Sekahedelmäkeltto:  Fruit Soup

1½ pounds mixed dried fruit: apricots, prunes, pears, apples, raisins
(add fruits “in season,” such as raspberries or blueberries, to vary the flavor)
2 ¾ quarts (11 cups) water
1 cinnamon stick
1 ½ cups white sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons cold water

Simmer the dried fruits in the water with the cinnamon stick and sugar until fruit is tender,
about ½ to 1 hour.  Mix the cornstarch in the 2 tablespoons water.

Bring soup to a boil and stir in the cornstarch mixture.  Pour this mixture into the fruit pot
and simmer again until thick.

Can be served cold or hot with cream or whipped cream.

Many years ago, Grandma Alina Ojala would fill her kitchen with the blended aromas of fruit when she made this fruit “soup” on her old-fashioned, wood-burning stove.