VERMICELLI SOUP -1
Swell quarter of a pound of vermicelli in a quart of warm water, then add it to a good beef, veal, lamb, or chicken soup or broth, with quarter of a pound of sweet butter; let the soup boil for fifteen minutes after it is added.
VERMICELLI SOUP -2.
Lightly fill a cup with broken vermicelli. Turn it into a pint of boiling water, and cook for ten or fifteen minutes. Drain off all the hot water and put into cold water for a few minutes. Turn into a colander and drain again; add three pints of milk, salt to taste, and heat to boiling. Have the yolks of three eggs well beaten, and when the soup is boiling, turn it gradually onto the eggs, stirring briskly that they may not curdle. Return to the kettle, reheat nearly to boiling, and serve at once.
VERMICELLI SOUP -3.
Cook a cupful of sliced vegetable oysters, a stalk or two of celery, two slices of onion, a parsnip, and half a carrot in water just sufficient to cover well. Meanwhile put a cupful of vermicelli in a quart of milk and cook in a double boiler until tender. When the vegetables are done, strain off the broth and add it to the vermicelli when cooked. Season with salt and a cup of cream. Beat two eggs light and turn the boiling soup on the eggs, stirring briskly that
they may not curdle. Reheat if not thickened, and serve.
MACARONI SOUP -2
1/2 lb. small macaroni, 2 qts. water or vegetable stock, 3/4 lb. onions or 1 lb. tomatoes.
Break the macaroni into small pieces and add to the stock when nearly boiling. Cook with the lid off the saucepan until the macaroni is swollen and very tender. (This will take about an hour.) If onions are used for flavoring, steam separately until tender, and add to soup just before serving. If tomatoes are used, skin and cook slowly to pulp (without water) before adding. If the vegetable stock is already strong and well flavored, no addition of any kind will be needed.
NOODLE SOUP.
To make a good stock for noodle soup, take a small shank of beef, one of mutton, and another of veal; have the bones cracked and boil them together for twenty-four hours. Put with them two good-sized potatoes, a carrot, a turnip, an onion, and some celery. Salt and pepper to taste. If liked, a bit of bay leaf may be added. When thoroughly well done, strain through a colander and set aside until required for use. For the noodles, use one egg for an ordinary family, and more in proportion to quantity required. Break the eggs into the flour, add a little salt, and mix into a rather stiff dough. Roll very thin and cut into fine bits. Let them dry for two hours, then drop them into the boiling stock about ten minutes before serving.
NOODLES FOR SOUP.
Beat up one egg light, add a pinch of salt, and flour enough to make a very stiff dough; roll out very thin, like thin pie crust, dredge with flour to keep from sticking. Let it remain on the breadboard to dry for an hour or more; then roll it up into a tight scroll, like a sheet of music. Begin at the end and slice it into slips as thin as straws. After all are cut, mix them lightly together, and to prevent them sticking, keep them floured a little until you are ready to drop them into your soup which should be done shortly before dinner, for if boiled too long they will go to pieces.
PLAIN RICE SOUP.
Wash and pick over four tablespoonfuls of rice, put it in an earthen dish with a quart of water, and place in a moderate oven. When the water is all absorbed, add a quart of rich milk, and salt if desired; turn into a granite kettle and boil ten minutes, or till the rice is done. Add a half cup of sweet cream and serve. A slice of onion or stalk of celery can be boiled with the soup after putting in the kettle, and removed before serving, if desired to flavor.
RICE SOUP.
3 oz. of rice, 4 oz. of grated cheese, a breakfast cupful of tomato juice, 1 oz. of butter, pepper and salt to taste. Boil the rice till tender in 2-1/2 pints of water, with the butter and seasoning. When quite soft, add the tomato juice and the cheese; stir until the soup boils and the cheese is dissolved, and serve. If too much of the water has boiled away, add a little more.
RICE CHEESE SOUP.
1 dessertspoonful of rice, 3/4 pint water, 1/4 pint milk, 1 oz. grated cheese, 1/4 oz. butter, seasoning to taste. Cook the rice in the milk and water until tender, then add the cheese, butter, and seasoning, and let the soup boil up until the cheese is dissolved.
RICE AND GREEN-PEA SOUP.
2 oz. of rice, 1 breakfast cupful of shelled green peas, 1 pint of milk, 1 quart of water, 1 oz. of butter. Boil the rice in the water for 10 minutes, add the peas, the butter and pepper and salt to taste. Let it cook until the rice and peas are tender, add the milk and boil the soup up before serving.
RICE AND ONION SOUP.
4 onions, 3 oz. of
rice, 1-1/2 oz. of butter, 3 pints of water, pepper and salt. Chop the onions up
very finely, and fry them with the butter until slightly browned; add the rice,
seasoning, and water, and let the whole cook gently until quite soft. A
tablespoonful of finely chopped parsley may be added.