Winter Brings Cream Soups

From the October 1932 issue of The Royal Neighbor, on Milady’s Own Page, a reminder that “oysters are not the only food which comes into its own with the ‘R’ months,” cream soups made with milk, butter, and often a cooked and stewed vegetable are welcome when wintry arrives.

Along with recipes for six different cream soups (Cream of Cauliflower Soup, Duchess Soup, Cream of Spinach Soup, Chicken Cream Soup with Noodles, Cream of Crab Soup, and Bean Consomme; click the image to get a large legible scan with all the recipes), the vintage magazine has additional tips on cream soups.

The vegetables most suitable for cream soup bases are spinach, celery, mushrooms, cauliflower, peas, carrots, potatoes and navy beans.

There are two methods for proportioning cream soups:

One method calls for three cups of thin white sauce to each cup of cooked, mashed or stewed vegetables, plus seasoning to own liking.
Thin cream soups require one cup of thin white to each cup or meat or vegetable stock and one-half cup of mashed or sieved vegetable.

Just in case you aren’t familiar with how to make a thin white sauce, here’s the recipe suggested for you, Milady: melt one tablespoon of butter in a sauce pan, blend in one tablespoon of flour, gradually stir in one cup cold milk. Stir constantly until smooth and slightly thickened.
On garnishing:

If the vegetable or meat which forms the basis of the soup fails to add color, chopped parsley adds interest to the dish as does a sparse sprinkling of paprika on top of each serving. Grated cheese or a bit of melted butter added to each bowl of soup contributes flavor, attractiveness and food value.

Now go forth and warm and nourish your family and friends with delicious cream soup!