Gazpacho

Why gazpacho?  i was Looking for something different, not on the usual plate, or bowl. besides Cinco de Mayo is coming up, and yes i love Mexican inspired dishes, i wanted something different. and here it is. this dish is fresh zing, and is usually served cold. so if your fiesta is too warm, or too fried, try this.

Ingredients

1 quart whole tomatoes; 28 oz can

1 cup Salsa; any favorite prepared salsa will do

1/2 cup Green pepper; rough chopped

1/2 cup Cucumber; rough chopped

1/2 cup Croutons

1/4 cup Onion; rough chopped

2 tablespoons Red wine vinegar

2 tablespoons Olive oil; or vegetable oil

2 cloves Garlic; rough chop

1 Jalapeno peppers; -fresh- rough chopped- remove seeds and ribs for less heat

1/4 cup Margarita cooler; or juice from 1 to 2 limes

1 1/2 tablespoon Ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon Salt

1/2 teaspoon Pepper, black; ground

1/2 cup Green pepper; finely chopped- reserve for serving

1/2 cup Cucumber; finely chopped- reserve for serving

1/4 cup Onion; finely chopped- reserve for serving

1/2 cup Croutons; finely chopped- reserve for serving

 Preparation

Place all ingredients not reserved for serving into the blender (tomatoes, salsa, rough chopped peppers, cucumber and onion, croutons, vinegar, olive oil, garlic, jalapeno pepper, Margarita cooler or lime juice, cumin, salt and pepper). Cover and blend on medium until smooth. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour (longer is better). Serve with remaining ingredients as accompaniments.

- If your blender is not large enough to do in one batch, roughly split the ingredients into 2 batches to blend. Then stir together into one batch.

Gazpacho

While it's still hot out there, here is another wonderful dish that won't heat up the house.

Ingredients:


1 slice bread, crust removed and torn into pieces
2 cups vegetable juice
1¼ pounds ripe tomatoes, half roughly chopped, half in ¼-inch dice
1⅓ cups cucumber, peeled and seeded, half roughly chopped, half in ¼-inch dice (1 1/3 cups)
1 medium onion, half roughly chopped, half in ¼-inch dice
½ large red bell pepper, half roughly chopped, half in ¼-inch dice
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1½ tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
1½ tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, soak bread with tomato juice until softened, about 5 minutes.

2. Place bread and juice in blender with the roughly chopped vegetables, olive oil, vinegar, lime juice, garlic and jalapeno. Blend until very smooth, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl and stir in remaining vegetables.

3. Season to taste with salt and pepper and chill for 1½ hours before serving.