“A soup like this is not the work of one man. It is the result of a constantly refined tradition. There are nearly a thousand years of history in this soup.” – Willa Cather, ‘Death Comes for the Archbishop’, 1927

Yes, soup is good in summer – traditional blended cold soups as well as warm soups brimming with chunks of colorful fresh summer vegetables.  For many, soup is emotionally connected to a specific season.  I love soup all year round. Soup recipes are a fantastically flexible springboard for culinary creativity, easy to personalize to suit your family’s tastes, often quick to prepare, and a fantastic way to add more veggies or fruits to your day. When I eat a bowl as an appetizer or along side a main meal, portion control for the main event is easy.

Chilled soups are great to take along on a picnic if taken in the cooler. This Gazpacho from about.com is a wonderful example of a good picnic soup that will keep your friends cool on a hot day in the sun; try one for Labor Day!  Make cold soups with all the fresh summer fruits and vegetables you can get your hands on, and enjoy them even if you are not going on a picnic.

If you like to tweak or create recipes, there's a fun interactive challenge activity located at the new Chefery Challenge Page at The CC Palate. The assignment for Challenge #1 was to use a specific basic Avocado Soup recipe as a starting point to a fabulous new recipe. Three of us responded to the first challenge with a new recipe; check out the very different approaches at the recipe links below! If you have a great idea for a new twist on Avocado soup; it's never too late to join in the challenges!

Not a fan of chilled soups? No problem - not with the abundance of tomatoes, green beans, corn, and every other vegetable that thrives in the heat of the summer! In-season vegetables make the best summer soup; so I've also posted a few recipes for those of us that like our soup hot all year round.

Three Chilled Avocado Soups:

Avocado Three Way Soup, V. 1 with Cucumber is Hollie’s superb creation based on the original recipe.

For Avocado Three Way Soup, V. 2 with Roasted Tomatillos & Hatch Chiles I went off in a totally different direction with outstanding results!

Avocado Three Way Soup, V. 3 with Green Tomatoes was made awesome with green tomatoes picked fresh from Sharpshootinstar’s garden!

A Few Great Hot Summertime Soups:

White Bean and Arugula Soup is near the top as the all-time favorite most requested by my family soup. Enjoy it with a biscuit or roll.

Hollie’s Tomato Basil Soup is as delicious cold as it is warm!

Marie’s Cauliflower Soup is so pretty. She added a rather interesting ingredient to make this soup hers.

Buggy’s Cauliflower Potato Soup is fantastic. Love the use of mustard in the recipe, just the right touch of savory which makes this dish a stand out.

Potato Carrot Soup – this is the winner in the favorite soup contest for my family - even more than the White Bean and Arugula! Very versatile, it can be made creamy or stocky as you prefer.

Willa Cather was right. Throughout history, soups have been constantly refined or made new by each new cook. Soup is so simple to make, even if you only have a blender, a hot pot, or a rice cooker, you can make soup. Create your beautiful soup today and become part of the historical tradition.

Your thoughts…

Do you eat soup all year ‘round or just in cooler weather? What is your favorite summer soup? Do you prefer cold or hot soup in the summer? Are your summer soups different than your winter soups? Do you have a favorite seasoning you seem to add almost every time when simmering soup? Do you like to make a pot of Whatever is Available Soup? What was the most interesting soup you have made or tasted? Post your recipes here or send them to me in pm!