Soups that taste like summer

The rainy weather got me thinking about soups and it’s almost September(sigh). I had a really unique soup in July at the Chicago Botanic Garden. It was white parsnip puree with lavender and vanilla bean. Oh my god. It tasted like summer. There was also some type of cold watermelon soup with fresh herbs. What a great way to make use of the produce coming out of the gardens. Has anyone had a really fresh soup made with local ingredients in a unique way? Any recommendations?

My wife made an incredibly good corn soup based on a Charlie Trotter recipe. She took about 5 ears of corn, cut the kernels from them, and put about half of the kernels and the cobs in water. She simmered this for a while (45 min maybe?), then strained the liquid and reduced it for another 45 minutes or so. Finally, she added the other half of the kernels and some sauteed onions and simmered for a little while longer. It was incredibly good!

Wholly Frijoles offers great cold soups on their weekly specials menu all summer long (carrot with orange this week). They've also served peach and mango fruit soups that are a wonderful blend of sweet and savory (with a nice kick of chili heat).

Chilled watermelon soup...hard to find a good rendition unless I'm making it myself though.

Darren72 wrote:My wife made an incredibly good corn soup based on a Charlie Trotter recipe. She took about 5 ears of corn, cut the kernels from them, and put about half of the kernels and the cobs in water. She simmered this for a while (45 min maybe?), then strained the liquid and reduced it for another 45 minutes or so. Finally, she added the other half of the kernels and some sauteed onions and simmered for a little while longer. It was incredibly good!

That sounds really yummy and summery! This recipe seems to extract a lot of essence and flavor of the corn. I googled and did find several versions to try. Thanks.