Spanish Creamy Cold Tomato Soup

Ingredients:

2 eggs
2 oz Serrano ham (substitute prosciutto)
1 (8 oz) baguette, stale
1 large clove garlic
2 lbs (1 kg) ripe tomatoes
8 oz (250 ml) extra virgin olive oil
2 oz (60 ml) red wine vinegar
salt to taste

Preparation:

Hard boil the eggs. Place in ice cold water to cool.

Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Cut off hard crust from baguette, then cut into slices approximately 1/2-inch thick. Pour about a 1/4-inch water into a large glass baking dish. Add bread slices and allow bread to soak for 30 minutes. Squeeze excess water out of slices and place in a blender or food processor.

Peel and mince garlic and place in food processor.

Peel tomatoes and remove seeds. Add to the food processor and pour in vinegar. Process.

Slowly pour in oil while processing. Continue to process until smooth. If mixture is too thick, pour in a bit of cold water while processing.

Refrigerate until ready to serve.

When ready to serve: Dice Serrano ham. Peel and quarter hard boiled eggs. Pour soup into four bowls. Sprinkle ham over bowls. Add two egg quarters to each bowl.

Cold Melon-Cucumber Soup

Ingredients:

1/2 honeydew or other green flesh melon
1 large cucumber
8 oz plain low-fat or non-fat yogurt
3 tbsp white vinegar
salt to taste

Preparation:

Cut melon into cubes. Peel and cut 4 slices of cucumber and set slices aside. Cut rest of cucumber into large chunks.

Place melon, cucumber, yogurt, and vinegar into food processor or blender. Pour in vinegar. Blend until smooth and salt to taste.

If you will not serve immediately, refrigerate until serving. If refrigerated, stir thoroughly first.

Ladle into bowls and garnish by cutting four slices of cucumber into small pieces and placing on top of soup.

Cold Tomato-Orange-Raspberry Soup

Ingredients:

2-2 1/2 lbs. ripe tomatoes
8-10 oz. fresh raspberries (frozen, if fresh not available)
1/2 large red bell pepper
16 oz. orange juice
8 oz. water
1/4 cup sherry vinegar
2/3 cup extra virgin Spanish olive oil
1 tsp. salt

Preparation:

To peel tomatoes, it is best to dunk them in boiling water for 1 minute. Remove and immediately place in cold water. This will loosen the skin and you will be able to peel them quickly and easily.

Once the tomatoes are peeled, chop them into quarters and place them in a large non-metallic mixing bowl.

Remove the seeds and devein the pepper. Coarsely chop and add to the bowl.

Set aside a few raspberries to use as garnish later, if desired. Place the rest of the raspberries, orange juice, oil, vinegar and salt into the bowl and stir.

Pour mixture into food processor or blender and puree. You may need to do this in batches. As each batch is pureed, pour into another large bowl or pitcher.

Gradually pour pureed mixture through a strainer or sieve into a large bowl. Cover and place in refrigerator to chill for at least 1 hour.

Note: If you wish to serve immediately, serve as a drink instead of a soup. Pour into glasses of ice and garnish with raspberries.