A dilly of a good time.

I love dill. It is almost unnatural the amount that I love dill. Truly.

This was my "perfect moment" of 2007: at the New York Sheep & Wool Festival in Rhinebeck, New York last year. Good friends, beautiful surroundings, yarn, yarn-bearing mammals (sheeps,llamas, alpacas, goats), fun times...and deep-fried dill pickles. These dill pickles were so melt-in-your-mouth good.



Crunchy dills, deep fried to perfection, eaten in the hot sun on a beautiful yarn-filled autumn day...perfect.



And you know you are loved when your mother goes to great lengths to support your dill pickle habit...In November she tried to recreate the Rhinebeck experience when I went to visit her in Winnipeg:



And she sent me this awesome soup recipe, which I think she sent as a joke originally, but it actually a household fav now! I add an entire jar of pickles and some brine because it's not dill pickly enough for me, but try it and adjust to your taste! Sadly I don't know where this recipe came from (heaven, maybe!) so I can't give credit where credit is due. Enjoy.

Dill Pickle Soup (with Kelly's variations)

1 large jar of dill pickles, about 2 cups chopped (with little vinegar
is best) Garlic dills are best. (I usethe entire large jar, plus about 1/2 cup brine)
flour for dredging
4 tbsp butter
1 large onion
4 cloves of garlic
8 cups chicken or vegetable broth
4 cups cubed or shredded potatoes
1 cup shredded carrots
1 cup fresh mushrooms, sliced
Dill (fresh or dried) about 1 tsp dried (I use a whole lot more)
Whipping cream or sour cream (I usually omit this, but use sour cream if I have it and remember)

Finely chop onion & garlic. Saute in soup pot with butter til wilted.
Chop pickles into small pieces and coat with flour.
Add to pot and cook for 5 minutes, stirring.
Add chicken broth and stir, scraping bottom of pot when flour starts to thicken.
Add carrots and potatoes and cook til vegetables are tender.
Add mushrooms and dill, cooking til mushrooms are tender.

Salt and pepper to taste.

When serving, add cream or sour cream to bottom of bowl, then add soup.
Don't add cream/sour cream to soup pot or it will curdle the soup.

Makes 5 litres. (5 litres is a lot of soup; be warned)