seasoning.Time.--1 hour. Average cost, 1s. 2d. per quart. Seasonable in summer.
Sufficient for 8 persons.
[Illustration: VEGETABLE MARROW.]
THE VEGETABLE MARROW.--This is a variety of the gourd family, brought from Persia by an East-India ship, and only recently introduced to Britain. It is already cultivated to a considerable extent, and, by many, is highly esteemed when fried with butter. It is, however, dressed in different ways, either by stewing or boiling, and, besides, made into pies.
VEGETABLE SOUP. I.
159. INGREDIENTS.--7 oz. of carrot, 10 oz. of parsnip, 10 oz. of potato, cut into thin slices; 1-1/4 oz. of butter, 5 teaspoonfuls
of flour, a teaspoonful of made mustard, salt and pepper to taste, the yolks of 2 eggs, rather more than 2 quarts of water.
Mode.--Boil the vegetables in the water 2-1/2 hours; stir them often, and if the water boils away too quickly, add more, as there should be 2 quarts of soup when done. Mix up in a basin the butter and flour, mustard, salt, and pepper, with a teacupful of cold water; stir in the soup, and boil 10 minutes. Have ready the yolks of the eggs in the tureen; pour on, stir well, and serve.
Time.--3 hours. Average cost, 4d. per quart. Seasonable in winter.
Sufficient for 8 persons.
II.
160. INGREDIENTS.--Equal quantities of onions, carrots, turnips; 1/4 lb. of butter, a crust of toasted bread, 1 head of celery, a faggot of herbs, salt and pepper to taste, 1 teaspoonful of powdered sugar, 2 quarts of common stock or boiling water. Allow 3/4 lb. of vegetables to 2 quarts of stock, No. 105.
Mode.--Cut up the onions, carrots, and turnips; wash and drain them well, and put them in the stewpan with the butter and powdered sugar. Toss the whole over a sharp fire for 10 minutes, but do not let them brown, or you will spoil the flavour of the soup. When done, pour the stock or boiling water on them; add the bread, celery, herbs, and seasoning; stew for 3 hours; skim well and strain it off. When ready to serve, add a little sliced carrot, celery, and turnip, and flavour with a spoonful of Harvey's sauce, or a little ketchup.
Time.--3-1/2 hours. Average cost,6d. per quart. Seasonable all the year. Sufficient for 8 persons. III.
(Good and Cheap, made without Meat.)
161. INGREDIENTS.--6 potatoes, 4 turnips, or 2 if very large; 2 carrots, 2 onions; if obtainable, 2 mushrooms; 1 head of celery, 1 large slice of bread, 1 small saltspoonful of salt, 1/4 saltspoonful of ground black pepper, 2 teaspoonfuls of Harvey's sauce, 6 quarts of water.
Mode.--Peel the vegetables, and cut them up into small pieces; toast the bread rather brown, and put all into a stewpan with the wa-ter and seasoning. Simmer gently for 3 hours, or until all is reduced to a pulp, and pass it through a sieve in the same way as pea-soup,
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which it should resemble in consistence; but it should be a dark brown colour. Warm it up again when required; put in the Harvey's
sauce, and, if necessary, add to the flavouring.
Time.--3 hours, or rather more. Average cost,1d. per quart.
Seasonable at any time. Sufficient for 16 persons.
Note.--This recipe was forwarded to the Editress by a lady in the county of Durham, by whom it was strongly recommended. VERMICELLI SOUP.
I.
162. INGREDIENTS.--1-1/2 lb. of bacon, stuck with cloves; 1/2 oz. of butter, worked up in flour; 1 small fowl, trussed for boiling; 2 oz. of vermicelli, 2 quarts of white stock, No. 107.
Mode.--Put the stock, bacon, butter, and fowl into the stewpan, and stew for 3/4 of an hour. Take the vermicelli, add it to a little
of the stock, and set it on the fire, till it is quite tender. When the soup is ready, take out the fowl and bacon, and put the bacon on a
dish. Skim the soup as clean as possible; pour it, with the vermicelli, over the fowl. Cut some bread thin, put in the soup, and serve. Time.--2 hours. Average cost, exclusive of the fowl and bacon, 10d. per quart.
Seasonable in winter. Sufficient for 4 persons. [Illustration: VERMICELLI.]
VERMICELLI.--This is a preparation of Italian origin, and is made in the same way as macaroni, only the yolks of eggs, sugar, saffron, and cheese, are added to the paste.
II.
163. INGREDIENTS.--1/4 lb. of vermicelli, 2 quarts of clear gravy stock, No. 169.
Mode.--Put the vermicelli in the soup, boiling; simmer very gently for 1/2 an hour, and stir frequently. Time--1/2 an hour. Average cost, 1s. 3d. per quart.
Seasonable all the year. Sufficient for 8 persons. WHITE SOUP.
164. INGREDIENTS.--1/4 lb. of sweet almonds, 1/4 lb. of cold veal or poultry, a thick slice of stale bread, a piece of fresh lemon-peel, 1 blade of mace, pounded, 3/4 pint of cream, the yolks of 2 hard-boiled eggs, 2 quarts of white stock, No. 107.
Mode.--Reduce the almonds in a mortar to a paste, with a spoonful of water, and add to them the meat, which should be previously pounded with the bread. Beat all together, and add the lemon-peel, very finely chopped, and the mace. Pour the boiling stock on the whole, and simmer for an hour. Rub the eggs in the cream, put in the soup, bring it to a boil, and serve immediately.
Time.--1-1/2 hour. Average cost, 1s. 6d. per quart. Seasonable all the year.
Sufficient for 8 persons.
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Note.--A more economical white soup may be made by using common veal stock, and thickening with rice, flour, and milk. Vermicelli should be served with it.
Average cost, 5d. per quart.
USEFUL SOUP FOR BENEVOLENT PURPOSES.
165. INGREDIENTS.--An ox-cheek, any pieces of trimmings of beef, which may be bought very cheaply (say 4 lbs.), a few bones, any pot-liquor the larder may furnish, 1/4 peck of onions, 6 leeks, a large bunch of herbs, 1/2 lb. of celery (the outside pieces, or green tops, do very well); 1/2 lb. of carrots, 1/2 lb. of turnips, 1/2 lb. of coarse brown sugar, 1/2 a pint of beer, 4 lbs. of common rice, or pearl barley; 1/2 lb. of salt, 1 oz. of black pepper, a few raspings, 10 gallons of water.
Mode.--Cut up the meat in small pieces, break the bones, put them in a copper, with the 10 gallons of water, and stew for 1/2 an hour. Cut up the vegetables, put them in with the sugar and beer, and boil for 4 hours. Two hours before the soup is wanted, add the rice and raspings, and keep stirring till it is well mixed in the soup, which simmer gently. If the liquor reduces too much, fill up with water.
Time.--6-1/2 hours. Average cost, 1-1/2d. per quart.
Note.--The above recipe was used in the winter of 1858 by the Editress, who made, each week, in her copper, 8 or 9 gallons of this soup, for distribution amongst about a dozen families of the village near which she lives. The cost, as will be seen, was not great; but she has reason to believe that the soup was very much liked, and gave to the members of those families, a dish of warm, comforting food, in place of the cold meat and piece of bread which form, with too many cottagers, their usual meal, when, with a little more knowledge of the "cooking."
