Rhubarb and Strawberry Summer Soup
This past weekend was unseasonably cold. So cold that my fingers were numb and they remained that way the entire morning. I've been back in Kalispell this weekend, making coffee in an old, converted horse trailer at a soccer tournament just outside of town. The cold weather was seemed to be a reflection of everyone's attitude all weekend and people were damn rude. My co-worker, Kate, and I huddled up together in the little metal wagon and did our best to navigate the bad attitudes and flying paper cups that the wind picked up. My wool scarf was wrapped around my head like it was mid winter and I struggled to count change for customers, my hands too frozen to function properly.
When I got home, I buried myself beneath a heavy pile of blankets and continued to shiver from the weird weather. Somehow, it felt colder than a winter day in Montana and I couldn't get warm. Luckily, my mom, whom I'm staying with while in town, made a batch of rhubarb soup the day before, so I reheated a bowl and crawled back under the covers.
I thought it would be nice to share my mom's recipe for the soup. It's perfectly Scandinavian and can be served hot or cold. Sip it from a bowl or slather it on waffles or ice cream (or both??). Garnish it with yogurt and some fresh mint for a little extra kick.
Ingredients
2 rhubarb stalks
2 cups strawberries, hulled and sliced
1 cup sugar (More or less. Sweeten to your liking.)
1 tbs corn starch
4 1/4 cups water
Method
Wash rhubarb and peel stalks. Cut rhubarb in half, cut lengthwise then chop into inch long pieces. Pour 4 cups of water into a large pot (reserve the remaining 1/4 cup for later), add the rhubarb, strawberries, sugar and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat and simmer liquid for 15-20 minutes, or until the stalks and fruit have broken down. In a separate bowl, combine corn starch and water until smooth and mix in with the soup. Add more sugar if needed and remove from heat. Keep covered in fridge for up to one week or freeze in an airtight container.