The Rural cook book

Cream of Corn Soup. — Scrape the corn from eight tender young ears. Boil the cobs in as little water as may be for 30 minutes. Strain oft the liquid, add the scraped corn and boil 20 minutes. Heat one quart of sweet milk to scalding point; rub together one tablespoonful butter and one teaspoonful flour; stir into the hot milk. Add one-half teaspoonful salt, one-quarter teaspoonful while pepper. Pour over the corn, stir for a minute or two, then pour into hot tureen. Serve with croutons. Croutons — Cut bread two days old into small triangles or dice. Brown in oven to a golden tint. They are very nice spread with a paste made of twice the quantity of butter creamed, of delicate cheese grated and a little finely chopped parsley. (Two teaspoons butter, one of grated cheese, one-fourth teaspoon chopped parsley). They can be fried if desired. Cream of Eggs.— Slice a medium-sized onion into a quart of milk and bring the milk to the scalding point in a double boiler. Strain out the onion and return the milk to the kettle with a teaspoonful of flour that has been rubbed to a paste with the same quantity of butter. Stir to a smooth cream-like soup, and just before serving season with one teaspoonful of salt and three shakes of pepper. Chop coarsely, the white of four or five hard-boiled eggs and add to the soup. When ready to serve sprinkle each portion with the grated yolks. Cream of Salsify.— Take two bunches of salsify, wash, scrape and cut in small pieces and boil until tender. While hot mash and press through a colander. Have ready a cream made of two tablespoons of flour and two of butter melted together, seasoned with one-half saltspoonful white pepper and stirred into three cups milk and one cup water, which have previously been brought to a boil. Stir constantly until the consistency of a puree; add the prepared salsify, let boil up once, add three-quarters of a teaspoonful salt, and serve immediately. Fish Chowder, — Two pounds of fresh cod or any white fish, a quarter-pound bacon, four large potatoes, one small onion, half a can tomatoes, one quart milk, butter the size of a walnut, and a teaspoonful of flour for thickening. Pick the fish in pieces, removing all bone and skin; peel potatoes and cut into dice; cut the bacon in small pieces; rub the butter and flour to a cream. On the bottom of a granite kettle spread half of the potatoes in a layer, then half of tish, then sprinkle in. the onions minced fine, then the bacon, then half the tomatoes. Then a shake of salt and pepper; add the rest of the fish, potatoes, tomatoes and more salt and pepper, using in all one teaspoonful salt and one-half teaspoonful pepper. Cover with water, let simmer for half an hour. Let the milk come to a scald, put a pinch of soda into the chowder and stir; add the hot milk to the butter and flour; stir smooth; then add to the chowder; let get very hot, and serve. Milk Soup. — The various soups known as creams are usually about half milk and half meat or vegetable stock, slightly thickened with flour which has been blended with fat. For example, the tough, flabby portions and white leaves of a bunch of celery might be cut in small pieces, mixed with a sliced onion, covered with cold water and cooked until much of it can be rubbed through a strainer. To this juice and pulp is added an equal portion or even more of hot milk. For thickening a quart of soup slightly, one ounce of butter and one rounding tablespoonful of flour should be cooked together in a small saucepan until frothing, then add a little of the soup and beat until smooth, and then mix with the whole Season with salt and pepper. For a thicker soup use twice as much flour and butter, though the butter may be decreased slightly. However, if we use skim-milk for the soup, as we may, the increase of butter is