The latest report is out, and I'm done with working nights and weekends for a while. At least I hope so; I have lots of things I want to do with the summer!
It's a hot, humid day, and for once I don't mind. One week ago, the weather was unusually hot, so I spent part of Sunday preparing appropriate food: gazpacho, tabouli, cucumber salad. Oh, and I had watermelon, too. If I'd written this last week, I'd be glorying in the first gazpacho of the season.
Unfortunately, the rest of the week was in the low sixties, cold and damp (can you tell there's no sun from that photo?). I've been avoiding the gazpacho - if I'm chilled already, I don't want chilled soup. So, for today, hot and humid is great. I can finish off the gazpacho tonight, and wait for more hot weather before I make more.
The recipe for this gazpacho is from Epicurious, and it's one of the best I've ever tried. I've changed the recipe a bit, so here's mine:
4 cups V-8 (I've used regular, lemon, calcium, and spicy, and it was all good)
1 pint purchased fresh mild salsa (I use Green Mountain Gringo mild)
2 red bell peppers, seeded
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded
1 cup ranch-seasoned croutons
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
4 large garlic cloves
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon ground cumin
tabasco sauce
salt and pepper
Blend, in batches, in a food processor or blender. Wipe the splashes off the kitchen, refrigerate the soup, and eat on hot, humid days.
