Tomato Cream Soup

Peel and slice one quart of fresh, ripe tomatoes, pick carefully over one-half
breakfast cupful of rice, and wash it well in cold water; rub two tablespoonfuls of
butter to a smooth paste with one tablespoonful of flour; put the tomatoes over the
fire in a soup kettle, with one quart of cold water, and let them heat gradually.
When they are thoroughly heated add one more quart of cold water, and when this
boils, put in the rice, one saltspoonful of pepper, and two teaspoonfuls of salt, and
continue the boiling until the rice is tender, but not broken; then stir in the paste of
flour and butter, one saltspoonful of bicarbonate of soda, and one pint of milk, or
sufficient to make the soup as thick as cream. Allow the soup to boil for a few
minutes to thoroughly cook the flour, and then serve without delay in a tureen.