■OTTiriTTJTnQ 



182 i 



mealy. If not cooked enough, after stand- 

 ing a few minutes the thick part will 

 settle and the top look watery. At the 

 end of seven hours strain the soup 

 through a sieve and return to a soup 

 pot. Beat the flour and butter together 

 until creamy, then stir into the soup and 

 simmer half an hour longer. If the salt 

 pork has not seasoned the soup suffi- 

 ciently add a little salt. For some tastes 

 the soup would be improved by the addi- 

 tion of a quart of hot milk. 



Serve little squares of fried bread in a 

 separate dish. 



Dried Bean Soup 



One pint dried beans, four quarts 

 water, one large onion (minced fine), 

 four tablespoonfuls sweet drippings or 

 butter which gives a better flavor, three 

 tablespoonfuls flour, one tablespoonful 

 minced celery or a few dried celery 

 leaves, one-half teaspoonful pepper, two 

 teaspoonfuls salt. 



Wash the beans and soak them over 

 night in cold water. In the morning pour 

 off the water and put them in the soup 

 pot with three quarts of cold water. Place 

 on the fire and when the water comes to 

 the boiling point pour it off (throw this 

 water away). Add four quarts of boiling 

 water to the beans and place the soup 

 pot where the contents will simmer for 

 four hours. Add the celery the last hour 

 of cooking. Cook the onion and drip- 

 pings slowly in a stewpan for half an 

 hour. Drain the water from the beans 

 (save this water) and put them in the 

 stewpan with the onions and drippings. 

 Then add the flour and cook half an 

 hour, stirring often. At the end of this 

 time mash fine and gradually add the 

 water in which the beans were boiled 

 until the soup is like thick cream. Then 

 rub through a puree sieve and return to 

 the fire; add the salt and pepper and 

 cook 20 minutes or more. Any kind of 

 beans may be used for this soup; the 

 Lima beans give the most delicate soup, 

 but the large or small white beans are 

 very satisfactory and are less expensive 

 than the Limas. 



In cold weather the quantities of beans 

 and flavorings may be doubled, but only 



six quarts of water are used. The result- 

 ing thick soup can be kept in a cold 

 place and a portion boiled up as required 

 and thinned with meat stock or milk. 



Cream of Bean Soup 



Make as above, but add only enough 

 of the water in which the beans were 

 cooked to make the mixture like thin 

 mush. Have this very hot and add boil- 

 ing hot milk to make it like thick cream, 

 about a quart of milk to three pints of 

 the bean puree. Boil up at once and 

 serve. It spoils a cream soup to let it 

 cook many minutes after the milk is 

 added. 



SFKVACH 



To clean the spinach cut off the roots, 

 break the leaves apart and drop them 

 into a large pan of water; rinse them well 

 in this water and put them in a second 

 pan of water. Continue washing in clean 

 waters until there is not a trace of sand 

 on the bottom of the pan in which the 

 vegetable was washed. If the spinach is 

 at all wilted let it stand in cold water 

 until it becomes fresh and crisp. Drain 

 from this water and cook. For half a 

 peck of spinach have in a large saucepan 

 three quarts of boiling water and one 

 tablespoonful of salt. Put the drained 

 spinach in the boiling water and let it 

 boil 10 minutes, counting from the time 

 it begins to boil. When it begins to boil 

 draw the cover of the saucepan a little 

 to one side to allow the steam to escape. 

 At the end of 10 minutes pour the spin- 

 ach into a colander, and when the hot 

 water has passed off pour cold water 

 over it. Let it drain well and mince 

 coarse or fine, as is suitable for the man- 

 ner in which it is to be served. 



One peck of spinach will make about 

 one and a half pints when cooled and 

 minced. 



Spinach Witli Cream 



One-half peck spinach, two tablespoon- 

 fuls butter, one tablespoonful flour, one 

 teaspoonful salt, one-half teaspoonful pep- 

 per, one-half pint cream or milk. 



Cook and mince the spinach. Put the 

 butter in a saucepan and on the fire. 

 When hot add the flour and stir until 



