Cherry Soup

Cherry Soup 

I had been wondering recently how I could even out my progress through the different recipe sections in The Soup Book. It had also occurred to me that I hadn't made a fruit soup for a while (there are only six recipes for fruit soups in the book). Today, serendipitously, a solution presented itself, literally on my doorstep. A friend, "Bella", called around for coffee bearing a punnet of morello cherries! I remembered that there is a cherry soup recipe in The Soup Book and hence today's blog entry. In his introductory note, Shaun Hill states: "This Hungarian soup is meant to taste fresh rather than sweet." The ingredients are morello cherries (fresh or canned), white wine, water, sugar, lemon and soured cream. I simmered the cherry stones and stalks in the wine and water, strained out the debris, and then heated the fruit, sugar and lemon in the cherry stock. The final addition was the soured cream and now the soup is being chilled. It's an intriguing shade of pink and the taste is - to use the spouse's word - complex. The sharpness of the lemon, the slightly dry wine and the soured cream are competing with the sweetness of the sugar and cherries. The spouse is heading away this afternoon so it will be up to the two offspring and myself to work our way through this pudding-style soup.

Cherry soup. The older offspring suggested using a spoon to lift the cherries for the photograph.

Travels of a Soup Book

Earlier this week I brought the frozen remains of the curried broth with peppers (see blog of 2nd June 2011) into work for my lunch. A colleague who is also interested in cooking ("Mrs M") savoured the aroma of the broth as it heated up. I told her about The Soup Book and brought it in for her to have a look. So my book was back where our relationship began in November 2009. But not for long. Mrs M noted the recipes she wants to try out and then I brought my book home again. 

Bee is for Baking

This morning, in anticipation of Bella's visit, I baked walnut and honey cookies using a recipe in Collins Beekeeper's Bible. They were absolutely gorgeous but won't last long if the older offspring has his way. I brought one down to "Young Stephen" when I went to buy a lemon for the cherry soup. I told him I was making cherry soup. His lips curled slightly, then he shared the details of events that put him off cherries. And he a greengrocer!


Two days ago I received a notice from the County Dublin Beekeepers' Association about the forthcoming Gormanston Summer School which is hosted by the Federation of Irish Beekeepers' Associations. The summer school runs from Sunday 24th to Friday 29th July. Philip McCabe is one of the guest lecturers. 

People who know I am working my way through The Soup Book sometimes ask me if I have a particular method for selecting the recipes. I think anyone who has followed my blog will realise that I don't. I'm usually methodical but sometimes I like to let the right side of my brain off the leash. That's it for today.