I keep a strange schedule that follows no patterns. Such is the life of a freelance recipe developer – it’s a drought or a tsunami – and right now I’m drowning. Given that I’m cooking all day, when it comes time to actually make something for myself, I usually punt. Classic case of the cobbler’s children having no shoes, I tend to default to delivery, take out or nibbles here and there of leftover scraps from whatever I’ve made that afternoon. Sometimes it works out well, other times not so much. Case in point: my dinner the other night was a bowl of partially mashed edamame. That’s not even a thing. I spend a lot of time staring at the contents of my fridge and while I may shut the door and dial the number for Chinese delivery instead, I do get a lot of ideas this way. That’s how this post came together.
I had several large, English cucumbers – the soft skinned, mild flavored varieties that don’t need peeling – and a lot of dairy leftover from a project. Into a blender went the cucs, a little yogurt and a bunch of herbs – dill, parsley and tarragon. I usually use milk in these types of soups but on this day I had that magical ingredient: buttermilk. My favorite. Now that I think about it, I pretty much always have a container of buttermilk tucked in the back somewhere. As you’ll see, it makes great soups but is also good to have on hand for biscuits, pancakes and wonderful ice creams and it lasts forever. It gave just the right bit of tang and was so much more interesting than regular milk.
I ate a bowl right away, garnished with little bits of cucumber, red onion and a drizzle of good olive oil. The rest went in the fridge for later. I liked it even better the next day when it was thoroughly chilled, the flavors had a chance to mellow and the sharpness of the onion and garlic had rounded out rather nicely. It was quite nice, in a perfectly normal Monday afternoon kind of way but also in a fancy ladies-who-lunch kind of way. Sitting on my back porch on a sunny afternoon, I felt a little like a southern belle and looked around for who was going to bring me a julep. Answer: no one. Booooooo.
STRESS THERAPY BAKING FACTOR: LOW KEY. This whips up in no time and is so pleasant on a hot summer day. Herby, tangy, cold soups are like that. It’s also a fetching shade of green; quite stunning in fact. Serve in pretty bowls with a lovely garnish cut just so, or drink it right out of chipped coffee mug. It’s good either way.
Other cold soup recipes: Late Spring Pea Soup, Hungarian Cherry Soup, Chilled Cavillion Melon Soup, Cold Melon Soup, Sweet Corn Soup, Creamy Radish Soup
Eight years ago: Chino Farms Strawberries
Seven years ago: Almond Tea Cake
Six years ago: Smoky Ginger Bacon Cookies
Five years ago: Banana Fudge Layer Cake, Coconut Layer Cake
Four years ago: Rendering Lard
Three years ago: Guinness Crème Anglaise
Two years ago: Parmesan Pea Dip
Last year: Mashed Peas with Chile and Mint
COLD CUCUMBER BUTTERMILK SOUP
Makes 5 cups
2 large European cucumbers (2 ¼ pounds)
½ cups plain yogurt
1 cup buttermilk
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 Tablespoon chopped red onion
1 garlic clove, roughly chopped
1/3 cup loosely packed dill
¼ cup loosely packed flat-leaf parsley leaves
2 Tablespoons loosely packed tarragon leaves
2 Tablespoons olive oil
pinch of kosher salt
pinch of ground white pepper
for garnish:
½ cup finely diced cucumber
½ cup finely diced red onion
½ teaspoon finely chopped fresh dill
olive oil drizzle
- For the cucumbers, finely dice ½ cup and set aside for garnish. Coarsely chop the rest.
- In a blender, add the chopped cucumber, yogurt, buttermilk, lemon juice, 1 Tablespoon red onion, garlic, dill, parsley, tarragon and the 2 Tablespoons olive oil.
- Blend until smooth.
- Taste and add a good pinch each salt and white pepper, cover and refrigerate for at least 8 hours or overnight.
- Taste and season the soup again just before serving.
- To serve, pour into bowls and garnish with the finely diced cucumber, red onion, dill and a drizzle of olive oil. Serve cold.
STRESSCAKE 
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