Chilled Cucumber Soup

Nothing better than a cool soup on a hot day! This vegan soup is uber tasty with its unique spices and blends of sesame, cucumber, and parsley. Tofu gives it a rich and creamy taste. Divine and delicious, this recipe is adapted from the cookbook “The Farm to Table Cookbook: The Art of Eating Locally” (which is an absolutely beautiful book whose specialty is dishes that are seasonal, and made with local ingredients). Enjoy!

One of my favorite new cookbooks, the author is also an Oregonian!

Nothing is more refreshing than cucumbers!

Ingredients:

Ingredients! Most of these should be always stocked in your fridge.

* 8 cups of cucumber

* 1 cup sweet onion

* 1 medium garlic clove

* 1/2 cup toasted sesame seeds

* Handful of pumpkin seeds (optional)

* 1/2 cup of Italian parsley leaves

* Zest and juice of 3 limes/lemons

* 6 ounces of firm tofu

* 1 cup of olive oil

* Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Ingredients in a bowl.

* Toast the sesame seeds on the stove top with olive oil. Not too high on the heat or the seeds will burn.

The toasted sesame seeds make this soup delicious.

A cup of good EVOO makes all the difference in any dish.

* In a blender, put all the ingredients together and BLEND!

BLEND! VITAMIX RULES!

* Serve cold with toppings such as diced avocados, chopped parsley, or my favorite soup addition (and salad topping, too), kale chips (especially “Pacific Northwest Kale Chips” AMAZING. AAHHHHH-MAZZZZZING. These chips are so good that you will want to eat them with or without the soup. That good.)

These kale chips come in many different flavors and are all delicious. They are not cheap, but they are made with organic and local kale. Support local economies!

And, voila. A perfect soup on a hot day.

Let me know how you like this soup! I hope you found it as uniquely delicious as I did!