Summer Fruit Soup

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            FOOD FUNNY
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Here's a good one from our friend Anna Welander:

Grandpa was always going on about the good old days, and the
lower cost of living, in particular. "When I was a kid, my mom
could send me to the store, and I'd get a salami, two pints of
milk, 6 oranges, 2 loaves of bread, and a magazine, some new
blue jeans, all for a dollar! Then Grandpa said sadly, "You can't
do that anymore because they got those darn video cameras
everywhere."

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            TODAY'S RECIPE
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The most important ingredient of this soup is the ripeness of the
fruit. Use only perfectly ripe fruit, and substitute any fruits that
are less than perfect.

Summer Fruit Soup

6 cups (1.5 L) any combination of fresh fruits such as
plums, peaches, nectarines, pears, cherries, or berries,
pitted as necessary
4 cups (1 L) water
1 cup (250 ml) red or white wine, or additional water
1/2 cup (125 ml) sugar
1 cinnamon stick
1/2 tsp (2 ml) vanilla extract
1 Tbs (15 ml) cornstarch (cornflour) mixed with
2 Tbs (30 ml) cold water
Fresh mint leaves for garnish

Combine the fruit, water, wine, sugar, and cinnamon stick in a
pot and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat and
simmer covered for 15 minutes. Remove the cinnamon stick
and add the vanilla extract. Puree the soup in an electric blender
or food processor, or by pressing through a fine sieve. Stir in the
cornstarch mixture and heat until slightly thickened. Chill until
ready to serve, and adjust the sweetness if necessary. Serve
garnished with mint leaves. Serves 4 to 6.
Received on Tue Sep 19 08:09:54 2006