Gazpacho!!!

Aren't these vegetables gorgeous? With all the focus put on getting your vegetables in each day - it looks like the spaniards were on to this wisdom long ago. This cold soup (vegetable puree) is one of the best things to eat on a hot summer evening. Please excuse the lack of specifics - each vegetable is unique in flavor and size, so you really have to taste this one along the way in order to make it the way you like.

Ingredients:
5-8 Roma Tomatoes
1 Regular cucumber
1 Bell Pepper -red, green, yellow - whatever you prefer
3-6 cloves of garlic - again, according to taste
bread crumbs
water
olive oil (extra virgin please)
vinegar (I use rice - you can use anything you like)
salt
Optional: I threw in some cilantro that was leftover in my fridge - not bad!

Method:
All of the vegetables basically need to be chopped into large chunks. These chunks are thrown into a food processor or blender with a little water and turned into a puree. You want it as smooth as you can get possibly get it to be. Once you have the vegetables blended together (remember, do it according to taste) you will add the breadcrumbs. I usually use about 1/2 cup - some people don't like to have them at all, I personally like the taste and texture when you add the breadcrumbs. Now I add the olive oil and vinegar and a bit of salt, to get the taste and texture just right. I am guessing around 1/4 cup olive oil and 2 Tb. vinegar. Maybe just 1/4 tsp. of salt - again, taste it before you add too much of anything.


Once it is all pureed you will have a thick soup, depending on how much water you add. Some people like it runny, some people don't. The batches above are different, the one on the left has the cilantro, so it's color is not as orange as the traditional version. And just so you know, it is common to throw an ice cube or two into your bowl - just to make it extra cold. And garnishing it with some chopped cucumber and tomoto makes it pretty and adds some variation to the texture. If you haven't ever tried a gazpacho, you really should - you can get a whole day's worth of vegetables in one sitting - it's a wonderful soup.