It’s hot and humid, and the city is under a heat alert. You know that blast of heat that hits your face when you open the oven door? It’s kind of like that. The last thing I want to do is pack a lunch for work. Unfortunately it was another busy day at the office and I only had time to run downstairs to grab something at the food court. I thought to myself “I’ll get a soup, because no one else is going to want soup today and I can be back upstairs in five minutes.” Murphy’s law – guess where everyone decides to go for lunch? There was a huge line at the soup place. Because nothing beats the heat like a steaming hot bowl of soup. Did I miss something?

That got me thinking about soup, and I remembered a different kind of soup I tried while at dining at 1900 Park Fare at Disney World. It was a strawberry soup, and I didn’t care for it at the time because it was cold and it was January. But with the temperatures sitting at 35C (95F) I figured I might as well give it a shot.

The idea of fruit in a soup might seem strange but it actually works quite well. It’s a nice alternative from the savory soups you might be used to, and most certainly refreshing on a hot summer’s day. This recipe isn’t the one from Disney World – that one uses a combination of heavy cream, sour cream and yogurt, and I want to keep this soup light. Instead, this recipe relies on yogurt to give the soup a smooth and creamy texture. It also uses cranberry juice and lime juice for an extra bit of zing. If you like strawberries, be sure to give this recipe a try.

How do you keep cool on hot summer days?

Chilled Strawberry Yogurt Soup
(Yield: 6 servings)

Ingredients:

• 4 cups strawberries, hulled
• 1 cup cranberry juice
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• mint leaves (optional)

Directions:

• Hull the strawberries and place into a blender or food processor along with the cranberry juice, water, Greek yogurt, sugar and lime juice.
• Puree ingredients and strain into a bowl.
• Cover and chill for about an hour before serving.

(Source: Canadian Living)

Recipe notes: I used Liberte Greek yogurt to get a bit of extra protein into the soup and for some extra thickness but plain yogurt should work just as well.