. Flavor with onion, celery salt
or bay leaf.
=Cream of Spinach=--Use a very small proportion of cooked spinach
rubbed through a colander, with rich milk, or with cream and the water
in which the spinach was boiled. Whipped cream may be added just before
serving. Thicken with tapioca sometimes.
=Cream of String Beans=--Cook beans in small pieces, add rich milk,
thicken with flour or tapioca.
=Cream of Succotash Soup=
Use 1 part of beans to 2 parts of corn; put either, neither or both
through a colander; add rich milk and salt.
For variety, flavor the soup with celery or onion or both, and add a
sprinkling of chopped parsley just before serving.
=Cream of Corn and Celery Soup=
Equal quantities cooked celery and corn, rich milk thickened a trifle
if desired, salt.
=Cream of Corn and Peas Soup=
1 cup dried green peas
1 cup canned corn
2 or 3 stalks of celery
milk
Cook peas, rub through colander, corn also if preferred. Add milk to
make of the right consistency. Put over fire in double boiler with salt
and the stalks of celery crushed. Heat for 15 m., remove the celery and
serve. 1 pint of canned green peas may be used instead of dried ones.
=Okra Soup with Cream=
1 pt. canned okra, vegetable consommé to make of the right consistency,
½-1 cup cream, salt. If the okra is in large pieces, cut smaller.
=Cream of Rice Soup=
½ cup rice
1½ teaspn. salt
1½ pint water
1¾ pt. milk
½ cup cream
Cook rice with salt and water in a double boiler or in a pan in the
oven until the water is absorbed, add the milk hot, and cook stirring
often, on top of stove or in double boiler till rice is soft and
creamy. Add cream and more salt and water if necessary. Soup may be
flavored with 2 teaspns. finely-chopped onion, a crushed half clove of
garlic, or ⅛-¼ teaspn. sage, or with a bay leaf, or crushed stalks of
celery. All milk may be used.
=★ Paris Onion Soup=
Cook sliced onion with browned flour in salted water until tender. Rub
through colander, add cream or butter, milk and salt. Thicken a trifle,
heat and add chopped parsley.
=Soup of Peas Pods=
Wash peas pods, stew 3 hours with a small sprig of mint. Rub through
a coarse wire sieve (a few at a time) until nothing is left but the
membrane. Add milk and butter, or cream and water, with a little flour
to thicken if desired, then a few whole peas; season with salt.
=Split Peas Soup=
1 pt. split peas, 1 onion sliced; cook in water till soft. Add milk to
make of the right consistency and salt to season. Good without onion.
=★ Peas and Tomato Soup=
1 cup dried green peas (2 cups after being cooked and mashed)
1¼ qt. water
2-4 cups tomato
½ cup cream
Salt
Cook peas and rub through colander, add water, tomato, cream and salt.
Heat. Serve.
=Cream of Green (or canned) Peas Soup=
1 pt. stewed or canned, well matured green peas, 1-1½ qt. rich milk,
salt. Heat peas, rub through colander, add hot milk gradually,
stirring, then salt. Heat well, serve. If peas are not sweet, 2
teaspoons of sugar may be added. The soup may be thickened with 1 level
tablespn. of flour. It also may be flavored with stalks of celery or
slices of onion, for variety; but nice-flavored peas do not require any
additional flavoring.
=★ Tomato Cream Soup=
1 qt. rich milk
1-1½ tablespn. flour
1 cup strained tomato
1 teaspn. salt
Heat milk, thicken with flour, add tomato, then salt; serve hot.
=Cream of Tomato Soup=
Same as Tomato Cream Soup, with 2½ cups of tomato instead of 1 cup, and
1½-2 teaspns. salt.
=★ Another=
1 tablespn. butter
1 level tablespn. flour
1 cup water
1 cup milk
1 cup strained tomato
⅔ teaspn. salt
Heat butter, add flour, then water, milk, tomato and salt, stirring
smooth.
=Cream Broths=
Cauliflower, cabbage or spinach water, with a little cream, make
delightful broths; also barley or rice water or juice of tomato.
=Brazil Nut Soup=
½ lb. (1 large cup) ground Brazil nut meats
1-1½ pt. water
1 cup chopped onion
1½ cup finely-sliced celery (crushed stalks of celery may be used)
2 cups milk
Salt
Cook ground nuts in the water for 2 hrs., add onion and celery, and
cook 15 m., to ½ hr., add the milk, heat, strain, add salt and more
milk or water if necessary, reheat. Other flavorings may be used.
