Soup

I'll be making some beef stew today, to serve later on in the week. Today I have time and besides, it's one of those dishes that taste better the next day. I don't need a recipe, but for curiosity's sake, since it was sitting next to the computer from yesterday. I thought I'd see what the Household Searchlight Recipe Book, 1936, had to offer in the way of soups.

Cream of Corn
1 cup corn
2 cups milk, scalded
3 T melted butter
salt and pepper
1 cup boiling water
3 T flour
1/2 T minced onion
1 T chopped celery leaves
Brown onion and celery leaves in butter. Add flour. Mix until smooth. Add milk slowly, stirring constantly. Add water. Cook over hot water until thick and smooth. Add corn. Season to taste. Heat thoroughly. If desired, celery salt may be used for chopped celery leaves.

While I do enjoy corn soup, it was this variation that caught my eye:

Pea and Peanut Soup
Substitute one cup pea puree or sieved peas for corn, prepare as cream of corn soup. Add 1/2 t finely ground peanuts to each serving.

That seems worth a try, especially when I can find fresh peas. Growing my own is difficult, given that rabbits have eaten the plants that last few years I tried. I will leave the next one up to other people. My kids love salmon but I can't stand it. I cook it anyway, even though it stinks up the house. I have a special pan reserved just for salmon after the incident in which I cooked pastry on a pan that had previously had salmon on it, not knowing that the oils would so stubbornly penetrate the pan, and served up fishy puff pastry to my guests. Salmon is so oily I can't imagine it needs the extra butter in this soup--or that it would not benefit from some kind of thickening.

Salmon Soup
4 cups milk
2 cups shredded salmon
2 T butter
salt and pepper
Combine salmon, butter, and milk. Season to taste. Heat thoroughly. Stir until well-blended. Serve at once.


Here's two more that are unusual for inclusion in the 'soup' category:

Jellied Fruit Soup
1 cup orange juie
1 cup pineapple juice
1 package sweetened lemon flavored gelatin
Heat juices to boiling. Add gelatin. Stir until dissolved. Pour into a shallow oblong mold. Chill until firm. Cut into cubes. Serve in bouillon cups with crisp crackers.

Chow Mein
1 lb diced lean pork, veal, or chicken
2 cups diced celery
1 t salt
2 T corn starch
2 cups chow mein noodles
2 cups water or meat stock
1/2 cup diced onions
2 cups canned bean sprouts
2 T soy sauce
Fry meat 5 minutes in fat. Add water or stock. Cover. Simmer until tender. Add celery and onion. Simmer ten minutes. Moisten corn starch in a little water. Add to first mixture. Add bean sprouts and soy sauce. Season to taste. Heat thoroughly. Serve over noodles.