Chasing the Fionist Dream

Finn here. This past year, my mom passed away. Since then, I have felt more of a need to share the family traditions and recipes I grew up on with my kids. I hope that they will remember these things from their childhoods and will want to pass them on when they have their own families.

Growing up, I’d always look forward to one dish that my mom used to make in the summer. Fruit soup – some might call it compote. It was always refreshing on those hot summer days, and it was a good way to stay cool.

Some would say this is better for a desert. We like to serve it as a first course at our Shabbat meals, the same as I did growing up. It’s refreshing, cold, and a great way to get fruits into your kids’ diet or use up fruit that is getting soft. Seeing how our kids eat it at different ages brings back memories of how I would prefer it at different stages of childhood.

The “hardest” part of this recipe is going to the store, buying the fruit, and cutting it up. There is nothing extra that you need to do. It’s a very straightforward recipe.

This recipe serves about sixteen.

You’ll need:

A jar of sour cherries

3–4 peaches (we sometimes use canned)

3-4 pears

3-4 apples, plums, or nectarines

Instructions:

1. Pour the can of sour cherries along with its juice into a large pot.
   
2. Cut all the rest of the fruit into bite-sized pieces. You can use whatever tree fruits you want. The fruit above are the ones we use. Throw it all into the pot.
   
3. Keep filling the pot with fruit until it is filled about halfway. Fill it with water until it covers the fruit. (This will likely bring it to the top of the pot which is fine). My mom used to add a packet of vanilla pudding mix, but we skip that.
   
4. Bring it to a boil, than let it simmer for about 30 minutes. When it cools down enough, put it in the fridge. Serve chilled.

This freezes well. So even if you are not going to use it all right away, freeze your leftovers for another time.

Our kids love it, and our daughter, even during the coldest days of the year, would prefer to have fruit soup. As an adult, it is always nice to bring back memories and tastes from your own childhood and pass them on to your kids.

What recipes or dishes from your childhood do you share with your family?