Instructions: In a medium saucepan, bring the rasberries, water, sugar, and lemon juice to a boil and cook until the sugar is completely dissolved. Pour through a strainer or Foley food mill to remove the rasberry seeds, then return to the heat, adding the vanilla and tapioca. Cook until thick.

When ready to serve, ladle into bowls and top with the reserved rasberries and lemon zest. If serving cold, allow to chill in the refrigerator.

Serve hot or cold as a first course to 4 people.

Comments: Many thanks to CarolDee Whitbeck, from upstate New York, who contributed this wonderful and somehow wonderfully old fashioned soup. She pulled it out of her recipe archives, saying, "it was given to me about 25 years ago by a wonderful old German lady who I fondly referred to as Oma. When my children were little they thought that Rasberry Soup was the most special treat going. The soup can be served ice cold in the summer and hot in the winter." I agree. Its a perfect balance of sweet and tart - warm and comforting in the cold months, a lovely start to a meal of roasted or pot roasted meat and winter vegetables. In the summer, its cool and stimulating as the start of grilled meal from the barbeque.

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