summer soups

Chilled Blueberry Mint Soup

August 19, 2012 By sharib Leave a Comment

It’s Seriously Soupy Sunday, featuring one of my favorite bloggers Serena, who authors a blog called Seriously Soupy. Serena started Seriously Soupy as a creative outlet for herself after her first daughter was born, which combined her passion for cooking with an interest in learning more about soups and soup making. Since it started she has given soup tours and taught soup classes and has a catologue of over 100 soups on the site! You can join Serena on her Soupy journey at SeriouslySoupy.com and twice a month you can find her here, at My Judy the Foodie, sharing her wisdom and helping demystify the world of soup.

The temps will possibly reach the 90s this week. With all of this steamy, hot weather I’m less-than-excited about cooking hot food. So I’ve opted for salads, smoothies and colder soup options like fruity chilled soups. This week, I decided to create a blue soup (well, it is a little purplish) inspired by blueberries and mint.

I also included some refreshing watermelon, Greek yogurt and a little bit of sugar to really make this a treat. I then cooked the berries for less than 5 minutes, blended the mixture, and let the soup chill at least an hour in the refrigerator before serving.

Enjoy!

Chilled Blueberry Mint Soup

Ingredients:

1/4 cup of water
5-6 ice cubes
1 carton of fresh blueberries – can also use frozen
2 tablespoons of sugar
1/2 cup of watermelon, cubed
1/2 cup Greek yogurt
Bunch of fresh mint

Instructions:

Add the blueberries and watermelon to a bowl and mash them together with the mint.
Add water to a pot and bring to a low simmer.
Add the fruit to the pot, along with the sugar for about five minutes (stirring it periodically).
Turn off the flame and blend the soup with the yogurt until you get to the desired consistency.
Refrigerate for at least an hour before serving. Top with mint!
Enjoy.

Almond and White Grape Gazpacho

August 5, 2012 By sharib 1 Comment

I love the refreshing texture of a chilled soup.

This week, I decided to make an Almond and White Grape Gazpacho. I decided not to use yogurt (partly because I didn’t have any at home) but also because I just wanted to focus on the fresh ingredients. And, the combination of different flavors like almonds with grapes and almond milk paired with the “traditional” flavors found in gazpacho like garlic, cucumbers, basil and peppers are bold enough to stand on their own, without being diluted by the yogurt.

This soup is beyond interesting and easy to make. It produces such unexpected, refreshing flavors it’s a favorite and perfect for the hot days of summer!

Almond and White Grape Gazpacho

Ingredients:

1 cup of salted and smoked almonds, smashed
1/2 cup of unsweetened almond milk
2 cups seedless green grapes, cut up
4 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
1 yellow pepper, chopped
2 cups cucumbers, peeled and chopped
½ cup olive oil
1 celery stalk, cut up
1/2 red onion, cup up
dash of chili powder
2-3 sprigs of fresh basil
2-3 sprigs of fresh dill
pinch of sea salt and pepper

Directions:

Cut up the grapes, garlic, pepper, celery and cucumbers and add them to a bowl, along with the almond milk basil, dill, chili powder, salt and pepper.
Place the almonds in a bag and crush them. Add them to the bowl and mix.
Place in a blender and puree until the soup reaches your desired consistency.
Drizzle in some olive oil and place into a refrigerator and chill for 4-5 hours.
Top with some cut up cucumbers and dill. Enjoy!

Filed Under: Sides, Uncategorized Tagged With: almond and white grape soup, chilled soups, Seriously Soupy, summer soups 1 Comment

Seriously Soupy: Roasted Eggplant & Tomato Soup

July 8, 2012 By sharib 1 Comment

I’m so thrilled to introduce you to Seriously Soupy Sundays, featuring one of my favorite bloggers Serena, who authors a blog called Seriously Soupy. Serena started Seriously Soupy as a creative outlet for herself after her first daughter was born, which combined her passion for cooking with an interest in learning more about soups and soup making. Since it started she has given soup tours and taught soup classes and has a catalogue of over 100 soups on the site! You can join Serena on her Soupy journey at SeriouslySoupy.com and twice a month you can find her here, at My Judy the Foodie, sharing her wisdom and helping demystify the world of soup.

Oh, and very selfishly, I’m so excited about Serena’s Eggplant and Tomato Soup recipe because I’m growing heirloom tomatoes and eggplant in my garden right now…

The summer is all about eating lighter and one of my favorite soups is a really easy veggie soup featuring a variety of tomatoes, eggplant, zucchini, and yellow squash. I made this soup on a whim last week and I loved using ingredients that I had at home as well as simple herbs like basil that really enhanced the richness of the veggies. I also included some simple flavors like olive oil, salt and pepper that made this soup the perfect summer treat.

Perfect chilled or served warm, this soup can also be used as a tasty pasta sauce and even used mashed up as baby food!

Eggplant and Tomato Soup

Ingredients:

drizzle of olive oil
1 box of heirloom tomatoes – about 20 small tomatoes
5-6 sprigs of fresh basil
1 red onion, peeled and cut up
5 cloves of garlic, minced and cut up
½ eggplant, cut up
1 red pepper, cut up
1 green pepper, cut up
pinch of salt
pinch of pepper

Directions:

Drizzle some olive oil in a medium-sized pot. Cut up the onions and garlic and add them to the pot. Cook on a low flame. Cut up the eggplant, tomatoes, peppers, salt, pepper and basil and add them to the pot. Cover and let cook for about 30 minutes – tasting periodically. Enjoy!