The home cook book

The same rule serves for plain okra gumbo — leaving out the crab meat. Minced halibut makes a fine substitute for crab. The fish must be used raw. OKRA GUMBO Follow the directions for "Gumbo with Crabs," omitting the crab meat. ONION CREAM SOUP Slice a dozen small white onions and fry them brown in a tablespoon of butter or drippings. Add a quart of boiling water, cover tight, and let the onions cook half an hour. Then add a pint of fresh milk or cream, salt and pepper to taste, and thicken with three tablespoons of flour worked smooth in a little cold water. Put all through a sieve. If you have used milk and not cream, add three eggs well beaten into half a cup of cream. If you use thick cream instead of milk, add merely a cup of whipped cream. Boil up once and serve hot with bread sticks or with toast. OXTAIL SOUP Separate the tail at the joints and soak in cold water an hour. In three tablespoons of butter or drippings fry three small sliced onions. When the onions are brown drop in the beef pieces, first rolling them lightly in flour. When the meat fries brown add two quarts of cold water, cover tight, set over a slow fire, or on the back of the stove and cook slowly four hours. An hour before serving skim off the fat, add the seasoning your taste directs, whether of mixed herbs in a bouquet, or merely salt, and simmer, tightly covered, till needed. Serve with bread sticks or with sippets. OYSTER BOUILLON Drain from their own liquor and chop fine two dozen large oysters. Put them to heat slowly in a double-boiler. When they have become hot put through a sieve and press from them all their juice. The liquor you get under the sieve add to the liquor you get by first draining the oysters, :and set on the fire in an earthen saucepan. Stir in the beaten white of an egg and let come to boil. Then strain through a cheesecloth bag, add salt and pepper, and the same quantity of hot creamy milk as you have oyster liquor. Serve hot with croutons or bread fingers. OYSTER GUMBO Have a deep soup pot very hot. Put in a large tablespoon of beef drippings and two tablespoons of flour. Stir constantly until brown. Add one large minced onion, a good pinch of thyme, and one good-sized minced sweet pepper without its seed. When these become quite brown add two tablespoons of canned tomatoes. Stir continually till the whole is well cooked, adding a little tomato- juice to keep from burning. Add one quart of juice from which you have drained the oysters that go with the juice. Also one clove of minced garlic, one teaspoon of minced parsley, salt to taste, and a dash of cayenne pepper. Allow the soup to boil five minutes. Add the drained oysters, letting them boil three minutes. Last of all, while the soup boils add a teaspoon of file powder, stirring thoroughly. Remove at once from the fire, and serve with hot boiled rice, a tablespoon to each soup plate, and the soup poured over the rice. OYSTER STEW