Gazpacho

Yesterday was a sizzler. Even sitting in the garden late in the day chugging iced cold Island Brew Pale Ale did little to cool us down. Only meaningless conversation was possible (the end of the World Cup adding to the challenge). In fact the only sensible thing I did was to make a smaaklike (I turn to foreign languages when I can't think of a creative adjective) gazpacho. The tomatoes in my garden are turning red and tend to be the basis for my dishes now. Here's how I made the gazpacho: I used a cucumber, 3 perfect tomatoes (still warm from the sun), a bunch of parsely (from my garden), 2 garlic cloves, a small red onion, some basil leaves, some olive oil, juice of a lemon, salt and black peppper. These ingredients went into the food processor and were blended until smooth. I added vegetable juice to get the sort of medium consistency of a soup. At serving time I dribbled more olive oil over the soup. A crusty bread (the Tuscan type) is a perfect accompaniment. On a warm evening, this soup is an absolute delight to the tastebuds. I swear!

Btw, I cannot prepare meals without music. I always create a playlist that sort of goes with my mood and the type of dish. Beethoven's String Quartet Opus 18 in B Flat Major worked really well for this recipe!

I'll sign off in Julia Child fashion (even though she is not my hero!). Bon Appetit!