Chilled Cucumber Soup

Nancy submitted this one as well, which is on a new track for Help! I Have A Fire In My Kitchen. We don't get enough recipes like this one! And I really thank her for making the adjustments to keep it "kosher". She writes:
Right now in Pennsylvania spring is beginning to introduce some warmth to us, after a winter of strange excesses of climate changes: very cold snaps followed by very wet periods which produced much flooding.

As my youngest son Jacob and I were enjoying our first day out in the sun in our rather ragged looking backyard, I said, "Jake, I am now thinking of chilled summer soups. I can't wait to start making them. How about you? Do you want me to get some together already?"

He immediately agreed, but said the first one had to be my specialty, Cucumber soup. Having just showed him this super new blog I discovered (Help! I Have a Fire in My Kitchen!), he suggested I post the soup recipe. So here it is, with some adjustments to make it Kosher.

This is a super soup for summer days on the patio. Even my grandchildren (most of them, that is) like it. Be prepared for a few more of these chilled soup recipes in the future. I love to share them.

Chilled Cucumber Soup

Ingredients:

  1. 3 large cucumbers, peeled, seeded and chopped
  2. 1 large onion, peeled and chopped
  3. 1 leek (just the white part and a small amount of green), well-washed and chopped. Leeks get very sandy, so it should be washed carefully.
  4. 2 cloves of garlic, minced
  5. 3 cans of vegetable broth (or veggie stock, if you're a purist)
  6. 2 Cups of buttermilk
  7. 2 Cups of plain yogurt
  8. 1 teas. powdered Cumin
  9. Salt and white pepper to taste
  10. Chopped mint leaves for garnish

Directions:
  1. Pour the three cans of veggie broth in a deep pan with all the chopped veggies and the cumin.
  2. Cook for about 20 minutes at a slow simmer until the veggies are tender.
  3. Puree' the soup in a blender in small batches (I say small because you don't want hot soup splashing on you)
  4. Mix in salt and pepper and chill the soup for an hour or so.
  5. Using a whisk, mix in the buttermilk and yogurt, and chill the mixture again until you can't wait to serve it, or until it is refreshingly c-o-o-o-l.
  6. Sprinkle some chopped mint on top of each bowl of soup. I also like to put a light sprinkling of ground cayenne pepper on the surface of the tureen of soup before serving. You can see what a fiery food lover I am.
  7. Enjoy.
Simple and easy - two stars for difficulty. This shows a great combination of veggies and milk into one great sounding soup. I also like Nancy's choice of spices. It sounds like she really knows what she is doing in the spice and veggie department. Hopefully, Nancy will submit more recipes. But she better watch out for Paula! I get the feeling it would be one hell of a restaurant if these two ever set up shop together!
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Comments

Paula and Elwood's Poetic Palace said…
Oh this reminds me of fruit soups I have made. Nance, the first time you served a cold soup, did you watch as some blew on their spoon as if to cool it off?

It is fun when someone new tries a cold soup and is pleasantly surprised at how flavorful it is.

Now this insane cook must look for the cold fruit soup recipes which work as an appetizer or dessert.

I could imagine a restaurant combining the recipes of all who contribute here. There would be a year long wait to get in due to the fabulous food.
4/25/2007 7:59 PM
ALWAYS QUESTION said…
Neat comment, Paula....thanks!

Yes, LOL, I know what you mean about the unexpected surprise of a cold soup. My step-grandson, Alex, looked at the soup in the serving bowl and asked what it was. I explained that it was soup, and would he like some. "Sure!" he said, (he's a good sport). One sip and he looked up at me, startled and said, "Grammom, you forgot to put it on the stove!" I laughed and explained, and thought he'd turn it down, but he took a few more sips and decided he loved it. His Mom was non-plused at this. Now that he is a teenager, he often asks for it when he's visiting me.

Yes, methinks you and I could serve up some super-yummy delectables!
4/25/2007 11:14 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Baking Powder

Image
This is the last of Paula's recipes for "food & cooking staples" so far. She writes: Sometimes you run out of an item midway through baking. It is fun to be able to make the missing content out of items you have sitting in your cupboards. Baking Powder Ingredients: 1 Tablespoon Cornstarch 2 Tablespoons Cream of Tartar 1 Tablespoon Baking Soda Just whisk together until evenly blended Baking Art Print 12 in. x 6 in. Buy at AllPosters.com Fifty Percent (50%) of all revenue of any product purchased through Help! I Have A Fire In My Kitchen goes to help feed needy families in Israel. The funds are donated directly to the needy families - regardless of religion, race or creed. The remaining 50% will be donated to a Rape Crises Center for Women in Israel. Paula obviously has a knack in the kitchen. I took this recipe but remember folks it implies you have Cream of Tartar and implies Cornstarch and Baking soda. If I had all this stocked in my kitchen - trust me I would al...
Read more

Shrek Cookbook - Book Review

Image
(***Due to layout of this review, if viewed in an RSS reader, certain sections may seem duplicated.) Before we begin, the normal disclaimer. This book review was solicited by the publishers of the Shrek Cookbook and contains my opinion of the book. For kosher readers of Help! I Have A Fire In My Kitchen - This is not a "kosher" cookbook though the majority of recipes in the Shrek Cookbook can be used as is, or with just a few sane and healthy substitutions, can be kept kosher. (Indeed as far as I could tell every recipe in this book can be kept kosher.) It is not that difficult to find equivalent and healthy kosher substitutes these days, especially in the United States. Book Details: The Shrek Cookbook , published by Dorling Kindersley ( www.dk.com ) is a publicized as a cookbook for children (ages 4-8). It's 30+ recipes come in Ringbound Hard Cover, so the pages can be turned easily while the book lays on a counter top. The font is large, catering to the child and p...
Read more

Chicken-Rice Roger

Image
Nancy sent this one in. Help! I Have A Fire In My Kitchen seems to have lit the fire in her kitchen! She writes: I have an ancient cookbook titled "The I Hate To Cook Book". It looks like the Dead Sea Scrolls: it's a paper-back with brown, crispy pages which are crumbling at the edges and more than quite a few of the recipes have large grease stains on them (shows you how wonderfully often they were referred to). I checked the publishing date and it reads 1960! I know...I'm as old as Methuselah. The recipes in this cookbook are about as easy as you'll ever find, so if you are in the category of "cooking for dummies", this particular recipe will please you no end. This recipe is one that was so popular that I even took it to weekend get-aways with my husband's cousin and her husband. We two women stayed up all night chewing the fat, and when we saw the morning light sliding through the Venetian blinds in the kitchen, we took the partially devou...
Read more