How to make a cool and refreshing cucumber soup

To celebrate our 85th Anniversary, our kitchen hit the archives for a taste of the headline-making trends from the past 85 years. Inspired, we whipped, flipped and remixed our faves. For this Then and Now remake, we turned a cool cucumber jelly mould into a summery cucumber soup.

Ingredients

• 1 English cucumber, peeled
• 1 small avocado, peeled and pitted
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
• 1/4 cup lemon-lime soda
• 1/4 cup chopped chives
• 1/4 cup packed mint leaves
• 2 tsp jalapeno Tabasco sauce
• 1/4 tsp salt

Sour cream gelée

• 1/4 cup fat-free sour cream
• 2 tbsp white balsamic vinegar
• 2 tbsp water
• 1/2 tsp agar-agar powder

Instructions

• WHIRL cucumber with avocado, broth, soda, chives, mint, Tabasco and salt in a blender until very smooth, about 2 min. Refrigerate until chilled, about 30 min.
• WHISK sour cream with vinegar, water and agar-agar in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high. Pour into a 9x5-in. loaf pan. Set aside until completely firm, 15 to 20 min. Flip gelée onto a cutting board. Cut into 1/2-in. cubes.
• DIVIDE gazpacho among 8 glasses. Top with gelée cubes and garnish with more mint leaves and chopped chives.

Shopping tip: Agar-agar powder can be found in most Asian grocery stores.