CHILLED BLUEBERRY SOUP

When we were on our Mediterranean trip last summer, we fell in love with chilled soup. Maybe part of it was that it was 100 degrees all the time, and nothing about hot soup appealed to us. Or maybe it was because it was something we had never eaten back home in Minnesota.

Blueberry Soup

Yesterday morning, I decided to recreate our Mediterranean experience by making a batch of chilled blueberry soup. We had it for dinner last night, and here’s the recipe (yes, I realize it was a 28-degree November day in Alexandria, Minnesota, and all the ingredients were out of season).

Here’s how you make it:

Step 1: Change into a lavender-colored shirt.

Step 2: Mix a 16-ounce bag of frozen blueberries, 3 cups of water, ½ cup sugar or Splenda, ¼ tsp. cinnamon, ¼ tsp. nutmeg, 1/8 tsp. salt, and 2 T. lemon juice into a one-quart saucepan.

Step 3: Bring this mixture to a gentle boil (NOTE: A vigorous boil will send the blueberries plopping and exploding all over the stove—and all over your lavender shirt). Turn down the heat, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes.

Step 4: Pour ¼ of the mixture into the blender to puree. (PERSONAL NOTE: If you fill the blender too full, the thin, scalding-hot blueberry mixture will end up all over your cupboard, your walls, your lavender shirt, and anyone standing in the immediate vicinity. You will look a little like Smurfette in your mushroom house in Smurf Village.)

Step 5: After you have pureed the blueberry mixture, pour it carefully into a big bowl, cover, and chill for several hours. (NOTE: The pureed blueberry mixture has a tendency to have a backwash tidal wave reaction if poured too quickly. Blueberries will leave stains on your formica countertop, your porcelain sink, and your lavender shirt if not scoured immediately.)

Step 6: Before serving, blend in 2 cups of plain or blueberry yogurt. (NOTE: If you are a vigorous stirrer, you may want to continue wearing your lavender shirt during this step.)

Step 7: Ladle the soup into bowls and enjoy the fruits of your labor. (NOTE: You may want to continue wearing your lavender shirt during dinner in case you are prone to shirtfront dribbling when you eat soup.)

That’s it. Blueberries are the #1 antioxidant fruit when compared to 40 other fruits (which means anti-cancer and anti-aging diseases). And the yogurt contributes to intestinal bacterial growth that aids in digestion. So have another bowlful—it’s good for you!

(Blueberry Soup Making Day)