Enjoying Summer's Bounty

It has been such glorious weather these past few weeks so we have been enjoying lunch on our balcony as often as we can.  It is nice to be able to sit out and enjoy the bustle of the city passing us by and watch the herons, turtles and other waterfowl in the park across the street.

We walked to a different neighborhood market on Saturday morning, and, inspired by all the lovely fresh local produce, I came home and made us a cold gazpacho for lunch... and decided to dress up our balcony surroundings a bit, by turning it into an Italian Trattoria!

I used our red checked linens on the table, and The Captain poured us each a cold glass of Pino Grigio to go with the soup that I whipped up in few short minutes, with the food processor.  It was really nice to sit out and watch the turtles come and go from a log in the lake at the park across the street and while away some time....

The soup is just a bunch of ingredients that you already likely have on hand... and it has very few calories, lots of vitamins and antioxidants.!  You can certainly improvise and add what you like for seasonings.  If you have more time than I did, you may want to leave it chill in the fridge for an hour or more before you eat it. And, if you like you can add a bit of olive oil to it if you haven't had your healthy oil servings for the day.

I would suggest this easily makes an appetizer course for 4 people or a lunch for 2.



My Summery Gazpacho
Makes about 4 cups

• 2 cups canned diced tomatoes, including some juice
• 1 clove garlic, peeled
• 1/2 medium onion
• 1/2 medium green pepper
• 6 inch piece of long English cucumber
• 1 Tbs lemon juice
• Fresh basil, 4 or 5 large leaves, or 1 Tbs dried basil
• Salt and pepper to taste

1. Place all of the vegetables inthe bowl of a food processor.  Add 3 basil leaves and a few dashes of salt and pepper.
2. Puree about 30 seconds.
3. Remove to fridge and chill thoroughly.
4. Divide into bowls and garnish with the other basil leaves and a bit of parmesan cheese and tomato pieces.
5. Serve chilled.

The whole batch only has 145 calories and is made up of vegetables so I didn't bother to break down the nutritional information for this recipe.

Simply puree everything in the food processor.

 

The table, set and waiting for us!

Buon Appetito!



 

Printable Recipe

Cool Carrot Soup

I cannot tell you how delicious the roasted veggies taste in this soup!  You really have to try it for yourself.

This recipe comes from a Canadian publication called Fresh Juice, which we get in the mail from Presidents Choice.  It comes addressed to my husband and I am not sure how he got on their mailing list, but we have had 2 issues so far and I love them both.  Lots of great food ideas and interesting articles, too.  Free, yes, bring it on!

So... to the soup.

It is quite easy, really.  Wash, cut and roast the veggies, then allow to cool. Puree with some cold vegetable broth and serve!

I started this batch at 10:30 a.m. and we sat down to lunch at 12:30 p.m.   My vegetable broth was already cold from the refrigerator, so I skipped the 'chill' step.

You would not believe how good your kitchen will smell, too, while the carrots, onion, and garlic cloves are roasting in the oven.  I urge you to give this a try.  I used 4 cloves of garlic instead of 2 because we do love it, and I also used my own homemade vegetable stock. 

The N.I. is my own, from the exact measurements of ingredients I used.

Cool Carrot Soup
Makes 6 servings of 3/4 cup each

• 2 lb carrots, cut in 1-inch chunks
• 1 medium onion, cut in 1-inch chunks
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled
• 1 Tbs olive oil
• Dash each of salt and pepper
• 4 cups vegetable stock
• Sour cream or yogurt for garnish
• Chopped chives, fresh dill or cilantro for garnish

1. Preheat oven to 425° F.
2. Place carrots, onion, and garlic on a foil-lined baking sheet.  Drizzle with the oil, mix around a bit to distribute oil, then sprinkle with salt and pepper.
3. Roast until vegetables are soft all the way through and starting to brown, 45 to 60 minutes.  Let cool slightly, about 20 minutes.
4. Puree in blender in batches with stock until smooth.  Use more stock if you want a thinner soup.  Add more salt and pepper if you like.  Chill for about 30 minutes.
5. Serve garnished with a dollop of fat free sour cream or fat free yogurt and a sprinkling of chopped herbs.

Per serving without garnish.
Weight Watchers P+ = 3.
Calories 100; Protein 2g; Carbohydrate 19g; Fat 3g; Fibre 5g.

Vegetables ready to pop in the hot oven.

I cooked them the whole hour and was a little concerned by the blackened bits, but used them anyway and it was fine.

Garnished and ready to eat...

With some crackers and soft cheese.  A complete lunch!  A half-portion in a small bowl would be a lovely starter course for a formal dinner.

Printable Recipe

I think when I might add some ground ginger to my next bowlful before eating it... Ginger goes really nicely with carrots.  The author of the recipe also suggests adding a light curry powder.  That would be very good too, I think.

Creamy and Cold Cucumber and Avocado Soup

Some time ago, a friend directed me to Gwyneth Paltrow's blog GOOP.  I found this Cucumber and Avocado Soup there.  I love it.  It is very rich, very tangy, very creamy... much like a smoothie, but I do eat it from a bowl, with a spoon, savoring every mouthful.  It makes a lovely first course for lunch or a summer dinner.

If I don't happen to have fresh limes on hand, I use about 1 ounce of bottled juice and omit the zest.  It is almost as tasty.

And, if you use a long English cucumber, you don't need to peel or seed it. 

Cucumber and Avocado Soup
Makes 2 servings

• 1 medium lime
• approximately 1 cup cucumber, peeled and seeded, roughly chopped
• 1 medium avocado, peeled and roughly chopped
• Dash of salt

1. Remove the zest from the lime and set aside.
2. Blend lime juice, cucumber, and avocado together until totally creamy and smooth.
3. Place in bowl and sprinkle with lime zest and salt.

Per serving. 

Weight Watchers P+ = 3. 
Calories 117; Protein 2g; Carbohydrate 10g; Fat 9g; Fibre 4g.

A few simple ingredients... 

Become a creamy, delicious first course... all blended together with zest on top.



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