COTTAGE SOUP.--Fry two onions, a carrot and a turnip, and a small head of celery cut up into small pieces, in a frying-pan, with a little butter, till they are lightly browned. Then put them in a saucepan, with about two
quarts of water and a tablespoonful of mixed savory herbs. Let this boil
till the vegetables are quite tender, and then thicken the soup with two
ounces of oatmeal or prepared barley. This must be mixed with cold water
and made quite smooth before it is added to the soup. Wash a quarter of a
pound of rice, and boil this in the soup, and when the rice is quite tender
the soup can be served. Some persons add a little sugar, and dried
powdered mint can be handed round with the soup, like pea soup.


CLEAR SOUP.--Make a very strong stock by cutting up onion, celery, carrot, and a little turnip, and boiling them in some water. They should boil for
two or three hours. Add also a teaspoonful of mixed savory herbs to every
quart, and color the stock with a few drops of Parisian essence. Strain
it off, and, if it is not bright, clear it with some white of egg in the
ordinary way. Take only sufficient corn-flour to make the soup less thin
or watery, but do not make it thick. A tablespoonful of mushroom ketchup
can be added to every quart.


COCONUT SOUP.--Break open a good-sized cocoanut and grate sufficient of the white part till it weighs half a pound. Boil this in some stock, and after it has boiled for about an hour strain it off. Only a small quantity
of stock must be used, and the cocoanut should be pressed and squeezed, so
as to extract all the goodness. Add a little pepper and salt, and about half a grated nutmeg. Next boil separately three pints of milk, and add this to the strained soup. Thicken the soup with some ground rice, and serve. Of course, a little cream would be a great improvement. Serve with toasted or fried bread.


ENDIVE SOUP, OR PUREE.--Take half a dozen endives that are white in the centre, and wash them very thoroughly in salt and water, as they are apt to
contain insects. Next throw. them into boiling water, and let them boil for a quarter of an hour. Then take them out and throw them into cold water. Next take them out of the cold water and squeeze them in a cloth so as to extract all the moisture. Then cut off the root of each endive, chop up all the white leaves, and place them in a stew-pan with about two ounces of butter. Add half a grated nutmeg, a brimming teaspoonful of powdered white sugar, and a little pepper and salt. Stir them over the fire with a wooden spoon, and take care they don't burn or turn color. Next add sufficient milk to moisten them, and let them simmer gently till they are tender; then rub the whole through a wire sieve, add a little piece of butter, and serve with fried or toasted bread.


FRUIT SOUP.--Fruit soup can be made from rhubarb, vegetable marrow,
cucumber, gourd, or pumpkin. They may be all mixed with a little cream,
milk, or butter, and form a nice dish that is both healthful and delicate.