In midsummer, when the sun is blazing hot and the cigales are singing away, we don’t have much desire for eating, except for indulging in ice cream. A cold simmer peach soup is perfect for those days and brings a bit of welcome change to the ice cream menu.

La recette:

1. Bring to the boil 1 liter of water with 1 vanilla pod, 200 g sugar and the rind of 1 lemon. Remove from the heat, add a handful of fresh mint leaves and set aside to cool.
2. Peel and cut 6 peaches of your choice into slices.
3. Add to the warm syrup and leave to cool down completely before storing in the fridge for about 4 hours to infuse.
4. Serve cold in glasses or bowls and add a handful of fresh red berries of your choice to the soup(optional).
5. Decorate with fresh mint leaves and serve with a dollop of vanilla ice cream.

Serves 6 people.

Pincée de fleur de sel:

• I used a mixture of white and yellow peaches.
• Macerate the berries with some sugar before adding to the soup, since they may be too sour for the soup.
• Add the berries on a little kebab/cocktail stick and stick into the soup, to eat separately.
• Leave the berries if so desired.
• Replace the mint with lemon verbena for something different.
• Serve in frozen glasses for an icy effect.

The signature of Provence is its white limestone..in the countryside, the hills,  in the built walls, the drywalls, the houses, the pavings ,  the flowerbeds, the villages… Some of them new and some weathered handsomely by the mistral  and rains of centuries.

I love an atmospheric window..

Clearly seen in this image below, is the different types of stone used, maybe at different times by different craftsmen.

Just look at that stone…beautiful non?..

A  stone staircase between these beautiful stone walls, going up and up and up…

A typical Provencal door..

A flowerbed by a front door, typical in the small villages with no gardens..

Lovely shutters and vigne vierge creeper..

Sedum growing on the rooftiles..totally content in the heat, like me…

Holly hocks…an old world flower and one of my favorites..

Gay colour in an ochre coloured flower container..

Bonnieux is known for its brocantes..

..which overlooks the valley..

A window peeking from above a fig tree..

Lavenders on the windowsill..

A cloche against a perfect Provencal sky…And lastly,  a sunset goodbye …

So, with these images it is back to reality here at Coin Perdu, where summer is in full swing..and I don’t want it to end!

à la prochaine

Ronelle