The Squash are Coming! The Squash are Coming!

Get out the lanterns and signal the invasion. The summer squash are back. Zucchini and yellow crooked-neck squash all in prolific force and ready for new recipes. Of course there are plenty of good old recipes to make, but with summer squash being what it is, there should be plenty left for experimenting.

My most recent test was on a recipe for a simple chilled soup featuring the yellow summer squash I got in a CSA box. These are such pretty little things with delicate, smooth skin and subtle favor to match. It seems almost a shame to chop them up, cook them in broth and mercilessly puree them into a smooth and creamy chilled soup. Well, okay, perhaps not exactly a shame.

This soup has subtle flavors that satisfy nonetheless. It’s filling without being fatty, nicely seasoned with a little cumin and coriander, and a little bit tangy from the plain yogurt added at the end. I sweetened it with a bit of carrot, which also enhanced the pale yellow color of the final product.

As usual, I used an immersion blender to puree the soup, but you cold use a regular blender and puree it in batches. Just be careful with the hot soup. It’s probably best to remove the little insert in the blender lid and place a folded towel over the empty space. That will allow some of the heat and steam to escape while blending. The soup can probably be made more smooth in the regular blender. My immersion blender tends to leave a few little bits behind, which I don’t mind. (I’d rather chew a few bits of vegetable than clean the blender container!)

I’m sure additional or different herbs and spices could be added to this soup, or perhaps even other vegetables. I’m thinking of trying this again when I can stir some fresh sweet corn into it. It really is a blank canvas waiting to be punched up, but I was actually quite surprised at how flavorful this simple version really is. Perhaps it could even be made into a green soup with zucchini instead of the yellow squash. At the rate the zucchini is invading, I might just have to try it.

Chilled Summer Squash Soup
Based on a recipe in Cooking Light magazine. I used unsalted, homemade broth in this soup. You may want to adjust the amount of salt you add based on your ingredients.

1 tablespoon unsalted butter
½ cup chopped onion
½ cup chopped carrot
½ teaspoon coarse salt, plus more to taste
1 pound chopped yellow summer squash
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
2 cups vegetable broth
6 ounces (about ¾ cup) plain yogurt
additional yogurt and chopped fresh herbs for garnish if desired

1. Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot and ½ teaspoon salt. Cook about 5 minutes, or until the onion is translucent, stirring occasionally.

2. Add the squash and cook another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the cumin and coriander and cook 1 minute more, stirring frequently.

3. Add the vegetable broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and boil gently for about 30 minutes, or until the carrot and squash are tender.

4. Remove from the heat and allow to cool, uncovered, at least 10 minutes. Puree the soup with an immersion blender or in batches in a blender. Taste for salt and add more if desired. Cover and chill at least 2 hours.

5. Whisk in the yogurt. Taste for salt again and add more if desired. Serve garnished with a dollop of yogurt and herbs.

Makes 4-5 servings.

Other recipes like this one: Cold Cucumber Soup, Gazpacho

One year ago: Pain au Chocolate

To-may-to, To-mah-to: Gazpacho Soup

If you’re in a debate over how to pronounce the word tomato, I have a simple solution for you: Call the whole thing off and give all of your tomatoes to me!

It’s safe to say I love tomatoes, but only good ones. I rarely even buy them in the supermarket anymore, preferring to wait out the grainy, bullet-proof, tomato-like fruit season, long as it is, for mid to late summer when I can sink my teeth into really great, vine-ripened, voluptuous darlings, especially the endless variety of heirlooms, that were grown only a few miles away. (It’s even better when I can visit someone’s garden and eat them in while still standing among the vines.)



This year, however, has been a special test of my patience. We have had a cool summer in southeastern Minnesota (and much of the rest of the upper Midwest). Tomatoes need the hot summer sun to ripen and turn red, orange, or gold, and the local ones were significantly delayed. Luckily, I had plenty of other great vegetables to keep me company until the object of my secret love affair could arrive. (Okay, so it’s not a secret anymore.)

The first thing I do when I get a great tomato, is make a sandwich. I’ve been eating these since I was a kid. Though I used to have them on toasted store-bought white bread and just a bit of Miracle Whip, I’ve since graduated to homemade breads, like this one, real mayonnaise (sometimes even homemade!), and often a few sprinkles of thinly sliced basil leaves or even a bit of pesto mixed with the mayo. This is the best do-nothing food in the world, and I can’t think of anything that I’ve been eating or fixing for myself for so long. (Adding bacon and lettuce is just great as long as you have the patience to delay your tomato satisfaction while cooking the bacon.)

The second thing I do when the tomatoes come in is make gazpacho soup, especially since bell peppers, chile peppers, cucumbers and fresh onions are in season at the same time.

Now let me make myself clear to all you purists and aficionados of Spanish cuisine. What I make may not really be gazpacho. I don’t put bread in mine, and I realize that no self-respecting tapas bar would serve such a thing, but I’m okay with that. I like it to be about the vegetables. I also do not strain out the pulpy bits. I don’t have a problem with chewing my cold soups (I also leave some of the vegetables in chunks rather than pureed), and it seems such a waste to throw out all that dietary fiber. (Really, what’s the point of eating your vegetables if you have to chase them with bran muffins or a dose of Metamucil?)

