The hearthstone; or, Life at home

Carrot Soup. — Use four quarts of liquor in which a leg of mutton or beef has been boiled, a few beef-bones, six large carrots, two large onions, one turnip; seasoning of salt and pepper to taste; cayenne. Put the liquor, bones, onions, turnip, pepper and salt, into a stewpan, and simmer for three hours. Scrape and cut the carrots thin, strain the soup on them, and stew them till soft enough to pulp through a hair-sieve or coarse cloth ; then boil the pulp with the soup, which should be of the consistency of pea soup. Add cayenne. Pulp only the red part of the carrot, and make this soup the day before it is wanted. Time, four hours and a half. This quantity is sufficient for ten persons. Queen Victoria's Favorite Soup. — The soup which Queen Victoria prefers above all others, and is known as " Potage a la Reine," is made as follows : Three fat chickens are to be drawn and washed in warm water, and then stewed down in strong veal broth and a bunch of parsley for an hour; take out the fowls and soak two French brioches or rolls in the liquor ; then the flesh of the chickens being taken off the bones, and cut up fine, discarding the skin, gristle, sinews, etc. ; now put this meat and the soaked rolls, together with the yolks of four hard-boiled eggs, into a stone mortar and pound them to a smooth paste ; replace this paste in the soup ; stir well together, and force it through a coarse sieve into a tureen ; add to this one quart of boiled cream ; make all very hot, and send to table. Beef Soup {economical). — Take the bone left from the steak, boil it two hours ; skim off the fat, add half a tablespoonful of shred gelatine, one onion, pepper, salt, parsley, summer-savory, a tablespoonful of tomato catsup, and a teacupful of washed rice ; then peel three potatoes, cut in halves, or, if very large, cut in quarters ; throw them in the soup, with crusts of bread or biscuit. If the bone is large the gelatine can be omitted ; it adds richness to the soup. This recipe is calculated to make three quarts with the vegetables. Beef Soup {Mrs. Reynolds' recipe). — To a shin-bone, put three onions, one large white turnip, a large handful of potatoes, after they are sliced; salt and pepper. Put the meat in cold water, and boil it slowly until tender; add the vegetables and boil them about one hour; then stand it away until the next day, then skim off the fat ; chop up a head of celery ; put a little brown flour in ; strain the vegetables out if you want it nice. Chop up the meat and put in if desired. Green Corn and Tomato Soup {Mrs. Pattersons recipe). — Six cars of good, sweet corn, cut off fine. One dozen tomatoes skinned and sliced. Put corn and tomatoes into the vessel for cooking, and pour in half a gallon of boiling water, and let it cook slowly for an hour. When ready to serve, add half a gallon of sweet milk (to have it very nice), and use no water but what it is cooked in. Two ounces of butter, teaspoonful of black pepper, salt to taste. As soon as it boils, now, it is ready to serve. Those who prefer to have the flavor of onion in it, can cut up a small one very fine and put it into the tureen and pour the soup over it. Irish potatoes may be substituted for corn.