Hello! It's been a while, hasn't it? You might have wondered which wormhole in this universe I may have dropped into, but rest assured the events of my life from our last conversation on Buckeye Brownies till now have not been nearly so dramatic or revolutionary in the fourth dimensional time-space sense (I might have just watched Interstellar...plus, physics is cool).
Mostly, it's been a series of mini mid-college-life-existential crises, like who-am-I (when brainstorming for the med school personal statement) and what-am-I-doing-with-my-life (maybe I want to do a fellowship?!) and a whole boatload of other premed-y concerns, and then a few months later (as in, last week), I completed junior year aaaand *deep breath* — it's summer.
I do have an exciting development to share — this past spring quarter, I joined Spoon Magazine at Northwestern University as a photographer and boy is it tons of fun. Basically, Spoon is a food magazine featuring simple and delectable recipes and food tips catered toward college students. It's totally hip and stellar and drool-worthy. You should see for yourself.
This recipe, in fact, is one I photographed for Spoon and it appeared in the print issue! How it went down — Carl and I were paired up on this chilled cucumber soup assignment (his brilliant idea). He cooked—or rather, simply threw on the ingredients together in a blender—while I photographed and kept thinking to myself how incredible it was that cucumber soup can be so photogenic. It was so much fun.
So a couple weeks later, we did another dish together (hint: chicken crusted with...pretzel?!).
This cucumber soup is good stuff — chilled and a perfect way to welcome the summer. Never mind that we might have added a bit too much lemon the time that we made it...The recipe below is adjusted for that.
Happy summer!
Monica
^Remember this from our insta?
CHILLED CUCUMBER SOUP
"As temperatures rise, we crave entrees that can cool us down. If you're bored with gazpacho but still want a refreshing spring dish, this chilled cucumber and dill soup is the perfect solution." --Carl Pieri
Difficulty level: Easy | Yields: 4 servings
What
5 medium cucumbers, seeds removed, coarsely chopped
1 1/2 cup plain yogurt
Juice of 1 lemon
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup fresh dill
1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 parsley
Salt & pepper, to taste
How
Place cucumbers, yogurt, lemon juice, garlic, dill, olive oil, and parsley in blender and blend until smooth.
Leave in refrigerator until sufficiently chilled, around 30 - 45 minutes.
Season with salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with fancy olive olive swirls, extra cherry tomatoes, and parsley if so desired.