Curried Egg Salad with Yogurt

One of my favorite sandwiches is egg salad - but fat, cholesterol, and calories can add up pretty quickly depending on how you make it. This recipe cuts out mayo and some of the egg yolks and uses yogurt and curry to kick up the taste. Warning - this isn't your grandmother's egg salad! (p.s. You might also try replacing the egg with broiled or grilled chicken breast.)

Curried Egg Salad with Yogurt (~4 servings)
6 boiled eggs (remove yolks from 4 eggs or to taste), diced
1 1/2 tsp. curry
3 T. plain nonfat yogurt (more or less, to taste)

One or more of the following (to add crunch and flavor):
1 stalk celery, finely chopped
2 T. cilantro, chopped
1 T. green onion or chives, chopped

1. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and stir until well-mixed.

2. Make sandwiches using toasted whole wheat bread, wrap in lettuce leaves, or just eat with a fork!

Mango Lassi (Aam Ki Lassi)

When I dine out at Indian restaurants, I often enjoy starting out with a mango lassi instead of an appetizer. These are remarkably easy to make at home, too - and are a great starter to serve as guests arrive for a dinner party.

Mango Lassi (Aam Ki Lassi) (2 servings)
2 cups plain yogurt (I used non-fat)
1 cup fresh or canned mango
1/2 cup crushed ice
up to 1 T sugar (depending on taste)

1. Combine yogurt, mango, ice, and sugar in blender. Puree until smooth.

2. Pour into glasses, with additional ice cubes if desired.

Cool Cucumber and Green Tea Soup

Lucerne (the "store brand" at Safeway) makes a light green tea yogurt that I've used previously as a fruit dip. I thought that it might also make a good base for a cold cucumber and yogurt soup, so I whipped some up for the coming week's lunches. A small taste test reveals that...this was a great idea!

Cool Cucumber and Green Tea Soup (4-5 servings)
2 large cucumbers, peeled and chopped
1 cup green tea yogurt + 1 cup plain yogurt (or 2 cups plain)
2 T. fresh dill, minced (or dill paste)
1 T. fresh ginger, minced (or ginger paste)
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 T. lemon juice
pepper and salt to taste
1 cup water (if desired)

1. Mix cucumbers, yogurt, dill, ginger, garlic, lemon juice, pepper, and salt together in a large bowl and stir until the cucumber pieces are coated with yogurt.

2. Use a food processor or blender to puree the mixture in batches. If the mixture is too thick, add water until the desired consistency is reached.

3. Chill for at least 1 hr. and serve. Garnish with sprigs of fresh dill or thinly sliced cucumbers, if desired.

Chilled Peach Soup

The past week or so has confirmed that summer has come to Washington, DC. Last Saturday, as the temperature flirted with triple digits and the city suffered through an early heat wave, visions of Whole Foods chilled soups danced in my head. Last summer I lived a mere half block from Whole Foods, and running across the street to pick up a quart of gazpacho or chilled peach soup was but the work of a moment. I've moved since then - it's about half a mile to Whole Foods from my new apartment - so if I walk over there, I expect to come home with a loaded sack.

Unfortunately, the recent tomato salmonella scare had triggered a decision to pull all fresh gazpacho from the shelves - strike 1. The shelves were also woefully lacking containers of chilled peach soup - strike 2. The store employees also had no idea if or when these summer staples would return to the refrigerated case - strike 3.

All was not lost, however. Instead of resigning myself to eating fresh French bread with no accompaniment, I decided to try my hand at making my own chilled peach soup. I had to use canned peaches, since I didn't have any fresh peaches on hand, but this did have the added benefit of less time spent peeling and slicing! Overall, the experiment worked out pretty well - and cost quite a bit less than the $5.99 Whole Foods charges.

Chilled Peach Soup (2-3 servings)
1 15 oz. can peaches or 3 cups fresh peaches (peeled)
1 cup yogurt
2 Tbs. lemon juice
2 Tbs. almond extract
1 tsp. cinnamon

1. Dice peaches into small (1/4") cubes.

2. Combine peaches, yogurt, lemon juice, almond extract, and cinnamon in a large bowl and mash with a potato masher/ricer until well blended. If the soup is too thick, add syrup from canned peaches, orange juice, or white grape juice until desired thickness is reached. (For those who like a smoother soup, use a blender or food processor for this step.)

3. Chill for at least 1 hr. and serve. Garnish with fresh mint, cinnamon, or peach slices, if desired.

I used peach yogurt when I made this, which made the soup even peachier - others may wish to use plain yogurt or to experiment with other flavors of yogurt (apricot mango? raspberry?). I'm also considering making a larger batch of this soup, using half peaches and half mangoes for the fruit portion.