Miss Corson's practical American cookery and household management

When asparagus is used, the tough part of the stalks can be boiled until they are tender enough for the pulp to be rubbed through a sieve with a potato-masher : a cupful of the pulp will make a quart of soup if the directions here given are followed. For a quart of soup, put in a saucepan over the fire a tablespoonful each of butter and flour, and stir them until they are smoothly blended ; then gradually stir in a pint of milk, and enough of the water in which the asparagus was boiled to make a soup about the consistency of cream ; to this add a cupful of the asparagus pulp prepared as directed above, stirring it smoothly with the soup ; let it boil once, season it palatably with salt, white pepper, and a very little grated nutmeg, and draw the saucepan to the side of the fire, where its contents cannot boil; beat the yolk of a raw egg to a cream with a little of the soup, and then stir it with the rest of the soup, and serve it at once ; if the soup boils after the egg is added, it will curdle. ONION SOUP. Peel two of the large Valencia onions which are sold in the fruit-stores, slice them, put them into a saucepan with four tablespoonfuls of butter, and brown the onions slightly over a moderate fire ; meantime, peel and slice a large white turnip, and wash and chop a head of celery; when the onions are browned, add the turnip and celery, together with two quarts of any broth from boiled meat, or one quart each of milk and water; season the soup palatably with salt and white pepper, and boil it gently until the vegetables are tender enough to rub through a sieve with a potato-masher. The broth in which the vegetables are SOUPS {potage). 1 79 boiled is to be saved ; put a tablespoonful each of butter and flour over the fire in the saucepan, and stir them until they bubble ; then gradually stir in the broth and vegetable pulp, see that the soup is palatably seasoned, let it boil for a moment, and then serve it hot. CELERY SOUP. Pick over a cupful of rice, wash it in cold water, drain it, and put it over the fire in three pints of boiling water ; wash and cut in half-inch bits two cupfuls of the white stalks of celery, add it to the rice, with a teaspoonful of salt, and boil them together gently for an hour, taking care that there is always water enough to prevent burning. Then rub the rice and celery through a sieve with a potato-masher, return them to the saucepan in which they were boiled, set it over the fire, add to them two quarts of hot milk, or enough to make the soup about the consistency of thick cream ; use a palatable seasoning of salt and white pepper, and a very little nutmeg, and stir the soup until it boils ; then serve it at once. CREAM OF FRESH MUSHROOMS.