Perfect for a hot summer supper (or lunch !) Gazpacho

 (There's an awful lot of superfluous stuff in this picture....)  LOL

  This time of year it's hot, the humidity is high and tomatoes and peppers and cucumber are running amok.  We had some strangely cool weather and now it whip-lashed us back into the hot hot dog days of summer. High nineties temps with heat indexes at 110 and more.  I picked tomatoes this morning at about 9:30 and it was already so hot you could barely breathe.

  Today's recipe is a wonderful way to use up fresh produce while making a healthy and delicious supper that's a little exotic, but sure to please.  You can play with the ingredients a little,  there are lots of recipes for this soup.  The basics though, are tomatoes, cucumbers and bell peppers.  If you have those, you can make gazpacho.  

  The recipe I use calls for lemon or lime juice, but I started using white balsamic vinegar instead and I love it.  I also put a whole jalapeno with about half the seeds removed in it. It gives it the tiniest bit of an after bite, which I love.  DISCLAIMER:  When I say "the recipe I use"  you know it's a lie, right ?   I am the most undisciplined erratic cook in the world.  When I get it in my head to cook something, I might look up a couple of recipes...take part of this one and part of that one...oh LOOK!!  SHINY!!... see something else in the cabinet or garden and think, oooo...I'll bet that would be good in this !  Sometimes I end up with something nothing like the original and sometimes I get a super star hit. It's always good (usually, lol)  but I have made it my own (Assuming I can remember it next time I want it again.  When I'm not maniacally throwing stuff around, I write it down.) Sometimes.


  So...while it's fresh in my mind, let's go.

  This is what I got out of the garden today

 Lots of beautiful ripe meaty Romas and the bottom layer in that basket is all heirloom  big tomatoes. Bell peppers, jalapenos, and a few onions.  Oh, and an egg.  But that's got nothing to do with this soup.  lol

  Ingredients you'll need:

  4 cups tomato juice (home canned is best, but...)
  2 cups diced tomatoes (I have a Vitamix, so I don't peel the tomatoes.)
  1 cucumber peeled and diced
  1/2 cup onion, chopped
  1/2 cup celery, chopped
  1/2 cup bell pepper, chopped
  1 jalapeno, finely chopped (discard at least half the seeds)  (or don't, if you're adventurous)
  2 green onions chopped
  2 garlic cloves, minced
  3 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
  2 tablespoons olive oil
  salt and pepper to taste.

 Today I also threw in a handful of fresh parsley and a small handful of fresh basil.  
  Because I could.

You want to seed the cucumber.  I hold back about 1/3 of each of these vegetables to chop finely and throw into the soup bowl . The rest goes in the blender. I don't save back the garlic, I run that through.  Nobody wants a mouthful of THAT.  lol  Some recipes blend all the soup.  Some make it really chunky.  I like to land in the middle somewhere.  So, into the bowl (a covered bowl you can refrigerate this all in)  go a bit of pepper, cucumber, onion, celery, green onion and tomato.  All the rest goes  in the blender.

 Alright, I know.  I'm just bragging now...  lol


Whir it up, run until smooth.  Pour it into your bowl of chopped veggies and mix well. Taste it. Add more salt or pepper if needed.  Put the cover on and stow it in the fridge. It tastes better if it can chill at least 5 or 6 hours, or overnight. But it will be good no matter what.

 Serve it up with some french bread or crackers and cheese or anything you want, but keep it simple. It's too hot to get too excited!  



Bon Apetit !