My compliments to the chef.
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I can’t cook. It’s not that I don’t possess any culinary skills whatsoever, it’s just that my accident-prone nature prevents me from getting involved with anything too sharp or too hot (I still have a scar on my hand from an attempt at tilapia quesadillas three years ago). So I guess it’s more accurate to say I shouldn’t cook — which is why I’m thankful every day that I married well. I don’t mean money. I mean the man can cook. Last night’s dinner was an especially nice treat. Dave found this California-style gazpacho from Simply Recipes:
Gazpacho Recipe
INGREDIENTS
6 ripe tomatoes, peeled and chopped
1 purple onion, finely chopped
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, chopped
1 sweet red bell pepper (or green) seeded and chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1-2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
2 Tbsp chopped fresh chives
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
2 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 teaspoons sugar
Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
6 or more drops of Tabasco sauce to taste
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce (omit for vegetarian option)
4 cups tomato juice
METHOD
Combine all ingredients. Blend slightly, to desired consistency. Place in non-metal, non-reactive storage container, cover tightly and refrigerate overnight, allowing flavors to blend.
Serves 8.
I know gazpacho is a summer soup, but we’ve been teased with enough sunshine here in the past couple of weeks that it got me craving my warm weather favorites. We picked up all of our produce from the farmers market with the exception of a last-minute red onion from the grocery store. It wasn’t as salsa red as some other gazpachos, but the Top Chef judge in me says “the flavors were spot on.” Even though Dave left out the Tabasco, it still had a nice kick, and he topped it off with homemade croutons. Like the onion we originally picked up from the farmers market, I’m totally spoiled.