Much like when I make cold cucumber soup (there are striking similarities between these recipes), I don’t peel the cukes when they are organic or I know the skin has been left alone. I do remove the large seeds, though. I also remove most of the seeds from the tomatoes, but I don’t get too meticulous about that.

I used a Hungarian Hot Wax pepper in my soup, but you can use whatever kind of chile pepper you like, or leave it out if you don’t care for the extra spice. The Hungarians just happened to be on the table next to the tomatoes and peppers when I started making the gazpacho, so I went with convenience. Besides, that added another vegetable from the CSA box. This meant that only the garlic, olive oil, and lime were not grown nearby. Now if only they could grow olives and limes in Minnesota…

Since I purchased a ten-pound box of heirloom tomatoes in addition to those that come with our regular weekly delivery, I have a lot of tomatoes to eat. Gluttony and greed may be deadly sins, but I think they get cancelled out when the object is as healthy and holy as fresh, ripe tomatoes. I wonder what the third thing I make with tomatoes should be...


GazpachoThis whole recipe doesn’t quite fit in a standard food processor bowl, so it is best to puree it in batches. (I tend to remember this only after making a big mess.)
1 pound cucumbers, seeded (peeled if desired)
1 small bell pepper (any color will do)
¾ cup chopped red onion
2 lbs ripe tomatoes
1 chile pepper of your choice, seeded
3 Tbs fresh lime juice
3 Tbs extravirgin olive oil
1 tsp coarse Kosher salt or to taste
2 large cloves garlic


1. Finely chop half of 1 cucumber, half of the pepper, and ¼ cup of the red onion. Place in a large bowl.

2. Coarsely chop the remaining cucumbers, pepper and onion. Coarsely chop and remove the seeds from the tomatoes. Place the chopped cucumbers, peppers, onions, tomatoes and the remaining ingredients in the bowl of a food processor. Process in batches until smooth.

3. Pour into the bowl with the chopped vegetables. Cover and chill as long as you can, at least 2 hours. It should be as cold as possible. Before serving, stir well and taste the soup for salt, adding more if necessary. You can also garnish each serving with diced examples of what is in the soup.

Makes about 5-6 servings.

Cool Cuke Soup

There is an old photo of me at about the age of three in which I am sitting on the porch with my grandfather, and we are both happily munching cucumbers, no doubt right from the garden. His is a whole cuke, his fist wrapped around it as if it were an ice cream cone. Mine is a slice or a spear, I can't remember for sure. (In my other hand is a sucker, proving that I had not quite yet achieved true-believer status.)

This is the scene that comes to mind when I think of cucumbers. I'm not sure where that photo is now, although it must be in one of my mother's albums. Perhaps next year when cucumber season rolls around again, I'll be able to post a digital copy of it here.




Until then, I have to eat all the cucumbers in our CSA box. Luckily, I love them. (As far as garden bounty goes, they're second only to tomatoes if you ask me.) Really, I could just eat all them out of hand like apples, and I think Harry could too. But I can't leave well enough alone. I have to use a recipe. I have to cut and stir and process and ladle and garnish and serve. And then I have to clean up. Someday, I suppose I'll learn to just eat them mess free, but until then, I have to fiddle with a cucumber soup with yogurt and sour cream.

I like to leave the skins on my cukes when I can. Most of those you might get from the supermarket are coated with a food-grade wax or some such thing, and others may have pesticides. This time of year, however, you should be able to get your hands on plenty of locally grown cukes. (Nothing compares to these ultra-fresh babies, really.) Our CSA cucumbers are organic, so I simply wash of the dirt (essence of Mother Earth) and eat the skins. If the cucumbers are large, however, it's likely that the seeds are large, too, so for something like this cucumber soup, I like to remove them. I either quarter the cucumber lengthwise and cut out the seeds on an angle, or, for more fun, I halve them and scoop out the seeds with a spoon.

After that, I can simply chunk them up and toss them in the food processor with the remaining soup ingredients and puree to my heart's content.

The garnish is optional, but adds a bit more flavor and texture. You could also just garnish with pico de gallo or salsa if it's more convenient. It is still summer after all, and you gotta stay cool...and you have to make time for all those other cucumber recipes!

Cold Cucumber Soup

3 cups chopped seeded cucumber

2 cups plain yogurt

1 cup sour cream

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 garlic cloves, chopped

Garnish (optional)

1 cup chopped tomato

1/2 cup chopped green onion (scallion)

3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

1. Combine all ingredients except those for the garnish in the bowl of a food processor (or you could probably use a blender). Process until well-pureed.

2. Pour into a large bowl, cover and chill at least 1 hour.

3. Combine garnish ingredients. Serve in small bowls topped with the garnish if desired.

Makes 4-5 servings.