Watermelon / Sake / Mint Soup

Are you refreshed just LOOKING at this?

It all began with a heat wave, mint taking over the yard, half a bottle of sake in the fridge, and a fateful Facebook post by a friend who had just enjoyed some Watermelon Sake Mint Yogurt Soup at Soup Nation. The next day, I rushed out to purchase a watermelon. And on day 3, this soup was recreated to the best of my abilities.

Obviously, this was going to turn out well.

I searched the internet and didn't find a recipe specifically for this concoction, but I found some watermelon gaspacho recipes that included lemon juice, so I decided to include lemon. Sea salt also seemed like a good idea. Beyond that, I just threw the title ingredients in the food processor in unmeasured amounts and it was fabulous. And I think it would be fabulous even with wildly different proportions of each ingredient, too.

Blending in batches requires patience. I made a mess instead.

I topped with a dollup of yogurt (SO good for variety of texture) and some more mint sprigs for fanciness.

The Recipe:

1/2 watermelon

1/2c sake, to taste

15ish mint leaves

1tb lemon juice

pinch sea salt

yogurt for serving

Blend all ingredients except yogurt in food processor
Top with yogurt

The Verdict:

Overall grade: A+

Overall reason: It's a summer cocktail in meal form!

Time to prepare: 5 minutes. 3 if you buy pre-cubed watermelon.

Husband quote: Sadly, Jess missed out on this one. But my parents loved it.

Comments

Kitchen renovation!

BEFORE: AFTER: Still to come: a beautiful new induction range and some wood shelving on the left side, above the backsplash. And maybe the shelving unit on the wall facing the cabinets should be green, but we're going to live with a while before making that decision.

Red lentil dal

Cucumber salad is key. This dal is perfect. Most of us took seconds, and I'm really excited to eat the last portion that's sitting in the fridge right now. The accompanying salad is really great for adding texture, crunch, and acidity to the meal. I wouldn't skip it. I got it from Tea for Turmeric and prepared it pretty much as written, but doubled and with none of the optional ingredients. This recipe doesn't mention any seasoning/dressing on the salad, but adding lemon and salt to it really brightened things up. The Recipe: (from Tea for Turmeric) 2 c red lentils splash of avocado oil 2 tsp cumin seeds 2 small onions, finely chopped 1 inch ginger, grated 4 small tomatoes, chopped 2 thai chilies, minced 2 tsp cumin powder 2 tsp coriander powder 1 tsp cayenne 1 tsp turmeric 2+ tsp kosher salt 2 tsp lemon juice 1/2 c cilantro, chopped For serving: basmati rice and plain yogurt Salad ingredients: 1/2 english cucumber, sliced 10 cherry tomatoes, quartered 1/4 onion, slic...

Curry Fried Rice

Excited for these leftovers. One of the things I wanted to try with my new jar of curry powder was fried rice. Years ago, Miles got fried rice at Korea House and it was the best fried rice I'd ever had. I suspected there was curry powder in it, but at that time I had never really cooked with curry powder, so I tucked that knowledge away for a later date. After reading a few recipes, I went rogue on this one. I couldn't even begin to effectively guess at what proportions I ended up with, so the recipe below is more of a rough guideline of ingredients. The "Recipe" (sorry no quantities; follow your heart): leftover jasmine rice tofu, cubed and crisped in the oven with avocado oil and salt vegetables: garlic, onion, cabbage, red bell pepper salt curry powder (I used a Vietnamese one) soy sauce sugar sesame oil future topping ideas: runny egg, sesame seeds, green onion Saute the vegetables in avocado oil until softened, and salt them to taste Add the tofu and toss to...

Adventures of a healthy-ish pseudo-foodie

Search This Blog