Soups For Summer

Chilled soups make for perfect no-cook summer meals.

When the summer heat wave hits, I start to think about recipes that don’t require the oven or stove top. That’s what inspired my recent story “The Big Chill“, published in the June 2009 issue of Self Magazine.

Chilled, blended summer soups can be really flavorful, are easy to make and only require a few fresh seasonal ingredients. I like to use an immersion blender to put them together but an old-fashioned blender works just as well.

All these healthy, fast soups can be made hours in ahead and tweaked to your own taste – they are the perfect recipes for no-cook meals that make it from the fridge to the plate in record time.

For a picnic, use disposable paper drinking cups. Or for a more elegant presentation, serve them in chilled shot glasses or espresso cups passed on a little tray. If you’re headed to the beach, pour the soups into a thermos and pack it in your beach bag.

Ready for the Recipes?

• Red Pepper Chipotle
• Watermelon Tomato Soup
• Chilled Melon Duo
• Spicy Shrimp Cocktail Soup