Red Berry Soup

Me:  I don’t feel like myself.

Friend: What’s going on?

Me: Lots of stuff. Big stuff. Heavy stuff. I’ve started dating again, too.

Friend: That’s good. It’s about time you got back out there.

Me: No, it’s not good – dating is excruciating. It’s like trying to find a perfect pair of jeans – time-consuming and soul-destroying for the most part.

Friend: There is nothing more depressing than trying to find a good pair of jeans.

Me: Right. I know how to be with someone and I know how to be without someone. But I don’t know how to date – it’s completely surreal.

Friend: Just give it time.

Me: Time? Dating sucks up so much time already. There’s the time I spend on the actual dates, the time I spend prepping for the dates, and the time I spend day-dreaming before and afterwards. I don’t know how people date and actually get stuff done.

Friend: *laughs*

Me: I’m so tired today. I’ve gone to bed at 2am three nights in a row.

Friend: Why are you staying up so late?

Me: I can’t switch off so I end up reading film scripts for hours until I’m ridiculously tired. And then J wakes me up at 6:30am each morning by sitting on my head and yelling, “Momma, wake up now!”

Friend: Awww. Well, maybe you should learn how to meditate.

Me: Do you find it helpful?

Friend: I don’t really know… I always fall asleep. 

Me: Are you supposed to fall asleep?

Friend: I’m not sure. Maybe you just need more sleep.

Me: I think you’re right.

Friend: Why don’t you just go to bed early tonight then?

Me: Well, I need to make a cheesecake that I have to shoot in the morning.

Friend: I love cheesecake! But I made one a few years ago and it didn’t set properly so I haven’t made one since.

Me: I use gelatine so you won’t have that problem. I’ll email you the link once the recipe is up on the client’s site.

Friend: Thanks. Now go to bed after you’ve made the cake.

Me: I will. Thanks for the pep talk. Sorry I’ve been so lame today – I hate not giving good value.

Friend: That’s OK – even when you’re being lame you’re still entertaining.

Me: Glad to hear it.

Red Berry Soup

Red soup is my spin on a traditional German dessert, Rote Grütze, that I ate when travelling around Germany many years ago. I’m not sure a German traditionalist would approve of my so-easy-it’s-barely-a-recipe riff so think of this as a homage rather than an authentic rendition. On a side note, red is my favourite colour – it brings me luck and it always puts a smile on my face. May this soup do both for you, too.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 kg mixed berries, fresh or frozen (if frozen, use thawed)
• 1 473 ml bottle pomegranate juice
• 3 teaspoons corn flour
• 3 teaspoons water
• 4-6 tablespoons honey, agave syrup or rice malt syrup
• Cream, vanilla custard or ice cream to serve

METHOD

1. In a medium saucepan, bring berries and pomegranate juice to the boil.
2. Dissolve corn flour in water and then stir into the bubbling mixture.
3. Immediately turn heat down and simmer for a further minute and then switch off heat and leave to cool.
4. Sweeten to desired taste with honey and then refrigerate the soup for 2-3 hours.
5. Serve it with cream, vanilla custard or ice cream.

NOTES

• Serves 6.
• Gluten and refined sugar-free.
• Can be dairy-free if you serve it as is or with a dairy-free cream, yoghurt or ice cream.
• Suitable for vegans and vegetarians.

More dessert recipes

• Sponge Cake with Berries and Cherries
• Rosewater, Cardamon and Pistachio Bundt Cake
• Strawberry and Rhubarb Upside Down Cake
• Raspberry Pomegranate Layered Pavlova
• Sponge Cake with Berries and Cherries
• Passionfruit Sago Puddings

Posts about The Hungry Australian

1. Anne from Epicurean Epistles wrote a post called Bloggers Versus Journos about the Eating their Words debate I did with writer David Sly (Gourmet Traveller), chef Phil Whitmarsh (Daniel O’Connell) and writer and blogger George Ujvary (The Foodologist); and
2. Nick from Wicked Cow Marketing wrote a post called Bloggers and Brands: You’re Doing it Wrong (SEO edition) in response to my WordPress Adelaide talk and my post Bloggers and Brands: why we’re (mostly) doing it wrong.

Thanks to both Anne and Nick – I’m really chuffed you felt inspired to write something about these events.

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