Simple but excellent.  One large can of tomatoes and one pint of water brought to the boiling-point, and rubbed through a sieve.  Return to the fire.  Add half a teaspoonful of soda, and stir till it stops foaming.  Season with one even tablespoonful of salt, two of sugar, one saltspoonful of cayenne.  Thicken with two heaping tablespoonfuls of flour, and one of butter rubbed to a cream, with hot soup added till it pours easily.  Boil a pint of milk separately, and, when ready to use, pour into the boiling tomato, and serve at once, as standing long makes the milk liable to curdle.

OYSTER SOUP.

Two quarts of perfectly fresh oysters.  Strain off the juice, and add an equal amount of water, or, if they are solid, add one pint of water, and then strain and boil.  Skim carefully.  Add to one quart of milk one tablespoonful of salt, and half a teaspoonful of pepper, and, if thickening is liked, use same proportions as in hasty tomato soup, and set to boil.  When the milk boils, put in the oysters.  The moment the edges curl a little, which will be when they have boiled one minute, they are done, and should be served at once.  Longer boiling toughens and spoils them.  This rule may be used also for stewed oysters, omitting the thickening; or they may be put simply into the boiling juice, with the same proportions of butter, salt, and pepper, and cooked the same length of time.

CLAM SOUP.

Fifty clams (hard or soft), boiled in a quart of water one hour.  Take out, and chop fine.  Add one quart of milk, half a teaspoonful of pepper, and one teaspoonful of salt.  It will be necessary to taste, however, as some clams are salter than others.  Rub one tablespoonful of butter to a cream with two of flour, and use as thickening.  Add the chopped clams, and boil five minutes.  If the clams are disliked, simply strain through a sieve, or cut off the hard part and use the soft only.

PUREE, OF FISH, VEGETABLES, ETC.

One pound of fresh boiled salmon, or one small can of the sealed.

Pick out all bone and skin, and, if the canned is used, pour off every drop of oil.  Shred it as fine as possible.  Boil one quart of milk, seasoning with one teaspoonful of salt, and one saltspoonful each of mace and white pepper, increasing the amount slightly if more is liked.  Thicken with two tablespoonfuls of flour, and one of butter rubbed to a cream, with a cup of boiling water; add thickening and salmon, and boil two minutes.  Strain into the tureen through a puree sieve, rubbing as much as possible of the salmon through with a potato-masher, and serve very hot.  All that will not go through can be mixed with an equal amount of cracker-crumbs or mashed potato, made into small cakes or rolls, and fried in a little butter for breakfast, or treated as croquettes, and served at dinner.