We’re having a bit of a heat wave here. The temps are in the low 90’s. That’s okay, but then the My WeatherWitch App — that’s what I’m calling it these days — does this: 92, feels like 98.
FYI, I only care what it feels like.
I’ll be getting a text shortly from my niece, who practically lives in the Everglades. It will read…
Wimp!
Even worse…
Auntie Wimp!
So.
We’re eating cold dishes. Lots of cold dishes.
Drinking cold beverages. Lots of cold beverages.
This is not the norm for June in the Great White North. Northern Girls don’t do feels like 98.
So I made this ~
Chilled Cucumber-Chive Soup (Anne Lindsay’s The Lighthearted Cookbook, c 1988)
1/2 cup low-fat cottage cheese
1/2 cup sour cream (I used 5%, which reduces the sour cream fat content 60%)
2 cups buttermilk (oh, yum)
1/2 unpeeled English cucumber diced (I peeled. Where had that cucumber been? What had it been doing? A girl can’t be too careful.)
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley (straight from my garden)
1/3 cup diced red radishes (Okay. Not a huge fan of the radish, but used it anyway.)
1/4 chopped fresh chives or green onions (chives straight from my garden)
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Okay. So blend that cottage cheese and sour cream in a blender or food processor until smooth. Add the buttermilk and blend some more. Pour that tart goodness into a bowl and stir in chopped and diced things. Do the whole pepper and salt taste thing and chill, baby chill! Makes 6 3/4 cup servings.
I made it following the recipe the first time. And it was delicious.
Today, I made it like this ~
Yes, I ground up all English cucumber, parsley, radish and chive in the blender with the cottage cheese, sour cream and buttermilk.
Excessive heat will bring out the wild and crazy in the Northern Girl. Just sayin’.
The color was darker.
The flavor was more intense.
The first night I made it, I served it with a shrimp salad sandwich from Inspired Taste.
That sandwich is yum. That being said, next time I’m going to serve that cold shrimp salad over a bowl of greens, including fresh spinach. Again, with the radish. But I wouldn’t change a thing. I used fresh basil from my container garden. Wahoo.
Try it. You’ll like it.
That’s how we’re rolling at Casa Elen while it feels like 98.
I can’t stress that enough.
Elen Grey 