It's Just Too Hot!

It’s funny how people in the Netherlands always have something to say about the weather. When it’s raining and cold, they complain because it’s raining and cold. And when it’s finally warm, they complain because it’s just “too hot”! We had a few days with 30- 35C weather last week and all hell seemed to break loose. Some schools even declared a “tropical schedule”, which basically meant that kids were sent home early because the teachers thought it was just too hot. I wonder what they do in countries like Spain…
Anyhow, you might wonder what I cook on those “very hot” days. As much as I love salads, I also love spicy foods when the weather gets warm. The sweating that spicy food brings about actually ends up cooling me down. First I sweat balls and then I feel calm, cool and collected again.
I made this sweet and spicy soup last week and my husband loved it. The next day he actually asked me where the left-over soup was- something he never does. It was delicious indeed, and boy was it easy to make. I just bunged some tomatoes into a pan, added a little herb and vegetable broth, a few chopped spring onions and three tablespoons of mesquite sauce. I bought this particular one at a Dutch shop called Cook & Co. You can replace it with any other mesquite sauce or even with a spicy barbecue sauce.
Serve it piping hot!

Spicy Summer Soup
Serves 4

700ml broth of choice
1 kilo vine-ripe tomatoes, chopped (don’t bother peeling or de-seeding them)
3 chopped spring onions
3 tbsps mesquite sauce

Put the first three ingredients in a pan and allow to cook on medium heat for about 15-20 minutes. Remove pan from the heat, puree the soup and add the mesquite sauce. Stir thoroughly and serve.