Cucumber Soup with Grilled Shrimp and Basil

Yowza, its hot. Hot outside and hot inside. Our air conditioning is on the fritz. (again) I've had to be a little fussy at our leasing office, so hopefully it will be completely repaired this afternoon.

In the meantime, I have the perfect dinner to combat the heat and pretend I'm at the spa. Cold cucumber soup (that only requires a blender to prepare) topped with grilled shrimp. Our CSA delivery last week had some beautiful cucumbers included, and I wanted to try something a little more fun with them, rather than slice them into a salad. I did the shrimp in a pan on the stove, and I squeezed the almost-spent limes from the soup on top. I also used greek yogurt for the first time, and I'm smitten. Its so thick and tasty!

The recipe claims to serve 4, but it made about 2.5 servings for us. Would make an excellent starter, but I was really happy letting it stand on its own. Feel free to do as I did and use basil instead of dill (unless you prefer dill, of course!)

Just a little something about the cookbook: I cannot rave enough about how great the South Beach: Taste of Summer cookbook is. If you enjoy the Quick and Easy book, you will love this one, too. The recipes aren't complicated, the ingredients are always fresh and delicious, and super-good for you, to boot. What I love about it, too, is that nothing in this book looks or tastes like you are on a diet - which takes the stress out of dieting.

Be like me and beat the heat with some fresh and re-freshing cucumbers!

Cucumber Soup with Grilled Shrimp and Basil
Adapted from: The South Beach Diet Taste of Summer Cookbook
http://www.amazon.com/South-Beach-Taste-Summer-Cookbook/dp/1594864454/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/002-6815521-7348005?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1181262545&sr=8-1

2 large cucumbers, peeled and roughly chopped
¾ cup cold water
1 cup low-fat or nonfat plain yogurt
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
¾ pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
¼ cup chopped fresh basil

In a blender, combine cucumbers and water; puree for 30 seconds. Add yogurt, lime juice, salt and pepper; puree until smooth.

Lightly coat a grill or grill pan with cooking spray and heat to medium-high. Grill shrimp just until pink, about 1 minute per side.

Divide soup among 4 bowls, top with shrimp and basil, and serve.

Makes 4 (1 cup) servings.

Nutritional stuff per serving: 140 calories, 2.5 fat, 1 g sat. fat, 19 g protein, 9 g carbs, 1 g fiber, 300 mg sodium