Things are really starting to happen in my garden. I’ve got tomatoes, green beans, yellow squash, and… pumpkins! My thumb is looking pretty green if I do say so myself. Very soon I will do a full photo feature of the bountiful crop that is mine this year, but for now I’d like to shine the spotlight on tomatoes.
Why tomatoes? Well, just look at them. They’re pretty and they’re so fun to photograph… bright shades of green and gold and red. Is there any other fruit that comes in so many lovely colors? I can’t think of one. Plus they’re nutritious little guys… packed with vitamin C, antioxidants and lycopene. They’re like colorful little multivitamins that taste like candy. At the peak of summer, they’re unbelievably sweet.
Besides these peppy little cherries, I’ve got heirlooms coming, but it’s been such a cool summer here in the Bay Area that it’s taking for-ehhhh-ver for them to mature. They’re
still green and hard and gnarled in their heirloom-ey sort of way. Yesterday, at long last, we got a blast of warm weather. A few more weeks of weather like this and I’ll have my heirlooms by the end of September.
For now, I’ve been buying heirlooms at the farmers market and making my favorite summertime soup: gazpacho. My dad, who indeed descends from the Spaniards (gazpacho is a Spanish soup), used to make it from veggies picked from our home garden and serve it for dinner. I still associate the fresh, peppery flavor of gazpacho with the warm, lazy summertimes of my childhood. Recently, I went through a couple of weeks where I was going on a lot of business dinners (too many, actually) and I kept coming back to gazpacho as a sort of detox/weight-maintenance dinner in between rich restaurant meals. The soup is filling but pretty light, and packed with nutrition — really a giant salad in soup form. It makes me feel great.
I also love gazpacho because it’s about the easiest soup in the world to make, and it’s forgiving: I mess around with the proportions all the time depending upon what I’ve got in the garden (or in the fridge) and it always turns out just fine. Just dump whatever fresh produce you’ve got into a food processor (or blender), season, whirl, and serve. That’s the basic formula and it works every time.
Dad’s Gazpacho
1 medium heirloom tomato
1 handful cherry tomatoes
1/2 cucumber, peeled (about a four-inch piece)
1/2 red bell pepper, seeds removed
1/4 cup olive oil
2 T balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup champagne vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
Chop the heirloom tomato and cucumber into 1-inch cubes. Combine with the rest of the ingredients in the bowl of a food processor. Process until liquefied. Chill at least 20 minutes, re-stir and serve cold.
I am so happy to find your gazpacho recipe. My husband is a little obsessed with gazpacho and we are currently loaded with tomatoes from our garden. Yours look pretty!
I’ve been making it by the gallon this summer, it’s sort of addicting. So refreshing! Hope you enjoy it. Definitely adjust the vinegar, salt, and pepper to your liking. I honestly don’t even measure, I just go by taste.
Another fresh and cool idea for a day like today. Thanks!
This sounds wonderful!
We live in Central Florida and I am really missing local farmers markets. They have ‘farmers’ markets here but all the vegetables are shipped in. I don’t think I’ve ever seen heirloom veggies there!
Thanks for the twitter follow. I’m looking forward to following along here too!
Thanks Mikki! I look forward to keeping in touch. Love your blog!
First, can I just say: I LOVE the layout of your blog! It is very visually appealing, and as a first time visitor, I’m really comfortable navigating around!
Second, YUM!
Third, thanks for stopping by Holyoke Home! I’m your newest fan on Facebook!
Oh my goodness thank you for your kind words! And for being my latest fan on Facebook! You are so sweet. I loved your blog and I’m so glad I found you… the photos of your house and the stories about your renovation made me yearn for a good, satisfying home improvement project. I just about died when I saw your door hardware — so timeless and elegant. I will be stopping by often for more pics and updates.
Hello Miri!!
That soup looks so tasty & special too!
MMMMMM,..You asked where I got that lovely soup bowl & saucer from, 1 post ago on my blog. Here is the answer.
They are from the Danish mark: Green Gate. I bought them in Leuven. It is in Flanders. Here is their website, http://www.int.greengate.dk
Kisses from Brussels to you!
OMG I LOVE THAT CATALOG! So many beautiful, lovely things. I don’t think I can order from the US, though. What torture! I may have to take a trip to Denmark soon.
Thanks for the recipe. I have a lot of tomato heirlooms from my garden and don’t know what to make with them except for salsa but I am sick of it. I will really try this gazpachos soup of yours.
Let me know if you like it Melanie! Cold soup is… different. But on a warm day I really love gazpacho. I hope you do, too!
Delicious! I just made it — added garlic and used lemon cucumbers… Can’t believe I’ve gone this long without having this delicious soup.
I already read your blog yesterday and dash to harvest my tomatoes to find out if your recipe is really a tasty one. In my surprise it is really a delicious one and I am more surprised when my kids love your recipe. For all I know they didn’t want cold soup but your gazpacho recipe made them say that they love my cold soup that I get the recipe from you. Thanks a lot. I really love to see more recipes from you.
Miri, i tried this a few days ago, and it was great! And so healthy! super-anti-oxidant power with those veggies!
I also tried this one once I read it last Saturday and in my surprised it is so delicious. I want to see more recipes from you. Cold soup is really delicious especially when the recipe is like yours.