This is the best time of the year for people who cook. Also, for people who eat.
The fields are laden with produce. Vegetables and fruit hang heavy from every leafy branch. Goodness is fresh and abundant.
And with the sun blazing down on us like a broiler, the key is to enjoy all of this wonderful produce and cool down at the same time.
That is where chilled summertime soups come into play. Refreshing and crisp and just a little unusual, cold soups make the best of what summer has to offer.
To get some relief from the heat, I made five summertime soups. Each took full advantage of the harvest: avocados from the tree, carrots from the ground, tomatoes from the
OK, to be honest, the tomatoes came from a can in the form of tomato juice. I got so caught up in the idea of chilled soups that I forgot I was supposed to be using fresh ingredients. But the can was newly purchased, so that's something. Besides, it has onion in it, and the onion was fresh.
Though it was less straight-off-the-vine than it might have been, the tomato soup - or actually lightly spiced tomato soup - was delightful.
The tomato juice serves as the base, its flavor mellowed and deepened with sautéed onions and vegetable stock (or water, but use the vegetable stock if you have it). Still, it is the light spices that make the soup come alive.
With a nod to the Indian subcontinent, the soup is embellished with cumin, turmeric, cardamom and cloves, plus a pinch of cayenne for extra heat.
And if that much heat is too hot for you, especially in the summer, you can cool it off with a spoonful or two of tangy yogurt.
As easy as the tomato soup was to make, I next made one that was even faster and easier. Curried avocado soup does not even need to be cooked at all, yet it boasts a big flavor.
All it needs are avocados blended with vegetable stock, with curry powder, heavy cream and salt and pepper mixed in. Chill it and you have a surprisingly good dish.
Surprising, because who would have thought avocados and curry powder would go well together? It's like hot and cold, night and day, black and white. That's why you need the cream. It melds, it blends, it softens and tempers and it makes everything better.
If the curried avocado soup was the easiest to make, chilled Stilton and pear soup was the most involved. Of course, the results were also the creamiest, richest and, if you are looking to impress your guests, the most impressive.
Pears and Stilton cheese are one of those all-time classic combinations. The smooth and rich - yet pungent - blue cheese harmonizes brilliantly with the mild sweetness and the unique, softly granular texture of a pear.
But how do you transport that heavenly pairing to a soup?
You cheat a little, is how.
You begin with a base of chicken stock cooked with celery, onion and leeks in it, which you then thicken and enrich with a roux. Next, you dump in a whole lot of grated Monterey Jack cheese and then stir in some half-and-half.
It tastes even better than it sounds, and we haven't even gotten to the pears and Stilton yet. That's because you use them almost as a garnish, diced into small pieces and floating on top.
Next up was a cold carrot-coconut soup. The coconut part, fortunately, comes from coconut milk. The other flavors come from ginger and Madras curry powder - two flavors that happen to enhance the taste of both carrots and coconut milk.
The soup is rich and powerfully flavored, so I would recommend it only as appetizer. The only problem is it is so delicious it is likely to overshadow anything else you would serve.
For my last summertime dish, I made a soup that could be served either as a dessert (it comes from Finland, and that is how they like it there) or a first course.
Cherry soup (you'll forgive me if I don't call it Kirsikkakeitto) is lightly sweet and absolutely gorgeous. It gets its entrancing red color from the cherries - lots of cherries you have to pit yourself - that are simmered in water with a cinnamon stick.
Lemon juice brightens the flavor, sugar or honey sweetens it and white wine or cherry liqueur brings an intriguing element you might not be able to identify but you will know it is there.
I served mine as an appetizer with yogurt in it. If you serve it for dessert, you could always instead add heavy cream or even whipped cream.
Live it up. This summertime bounty won't be with us forever.
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LIGHTLY SPICED TOMATO SOUP
Yield: 4 to 6 servings
1 cup finely chopped onions
1 to 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Pinch cayenne pepper (or 1 seeded and minced small chile)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
6 cups tomato juice (48-ounce can)
1 cup water or vegetable stock
Plain yogurt, for garnish
1. In a small soup pot, sauté the onion in oil until translucent. Add the cayenne, cumin, turmeric, cardamom and cloves and sauté another minute, stirring constantly. Add the tomato juice and water and simmer for about 20 minutes to blend the flavors.
