serves about 6 or more

This features fresh and roasted garlic…if you’re gonna do it, might as well go all the way.

3 heads of garlic
a bit of oil to drizzle for the roasted garlic
a soup spoon of olive or vegetable oil
a leek
a small onion
3 medium potatoes
about 4 cups water
1-2 cups milk
salt, pepper

serve with chunks of bread

Roast 2 heads of garlic in the oven: leave the skins on, toss them in olive oil and put them on a baking tray at 350º F for about 20-25 minutes until soft. Take them out, let them cool so you can handle them. The garlic should squeeze out of the cloves. Tasty!

Take the remaining head of fresh garlic and crush the cloves with a knife. Add to soup pan: oil, fresh garlic, onion, leek. Fry one medium heat until onion is translucent (about 5-10mins). Add water and potatoes, plus roasted garlicky goodness, and a bit of salt and pepper (add more later to suit your taste – this is just to get the flavours blending…).

Bring to a boil, then turn down to simmer on medium-low for at least 20 minutes. Feel free to keep it on the stove for hours. I swear the smell of garlic will warm your heart.

When you’ve finished cooking it, blend it up with a hand blender to get all the chunks out. This soup is a smooth operator! At the end, add enough milk to meet your desired thickness and creaminess, and warm the soup again but not to a boil.

“I first had this soup in Austria, and the soup itself was quite thin (i.e liquidy)… but then we threw in chunks of bread (baguette, or french loaf, or homemade wholewheat) and it was awesome. Season with salt and pepper to taste before serving.

I made this last week – we ate it for three days straight and longed for more. Phenomenal. Share with your closest friends, and nearest and dearest companions.” Robyn Campbell

Thanks for sharing Robyn…now here’s a couple of articles on the health benefits of Garlic:

Unlocking the Benefits of Garlic – NY Times online, October 15, 2007

Garlic’s Curative Powers – from MacLeans’ Magazine, May 20, 1996 via The Canadian Encyclopedia

With all this gorgeous fruit about I indulge in a daily ritual…chug-a-jug! Just ensuring I get my daily-recommended intake.

This ones my favorite but you can mix up any fruit or veggies you love.

Ingredients…amounts are arbitrary:
watermelon
banana
fresh blueberries
with a fresh peach thrown in for good measure.

Directions:
blend, drink, enjoy!

Alpine blueberries from Mt. Seymour

Cold Blueberry Soup

With all this warm weather – cold soup is the perfect light repast

6 cups blueberries
3 cups water
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon salt
juice of 1 medium lemon
1/4 to 1/2 cup creme de cassis (to taste)
1 tablespoon blueberry vinegar
sour cream
fresh tarragon (optional)

Place the blueberries, water, sugar, cinnamon, allspice, salt in a 2 quart soup pot and cook over high heat
for 3 to 5 minutes. Let cool. Add the lemon juice, creme de cassis, and blueberry vinegar. Process in a blender until smooth. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, until chilled. Garnish with sour cream, and or fresh tarragon (optional)

Its vivid blue color and delicate scrolls of sour cream make it as beautiful as it is tasty