Miss Parloa's kitchen companion

For six or eight persons use half a cupful of tapioca, two cupfuls of water, three pints of milk, three tablespoonfuls of butter, two of flour, one of salt, one-third of a teaspoonful of pepper, one large onion, two blades of celery, and a slight grating of nutmeg. Wash the tapioca, and let it soak for six hours or more in the two cupfuls of cold water ; then put it into the double-boiler, and cook it for an hour. At the end of this time put the milk into another double-boiler, and set it on the stove to heat. Now put the butter, the onion, and the celery, chopped fine, into a small fryingpan, and cook slowly for ten minutes; then add the flour, and stir until smooth and frothy. Pour the contents of the pan into the boiler of hot milk ; and after adding the salt, pepper, and nutmeg, cook ten minutes longer. At the end of this time strain the milk mixture into the boiler containing the tapioca, and cook all for half an hour. Taste the soup, to be sure that there is seasoning enough ; it may be necessary 'to add some salt or pepper. Rice, sago, and barley soup may be made in the same manner, save that barley must be cooked for five hours. [illustration: Poulette Soup] For this soup use three pints of milk, three tablespoonfuls of butter, three of flour, three each of chopped onion, celery, carrot, and turnip, a bay leaf, a sprig of parsley, half a blade of mace, three level teaspoonfuls of salt, one-third of a teaspoonful of pepper, one cupful of cream, and the yolks of four eggs. Put the milk on the stove in a double-boiler, with the mace, parsley, and bay leaf. Put the butter and chopped vegetables in a saucepan, and let them cook slowly for twenty minutes, being careful that they do not brown ; then add the flour, and stir until the mixture becomes frothy. Now gradually pour the milk upon it, and cook for five minutes, stirring all the while. Add the salt and pepper, and turn the mixture into the double-boiler, to cook for half an hour. Beat the yolks of the eggs well, and add the cream to them. Stir this mixture into the soup, and cook for one minute, stirring all the time. Eemove the soup from the fire immediately, and strain into a tureen. Serve with either toasted crackers or bread. [illustration: Noodle Soup] To make the noodles, break a large egg into a bowl, and beat into it a little more than half a cupful of flour and one-fourth of a teaspoonful of salt. Now work this dough with the hands until it becomes smooth and like putty. Sprinkle a moulding-board with flour, and roll the dough as thin as possible. It should be like a wafer. Let it lie upon the board for five minutes; then roll it up loosely, and with a sharp knife cut it into slices about one-third of an inch thick. Spread these little pieces on the board, and let them dry for half an hour or more. Put on the stove a large saucepan containing two quarts of boiling water. Add a table-spoonful of salt, and after turning the noodles into the water, cook them rapidly for twenty-five minutes. Turn into a colander, and drain. To make the soup, use three pints of milk, three tablespoonfuls of flour, one slice of onion, a bit of mace, two teaspoonfuls of salt, and one-third of a teaspoonful of pepper.