Camp cookery (Kephart)

Nessmuk continues: "Have ready a three-tined fork made from a branch of birch or beech, and with this test the meat from time to time; when it parts readily from the bones, slice in a large onion. Pare six large, smooth potatoes, cut five of them into quarters, and drop them into the kettle; scrape the sixth one into the soup for thickening. Season with salt and white pepper to taste. When, by skirmishing with the wooden fork, you can fish up bones with no meat on them, the soup is cooked, and the kettle may be set aside to cool." Any kind of game may be used in a similar way, provided that none but lean meat be used. Soup is improved by first soaking the chopped-up meat in cold water, and using this water to boil in thereafter. Soup should be skimmed for some time after it has started simmering, to remove grease and scum. To any one who knows petite marmite or pot-au-feu, these simple directions will seem barbarous — and so they are; but barbarism has its compensations. A really first-class soup cannot be made without a full day's previous preparation and the resources of a city grocery. Mulligatawny, for example, requires thirty-two varieties of spices and other condiments. No start can be made with any standard soup until one has a supply of "stock" made of veal or beef, mutton or poultry, by long simmering and skimming and straining. In camp, stock can be made expeditiously by cutting one or two pounds of venison into thin slices, then into dice, cover with cold water, boil gently twenty minutes, take from the fire, skim, and strain. A tolerable substitute is Liebig's beef extract dissolved in water. Onion, cloves, mace, celery seed, salt, and red or white pepper, are used for seasoning. Sassafras leaves, dried before the fire and powdered, make the gumbo file of the Creoles. Recipes for, a few simple, nourishing soups, are given below: Squirrel Soup. — Put the squirrels (not less than three) in a gallon of cold water, with a scant tablespoonful of salt. Cover the pot closely, bring to the bubbling point, and then simmer gently until the meat begins to be tender. Then add whatever vegetables you have. When the meat has boiled to a rag, remove the bones. Thicken the soup with a piece of butter rubbed to a smooth paste in flour. Season to taste. Croutons for Soup. — Slice some stale bread half an inch thick, remove crust, and cut bread into half-inch dice. Fry these, a few at a time, in deep fat of the "blue smoke" temperature, until they are golden brown. Drain free from grease, and add to each plate of soup when serving. (See also page 114.) Tomato Soup, — Take a quart can of tomatoes and a sliced onion. Stew twenty minutes. Meantime boil a quart of milk. Rub to a paste two tablespoonfuls each of flour and butter, and add to the boiling milk, stirring until it thickens. Now season the tomatoes with a teaspoonful of sugar, a little salt, and pepper. Then stir into the tomatoes one-half teaspoonful baking soda (to keep milk from curdling), add the boiling milk, stir quickly, and serve.