Today my guest is a friend of mine Lisa Sachs, an unpublished author who has finished writing her first book, a memoir of an African-American woman in the Chicago area. Today Lisa shares the story of her great-grandmother and her greatgrandmother’s recipe for Fruit Soup. This sounds like delicious and so different I can’t wait to try it! Here’s Lisa:

“My great-grandmother Brina Kahn Puchkoff was born in a small village in the Ukraine in a town which no longer exists. (It was wiped out during World War II) She and my great-grandfather married in the 1890’s. She was 17 years old. They were the first couple in their village to pick each other and refuse an arranged marriage. She was the first woman in her village to refuse to wear a sheitel (a wig that married Orthodox Jewish women were to wear so they didn’t show their own hair for modesty.)

Both of my greatgrandparents were rebelling against the confines of their village. Eventually, they came to America in 1905 with 4 of their children. The fifth was born in America. My great-grandparents were active in the Zionist* movement all their lives even when other Jews opposed it. Brina was a Founding member of Hadassah (a women’s Zionist organization) They lived a good life here in the USA. She died at age 83 when I was 8 years old.”–Lisa Sachs

What an interesting story. For those who don’t know * Zionist meant a Jew who wanted a Jewish state in Palestine. This was of course pre WWII. Now here’s Brina’s recipe.

Fruit Soup

6 peaches

4 dark plums

1 apple

1 cup pitted sour red cherries

cinnamon

ginger

lemon juice

vanilla

2 heaping tablespoons of sugar

1. Partially boil the peaches. Run them under cold water and peel off the skins.

2. cut up the fruit and then put all the ingredients in a pot with enough water to cover.

3. bring to a boil. Turn down to warm and leave on until the fruit gets mushy.

4. Pick out undissolved fruit peels. Mush down the remaining fruit and let chill and refrigerate.

5. Serve cold with sour cream or plain yogurt.

Thank you, Lisa, for sharing Brina’s story and for this unique recipe.–Lyn