Cucumber Dill Gazpacho

When I was in high school, I had to have my wisdom teeth removed.  It was the most invasive surgery I've had to-date.  It was then I learned that my body doesn't cope well with anesthetics and general poking around in.

Speaking of high school, I think I subconsciously put these in a cheerleader formation.


Back to teeth-pulling.

My recovery time was much longer than most.  My dear, dear mother changed my gauze for me every hour or so.  It was, pardon me for using this phrase in a post about food, absolutely foul.  Unconditional, motherly love was at its peak those few days, that's for sure.

I couldn't even keep sips of Gatorade or water down for a day or two, let alone even imagine eating anything.  When I was finally able to handle ingesting something, my mother made me a soup very, very similar to this, if not exactly the same.  I ate it for days.  And I LOVED it.

I still do.  It sounds weird.  Cucumber soup?  Um, okay.  But it is so scrumptious.  So fresh.  So cool.  So perfect for summer.  And for using up the plethora of cucumbers from your garden.  I used cucumbers from my mother's burgeoning garden.  I do not have one, as we barely get enough sun on our lot to keep grass alive.

This is the best type of recipe in the world.  I bet you could make it tonight, in 5 minutes, skipping the grocery store stop on the way home.  Basically, all you do is take your yummy garden (or crisper drawer, saving vegetables from their impending doom) and put them in the blender.

And...that's it.  DONE.  Devour.

Or, if you're like me, you put it into your cheap-ass blender, try for a minute to get it to puree, then put it in your food processor, process, then put it back into your blender to liquefy.

I should have registered for a Vitamix.

 I love the presentation of these in cocktail glasses.  And the light on this particular afternoon - I had so much fun playing with and leveraging the natural 'spotlight'.

If you need a cool-down, like most of the US, this soup is a perfect no-heat-added-to-my-kitchen appetizer, first course, or lunch.

Cucumber Dill Gazpacho
Makes approx. 10 first-course servings

• 3 large cucumbers, peeled and cut into chunks
• 1/4 medium red onion, skinned
• 1 clove garlic, peeled
• 1 jalepeño, halved, stem and seeds removed
• 1/3 cup fresh dill
• 1 1/2 cups nonfat Greek yogurt (non-Greek and/or full-fat is AOK!)
• 2 T olive oil
• 2 T maple syrup (the real stuff. If you have Mrs. Butterworth's, use honey or agave nectar instead)
• Juice of half a lemon
• 1 t salt
• 1/2 - 3/4 cup water, to desired consistency

1. Place all ingredients in a blender or food processor and process until very smooth, 2-3 minutes.  Add water as needed to achieve desired consistency; taste and adjust seasonings accordingly.
2. Refrigerate for an hour or so before serving.  Serving vessels can be placed in the freezer to help the soup stay cold.
3. Garnish ideas:  chopped, seeded tomatoes, lemon oil, goat cheese, yogurt, dill, crab salad.
4. Note:  this will keep in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.