Cream of Cucumber Soup

1972 Wisconsin Gas Company Festive Foods Cookbook, p. 27

3 large cucumbers

2 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons flour

3 cups chicken broth

¼ to ½ teaspoon salt

1/8 to ¼ teaspoon white pepper

1 cup milk

¼ cup chopped onion

½ cup cream

2 egg yolks, slightly beaten

I used six little cucumbers instead of three big ones. Crazy substitution, I know.

Peel cucumbers and cut in half lengthwise; remove seeds; chop pulp and drain. Set dial of Burner-with-a-Brain at about 250F. Melt butter in a 3-quart saucepan; add cucumbers and cook 10 minutes. Stir in flour. 

I'm not sure what the point of this part is. You get breaded cucumbers out of it. And then later you destroy them.

Gradually add chicken broth and seasonings; set aside. Reset dial at about 210F. Combine milk and onion and cook 2 to 4 minutes. Combine mixtures and rub through a sieve or blend in a blender.

Suddenly, it looks encouragingly like soup.

THIS TIME I LET IT COOL FIRST. I was not about to relive the ordeal of Peanut Soup!

Bring mixture to a boil. Gradually add 1 cup of mixture to cream and then to egg yolks. 

Remember that episode of The Golden Girls where Blanche is really exhausted and she finds a bag of egg yolks?

Combine mixtures. Heat but do not boil. 

Served with a pretzel roll from Trader Joe's. (Which, for the record, was delicious in its own right.)

My Rating: 3/5 "It's pleasant. You'll give yourself props for eating it. Is it the most flavorful thing in the world? No. But sometimes you just feel like walking around and being all, like 'I ate cucumber soup today.'"