We cooked dinner in the late afternoon, after spending all day in sunbathing in Central Park and walking in the cool, Catholic Cloisters. Her friends from NYU were coming to dinner, to drink wine and make movies under paper lanterns, city lights and a hazy summer smattering of stars. Up on the roof, liberated from the fetid amalgamation of hot garbage, subterranean humidity, and rats the size of fourth graders. I don’t remember if I kissed the film school boy or what time we went to bed, but I do very vividly recall making an avocado gazpacho and feeling super sophisticated in an uptown kitchen. I knew that a version of this chilled summer soup would be a perfect accompaniment to the chicken skin tacos Malcolm cooked up in here yesterday.

Avocado Soup

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 white onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 yellow bell pepper
• 3 Hass avocados, seeded and chopped
• 2 1/2 cups milk (I used 1 percent)
• 2 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 tablespoons dill
• basil, for garnish

Method

Melt butter in a small soup pot, add onion, pepper, garlic and dill. Saute until the vegetables are soft, then blend. Add avocado, milk, and half the oil. Blend again. Chill all day or overnight. Serve with drizzle of olive oil and pretty ribbons of basil. Great as a light supper or first course before tacos.

Photo: devlyn