Opera Singer in the Kitchen

Artistry in Food, Music, and Life

Chilled Cranberry-Cherry Soup

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 Wow where has this week gone by? I realized I have not posted since Monday but then I also realized I have been busy. 🙂


My evenings are usually filled with chores that I have not completed during the day or with deadlines I must meet, for example, memorize all the music that I will be performing in the next 3-5 weeks. Eeek!


If you have not noticed, I have set up a new tab labeled “Schedule.” Seeing that I am starting to perform a little more now that the baby is getting bigger I figured that those who follow and read my blog would be interested in what is going on in my life, professionally. I also will be adding more recordings under the separate tab labeled, “Watch and Listen.” Go check out what I will be performing in a couple of weeks.


I have many recipes to post but I figure the time spent on getting things done around the house is a little more important even though blogging is relaxing.


Last week I was intrigued by Kitchen Play’s Progressive Party sponsoring one of my favorite fruits, CHERRIES! Even though I have never participated I knew I had to try one of their recipes this time around.

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Kitchen Play as stated on their site is “devoted to connecting food bloggers and PR professionals through sponsored events such as the Progressive Party, the SideCar Series, the Pampered Pantry and more. Participating bloggers are compensated for their work creating original recipes or reviewing products.”


The Progressive Party includes posts by 6 bloggers who have created recipes with the sponsored product which then, Kitchen Play turns around and challenges readers to remake or recreate one of the dishes for chances to win a prize.

In February, Kitchen Play celebrated National Cherry Month which was sponsored by the Cherry Marketing Institute. I actually know them through Twitter and Facebook as Choose Cherries.

As I perused the recipes, I decided to recreate the Tart Cherry Soup created by Quyen at Kitchen Runway because growing up my grandmother would make chilled cherry soup for the holidays. I was always disappointed that we could not get the soup any other time so i decided I could make it for myself!

Instead of tart cherries I used frozen black cherries and unsweetened cranberry juice. I also decided to thicken it a little by using cornstarch or arrowroot powder. I left the red wine in it and added to some spices.

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 One of my favorite parts was subbing the sour cream dollop for some So Delicious coconut yogurt. 


There was a delicious depth to this cold soup and I encourage you to try this recipe or Quyen’s for that matter. It can act as an appetizer, dessert, or EVEN breakfast! 🙂

Thanks for sponsoring a wonderful party Kitchen Play!

Chilled Cranberry-Cherry Soup

by Noelle Kelly
Prep Time: 10-15 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients (4 servings)
  • 2 cups Dark Sweet Cherries
  • 1 cup unsweetened 100% cranberry juice
  • 1/4 cup coconut palm sugar (or other sugar)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup red wine
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1 Tablespoon cornstarch or arrowroot powder
  • 8 Tablespoons So Delicious vanilla or plain coconut yogurt
Instructions
In a medium pot, gently whisk together tart cherry juice, red wine, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and lemon juice. Add frozen cherries. Heat over medium high heat until it comes to a boil for about 5-7 minutes.
Remove 1/4 cup of the liquid in a ramekin and add the 1 tablespoon of cornstarch. Blend well. Add mixture back into the soup and let the soup boil for another 5 minutes.
Using an immersion blender or regular blender, blend the soup a little in order to keep some cherry chunks.
Remove the soup from the stove and allow to cool. Refrigerate over 4-6 hours or overnight.
When serving, divide into 4 bowls and dollop with 2 Tablespoons of coconut yogurt,
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UPDATE: I have picked a winner for the Saucy Mama Gourmet Mustard giveaway lest you thought I forgot!


Thanks for your patience!

Blessedmama won the giveaway! Please email me your info so the company can send you the goodies.


blessedmama,  1Hi, I just found your blog, and I guess it’s lucky that I did. Thank you for this giveaway. I’m vegan, so if any of these are vegan flavors, I’d pick any of them. Could you surprise me? I love mustard, too! And, those “fish” sticks look easy and tasty.

About Noelle

I’m an opera singer, full-time mom, pharmacy technician, food and mom blogger, recipe developer, and wife to a super talented choral director living in the awesome outskirts of Philly.