Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Guest Blogger and Elmwood Inn

Note : I'm excited to share with you a guest blogger today! I've decided to liven things up by sharing the voices of some of my fantastic friends. My first guest blogger is Amanda, who fed me the delicious strawberry soup (recipe below). Enjoy this post!

Elmwood Inn
by guest blogger, Amanda


Photo courtesy of Elmwood Inn website

Stephanie has invited me to be a guest blogger here at Steph's Cup of Tea and I couldn't be more delighted! I always look forward to seeing what new tea information, flower and garden photos, or bits of inspiration she has to share with us. One of her latest posts, Afternoon Pleasures, featured photos from the tea that she and I shared in my home recently. She tells me that the photo of strawberry soup has generated some interest in the recipe.

The recipe comes from The Tea Table: Soups, Savories & Sweets from the Elmwood Inn, one in a series of tea cookbooks written by Shelley and Bruce Richardson. If you are a tea lover, or enjoy cookbooks in general, I highly recommend purchasing your own copies of the Elmwood Inn cookbook trilogy, as the pictures alone are quite worth the price. Also included are recipes for blueberry and melon soups, along with a photo of all three. For those of you only interested in the strawberry soup recipe, I have obtained permission from Elmwood Inn to share, and the recipe follows.

Bruce and Shelley Richardson owned and operated Elmwood Inn tea room in Perryville, Kentucky for 14 years. Stephanie and I have both lamented our loss in not having visited Elmwood Inn before they closed their doors in 2004. Bruce Richardson has become a renowned expert in the world of tea and has had a hand in ushering in the American tea renaissance. A list of all of the Richardsons' books, as well as their line of fine teas may be found on their website. Elmwood Inn Gunpowder Green is one of my favorites! Incidentally, for anyone who may be interested, the historic Elmwood Inn property, along with the nearby owner's cottage, is currently on the market.

Thank you to Stephanie, and her readers, for allowing me to contribute to such a charming blog. And thank you to Elmwood Inn for allowing me to share this delicious recipe. Cheers!

Strawberry Soup
1 cup fresh strawberries
2 tablespoons sugar
1 cup sour cream
4 tablespoons burgundy or grenadine (I used grenadine)
1 cup heavy cream

Combine strawberries, sugar, sour cream, grenadine, and cream in a blender. Cover and blend on low speed until thoroughly combined. Chill and serve. Garnish with a dollop of sour cream, thinly sliced strawberries, and fresh mint.

12 comments:

  1. Oh. my. gosh. As a Californian, the inn and cottage prices make me hyper-ventilate! Unbelievable.

    Thanks for your post, Amanda!

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  2. Anonymous9:39 AM

    The soup (...and incidentally, anything Amanda makes...) is delicious. This a great time of year to enjoy it. I recommend it highly! [Thumbs up for the "Guest-Blogger" idea. I think this was the perfect one to kick it off...but I'm a little biased.]

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  3. Anonymous12:06 PM

    That recipe looks amazing! Thank you for sharing it!

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  4. oh, thanks for the recipe. it looks wonderful!

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  5. Great guest blogging, Amanda! I have only one of the Elmwood Inn cookbooks but use it a lot. Why, yes, I would love to buy the Inn. Thank you for mentioning that it is for sale. Now if only I could win the lottery. :)

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  6. Thanks for guest blogging and sharing Amanda! I have all the Elmwood Inn cookbooks, enjoy all the recipes and recommend them highly. We never made it to the Inn for Afternoon Tea before they closed, alas, a huge regret of mine.

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  7. Hello, Amanda, and thanks for sharing the yummy recipe! I enjoyed "meeting" you today!

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  8. Anonymous6:44 AM

    Thank you all for the warm welcome. I'm glad you enjoyed the post.

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  9. Anonymous4:59 PM

    Oh my goodness. The soup sounds delicious!

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  10. OH HOW FUN! That recipe loooks DEVINE!

    xoxox

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  11. I enjoyed Amanda's guest blog. I have all of Bruce and Shelley's books. They are amonng my most-used tea books. Perryville, KY is just a little over an hour from me. My family and I visited Elmwood Inn often and miss it terribly!

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  12. Thank you for your guest blog, Amanda. I have "A Tea For All Seasons" and "Great Tea Rooms of America", but neither one includes the strawberry soup recipe. Thanks for posting it.

    I did have the opportunity to meet Shelley and Bruce at "The Tea Room" in Savannah, GA while they were doing a photo shoot. Unfortunately, I never made it to the Elmwood Inn while it was a tearoom either.

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