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Stir in the sugar, lime juice, salt, and hot red pepper sauce, up to ½ teaspoon. Taste for sweetness; add more sugar, if desired. Submerge the bay leaf and peppercorns in the soup, cover, and refrigerate until chilled, at least 4 hours or up to 2 days.

Before serving, remove the bay leaf and peppercorns. Check the soup for salt and sugar, adding a little more of either or both if need be.

Note: Seedless watermelon will make the job so much easier.

Variations: Omit the bay leaf and submerge any of the following into the soup before chilling: 6 thyme sprigs, lightly crushed; 4 dried red Asian chiles; 3 mint sprigs, crushed; one or two 4-inch cinnamon sticks; or 1 star anise pod. Remove before serving.

To garnish, make cantaloupe or honeydew balls with a melon baller; float these in the soup. Or place a small mound of fruit salsa in the bowl with the soup.

Chilled Honeydew Soup with Figs and Prosciutto

Since melon, figs, and prosciutto are a classic appetizer combination, we crafted a very simple melon soup that brings them all together in the bowl. Makes 4 servings

One 2-to 2½-pound ripe honeydew melon

1 cup Chardonnay or white grape juice

1 tablespoon lime juice

2 to 3 tablespoons superfine sugar (see Note)

Coarse-grained salt or kosher salt for garnish

6 ripe fresh figs, preferably black Mission figs

1 ounce prosciutto, thinly sliced

Cut the melon in half and scoop out the seeds. Working over a bowl to catch any juice, use a large flatware tablespoon to scoop out the flesh.

Place the chunks of honeydew and any accumulated juice in a large food processor fitted with the chopping blade or into the canister of a large blender. Add ¾ cup Chardonnay or white grape juice, the lime juice, 2 tablespoons sugar, and the salt. Process or blend until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Taste for sweetness and add up to 1 tablespoon more sugar as desired.

Transfer the puree to a large bowl, pitcher, or container; cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or up to 3 days, stirring occasionally.

Stem the figs and thinly slice them. Use a sharp chef’s knife to cut the prosciutto into small strips.

Stir the remaining ¼ cup Chardonnay or white grape juice into the soup until smooth. Pour into four bowls. Arrange the figs and prosciutto strips over the soup. Sprinkle each bowl with some coarse-grained or kosher salt, just 6 or 7 grains per bowl.

Note: Superfine sugar is simply sugar ground more finely, better to dissolve in liquids. Look for it either with the sugar or in the bar or drink section of your supermarket.

Variations: Substitute any kind of melon you desire: cantaloupe, Charentais, Crenshaw, Christmas, Galia, or Sharlyn.

Add several dashes of hot red pepper sauce to the melon puree before chilling.

Chilled Blueberry Chipotle Soup

We made this no-cook, hot-and-sweet soup for a Thanksgiving dinner one year when everything was Southwestern inspired. Makes 6 servings

2 medium cucumbers, peeled, halved lengthwise, seeded, and chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 canned chipotle chile in adobo sauce, stemmed, seeded, and chopped

2 cups fresh blueberries

1 cup plain yogurt (regular, low-fat, or fat-free)

2 tablespoons honey

1½ tablespoons lime juice

½ teaspoon ground cumin

½ teaspoon salt, or more to taste

Place all the ingredients in a large food processor fitted with the chopping blade or in a large blender. Process or blend until fairly smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl or canister occasionally to make sure everything is blended.

Pour into a large bowl, pitcher, or container; cover and refrigerate until chilled, at least 4 hours or up to 2 days.

Before serving, stir well and check the soup to make sure it doesn’t need any additional salt. If the soup has gotten thick, thin it out with a little water, no more than a tablespoon or two to loosen it up. It may also be foamy; simply stir it down.

Variations: Omit the garlic; add 1 medium shallot, quartered, with the cucumber.

Substitute ground ginger for the cumin.

Garnish the soup with minced