I always find myself moving into the next season before it’s had a chance to start. For instance, right this minute I would like to lose myself in a chunky knit sweater, throw on some socks, and make some pumpkin soup–but it’s 82F degrees today, and I’ve yet to see anything even close to resembling a pumpkin at the greenmarket. So I decided to give myself a little challenge this last weekend. I decided to try to remember that it is indeed still summer until the season really is over–it’s only a little while longer. Can I do it? Will you bear with me?

With that in mind, I didn’t search frantically for any signs of late season harvest at the greenmarket. I saw the pile of amazingly sweet watermelons that I have been enjoying recently, and said something like, “Hey, it’s still summer, hurray, I should get a watermelon, yum, summer, yay!” And then I proceeded to head on home and think about what kind of fall dish I could make with watermelon. You just can’t teach an old horse new tricks.

I came up with a compromise: A watermelon soup that’s really pretty summery. That said, it does have some nice spice, fennel and autumnal roasted red peppers. It’s hardcore summer with a little nod and wink to fall, and tastes just as good in a tank top as it does a chunky sweater.

INGREDIENTS
2 roasted red peppers, cored and diced
10 cups watermelon cubes (about 1 small watermelon)
1/3 cup fennel, diced
1 jalapeno pepper, chopped finely
1/2 cup chopped basil or mint
4 tablespoons citrus juice (you can use lemon, lime, and/or orange)
1 teaspoon grated ginger
1/4 cup feta cheese (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Roast peppers: Place peppers directly on gas burners and rotate until thoroughly charred and blistered, or broil and rotate in the oven. Let cool, and slide off blackened skin. Cut in half, remove seeds and core, and dice.

2. Remove seeds from watermelon, and puree in batches in a blender or food processor until only some chunks remain.

3. Pour in a large serving bowl and add the rest of the ingredients, chill in the refrigerator for several hours before serving. Garnish with more mint and feta cheese if using.