(UN)Forgettable Capsicum Soup

After 13 days of straight rain and miserable weather it has finally stopped. The sky is so clear, blue and alluring it is almost like it is trying to apologise for all the rain. It is trying to convince me that it is finally okay to come out and play.. but it is not. It is cold! And I am nearly as angry at the sky for this deception as I am for the rain. No.. no... I didn't say that I promise! don't crucify me... rain is good I know...we need rain... Yay for rain!!!! And from the warmth of my apartment I am loving the sunlight also, so I really honestly I am not complaining! It is a delightfully sunny, cold day and I have the perfect solution to this confusing weather!

Capsicum Soup. The flavours are fresh and sunny but it's soup so it's comforting and warm. My gorgeous , and I mean gorgeous friend D used to make this soup in her (equally gorgeous) Queensland cafe Lure on Latrobe. In winter on my day off I would crawl out of bed stumble across the road to my favourite cafe in the world, pick my favourite seat in the sunny courtyard and pray that D's capsicum soup would be on the menu. (It was midday after all, and soup for breakfast is good(really good) in chilly weather) Every time I ate the soup I wanted to ask for the secret, but when D would come to sit with me we would get so caught up in other gossip I never got around to asking. And so today when the chill hit my insides I had a flash of this soup and knew immediately it was time to speak to the master. So I rang my darling D to ask her once and for all for the soup recipe. But.... well..sorry...... once again I got so distracted with gossip that I forgot all about the soup. But there is a good reason .. I promise.. well first I had to tell her about my new job. There were such cheers, congratulations, blushing and gushing that soup was the furthermost thing from my mind! Then she told me her news: she is now the proud owner of a fashion boutique Miss Mouse!! Who can possibly think about soup at a time like this. She has a boutique yippee!!! If ever there was a person destined for the fashion industry it is my D. Now I need to organise a trip back to BrisVegas to see the shop, and the clothes and I suppose the proprietor too. I am so proud of her, she has an uncompromising eye for style and an impeccable fashion sense. She always looks one million dollars and never in an intimidating obnoxious way. I am convinced Miss Mouse will be as stylish and tasteful as.. well.. as her delicious capsicum soup. (by all rights she should be a dreadful cook, life can be so unfair!) I know I should call back for the recipe but I decide to just take a chance myself. I admit the soup is not quite as good as the Lure capsicum soup, maybe that is because I didn't get the recipe... but maybe it is because it is a reminder of gaping hole I have in my heart from having to leave this cafe behind when we moved to Sydney.

So if you are lucky enough to live in Brisbane (and yes I hope you are smart enough to realise it does make you lucky) you must do 2 things

a) visit Lure on Latrobe and try their Capsicum soup or if breakfast is your thing their French toast (ooohh yum Lure french toast!!!!!)

b) Visit Miss Mouse and say hi to D for me!


See how I forget about the soup easily... I nearly forgot to leave the recipe.. So here it is

(un)Forgettable Capsicum Soup

1 lge onion
4 cloves garlic
6 red capsicum
1 kilo fresh overripe tomatoes
500 ml chicken stock
1 tin coconut cream (or milk but not lite milk (i made this regrettable mistake))
3 tablespoons of sweet chilli sauce
salt and pepper
Coriander
Sour Cream

Roast capsicums and peel
Dice onions and sweet in a saucepan with sweet chilli sauce. Then add diced tomatoes, roast capsicum, chicken stock, garlic salt and pepper.
Cook on medium heat for 30 minutes.
Add coconut cream/milk and cook for a further 30 minutes.
Blitze soup
Stir through finely chopped coriander.
Serve with a dollop of sour cream and a squeeze of lime juice.
For more heat you can add fresh chilli and for less reduce the sweet chilli to 1 tablespoon.

PS Taylor and Remy I miss you guys too x I hope you are staying out of trouble and being good to your mother xx