Gazpacho Goodness

Before it was cool to be a foodie, or to be a man in the kitchen, my father-in-law was both.  He loves his food, and though it’s usually made for him, he knows both how to prepare and enjoy good eats.  When he was 14 years old, he’d make his favourite chocolate chip cookies, and during the process, put his glass of milk in the freezer to make sure, when it was time to eat the fresh-from-the-over cookies, they’d be accompanied by ice cold milk.  That’s food love, plain and simple.

Every summer at the cottage, my father-in-law makes a gorgeous gazpacho.  No one remembers/knows the origin of the recipe which is handwritten on an index card, because it’s so old.  But it’s so delicious, and I look forward to it every summer.  And I’m be making it soon, because cooking in the sweltering heat wave in Toronto is not pretty, and I can’t think of anything more refreshing than this cool soup on these hot days.  It’s also super-easy to make.

Predictably the quality of the tomatoes make all the difference, and so father-in-law always waits for the season of red for this.  If you like your gazpacho smooth, blend all of the ingredients together to your heart’s content.  My father-in-law likes it chunky, so he sets aside some of the chopped vegetables, blends the rest, and then adds the chopped veggies to the blended soup for more texture.  Either way, you’re in for some real gazpacho goodness.

Gazpacho

Ingredients

4 tomatoes, chopped

2 cucumbers, chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

1 green pepper, chopped

1 cup tomato juice

1/4 cup olive oil

1/3 cup red wine vinegar

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 tsp salt

1 tsp cumin

1/8 tsp black pepper

Preparation

Blend everything together and chill.

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