Golden Gazpacho

You're probably wondering why I'm making a cold soup in the middle of January. Normally I eat as seasonally as I can, but I guess I'm nostalgic for a few of the flavors of warmer weather. Tonight, I'm bringing a little summer into the kitchen.

In a large bowl, combine 1 and 1/2 cups orange juice, 1 and 1/4 cups chopped and peeled mango (about 1 large mango), 1 cup finely diced cantaloupe (I always find it easier to buy melon pre-cubed in the produce section), 1/2 cup diced peeled jicama, 1/2 cup tomato juice, 6 tablespoons diced yellow bell pepper, 3 tablespoons sliced green onions, 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro, 1 tablespoon rice vinegar, 1/4 tsp. salt, and 1/8 tsp. black pepper - what a list!

Stir together, then cover and chill until ready to serve. A one cup serving is 100 calories.

Note: stay away from V8 for the tomato juice - too much salt and not enough actual tomato! There is an organic purely tomato juice that I love from R.W. Knudsen, but the store was out, so I bought their low-sodium Very Veggie variety instead, which is still mostly tomato juice: www.knudsenjuices.com/

Cost:
mango $1.99
cantaloupe $2.92
jicama $1.35
tomato juice $3.29
yellow bell pepper $3.01
green onions $0.98
cilantro $1.99
black pepper $4.49