BARLEY SOUP.—­Take two tablespoonfuls of pearl barley and wash it in several waters till the water ceases to be discoloured.  Put this in a saucepan with about two quarts of water, two onions sliced up, a few potatoes sliced very thin, and about a saltspoonful of thyme.  Let the whole boil gently for four or five hours, till the barley is quite soft and eatable.  Thicken the soup very slightly with a little white roux, season it with pepper and salt.  Before serving the soup, add a tablespoonful of chopped blanched parsley.

N.B.—­When chopped parsley is added to any soup or sauce, such as parsley and butter, it is very important that the parsley be blanched.  To blanch parsley means to throw it for a few seconds into boiling water.  By this means a dull green becomes a bright green.  The best method to blanch parsley is to place it in a strainer and dip the strainer for a few seconds in a saucepan of boiling water.  By comparing the colour of the parsley that has been so treated with some that has not been blanched, cooks will at once see the importance of the operation so far as appearances are concerned.

BEETROOT SOUP.—­This soup is better adapted to the German palate than the English, as it contains both vinegar and sugar, which are very characteristic of German cookery.  Take two large beetroots and two good-sized onions, and after peeling the beetroots boil them and mince them finely, adding them, of course, to the water in which they were boiled, or still better, they can be boiled in some sort of stock.  Add a very small quantity of corn-flour, to give a slight consistency to the soup, as well as a little pinch of thyme.  Next add two tablespoonfuls of vinegar—­more or less according to taste—­a spoonful of brown sugar, and a little pepper and salt.

BEAN SOUP, OR PUREE OF RED HARICOT BEANS.—­Put a quart of red haricot beans into soak overnight, and put a little piece of soda in the water to soften it.  The next morning put the beans on to boil in three quarts of water, with some carrot, celery and onion, or the beans can be boiled in some stock made from these vegetables.  After the beans are tender, pound them in a mortar, and then rub the whole through a wire sieve, after first removing the carrot, celery and onion.  Add a teaspoonful of pounded sugar and about two ounces of butter.  Fried or toasted bread should be served with the soup.  If the soup is liked thin, of course more water can be added.

BEAN SOUP, OR PUREE OF WHITE HARICOT BEANS.—­Proceed exactly as in the above recipe, only substituting white haricot beans for red.  It is a great improvement to add a little boiling cream, but of course this makes the soup much more expensive.  Some cooks add a spoonful of blanched, chopped parsley to this puree, and Frenchmen generally flavour this soup with garlic.