Contrary to popular belief summers in Montreal can be incredibly hot and humid. Montreal is actually an island so when you are surrounded by water the humidity levels can skyrocket, both in sweltering summer and chilling winter. Right now we are in a second bought of a heat wave. it is currently 27 C (84 F) with a humidity factor that makes it feel like 34 C (97F).
At work we are freezing with the air conditioner (I am happy); in the buses and subways one wants to pass out, and at home well it depends on each person’s set up. Do you have an air conditioner? If so is it a window, central or portable one?
I just replaced my old noisy window one with a portable AC. I know they are not as powerful (I got a higher BTU than required) but even with this in mind I am not sure how satisfied I am with it. Got any advice on my situation or how well your AC performs? Please share in a comment below!
One thing that seriously impresses me is the dehumidifying function of the new portable AC. You have to connect a hose to the AC and put the other end in a bucket to collect the humidity. I kid you not, during a heatwave, my 3 gallon bucket if almost full in an 8 hour span!
Cooking becomes a secondary necessity during a heat wave too. There has been a lot of smoothie blending, rotisserie chickens and take out going through in my kitchen. For a bit of a healthier quick in the pants a cold soup is wonderful. They are easy to make, quick and cold! This lovely Cucumber Avocado Soup comes in very handy.
Cucumber Avocado Soup
Ingredients
- 1 English cucumber
- 1 avocado ripe but still firm
- 2 shallot stalks chopped
- 1/4 cup fresh mint leaves
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 1/2 cup cold water
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Chop 2/3 the cucumber coarsely in chunks. Prepare 1/2 the avocado the same way. In a blender puree together the chopped cucumber, chopped avocado, shallots, mint, buttermilk, lemon juice, water and salt until smooth. Add a bit more water if too thick.
- Chop remaining cucumber and avocado into small pieces and add to the soup. Stir well.
- Chill soup before serving.
Recipe is adapted from the July 2007 issue of Gourmet Magazine
It’s all about hot soups this side but I’ll happily have this lovely refreshing one any time. What a pretty colour!
I’ve visited Montreal while I was studying in the US and it was so cold, of course it was during winter! humidity makes heat unbearable! This cool soup is just the perfect little thing!
Simply nice and refreshing dish!!!!
I could definitely use some of this today. Long day spent outdoors, this would be so refreshing!
Yummo! Would you say this serves 1 or 2?
It serves 4 small bowls as a soup, 2 as a main meal.
I love cold soup in summer time! Very refreshing and it’s great for small appetite during hot summer days. Nice to know cucumber and avocado is a good combination. Today was 32F in Tokyo. I would have enjoyed this for lunch!
This sounds so tasty and refreshing! I want a spoonful, Evelyne…
I’ve never had cold soup before, my idea of soups are always hot :). 27C or even 37 is not what we call HOT weather in Cairo 🙂 It easily reaches 40 there with a killing humidity and in the gulf area 40 is a breeze sometime in sever summer – that is usually in August- it can reach 50!!! you can melt in the sun hahahaha. We have a central air condition in my home but in Egypt it is more common to have conditioning unit in each rooms and it keeps dripping water through hoses in the streets so every now and then you can see puddles of water here and there 🙂
For sure if you live in Cairo 30C sound like nothing for you lol, wow 50C is a lot. I remember they had that in Chicago last summer the week before I went there on holiday. How one deals with weather is really relative to where one live and what are body is used too 😀 We may not have 50C here but from summer to winter we can go from -35C to 35C!
This sounds like the perfect soup to make especially now in the summer! Looks yummy!!
I think we’re having the same blasted weather. But today the humidity is down and the temps are actually cooler than normal…it feels wonderful. But when it heats back up again, and it will, a bowl of your refreshing soup would be perfect!
We have similar conditions in New York- hot and VERY humid. Chilled soup sounds like the way to go!
brrr…I detest air conditioning. Even when living in Georgia, USA, I counted on ceiling fans to cool me down. At work, it was a different story…
Great cooling soup, we make something like this here, but without avocado. And yes, perfect for hot hot days!
ela h.
When I was 22 I moved from a very humid climate to a very dry climate. I’ll take the dry climate any day. We don’t have air conditioning, just a swamp cooler which works fine as long as the temps are below 90 which means it’s not working well this week or last or the one before that. This delicious looking soup sure would be quite satisfying right now.
Ha! I had a soup yesterday made with avocado and yogurt!! Must try yours with cucumber…so refreshing and tasty!
Could we swap a bit of weather Eve? It’s cold here (although it doesn’t compare to how cold it gets in Montreal) so I’d happily take some of the humidity and heat and a bowl of this gorgeous soup please! 😀
Sending some as we speak Lroraine 🙂
This soup sounds delicious! I have the ingredients ion hand and will be making it this wee. Thanks for sharing.