Per Nana ~
I waited patiently all week for the cantaloupe
in the fruit bowl to ripen to the point of
perfection as I looked forward to making this
week's recipe of cold melon-berry soup.
Today I bought the most perfect strawberries
and mint leaves and found a small piece of
fresh ginger. I have never used fresh ginger
so I really had no clue about it. I used my favorite
kitchen tool, the handy zester, and grated away.
After adding the ginger to the liquid melon
I decided to research fresh ginger.
I had no idea it was supposed to be peeled. Oops!
Too late to worry about it now.
I chilled the soup and the melon balls for a few
hours and found it interesting that the
liquid thickened as it chilled.
After assembling all the ingredients, I
added a dessert wine called Vin Santo
and topped with the mint.
The presentation was quite pretty, but unfortunately,
neither Hubby nor I cared for the end result.
Perhaps using Vin Santo instead of the wine Dorie
mentioned was the problem, or maybe my lack
of knowledge about ginger made it too strong.
Thankfully I decided to prepare a single
serving and enjoyed the remaining delicious
fruit sans the soup.
Well, we can't like them all, but your soup certainly does look very pretty. And now you can say that you tried a new ingredient, which I always think is part of the fun.
ReplyDeleteSorry you didn't like the soup. We liked it, but not enough to make it regularly. Since Cher used Captain Morgan, I am going to give that a try. Maybe leave out the ginger.
ReplyDeleteI would say try it again without the wine or the ginger. I used a Moscato on my first attempt (with basil & papaya) and wasn't a fan. And fresh ginger is pretty gosh darn potent - personally, I like it; but The Dude can't stand it.
ReplyDeleteIt looks very pretty sitting in that glass!
I thought exactly the same! It looked great but I didn't really think the taste was anything great. I prefer the fruit on its own. Great photos!
ReplyDeletePretty soup. Yeah, ditto. Like my fruit all by itself. Was interesting tho'.
ReplyDeleteVery pretty soup;-)
ReplyDeleteI made mine sans sweet wine and it was delish!
It was kind of fun and easy to make, I also sweetened mine with a little sugar and served it with cookies for dessert.
Your soups are really pretty! Mine were too strong in the ginger flavor, maybe like yours (I didn't use any alcohol, though, so a little different).
ReplyDeleteI liked the Sauvignon Blanc in ours because I served it with grilled shrimp, which also had a little wine spritzed on it during grilling. It's great that you learned about ginger, though.
ReplyDeleteI didn't love it either - but I think it was the cold soup thing. Maybe I'll try it again on a hot day. It's not feeling very summery in Seattle yet!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed this…my fruit was very ripe and that may have made a difference. I thought it was very refreshing. That said, yours looks lovely sorry it wasn't for you! Have a great week-end!
ReplyDeleteI really liked mine, but I ended up blending the berries with the canteloupe. My opinion would have likely been closer to yours had I left the pureed melon plus ginger and lime alone.
ReplyDeleteWe are not cold soup fans here...and for the fruit we all agreed that smoothies are the way to go if you are in the blending mood. But you learned about ginger and it is one of my favorite things...wonderful in a stir fry or in lots of tasty foods. That's what all this is about for me...all the little tips and things I learn. Nice post as always.
ReplyDeleteEven though you weren't fans of this one, your soup looks great! So colorful!
ReplyDeleteIt looks so pretty, Nana. Fresh ginger can be a bit overwhelming. Some people like it and some don't. It's fun to experiment with new ingredients though. Have a great weekend!
ReplyDeleteNana, I think it's so cute that you included ginger peel in your soup! Like you, I didn't really care for this unsouplike soup, so I didn't bother posting it up. Love going around seeing the others' takes on it, though.
ReplyDeleteI would have gone for the vin santo too...it looks amazing, even if it wasn't your cup of tea. What could be better than a nice, simple, ripe piece of cantaloupe, though?
ReplyDeleteI always enjoy your blog and you photos. This onw wasn't a huge hit at our house either. Not sure if it was the lime (not a big fan) or the wine we chose.
ReplyDeleteLots of us didn't really enjoy this soup but it certainly photographs beautifully doesn't it? I'm very impressed that you got your melon early and let it ripen. I was running out the day before trying to find a ripe one!
ReplyDeleteWell I didn't make this as a soup (sans blender here in Paris) but I can confirm it was wonderful as a boozy fruit salad. I am interested to try it as a soup when I get home though... Nana's soup LOOKS beautiful! Well done!
ReplyDeleteLovely photos, Nana! Fresh ginger is wonderful, though you have to be judicious about the quantity you use, as it can be quite strong. I made this for my parents, who both really enjoyed it. Hope next week's recipe is more of a hit for you!
ReplyDelete