I eat the same thing every morning all summer: a bowl of yogurt with fresh or frozen blueberries with various sprinklings like granola, nuts, or dried fruit to mix it up. I can’t face a meal too early, but by the time mid-morning rolls around I look forward to my daily bowl and give myself a big pat on the back for starting the day right.
After breakfast, it all goes downhill.
If I time it right, I can keep hunger at bay until supper with a tomato sandwich. I don’t know what I’ll do when tomato season is over. For now, the repetition suits me. But by the time six o’clock rolls around I’m either too hot or too tired to figure out what to eat or what to cook.
Here’s an idea (note to self.) Soup. It’s not just for gloomy winter days, my friends. A chilled bowl bursting with all the ingredients the farms and fields have to offer at this time of year hits the spot when the heat is on. Can we just pause for a second and let that sink in (the farms and fields part)? I don’t want the news to steal all the joy of summer. Just the vision of those farmlands is calming in a week that has been a hum dinger with more like it to follow. Let’s focus on what we have control over. Deep breaths and delicious slurpings, people!
Chilled Yellow Tomato and Cantaloupe Soup
Luscious ripe cantaloupe, yellow heirloom tomatoes, and ultra-fresh local cucumbers are practically jumping into your shopping basket right now. Take them home and make this creamy (though there's no cream or yogurt), tangy, and subtly sweet soup for a warm summer night. Golden tomatoes are beautiful in a salad with an array of red ones, all cut into different shapes. But here, the thick flesh of the yellow tomatoes adds to the heft of the chilled soup. First you need to peel off the skins by letting them sit in boiling water for a few minutes. They go into a blender with the ripe melon, peeled cucumber, sourdough bread cubes soaked in olive oil and vinegar, and almonds. Once the mixture is pureed into a pretty, apricot color, chill it, allowing two to three hours (or add a few ice cubes to hasten the process.) Ladle it into bowls and sprinkle with olive oil and a few pinches of Aleppo or crushed red pepper. It's a very refreshing bowl. Summer food doesn't get much better.
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