This may be used as a white stock with or without the milk.
=Sister Cooley’s Brown Potato Soup=
1 pt. of potato, in small pieces, cooked, mashed and well beaten, 3
tablespns. butter and oil mixed, 4-6 tablespns. chopped onion, 2 or 3
teaspns. browned flour, 1½ teaspn. white flour, 3 cups milk, salt. Heat
onion in oil, add flour and mashed potato, then milk and salt with a
little chopped parsley. If too thick, add a little more milk or water.
=Sliced Potato Soup=
1 pt. of potato in thick slices, 1 medium sized onion chopped, salt.
Cook until potatoes are tender but not soft; add 1 tablespn. butter,
or 2-3 tablespns. cream with milk to make 1¼-1½ qt. of soup, salt, and
chopped parsley. Finely-sliced celery may be used in place of onion.
For parsnip soup substitute parsnip for half or all of the potato.
=Vegetable Soup--Milk=
1½ tablespn. oil, or 2 tablespns. melted butter
4 tablespns. finely-sliced celery
2½ tablespns. chopped cabbage
2½ tablespns. chopped carrot
2 medium sized onions sliced thin
scant ½ cup stale bread crumbs
2 cups boiling water
1½ cup milk
salt
1 tablespn. parsley
Simmer, but do not brown, vegetables in oil 10-20 m., add boiling water
and bread crumbs and cook till vegetables are very tender. Rub through
colander or not as preferred. Add milk, salt and parsley. Reheat. If
too thick add more milk or water. Soup may be thickened slightly with
pastry or rice flour instead of crumbs.
=Mayflower Soup=
3 level tablespns (¼ cup) raw nut butter or meal
1 cup each tomato, onion and corn
2 cloves garlic
1 tablespn. butter
1-1½ tablespn. flour
1 qt. milk
salt
½ teaspn. celery salt
Cook nut butter, onion and garlic in salted water; when tender add
tomato and corn; heat. Rub butter and flour together, pour hot milk
over gradually, stirring. Boil up well, combine with vegetables, add
salt and celery salt, and if necessary, water to thin.
A little cream may be used in place of butter, but the soup is
excellent without either.
=★ Oyster Bay Soup=
1 qt. sliced oyster plant (about 20 roots, 3 bunches or less)
1-1½ pt. chopped cabbage
1 pt. milk
¼-½ pt. cream
1-1½ tablespn. flour
2-2½ teaspns. salt
½-1 teaspn. olive oil
Cook oyster plant in 1½ pt. water; when nearly tender, add salt. Cook
cabbage till tender (20-25 m.), in so little water that it will be
nearly dry when done. Add milk, heat, strain; add liquid from oyster
plant. There should be 3 pts. of liquid in all. Boil, stir in flour
rubbed smooth with the oil and part of the cold milk. Boil up well.
Add cooked oyster plant. Heat. Do not make too thick. The flour may be
omitted entirely. The oil may be cooked with the oyster plant.
=Milk Stew of Cabbage--White or Red=
1 pt. chopped cabbage
1 tablespn. chopped onion
1 pt. water
2 level tablespns. butter
1½ level tablespn. flour
1 pt. boiling milk
chopped parsley
Cook cabbage and onion in the water 20-25 m. leaving ½ pt. of liquid.
Blend butter and flour and pour hot milk over; boil, add cooked cabbage
and chopped parsley. Heat. Serve.
=Milk Stew of Oyster Plant=
Cook 1 qt. of sliced oyster plant in a small quantity of water. Add
salt when nearly tender; drain, add rich milk to liquor to make 1 qt.
Pour over oyster plant, heat, add salt. Turn into tureen containing ¼
cup heavy cream, or 1 tablespn. butter.
=Cream Stew of Oyster Plant=
Cook oyster plant in water and add heavy cream.
=Oyster Plant and Celery Soup=
Equal quantities sliced oyster plant and celery cooked; water, cream,
with or without a little flour to thicken, salt.
=Oyster Plant and Corn Soup=
⅔ qt. (1 bunch) sliced oyster plant
¼ cup corn
3½ cups water
¾-1 tablespn. flour
½ cup cream, salt
Cook oyster plant, drain, add water to liquor to make 3½ cups. When
boiling, thicken and add corn, oyster plant and cream, with salt. Heat,
serve.