Gazpacho

Gazpacho

I broke my own rules. Or maybe I didn't. I usually do tho, so....

There is no recipe for Gazpacho in the Friday Friend book of soups cookbook. Maybe I'll just type this up and add it real quick.
I had to make gazpacho tho.... I was listening to "The Splendid Table" http://splendidtable.publicradio.org/

and Lynne Rossetto Kasper, said that there is NOTHING better than Gazpacho and corn bread for a great simple supper. NOTHING BETTER! And I couldn't get it out of my mind! Just listening to Lynne on her radio show....she makes food sound sensual. Seriously. And I just bought her book "How to eat Supper", and reading the book is just like listening to her. It's food porn, I tell ya. I mean, it makes you want to stay in the kitchen and cook...and then eat. Eat, EAT, EAT!
But....she doesn't have a gazpacho recipe in this book. It's sad.

Gazpacho is a cold vegatable soup. Yes, cold. My husband says that soups are cold, it's not natural....but he loves this soup.
And I once made gazpacho and it was good.
The problem was....finding the cookbook I used ten years ago, when I made it.
You might think this is an easy thing to do... but have you seen my cookbook collection? No, I didn't think so.... I have over 200 cookbooks. I didn't have time to look thru ...every. Single. One.
So, I took a recipe that I found in one of them, and added a few things. My own creation!! And it was good.

These are the veggies I used. Fresh veggies are so pretty.


You cut/dice/chop them as fine as you want, but you really do want a diced vegetable and not a chopped vegetable.


Put them all in a bowl and cover with tomato juice and spices.

In a "traditional" gazpacho, it's mostly tomatoes and bread. But I like the crunchiness of the veggies.

And then the corn bread....dripping with butter (and honey)

You have to let it set in the fridge and marry for a few hours at least. To me, it tastes even better the next day. Although one of the recipes I found said to only add "shredded" cucumber at the very end. I didn't listen to that recipe, I added them right away to let them marry.
And I also added avocados. This is not traditional at all!! Purists would say "no way" to that. But they are good. You could add a jalapeno` too, I suppose...but then, it's getting to be too much like a salsa, so best to leave it out.


Debbie's Gazpacho (not traditional by any means)

2 1/2 cups chopped tomatoes (I used plum)
1 stalk celery finely chopped
1/4 cup purple onion finely chopped
1/2 cup cucumber finely chopped
1 clove garlic minced
1/4 cup red pepper finely chopped
1/4 cup green pepper finely chopped
1 avocado finely diced
juice of 1 whole lemon
juice of 1 whole lime
2 tsp honey
2 1/2 cups tomato juice
a few leaves of fresh basil, chopped fine.

to taste:
salt
pepper
paprika
cumin--just a sprinkle
croutons to sprinkle on top

Loaded Potato Soup

Loaded Potato Soup....mmmmmm (and a good sandwich to go with)

I'm back! It's only been a month, but in that month, I've put the down comforter on our bed, so autum has finally arrived! Well, okay, I just did it last night, but it felt good to sleep with that warmth again. We leave our window open and here in Northern Nevada it has begun to cool down at night...into the high 30's or low 40's. Perfect soup weather!

My daughter-in-law, Sadie, loves potato soup. She loves easy meals. This is about as easy as it can get.... "Loaded Potato Soup", so this is for her.

(Sadie actually makes a good potato-cheese soup that is great, but maybe she'll like this one too)

I paired this with a warm sandwich the "Pepper Special". You can check that out at

http://thefridayfriends.blogspot.com/2008/09/fast-fall-food.html

The weather is turning cooler...and this is just a good "autumn, football combo", soup and sandwiches.
And the soup, it's an easy crockpot recipe too. So, no fuss.

LOADED POTATO SOUP

4 lb. new potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch-thick slices
1 small onion, chopped
2 14oz cans chicken broth
2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 pt. half and half
Toppings: shredded cheddar cheese, cooked and crumbled bacon, green onion slices.

Layer sliced potatoes in a lightly greased 6-quart slow-cooker, top with chopped onion.
Stir together chicken broth, salt and pepper; pour over potatoes and onion. Broth will not completely cover potatoes.
Cover with lid and cook on HIGH 3-5 hours or until potatoes are tender. Mash mixture with a potato masher, stir in half and half. Cover with lid and cook for 20 minutes more.
Ladle into bowls and serve with toppings.

It's so good!! Warm and "comforty"
(if I'm going to describe soup all winter, I better learn better adjectives than "comforty")


This is what you use..... very simple.
potatoes, onion, chicken broth, cheese, bacon and green onions

(not pictured: salt and pepper) (I forgot)

peel and slice the potatoes (it says new, but you can use any kind of potato you want)

put into the crock-pot
and add chicken broth and salt and pepper

dang...I forgot the onion

added onion

I kind of pureed, in lieu of mashing.....it's a new puree-er and I wanted to try it out. (Thank you Barb)


then you add the half and half.

The toppings

Wa-LAH! little cups of great soup!!

with Pepper Special Sandwiches.