D and I spent the weekend at my parent’s house in the Hill Country. They have thermometer that is located on an outside deck in the shade. Around 2:00 pm Sunday afternoon, it read 102 degrees. IN THE SHADE. Needless to say, the heat of Texas summers pleads for refreshing, cold, light meals and snacks. Short of sucking on a Popsicle incessantly, this can be tough to do as most people like their food hot. Texans understand the need for cold food – we know that it is almost as important as queso. We had about 6 avocados leftover from fourth of July that had finally softened enough to be eaten (and that needed to be eaten by Sunday). I had no desire to make guacamole or enchiladas or anything that required eating luke-warm to hot meals. This led me to think about a lovely avocado soup I had had on holiday in Mexico back in 2008. In this same meal, I thoroughly enjoyed a cucumber martini which was the best drink I have ever had to date. I could feel myself begin to pine for these two flavors, so I decided to combine them in a chilled soup to ease the pain of the hot day. The soup was a lovely lunch and shortly after enjoying it, a small storm came across the lake and the temperature dropped about twenty degrees! Maybe I should call this magic, rain dance soup?

Note: I added spinach for extra nutrition, feel free to omit it if you do not have any – the flavor is not affected as the mild spinach flavor will play second fiddle to the avocado and cucumber flavors. Secondly, had I had any, I would have added fresh cilantro to brighten the flavors even further. I left this out and used fresh basil instead, which was just fine, and probably made my vehemently anti-cilantro father very happy. Feel free to use either or both depending on your taste preference.

Serves 4-6 as a appetizer portion

Two Cucumbers, washed and roughly chopped (seeded)
Five avocados, seeded and skinned
One to two cups of baby Spinach
Five Green onion stalks, including white parts
One tablespoon Ground Coriander
Salt and Pepper to taste
Juice of One Lemon, plus more to taste
One bunch fresh basil, with a few leaves set aside to chiffonade for garnish
1/2 Jalapeno, seeded and minced
Five garlic cloves
Cayenne Pepper to taste
1/2 to 3/4 cup plain yogurt
One to 1.5 cups chicken stock or cold water (depending on thinness desired)

Place all ingredients in a food processor or blender and mix well. Adjust seasoning as desired, then transfer to the fridge and allow to chill for at least  half hour, preferably longer. Serve garnish with fresh basil.