You know those afternoons when you’re trying so hard to keep your mind on the task at hand, but it’s just been dragging on for that little bit too long? Those afternoons are when I start randomly getting ingredients popping up in my mind in little thought bubbles. I wind up with my work notes on one side of my notebook and scribbles of various flavor combinations and inspirations on the other.
On the afternoon that this soup was born in my mind, it was sunny outside the office windows and in my mind I was back on vacation in Tucson. If you read my personal blog you’ll know I fell in love with the place last summer. I was entranced by improbable flavors the chefs combined and this kind of playing around has flitted into my own creations ever since.
One of my favorite things to eat is chilled soup. I love how easy it goes down and how easily my body can digest and assimilate it. It’s simple food at its best. This soup is the culmination of my imagination of late night downtown Tucson dinners, the pink skies after sunset and the 90F heat after a day hiking among the saguaros ~
Barrio Soup
para dos
1/2 a medium butternut squash, peeled and cubed*
The fresh juice of 4 oranges (or a mix of water and their zest, if you want to properly food combine)
Half a vanilla pod
1 tsp whole cumin seeds
1 tbsp mesquite powder
1 small avocado
Ground chipotle chili powder to taste
Raw pumpkin seeds (again, omit if you want to properly combine, but they do add a nice bit of texture)
2 tbsp pure maple syrup
Fresh ground sea salt
Zest of one lime
Method ~
In a high speed blender (such as a Vitamix) blend together until smooth the butternut, orange juice, avocado, cumin, vanilla and mesquite with a little sea salt. Pour into two bowls.
Top each bowl with a line of chipotle powder to taste. I like it pretty spicy so I go with a thick line of it. Top the line of chili with pumpkin seeds, drizzle the maple syrup over them, and then grind some sea salt on top, so it gets all involved with the maple syrup. Sprinkle the lime zest over the top.
*You may wish to put the butternut in the refrigerator for an hour or so before making the soup, so it’s nice and cold.
In the midst of so much chaos in our lives right now, such as living out of suitcases and perched in someone else’s home, simple food seems the only way to go. In a kitchen not my own, and ensuring the food suits and satisfies all, I decided upon a salmon salad. Keeping meals simple also helps keep the food budget in tact as well as awakening the pallet to the pure enjoyment of each and every ingredient. It also helps with time. This salad won’t take you more than ten minutes to compile, then all you have to do is sit back and enjoy the balmy summer evening, preferably with a glass of rosé to your side. It would also be really nice eaten al fresco. As it was I ate mine after my glass of rosé and I also ate it inside as we’d just returned from a four mile walk around the tree lined country lanes of Kent and were looking for a little cooling off time. It was delicious regardless.