Chilled Cantaloupe Soup with Lemon and Ginger

Why did gazpacho (which in my opinion is simply salsa disguised as a soup) become *the* chilled soup? The other day while attending the Saucy Soiree (an event by the St. Louis food magazine that Jonathan freelances for), I made a new friend - chilled cantaloupe soup. The chilled cantaloupe soup was prepared by Highway 61 Roadhouse & Kitchen. It was sweet enough to be served as dessert, especially since it was topped with pieces of praline. However, it would also work as a great appetizer. I decided I'd have to try to make this refreshing summer treat myself.

After browsing an array of cantaloupe soup recipes, I came accross one that stood out on Organic Valley's website - cantaloupe soup with lemon and ginger. The ginger added a little kick to the soup and the lemon made it extra fresh and summery.

Here is the recipe, with some slight modifications:

Serves 8

• 2 T butter
• 2 T honey
• 1 T finely grated fresh ginger root
• 1 heaping T finely grated lemon peel
• 6-7 C coarsely chopped, fully ripe cantaloupe (For me, this was one medium-sized cantaloupe. You might want to buy two just to be safe.)
  
• 1 1/2-2 C milk (I used 2%)
• 8 sprigs fresh mint (I used basil instead since we had some fresh in our garden)

1. Place butter, honey, ginger root and lemon peel in a small bowl.
2. Microwave until butter is fully melted, about 45 seconds.
   
3. Stir to blend mixture.
4. Use a rubber spatula to scrape mixture into a food processor or blender.
   
5. Add melon chunks and puree until as smooth as possible.
6. Stir in milk.
   
7. Transfer to a bowl, cover, and chill thoroughly (4 or more hours).
8. Garnish each serving with a mint or basil sprig. (Serving in a hollowed out cantaloupe is a nice effect, but obviously optional.)
   
9. Don't eat it all because you can use some to make cantaloupe cupcakes - recipe coming soon!