ED-Bilton 31 So I said to the waiter, "Taste the soup." "What's ...

So I said to the waiter, "Taste the soup."

"What's wrong with the soup?"

"Taste the soup!"

"What's wrong with the soup?"

"Just taste the soup!"

"Okay-where's the spoon?"

"Ah-cha-a!"

Even somewhat-seasoned cooks can get intimidated at the prospect of making soup. Either it ends up too watery, too thick or too lumpy. But soup is probably one of the easiest meals you can make: All you need is a blender.

The easiest of all soups is a cold gazpacho. Among the best of its variants is delicious avocado cucumber soup.

There's a plethora of different ways to make this soup, but the following recipe is so simple that it will take you 10 minutes to prepare, and it won't taste bland and boring. You can vary this recipe a hundred ways, so feel free to experiment and change certain ingredients. You can switch lime for lemon, for example, or not add salt, or add lots of salt. Switch up the fresh herbs-add cilantro, thyme, dill or chives. But I wouldn't recommend adding more than one of these at once.

Kitchen Tools

1 Blender

1 small Knife

Avocado Cucumber Soup

1 large English cucumber

2 soft ripe avocadoes

1 tablespoon of ginger

1/2 a small onion or 3 scallions

3 fresh limes

1/2 cup of plain yogurt

1 cup of cold water

1 tablespoon of hot sauce or 1

jalapeño pepper

1 teaspoon of salt

1 teaspoon of pepper

1 teaspoon of olive oil

Fresh cilantro or thyme

Start by cutting the skin off the cucumber and chopping into small cubes. Then do the same for the avocado-peel and chop. Next finely chop the ginger. Then chop the onions into the cubes the same size as the cucumber and avocado. Finally, cut the fresh limes in half and squeeze out all the juice into a small bowl.

Separate half the cubed cucumber and half the cubed avocado and put to one side; you will add this to the blended soup at the end. In the blender combine the remaining ingredients: cucumber, avocado, plain yogurt, cold water, hot sauce (if you are using fresh jalapeños, chop them first) salt, pepper, olive oil, onions, ginger and squeezed fresh lime. Blend all ingredients on high until pureed. Pour into a bowl and add the cucumber and avocado cubes you set aside from before. Refrigerate for 20-30 minutes. Serve in bowls and sprinkle thyme or cilantro on top. Voilà, you're done. Serves 4-6.

You can add almost anything on top for color and additional taste. One of the best additions is shrimp fried in butter and a little white wine. For vegetarians or low budgets, try baked pita chips:

Baked Pita chips

Pita bread

Salt

Pepper

Olive oil

Simply take pitas and cut them into whatever shape you desire-triangles, strips, whatever. Preheat the oven to 350. Take a baking sheet or silver foil and drizzle with olive oil. Place the cut pita strips onto the baking sheet and brush with more olive oil, but don't overdo it. Then sprinkle on some salt and pepper. Bake for 8-10 minutes.

Shrimp

15-20 medium shrimp (to serve 4-6)

Dab of butter

1 Garlic clove

White wine

Fresh thyme

Over medium heat, add a healthy dab of butter to a small frying pan. Crush the garlic and add to butter when hot. Then add shrimp and cook until bright pink on both sides, three to five minutes or so. Finally, add a little white wine, a little less than a quarter of a cup, and some fresh thyme (or herb of your choice). Cook for another two minutes and sprinkle over soup. Serve immediately. o