Still here.... sort of.

Here’s something for the starving masses…. My son loves this stuff… isn’t that odd? Now I’m going back outside. (stolen from the helenair.com website)

Avocado Gazpacho

3 fully ripened Hass avocados, halved, pitted, peeled and diced
2 cups peeled, seeded and diced cucumbers
¾ cup chopped fresh tomato
½ cup chopped onion
14½-ounce ready-to-serve chicken broth
1 to 2 tablespoons lemon juice
1½ teaspoons salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
½ cup coarsely broken tortilla chips

Remove ½ cup diced avocado for later use. In a blender, place half of the remaining avocado, cucumbers, tomato, onion, broth, lemon juice, salt and pepper; whirl until smooth; place in a bowl; repeat.To serve: Spoon gazpacho into four soup bowls; in the center of each, spoon a small mound of the avocado and sprinkle with chip pieces. If desired, top each serving with a cilantro sprig.To prepare up to one day ahead, follow recipe up to serving directions. Cover surface of soup directly with plastic wrap; refrigerate. When ready to serve, continue as directed above.Makes 4 servings, about 5 cups.

Nutrition information per serving: 296 cal., 5 g pro., 19 g carbo., 25 g total fat (4 g saturated), 7 g dietary fiber.

Note: To convert to a main-dish cold soup, omit the tortilla chips and use:
1 pound cooked, shelled medium shrimp (about 24)
6-ounce can lump crabmeat, drained or ½ cup fresh lump crabmeat (about 4 ounces)
Sliced scallion for garnish, if desired
French bread
Goat cheese or cheese spread, as desired

Set aside 12 shrimp for garnish, then chop the remaining shrimp and stir them into the soup along with the crabmeat. Some crabmeat can be set aside for garnish also, along with scallions. Serve with slices of crusty French or Italian bread spread with a pepper-coated goat cheese or herbed or garlic-flavored cheese spread.