YOU CAN MAKE MEATLESS SOUPS AT PRACTICALLY NO COST

Heavy, meaty, high caloric main dishes gobble up more than 35 cents of the average American food dollar. I think that's too much to spend, especially on meals that are bigger and harder to digest than they ought to be.

For that reason, I've worked to develop lighter, less expensive but still nutritious-preparations for the meals I fix. And my favorite creations of all are soups made from nothing taut fresh vegetables, clear water, and spices. Such comestibles are filling, warming, healthful, and inexpensive. Plus-if, like many MOTHER people, you grow your own vegetables-these soups will cost you almost nothing!

Please remember, of course, that the following recipes are simply guidelines. Change them freely to suit your tastes and/or the ingredients you have on hand. Your only limitation in the gentle art of soupery is your imagination.

Experiment, have fun, enjoy. Above all else, enjoy. Pour yourself a glass of wine, tea, juice, or whatever turns you on, and have at it!

HOMESTEAD VEGETABLE SOUP

1 sweet potato
1 carrot
1 turnip parsnip
1 white potato
1 onion
1 tablespoon of butter
2 tablespoons of rice
2 quarts of cold water
1 bay leaf
1 sprig of parsley
1 root of celery
1 teaspoon of salt

Dice all the vegetables. Then melt the butter in a skillet, add all the vegetables-except for the white potato-and fry until the pieces are lightly browned. Dump the chunks into a soup kettle and add the rice, water, herbs, and celery. Boil the mixture 1-1/2 hours, add the white potato, and continue the boil for another 15 minutes. Season to your family's taste and serve.

SPEEDY SPUD SOUP

Potatoes (enough to fill a large pot) Water to cover 1 quart of milk Salt and pepper to taste 2 tablespoons of flour 1 tablespoon of butter Peel the potatoes-make sure they're sound!-and cut them into pieces small enough to be eaten with a spoon. Rinse or soak the spuds well in cold water, then cover with water and boil. Next, add the quart of milk and season the broth to taste. When the 'taters are cooked, fry 2 tablespoons of flour and 1 tablespoon of butter in a pan, stir the combination until it turns brown, and then blend the mixture into the potato stock. Serve promptly. This soup may be seasoned with celery or parsley, too, if you desire. To make it still more delectable, beat up 1 or 2 eggs in a cup of cold milk, stir it into the soup, and serve.

RED BEAN SOUP

2-1 /2 cups of red kidney beans
1 celery stalk
1 slice of onion
1 carrot
4 cups of water Salt, paprika, and pepper to taste Croutons, optional Boil the beans, celery, onion, and carrot in the water until they're nice and tender. (Toss in a ham bone or some bacon, if you like, for the added flavor.) Then, add your seasonings, strain, and serve with croutons. Yield: 6 servings.

CREAMED CELERY SOUP

1 bunch of celery, cut into fine pieces
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 slice of onion
5 cups of water
2 cups of your favorite white sauce

Combine the celery, salt, onion, and water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until the celery is very tender. Strain and reserve two cups of the mixture for stock. Next, force the celery through a sieve into the stock. Fold in the hot white sauce. Stir the thickened soup well and serve. Yield: 4 servings.

GOOD 'N GARLICKY SOUP

6 or 7 crushed garlic cloves
6 tablespoons of oil
6 pinch of red pepper
6 slices of white bread, cubed
6 cups of water
1 teaspoon of salt
4 beaten eggs
2 tablespoons of chopped parsley
Grated raw carrot, optional

Saute the garlic in oil until it's lightly browned. Add the pepper, then remove the seasoned cloves from the pan. Now, cook the bread in the same pan until it, too, is brown. Pour in the water, salt, and garlic. Cover and let the collection simmer for 30 minutes. Then blend in the eggs and cook another 5 minutes. Finally, garnish with the parsley and carrot. Yield: 6 servings.

