What's Cooking (Take Four)

Yesterday, when the morning was cool, I made another batch of Gazpacho. This time I added cherry tomatoes, Persian cukes, celery and celery leaves, avocado, shrimp, and Italian parsley

Do you make a chunky style?[/

Absolutely, I'm a chewer.

Mine is also excellent. I like the texture from the bread thickening. While most of the unblended veg are in small dice, I added a pint of cherry tomatoes simply halved. (And I seem to have two extra 'cocktail'-size tomatoes so those may go in in chunks, too.)

Bread in Gazpacho... have you got a recipe to share?

[Jenise]

Not Jeff, but bread in gazpacho is classic Spanish method for thickening the soup, and it improves the flavor greatly IMO. It's typically just adding to the blender a thick slice from a country loaf pan-fried to golden on both sides in a bit of EVOO. Adds great flavor and texture.

I don't go chunky on my gazpacho. I tend to like it smooth because I like the flavor of the blended vegetables, though I wouldn't be against adding a little fine dice of cucumber after.

I have never seen anyone toast the bread before adding it to the soup! What is traditional, I think, and what I did, anyway , is to soak the slice of bread in water, wring it out, then add it to the blender. The rest of the recipe is the same, as you like it -- meaty or wet tomatoes, onion or not, celery or not, spicy or not -- just blend the bread in with all the rest. It adds body and maybe a little 'oven' flavor if you used tasty bread.

[Jenise]

It adds body and maybe a little 'oven' flavor if you used tasty bread.

And if you brown it first in a skillet, then your oven flavor has toasty bread too! Seriously, this was in the first recipe I ever followed by gazpacho, also for a Spanish garlic soup I've made, and I've done it ever since though I don't think I've ever read another recipe--simply because I didn't need one to follow. As you say, it comes down to combining what you have. I think I'll need to make a gazpacho today after all this chatter.

[Jenise]

Just made a pitcher of gazpacho. Added toasted bread, and held back some celery to add to the last buzz but not fully puree it. I misspoke when I said I like mine smooth--I don't care for chunky, is more correct. But I do love texture.

[Jenise]

I'm having gazpacho for breakfast, drinking it out of a glass. If you didn't know, in Spain pitchers of freshly made tomato/vegetable juice are served at breakfast. I remember thinking, so this is where V-8 came from!

Jeff, your heirloom tomato Gazpacho inspired me to change my mind and make an heirloom BLT last night. It was delicious.

-Paul W.

Bravo!

I had two great lunches the last two days with BLTs . I love the Sriracha mayo with mine, just a bit outlining the crust and a couple of streaks in the middle, with good tomatoes, red leaf lettuce, and very crispy bacon.

Heirloom heavy here , too! We've done BLTs, caprese, steakhouse tomato and onion. Last night we made a "cold tomato and kimchi soup", which was actually basically a Korean gazpacho (served over udon).
The only summer tomato dish in our regular rotation we haven't done yet this year is a lobster/tomato/corn dish, but hope to rectify soon.

I have a DIL who loves the BLTs but does not like tomatoes at all, any kind. So, when I make her BLT, I substitute an avocado for the tomato...she loves it that way. Sometimes I add avocado to my son's BLT. gets a little sloppy with that avocado, but he likes it.

I have a DIL who loves the BLTs but does not like tomatoes at all, any kind. So, when I make her BLT, I substitute an avocado for the tomato...she loves it that way. Sometimes I add avocado to my son's BLT. gets a little sloppy with that avocado, but he likes it.

Probably mentioned it before, but I had a receptionist who said she would probably like a BLT, except for the tomato and lettuce. No veges for her!

[Jenise]

Dinner tonight: fresh petrale sole, butter sauce, green beans.

Jenise, have you tried Mama Lil's pickled green beans? They are long, whole, raw green beans. Tasty, pretty.

[Jenise]

Karen, yes, and their pickled asparagus is great, too.

Supper last night was pasta with sauteed chanterelles, pancetta, butter. and a splash of Marsala. It was very tasty but prosciutto would have been a better choice than the pancetta as it overwhelmed the mushrooms a bit.

[Jenise]

Sounds pretty good, Mike. My sole was flavorless, unfortunately. After a few bites I gave up on it, finished the green beans and then had a bowl of cherries.

Karen, yes, and their pickled asparagus is great, too.

Jenise, I have a DIL who I introduced Moma Lil's peppers to; she, in turn, took several bottles to South Dakota recently and introduced her nine siblings to them. Everyone went crazy over them and has since graduated to the pickled green beans and asparagus. Everyone loves the oil the peppers are in, and her brother did a beef BBQ using the oil in the sauce.

[Jenise]

How fun! I love this report, Karen, and how you've turned the whole family onto them!

I save the oil for warm potato and onion salads.

Jenise, a little of the oil is also great on roasted tomatoes and garlic,

Cooking today are two large, bone-in pork chops seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and sweet paprika, browned in the slow cooker. I tossed in 1|2 of a large onion, fresh garlic, sliced mushrooms, and carrots. I made a mixture of cream of chicken soup with herbs (yes, really) and a package of onion soup mix, a little soy sauce, and Honeycrisp apple cider. I had a few other things to use up, shredded cabbage went into the bottom of a casserole dish, then a layer of sliced zucchini, a layer of large roasted slices of heirloom tomatoes, a layer of Jack Cheese with Caramelized Onions, repeat layers, finishing with cheese.

[Jenise]

Not cooking at home today, unless you want to hear about the bowl of corn I ate for lunch--and you don't. But I'm having cuban food at my brother's tonight--I'll bring the wine!