Old-timer's Version of Some Fancy White Soup

Soup is pretty cheap and easy to make right from the can, but if you want some homemade soup and you don't want to use a lot to make it... you can try this. I did the best I could because honestly I can't remember the exact amounts of spooning this or that. 

Ok, I will tell you right off this is more trouble than it’s worth, but times are getting tough, money is tight and most of us can still get some milk, onions and a lemon for pretty cheap. So I am going to tell you how to make some soup. If anyone complains you can tell them they can cook the next night, and at least you didn’t give them a boiled leather shoe. If you do any holiday cooking you will probably have some cloves from that ham you made, and some nutmeg from the eggnog up in the cabinet with the spices.

If you don't want to use two pots, just keep stirring and stirring......

Now here we go: pour some water in a big pot and then put a smaller pot into the water (or if you have a double broiler like you use to make candy at Christmas you can use that), put 6 cups of milk in the small pot that’s sitting in the bigger pot of water; unpeeled two onions (if you put a slice of bread in your mouth or a closepin on your nose the onion wont make you cry cuz the onion smelling is what causes your eyes to water) and push four cloves  into them onions like coal buttons on a snowman, drop those decorated onions into the milk, shake a little nutmeg in.

Ok, we ain’t done yet, get your sharpest little knife out and rub it down a real lemon (not that plastic fruit you’ve had on the table for years in a bowl), as I was tellin ya rub your knife a few times down  that real lemon making very, very thin strips (you want yellow only, no white) or you can use a peeler/grater/zesters if you got one, throw those pieces of lemon skin into the milk. Drop six peppercorns in the pot, too.

After all that, turn on the turner and bring that mixture of stuff to a bubbling boil but you betta watch it real, real close because you know milk has a habit of liking to stick to the bottom and sides of the pan (that’s why you have your pot sitting in a pot of water to help it not curl up, turn all brownish, or clump up on the bottom and sides of the pot). After it boils, stir it a little (or a lot) and tilt the pan to the side and turn the burner down real low letting it simmer for 30 minutes. (Don’t ask me why you want to get it to go to one side of the pot, it is what the recipe says you are suppose to do. Now don’t forget to watch that pot and stir every so now and then so it don’t go sticking again.)

After thirty minutes (I know that is a long time to watch a pot), use a spoon with holes in it (or a slotted spoon or a little fine strainer) to tryin get all that stuff out that you just worked so hard to put in the milk before you boiled it. Toss away any stuff your able to scoop out in the trash (or add it to your compost). Find some of the bread left over from breakfast or lunch that has gotten stale, and somehow try to crumble it up so it looks like you grated it (the more stale the bread is the finer it will crumble), drop the bread crumbs into the milky soup, toss a dab of butter in the pot too or more if you like butter (I like more butter).

When it cooks a bit, taste it and see if you want to add salt, pepper or something else. (Cheese is always good to add!) Enjoy!

Comments are highly welcome! Let me know if you have a variation or another ingredient to add. Also if you know why you tilt the pot, let me know.


On a cold night, a bowl of homemade soup is always welcome.