Chilled Strawberry Soup for hot summer days!

My B&B colleagues have put me to shame lately on the blogging front as they are setting up their own blogs and posting at least weekly, so I have vowed to get back in the swing of things. We are smack in the middle of our theater season in Shepherdstown, when the Contemporary American Theater Festival runs for the month of July bringing new plays on a rotating basis to our town. We have gotten some attention from NPR and the Washington Post this year, and the Inn has many rooms booked by loyal guests who come back every year. It's like a mini-reunion for both our guests and us! We get pretty full in July but still have some weekday and Sunday nights available for your visit.
As happens in July, it can get pretty warm during the day. We start off many mornings with a chilled strawberry soup that is light and refreshing. Here's the recipe for 4 to 6 servings:

2 qt (2 lb) strawberries, rinsed and halved
¼ cup sugar
1 cup white grape juice
3 Tbsp lime or lemon juice

Puree strawberries with sugar in food processor until smooth. Pour into a bowl; stir in grape and lemon or lime juice. Refrigerate for at least two hours and serve cold.

You may add fruit of almost any kind - seedless grapes, blueberries, raspberries, diced kiwi, diced mango to the soup bowl - after ladling the strawberries in as a garnish, or add a dollop of vanilla yogurt to the middle.

Hope you like it!

Jeanne at the
Thomas Shepherd Inn B&B in Shepherdstown, WV