First gazpacho of the summer

After finding a few of the very first, perfect tomatoes of the season, I decided it was time to fire up the food processor and make gazpacho.  I posted the recipe last year and it's an ideal lunch or dinner in the summer. It also makes a large quantity so you can feed a crowd or enjoy what's leftover for a few days.

I find the more I cook recipes, the more the dish changes and evolves in the way I make it.

Tonight, I didn't have plain bread crumbs so I threw in a handful of saltine crackers to thicken the soup.  Also, once the vegetables were pureed, I added the olive oil and sherry wine vinegar while the mixture was still in the food processor.  After I transferred the mixture to a large bowl, I stirred in the tomato juice and then added in kosher salt, pepper and a bit more paprika.

Here is the link to the original post: http://bit.ly/jyCjrl

Enjoy!

No stove required

If it were appropriate, I would have worn my swimsuit to my office today and set up a blow-up pool next to my desk.

Yes, it is that hot outside.

Like oh-my-I-think-I-am-melting hot.

And people, it's only June.  

The fun has just begun.  Welcome to summer in the swamp that is the District of Columbia.

At this rate, I may be eating ice cream for dinner every night this summer.   Generally, this is what I do when it is 100 degrees outside with 95% humidity.  The thought of turning on the stove is unbearable even in an air conditioned house.

Frankly, it was even too hot to go to the grocery store tonight.  Since I decided I needed a food group other than dairy (i.e. ice cream), I hit the pantry where I found cans of black olives and chickpeas.  I decided to pair the olives and chickpeas with small pieces of fresh mozzarella and added a few splashes of red wine vinaigrette and a few shakes of garlic salt and oregano.  

In about five minutes or as long as it takes to open a jar and a can, I had a perfect summer dish to pair with cold flank steak.  This dish is also filling enough to have on its own if the heat has completely squelched your appetite.

I fully admit that this is not the most inventive thing to come out of my kitchen.  However, on a really hot night, it didn't matter because it was cool, satisfying and did not require turning on the stove.

You can add so many things to this dish and feel like you are never eating the same dish twice.  Other things you could add that I've used in the past include: kidney beans, northern beans, roasted red peppers, any vegetable you can think of, diced chicken, capers, cooked orzo, or tomatoes.  

Who knew the sky could be the limit without even turning on the stove? 

Simple Pantry Salad

(serves 2 as a main dish or 4 as a side)

Ingredients

1 can chickpeas

1 can black olives (you can use kalamata olives too)

1 small ball of fresh mozzarella cheese cut into bite-size chunks

A few splashes of red wine vinaigrette

A few shakes of oregano (you can use fresh from your garden if you have it)

A few shakes of garlic salt

Details

Drain the olives and chickpeas.

Cut the mozzarella cheese into bite-size 

Place all ingredients in a bowl.  Give the ingredients a few splashes of red wine vinaigrette, garlic salt and oregano.  Gently toss to coat ingredients.

**The seasoning with the vinegar, garlic salt and oregano is really based on your preference. So add a little of each, taste and then add a little more if you want.**