This week the thermometer is topping 100 all week. Thankfully the humidity is blessedly low, but who wants to turn on an oven or even a burner in that heat?
Instead, I dug in the fridge for something cool, preferably cold. I'd just bought two packages of strawberries - soup!
I messed around with ideas and ingredients and here's the result:
Strawberry Soup
2 lb. strawberries
2 Tbls. Port wine
2 cups plain low-fat yogurt
1/2 cup orange juice
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. cardamom
dash freshly ground cinnamon
In a blender, blend strawberries and wine until smooth. As it's blending, add yogurt.
Pour into a large bowl and add remaining ingredients. Stir well (until sugar is dissolved). Refrigerate an hour.
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This was by no means my first chilled soup. I've made gazpacho before, but wasn't nuts about it (I'm not a fan of uncooked tomatoes). But I stumbled on a great mango gazpacho recipe that's been a favorite here for years.
Mango Gazpacho
3 soft mangoes, peeled and pulp removed any way you can manage it
2 cups mango nectar
2 cups coconut milk
2 Tbl. fresh minced ginger
1 Tbl. lime juice
1/4 cup brown sugar
In a blender, puree mangoes, ginger, and coconut milk until smooth. Add remaining ingredients and blend again. Chill at least an hour.
