Lucille's

MORE SOUP PLEASE

 Well, it's another blistery day on the coast and I am looking for a way to cool off.

Hmmmmm!.......Aha!! Soup!....that will do it. 

Huh? Soup you say? Oh, did I forget to mention I meant chilled soup? Yep, that's right....tis the season. Right now I have some lovely, sweet local strawberries just dying to sacrifice themselves for my pleasure. (But if you have last year's lonely ones languishing in your freezer you can put them out of their misery as well). Chilled soup may not have ever been in your repetoire, but you must be brave and trust me on this one. (say you do)

Starting dinner with cold soup is like having dessert before dinner. (I have you now, don't  I?)You do know that this was the biggest single regret of the ladies who went down with the Titanic.......not having dessert first, don't you?

I have been making strawberry soup for about 40 years (not continuously) and the recipe had me cooking the berries with orange juice and arrowroot and sugar then mixing in buttermilk and chilling overnight.

These days however I've learned to simply puree my halved fresh or slightly thawed berries with a bit of honey or sugar, some orange or lemon juice, a bit of mint or cinnamon or even basil, and yogurt or sour cream and then chill for a couple of hours or pop in the freezer for a bit if I'm late making dinner.

There are a  lot of recipes on the web you can follow, but essentially you need an equal amount of berries and yogurt or sour cream, and then add the rest at your whim. (I know you hate me for not being exact but I have broad shoulders.....slightly pudgy.) Throw in what you like or have on hand (tasting as you throw)

To give you an example, I made soup for 2  today using what was in my fridge: 1 and 1/2 cups strawberries, the juice of a lime, some lemon zest, a bit of cinnamon, 1 and 1/2 cups of key lime yogurt and 1 Tbs. honey.It turned out way delish. I garnished with a bit of yogurt, some zest and a mint leaf and served it in these sweet flower bowls

You might also serve it in a crystal sherbet glass, or perhaps a thrift store margarita glass like this one.(you could dip the rim in lemon juice and then sugar for a pretty presentation....use your imagination!)

This soup would be lovely as a starter at your dinner party, or served in teacups at a ladies' luncheon.

If you have leftovers and haven't gotten out of bed in the middle of the night to lick the bowl, put the rest into popsicle molds for another treat tomorrow. If you are feeling generous you may share these with the children or grandchildren.(or not, depending)

Please experiment with other fruits, like blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, plums, peaches. Just change up the extras; for example, use a bit of almond extract or nutmeg with peaches.

 You can do this!!! Happy chillin!