2. Serve hot or cold, topped with a spoonful of yogurt.
Per serving (based on 4): 142 calories; 6 g fat; 4 g saturated fat; 5 mg cholesterol; 7 g protein; 19 g carbohydrate; 12 g sugar; 8 g fiber; 544 mg sodium; 164 mg calcium
Recipe from "Sundays at Moosewood Restaurant" by the Moosewood Collective
CURRIED AVOCADO SOUP
Yield: 4 to 6 servings
2 medium-ripe Haas (dark-skinned) avocados
21/4 cups vegetable stock, divided
1 to 11/2 teaspoons curry powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1. Split the avocados in half with a knife and remove the pits. Set aside one half. Scoop out the insides of the other 3 halves with a spoon and blend with 1 cup of the stock in a blender until smooth. Stir in the curry powder, salt, pepper, cream and the remaining 1 1/4 cups of stock. Chill.
2. When ready to serve, garnish the soup with thin avocado slices that have been cut from the remaining avocado half and dipped in lemon juice.
Per serving (based on 4): 175 calories; 16 g fat; 5 g saturated fat; 17 mg cholesterol; 2 g protein; 9 g carbohydrate; 2 g sugar; 5 g fiber; 755 mg sodium; 22 mg calcium
Recipe from "Sundays at Moosewood Restaurant" by the Moosewood Collective
CHILLED STILTON AND PEAR SOUP
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon water
2 ribs celery, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium leek, white part only, chopped
Salt and pepper
6 cups low-sodium chicken stock
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
12 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, finely grated
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 small pears, unpeeled
1/2 cup half-and-half
6 ounces Stilton cheese, broken into 1/2-inch pieces
1. Heat the vegetable oil and water in a 5-quart saucepan over medium heat. When hot, add the chopped celery, onion and leek. Season with salt and pepper and sauté until the onions are translucent, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the chicken stock, bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
2. While the stock is simmering, melt the butter in a 2 1/2-quart saucepan over low heat. Add the flour to make a roux, and cook until the roux bubbles, 6 to 8 minutes. Stir constantly to prevent browning and scorching. Strain 4 cups of the simmering stock into the roux. Whisk vigorously until smooth. Add to the 5-quart saucepan with the remaining stock and vegetables. Whisk until well combined. Simmer an additional 15 minutes.
3. Remove from the heat and whisk in the grated Monterey Jack cheese, 1 cup at a time. Allow to cool.
4. Stir 1 tablespoon lemon juice into 4 cups of water. Core and cut into medium dice the unpeeled pears and immediately place in the acidulated water. Pour the diced pears into a colander, rinse under cold running water, drain well and add to the soup with the half-and-half and Stilton cheese. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper. Refrigerate for 2 hours before serving.
Per serving: 430 calories; 31 g fat; 19 g saturated fat; 77 mg cholesterol; 20 g protein; 19 g carbohydrate; 6 g sugar; 2 g fiber; 880 mg sodium; 474 mg calcium
Recipe from "The Trellis Cookbook" by Marcel Desaulniers
COLD CARROT-COCONUT SOUP
3 shallots, sliced
2 tablespoons grapeseed oil or other neutral oil, divided
8 large carrots, peeled and sliced
1-inch piece ginger, peeled and sliced
Salt and pepper to taste
3 tablespoons Madras curry powder
11/4 cups unsweetened coconut milk
Fresh cilantro leaves, for garnish
1. In a large soup pot over medium-low heat, cook the shallots in 1 tablespoon of the oil until soft, but not browned, about 4 minutes. Add the carrots and ginger and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add enough cold water to cover the carrots by 1 inch. Season lightly with salt and pepper and cook until the carrots are soft.
2. In a medium saucepan, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of the oil with the curry powder. Stir well and cook for 1 minute. Stir in the coconut milk. Cook over low heat for 3 to 5 minutes, until thickened. Stir into the carrots mixture.
3. In a blender or food processor, blend in batches until smooth. Pass the soup through a fine-mesh sieve and season.
4. Store the soup in a covered container in the refrigerator for several hours or overnight. Serve cold, garnished with cilantro.
Per serving: 190 calories; 15 g fat; 9 g saturated fat; no cholesterol; 3 g protein; 14 g carbohydrate; 5 g sugar; 5 g fiber; 469 mg sodium; 60 mg calcium
Recipe from "Bistro Laurent Tourondel" by Laurent Tourondel and Michele Scicolone