Let your soup get cold

It's so hot in Augusta in August that the last thing you'd think about packing for lunch is soup. This week, however, I'm giving you a recipe for a cold soup - white gazpacho - that's a good way to stay cool while enjoying the bountiful summer vegetables.

Traditional gazpacho is a combination of tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and onions. My white version is milder, based on cucumbers, buttermilk and chicken or vegetable broth. If you have all of the ingredients chilled, you can whip this up and enjoy it right away.

The soup is delicious as is, but adding a variety of garnishes takes it over the top. My suggestions include chopped tomato, green onion, walnuts, hard-cooked eggs and grated cheddar cheese. Use one or two of these, or all of them, to add color and crunch and to make the soup a more filling lunch option.

Pack the soup in a thermos or container with a tight-fitting lid and pack the garnishes separately to add just before. Serve with crusty bread for a cool summer lunch or first course at dinner time.

I'm also sharing three recipes for gazpacho variations that I developed for cooking classes and dinner parties. The first is a classic tomato-based gazpacho.

The second recipe, for mango gazpacho with jerk shrimp skewers, looks labor intensive, but you can serve the soup without the shrimp garnish. The shrimp skewers are also delicious served on their own.

The last option is a tomato-based gazpacho with the crunchy addition of blanched corn kernels.

Contact Karin Calloway at karin.calloway@comcast.net. See her prepare the recipe at noon Tuesday on television station WJBF (Channel 6). Follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/karincalloway.

CLASSIC GAZPACHO

1 large red onion, finely chopped (reserve 1/2 cup for garnish)

1 green bell pepper, cored, seeded and diced (reserve 1/2 cup for garnish)

1 seedless cucumber, peeled and sliced (reserve 1/2 cup for garnish)

2 cups diced crusty bread

1 tablespoon minced garlic (about 3 or 4 large cloves)

2 cup tomato juice, vegetable juice or Spicy V8 vegetable juice

1 28.5-ounce can diced tomatoes, undrained

1/3 cup sherry vinegar

1/3 cup olive oil

Salt to taste

1 cup croutons, for garnish

Combine all ingredients except the salt and croutons in a large bowl and set aside at room temperature for one hour to allow the flavors to blend. Puree in batches in a blender, pour into a bowl and continue until all of the vegetables are pureed. Taste and add salt as needed. Cover and chill for several hours, until very cold. Combine the reserved onion, bell pepper and cucumber in a small bowl. Cover and chill in the refrigerator. Serve, garnishing each serving with the chopped vegetables and sprinkling with some of the croutons. Makes 8 servings.

MANGO GAZPACHO WITH SPICED SHRIMP SKEWERS

For the gazpacho:

4 cups diced mango, about 5 peeled, seeded and diced mangoes

3 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1 cup fresh orange juice

Dash hot sauce

1/2 cup finely diced pineapple dice

1/2 cup finely diced cucumber

1/4 cup finely diced red bell pepper

1/2 cup finely diced sweet onion

1 tablespoon fresh minced jalapeño

1 medium ripe avocado, peeled and diced, for garnish, optional

Grilled Shrimp Skewers (see below), for garnish

Place 6 martini or margarita glasses in the freezer.

Combine 3 1/2 cups mango, lime, orange juice and hot sauce in a blender. Blend until pureed and pour into a bowl, cover and refrigerate. Stir the remaining mango, pineapple, cucumber, red bell pepper, onion and jalapeno together in another bowl. Cover and chill for at least 30 minutes, or until ready to serve. Stir the diced avocado, if desired, into the chopped vegetable and fruit mixture. Ladle the gazpacho in the frozen glasses and garnish with some of the diced mixture and garnish with a grilled shrimp skewer.

Note: Diced mango is available in the freezer section of most supermarkets and can be substituted for the fresh mango. Defrost for several hours in the refrigerator before using.

For the spiced shrimp skewers:

6 short bamboo skewers

12 large shrimp

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon Jerk seasoning (see below)

Place skewers into a shallow baking dish and cover with cold water. Place shrimp in a bowl, drizzle with the olive oil and toss with the jerk seasoning. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Turn gas grill on high for 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low. Place two of the marinated shrimp onto each skewer and grill for 1-2 minutes per side.

Makes 6 servings.

Jerk seasoning

2 teaspoons dried thyme

2 teaspoons ground allspice

2 teaspoons ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

Makes about 3 tablespoons.

FRESH TOMATO GAZPACHO WITH SWEET CORN

1 large ripe tomato or 3-4 ripe Roma tomatoes, diced

1/2 English cucumber or 2 small pickling cucumbers, washed and diced

1 yellow bell pepper, washed, cored, seeded diced

1/2 small red onion, peeled and diced

1 16-ounce bottle V8 vegetable juice (regular or spicy)

3 tablespoons sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Pinch sugar

Dash Tabasco

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

3 ears fresh corn, blanched and kernels removed (about 1½ cups corn kernels)

Place the tomato, cucumber, bell pepper, onion, tomato juice, vinegar, oil, sugar and Tabasco into a large bowl and stir together. Place half of the mixture into the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade, or a blender. Cover and pulse several times to puree coarsely. Return puree to the bowl with the chopped vegetables, stir in the corn and season to taste with the salt and pepper. Refrigerate for several hours before serving.

Makes about 6 servings.

The gazpacho can be served immediately if all of the ingredients are well-chilled.

WHITE GAZPACHO

For the soup

4 medium cucumbers, peeled, seeded and roughly chopped

1 teaspoon minced garlic, about 1 large clove

2 14.5-ounce cans reduced-sodium chicken or vegetable broth, preferably chilled

2 cups reduced-fat or regular buttermilk or sour cream

2 teaspoons salt

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

Garnishes

1 large tomato, chopped

2 green onions (scallions), thinly sliced

1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

3 hard-cooked eggs, peeled and chopped

1/2 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese

Combine 2 cucumbers, 1 clove garlic and 1/2 cup stock in the jar of a blender. Blend until smooth. Transfer to a large bowl. Blend the remaining 2 cucumbers, clove of garlic, and 1/2 cup stock until smooth; add to bowl. Whisk in the remaining broth and the buttermilk or sour cream, salt, and lemon juice. Ladle soup into bowls, and garnish.

Makes 10 servings

GROCERY LIST

2 14.5-ounce cans reduced-sodium chicken or vegetable broth

2 cups reduced-fat or regular buttermilk or sour cream

4 medium cucumbers

1 large ripe tomato or 3 ripe Roma tomatoes

1 bunch green onions

2 lemons

Chopped walnuts (1/2 cup)

Grated sharp cheddar cheese (1/2 cup)

Pantry: 1 large clove of garlic or 1 teaspoon minced garlic, salt, 3 eggs

TODAY: Lunchbox: Pack-and-go lunch ideas

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AUG. 26: What's for Dinner? Quick supper suggestions

SEPT. 2: Sunday Supper: Sit-down meal for dinner