All our winter faves are on ice: coffee, tea, cream and…soup. If you’re wearing Uggs with mini skirts, you can definitely give this versatile dish a cool summer look because its:
FILLING: Water-dense foods take up volume in our stomachs, thereby reducing cravings.
BURSTING WITH ANTIOXIDANTS: Vegetables offer molecules that zap harmful free radicals and help prevent disease.
EASY: Just chop, add your liquid of choice, mix and…oh, you’re done.
WATERMELON SOUP
Adapted from A Culinary Journey by Shari Bar Kochva (Xpress Digital Printing, 2004)
4 pounds of seedless watermelon, 1/3 cup of sugar, 1/3 cup of lime juice, 1 cup of blackberries, 1 cup of raspberries, 1 cup of cherries, 1 cup of strawberries, 1 hand held stick blender.
Remove rind from watermelon, cut remainder into chunks and puree in a bowl with stick blender. Mix puree with sugar and lime juice. Chill in refrigerator for 2 hours.
When ready to serve, remove pits from cherries and cut in half. Slice strawberries. Divide berries and cherries into soup bowls. Pour chilled watermelon puree over them and serve.
SDC’S Gazpacho
- 4 cups tomato juice
- 2 cucumbers, peeled, seeded and diced
- 4 large beefsteak tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
- 1 red pepper, seeded and chopped
- 1 green pepper, seeded and chopped
- 1 orange or yellow pepper, seeded and chopped
- 1 large Vidalia onion, peeled and finely chopped
- 2 shallots, peeled and finely chopped
- 1 medium garlic clove, peeled and minced
- 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
- 3-4 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
- 1 Tbs. Worcesterschire sauce
- 1/3 tsp. Tabasco sauce, or to taste
- freshly ground salt & pepper, to taste
Directions
In large glass bowl, combine cut up vegetables with tomato juice. In a separate bowl, whisk vinegar and olive oil together. Add remaining seasonings to oil and vinegar and mix well. Add mixture in second bowl to reserved mixture in glass bowl and mix well. Divide this mixture in half and blend in a food processor, with steel blade, or blender, until smooth. Combine pureed ingredients with remaining half of crunchy mixture. Chill for 4 hours. Ladle into individual bowls. Optional: serve with sliced toasted French bread or croutons, on top.
