Chilled Berry Soup

So, I've been a little absent lately from the blogosphere.

Life's been crazy! I have about 120 unready blogs in my reader!

I went to Texas... and ate a whole lot of good food! That's definitely not the reason I went to Texas, but it was a nice benefit. Ten of us from Southbay Church staff went to Texas to go to the C3 conference at Fellowship Church. What an amazing time of growth, refreshment, encouragement, and fellowship!

Most of us on staff here at Southbay are from the south east, so when you go to Texas, that's pretty darn close to the south for us. Chick-Fil-A, Carraba's, Cracker Barrel, and sweet tea were all must have's on our list. My poor friend Aimee had never even heard of any of these restaurants, and didn't have much say the entire week of where we were going. Just had almost all her food ordered for her and went with the flow. She was a trooper, and ended up of course liking some good Southern food!

What's your favorite food you can't get all the time? I would have to add Dunkin' Donuts iced coffee to my list!

Carraba's for some Chicken Bryan!!!

The whole gang at Cracker Barrel, enjoying the rocking chairs and the big front porch!

"Look, my sausage and eggs make a face!"

Now onto the food! (as if I wasn't already talking about all those restaurants. Can someone bring me some Chick-Fil-A!?)

I made this Chilled Berry Soup from the all-new Ultimate Southern Living Cookbook (Texas made me crave all the good Southern food). I love this cookbook - my awesome friend Staci got this for me several years ago, and I love it. Such a great cookbook!!! This soup has the most incredible color, and it's super yummy. It's pretty sweet, but it would be great for an appetizer, and could even be a great dessert!

Chilled Berry Soup (Adapted from the Southern Living Cookbook)

Ingredients:

2 cups fresh blackberries

2 cups fresh blueberries

1 cup orange juice

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp. salt

1 Tbs. fresh lemon juice

1 1/2 - 2 cups fat free half and half

Garnishes: whipped cream, fresh mint

Directions:

1. Measure out and wash berries

2. Place first 5 ingredients in a large saucepan, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring often.

3. Remove from heat, and cool slightly.

4. Process berry mixture and lemon juice in a blender or food processor until smooth, stopping to scrape down sides.

5. Strain berry mixture through large kitchen strainer back into saucepan in order to separate seeds.

6. Cover and chill until cool and ready to serve. Garnish if desired with whipped cream and fresh mint.