Active Time

　　About 40 minutes

　　Total Time

　　About 4 hours, including time to chill

　　One rule of thumb governing utensil purchases is to consider the cost of the item in relation to how often you'll use it. Since cherry season is so short, a pitter scores pretty low on the price-use ratio. But the formula is badly flawed, not taking into account how this gadget affects your life when you put it to use. By that reckoning, if owning a cherry pitter moved you to make this soup just once a year, it'd be worth the ten dollars or so you can expect to pay for it.

　　

Ingredients

Serves 4

　　1 cup loosely packed dried apples

　　2 pounds cherries, chopped

　　1 tablespoon cornstarch

　　2 cups nonfat buttermilk

　　2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

　　

Equipment:

Cherry pitter

　　

Step 1

Place the dried apples and cherries in a medium saucepan with water to cover by an inch. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Cover and reduce the heat to medium-low. Simmer until the apples and cherries are soft enough to puree, about 30 minutes.

　　

Step 2

Puree with a food processor or immersion blender and return to low heat. Transfer 1/4 cup of the puree to a separate bowl and whisk in the cornstarch until the mixture is smooth. Whisking constantly, pour the cornstarch mixture into the saucepan. Continue whisking until the mixture thickens, about 7 minutes. Turn off the heat and let the mixture cool to room temperature.

　　

Step 3

Stir in the buttermilk, cover, and chill thoroughly, at least 3 hours. Ladle the soup into 4 soup bowls and sprinkle each serving with lime juice.

　　

Nutrition Per Serving

Per serving: Calories 253; Protein 6.9 g; Carbohydrate 54.6 g; Fat 3.3 g; Cholesterol 4.29 mg; Sodium 140 mg; 11% Calories from fat. Very good source of vitamins B2

　　C. Good source of vitamin B1

　　Calcium.

　　#### Nutritional analysis provided by _The Essential Vegetarian Cookbook_

　　Cooks' Note

　　Refrigeration/Freezing: Refrigerate up to 3 days. Freeze up to 6 months.

　　Reprinted with permission from The Essential Vegetarian Cookbook: Your Guide to the Best Foods on Earth by Diana Shaw. Copyright © 1997 by Diana Shaw. Published by Clarkson N. Potter, Inc. All Rights Reserved.Diana Shaw is the author of four vegetarian cookbooks. She has contributed to a number of magazines, including Cook's Illustrated, Metropolitan Home, and Vegetarian Times.