End of Summer Cold Gazpacho -or- Pasta Sauce

2# mixed cherry or grape tomatoes

6 mini peppers or 1 green bell pepper

4 mini English cucumbers

5 lg. cloves garlic

2 med. carrots

6 green onions

3/4c Spanish* EVOO

3/4c white wine vinegar

1t sugar

2t garlic salt

1t lemon pepper

1/2t cayenne pepper 

2-3t fresh ground black pepper

5 big leaves of fresh Genovese basil

Blend all of this, a little at a time, then whisk together. If you like it with more texture, you could use a food processor to keep it a little chunkier. 

Today, as I was making this, I remembered I bought some fresh spinach and cheese ravioli the other day at Costco. That sounded really good on this cool evening!

So, instead of just having a bowl of fresh, cold gazpacho, I decided to heat a little over the simmered pasta, topped with grated Manchego (sheep's milk cheese) and a little fresh, chopped, basil. Oh my. . .Now this will be my dual purpose go-to for an interesting Spanish-Portugese cold summer soup, or heated as a pasta sauce. Can't go wrong either way!

Just follow your current craving! . .Lin

*or any good quality extra virgin olive oil from ONE country - not multiple sources

Summer In A Bowl - Nancy's Garden Gazpacho

I. . .♥️ LOVE ♥️. . .SALADS. . .

To me, one of my wonderful 5 Ingredient Salads is always the best. I had all the ingredients for that, then I saw the beets, 2 lonely cherry tomatoes and a nice cucumber from my daughter, Nancy's garden. I thought, GAZPACHO!?! What else could I add to make Gazpacho!?! Carrots for sure, since those are always in my favorite restaurant Gazpachos. . .then I rummaged, and found all the rest in the 'fridge.

Everything you see above, garlic, onion, green pepper, radishes, celery and tops, etc. . .went into the blender with about 1/2c of that amazing Moroccan EVOO, 2T or so of the vinegar, juice and zest of that lemon wedge, salt, pepper, and about a cup of V-8, since I needed to tomato-this-up a bit. Blend well, or leave it a little chunky, your call.

I wanted to top it with sour cream before serving, but I was low on that. I combined equal parts-just under a cup each-of sour cream and plain Chobani Greek yogurt, a drizzle of water, salt, pepper and a generous amount of dry dill. Stirred and shaken, it was perfect finishing touch to make this Wonderful Saturday Night Cold Soup Dinner! Ahhh, Gazpacho!!←click here for some history on this amazing creation. . . Lin

Clean GREEN Gazpacho

Today is Saturday. . .It's 4 days out from my colonoscopy on Wednesday.  Ahhh, fun times, right?  I see in looking at the new and improved instructions, since my last one, there are way more dietary restrictions that begin tomorrow.  Mainly, adhering to a low-fiber diet. 😒 I'm a huge fan of vegetables, which hardly fall into that low-fiber category.  So. . .I decided to do a day-4-and-counting fiber splurge which I'm hoping I won't regret. 🥒 🍅 🌱 😐 🌿 🥦 🥕

For this interesting recipe of green gloppiness, which tastes a little like it came from the bottom of a lawnmower. . .combine the following in a blender.

4 leaves of purple cabbage

2 pickling cucumbers

2 celery ribs and tops

1 sm. broccoli crown

a big handful of kale

1 lg. Roma tomato

lots of cilantro

8 oz. water

1-2t Rosemary Seasoning *

- {1 lg. carrot - optional

- {1 lg. garlic clove - optional

Heat just a little, top with croutons, or serve cold. . .Lin

Fresh Vegetable Gazpacho

This gazpacho isn't an exact recipe.  However, the important vegetables, for me are; carrot, tomato, cucumber, sweet pepper (green, orange, red or yellow), cilantro and garlic.  Those must be included!  Additionally, this time I added celery and radishes.

28oz. can petite diced tomatoes

½ bunch of cilantro
4oz. fresh spinach
1t ground cumin
1t fresh ground black pepper

1t Trader Joe's Chili-Lime Seasoning

seasoned panko bread crumbs for topping

plain Greek yogurt or sour cream for topping

Chop, grind or keep vegetables a little chunky, in your food processor, alternately with the tomatoes.  This batch looks pretty disgusting (cold green soup is just not everyone's thing - due to the spinach) but it sure was good for dinner just now with some leftover hummus and crackers. . .Lin