Cool as a Cucumber Soup

We're in the thick of summer and gardens across the country are exploding with fresh, homegrown veggies. Along the East Coast, despite the current drought, we are still up to our ears in cucumbers, squash and tomatoes.

Lately the word on the street is that “locally grown” is as equally important as “organic.” I’ve been reading Barbara Kingsolver’s latest book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life which documents a year in her life when she and her family committed to eating only locally produced food. Kingsolver and family are avid gardeners and grow enough produce from March to October to last them throughout the entire year. It’s a truly inspiring book that will make you think twice about buying those strawberries in January or asparagus in October. I find it frightening that I never considered how much fuel it took to transport those off-season fruits and veggies from halfway across our planet and all the way to my table.

There are some great recipes you’ll find in the book and thankfully, Kingsolver has published them on her book's Web site. We’re going to do our part to help curb emissions this summer by eating locally—We challenge each and every one of you to do the same. Support your local farmers by heading out to your farmer’s market this weekend and loading up on some fresh, locally grown produce, meats and dairy for the week ahead!

We all have more cucumbers than we'll know what to do with--so here’s a soup that's healthy, inexpensive and will certainly cool you off on a hot day. This recipe is from Animal Vegetable Miracle and of course I added a few touches of my own. The soup also doubled as a refreshing dip for my quick and healthy Grilled Herb Chicken Wings--the recipe for that will be coming shortly. In the meantime, consider perusing our new favorite bbq blog for other finger-lickin' good recipes! Enjoy!

Cucumber Yogurt Soup with Mint Almond Pesto

4 cucumbers, peeled, seeded and chopped
1 1/2 cups water
2 cups plain yogurt
1 Tbsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp fresh mint

Combine all ingredients and puree in blender. Chill for about 2 hours.

Mint Almond Pesto

1 cup fresh mint leaves
zest of one lemon
1 Tbsp lemon juice
3 Tbsp sliced almonds
2-3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Combine all ingredients and puree in food processor or blender.

Serve soup with a generous dollop of pesto on top.