GARDEN SOUP

Here's a real good way to use up mushroom skins and ends. Mix them with chopped onion, celery pieces and leaves, sliced or diced carrots, and chopped parsley. Cover this salad with cold water and simmer for about 35 minutes. Strain the stock and season it with salt and pepper.

LOVE APPLE (better known as tomato) SOUP

1 quart of tomatoes
1 quart of water
1 teaspoon of soda
1 quart of milk

Salt, butter, and pepper to taste Crackers Stew the tomatoes in water until they're soft. Then drop in the teaspoon of soda and allow the liquid to bubble. Supplement this base with boiling milk, salt, butter, and pepper to taste-plus a little rolled cracker then boil everything a few minutes and serve.PEPPY TOMATO CONSOMME

2 tomatoes, sliced into cubes
3 sliced green peppers
1 small onion, diced
2 quarts of boiling water
1 teaspoon of salt
3 or 4 whole cloves

Combine the tomatoes, peppers, and onion in a kettle. Then pour in the boiling water and add the salt and cloves. Keep the mixture at a boil for 5 minutes, then reduce the flame, cover the pot, and simmer for 2 hours. Strain the result, and serve. Yield: 6 servings.

CREAMY CORN SOUP

1 cup of cooked corn
1 cup of boiling water
1 cup of milk
1 slice of onion
1 tablespoon of butter
1 tablespoon of flour

Salt and pepper Chop the corn and mix with the water, milk, and onion in the top of a double boiler. Let the solution cook for 25 minutes. Then-when the vegetables are soft-force them through a sieve, and bind the resulting porridge with the butter and flour which have been cooked together. Salt and pepper to taste. Yield: 6 servings.

CURRIED CORPS' SOUP

Season the above potage to taste with curry powder.

CREAMED LETTUCE SOUP

1 teaspoon of chopped onion
2 tablespoons of butter
2 heads of lettuce, chopped
2 tablespoons of rice
2 cups of white stock
1/2 cup of hot cream

1 egg yolk, slightly beaten Salt, pepper, and a dash of nutmeg Saute the onion in butter for a few minutes (DON'T BROWN!). Put in the lettuce, rice, and stock, cover the mixture, and cook it until the rice is tender. At that point, fold in the hot cream, egg yolk, and desired seasonings. (NOTE: Once you've added the egg yolk, don't allow the soup to boil!) This recipe works best if you use only the heart of the lettuce. Save the outer leaves for salads or sandwiches.

SOUP KITCHEN SECRETS

Here are some of my personal potage practices. I'm happy to share them with you!

A handful of spinach leaves, pounded and added to a soup five minutes or so before serving will produce a fine green color. Parsley or celery leaves work, too.

An excellent gumbo for a small family can be made from the throwaway trimmings of steaks and roasts at the local butcher shop.

To make your own curry powder, combine 1 ounce each of pepper, ginger, and mustard 3 ounces of coriander seed and turmeric 1 to 3 ounces of cayenne and 1 to 2 ounces of cardamom, cumin seed, and cinnamon. Powder all the ingredients, sift them together, and store the mix in a tightly capped bottle. You can use it to season soups, rice, gravy, and some stews.

Parsley or celery can be dried in a slow oven. In the case of parsley, the stems can be picked out and the leaves tightly bottled for later use. The dried celery stalks and roots can be grated and also bottled. A small bunch of fresh parsley, or 2 tablespoons of dry, are all you need for 4 quarts of soup.

Rolled oatmeal is almost as nice as rice in soup.

To make noodles: Stir in all the flour that one egg and a dash of salt will absorb. Roll out the dough as thinly as possible and let it dry. Then roll it up again, slice the dough into narrow strips, and drop them into boiling soup about 15 minutes before you expect to serve them.

To prepare croutons: Drop cubes of stale bread into about 1 inch of fat. (See MOTHER NO. 3, "Free", for information on getting old bread for nothing!) When they've browned, remove the bits of bread and drain them on absorbent paper. Float the croutons in soup just before you serve it. You can also place thin slices of fresh bread well buttered and cubed-in a baking par:, buttered side up. and bake them briefly in the oven.