SUMMER MELON SOUP WITH GINGER & AVOCADO

Soup in the summer, to me, is the most perfect meal. In the Middle East, drinking hot beverages in the dead of summer is what they believe is the best way to cool your body down. Then there is the famous cold gazpacho that you can find on every menu in the summer, which too, brings on a refreshing and cooling feeling to the body. My conclusion is that both hot and cold cools me down, regardless of what science says.

When I was in Sardinia with my family a few weeks ago, I had an incredible melon soup for dinner one night. The waiter immediatly caught on to my picky eating habits, and told me that the chef could prepare and vegan soup with fresh ginger in it, so of course, I said yes. I've had tons of gazpachos with different fruits and vegeables, but never have I had soup purely made out of melon. I guess it's like a smoothie, but you can put anything blended in a bowl and call it a soup! It was one of the most delicious soups I have had, so I couldn't wait to come home and recreate it in my kitchen. I wasn't exactly sure what was in the soup, so I improvized and made it my own way, like I do with all of my recipes! I made this for our anniversary dinner last week as it was still so hot in Geneva, and it was a perfect start to our meal...next to come is my sweet potato gnocchi!

To make the soup, I simply pureed canteloupe with a bit of coconut milk, lots of fresh ginger, and some spices, and topped it with some chopped avocado. This is a soup that takes just a few minutes to make in a blender, so go ahead and give it a try!

Husband approved.

Ingredients:

1 large canteloupe

2" piece of ginger, peeled

Juice of 1 lime

Pinch of sea salt

1 cup coconut milk

1 tsp ground turmeric

Pinch of cayenne pepper

1 avocado, chopped

Optional: black sea salt for topping

Directions:

Place canteloupe, ginger, coconut milk, lime, turmeric, sea salt, and cayenne in a blender. Puree until smooth.