A surprisingly tasty summer soup

My DH, Aaron, came home from the gym with a new recipe and a bag of produce. "Look at this great recipe," he beamed. "I'm going to make it for lunch!"

I rarely refuse when Aaron offers to cook because 1.) he's a good cook and 2.) I hate chopping vegetables, of which -- being vegetarian -- we eat a lot. So off I went for my own hour at the gym, leaving Aaron with his vegetables and his new recipe. The dish, called Rena's Summer Soup, originates with a friend of the Y's nutritionist, Anna. It's a straightforward recipe that didn't sound at all good on paper, but turns out to be brilliant. (BTW, the sandwich next to the soup bowl is something called Better Than Tuna Sandwiches from Colleen Patrick Goodreau's new book, The Vegan Table. More on that in an upcoming post.)

But enough talk.

Rena's Summer Soup

1 avocado

1 mango

1 medium tomato

1/2 green pepper

1/2 red onion

salt, pepper, and chopped fresh cilantro, to taste

juice of 1 lime

12 oz. tomato juice (we used V-8)

12 oz. pineapple juice

Chop the avocado, mango, and tomato into small, but not tiny pieces. Do chop the pepper and onion into tiny pieces. Mix all ingredients -- we used an 8-cup measuring cup for easy pouring. Serve cold or at room temperature.

Anna recommends eating this immediately. "It isn't as good if it's been sitting in the refrigerator for several days," she cautions.