Gazpacho

We've had a surplus of tomatoes this week. Some from our CSA, some from our friend's garden, a few cherry tomatoes from our garden... The other night I roasted about 5... and I burnt them. Shoot. They were still mostly edible but what was 5 tomatoes turned into a 1/4 of a cup of rich sticky tomatoes, and I ate them all in one sitting. Then the next day I made gazpacho. Something about a cold soup really turns me off. Cold and soup, oxymoron? But I got over that and decided to try some... When life gives you tomatoes... yatta yatta....

Turns out... it's really good! I added extra spice and avocado to make it exciting. I suspect adding barbecued shrimp would make it out-of-this-world. I had it all week for lunch... and you know what? I still have more tomatoes...

Gazpacho
inspired by this recipe
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 large red onion, diced
2 large cucumber, diced
5 ripe tomatoes, diced
4 cups tomato juice
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 lemon, juiced
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
Tabasco to taste
Salt and Black Pepper to taste

Topping:
Sliced avocado
Cilantro
Sour cream/Greek Yogurt
Grilled shrimp

In the bowl of a food processor or in a blender, combine the minced garlic with half the red onion, half the cucumber, half the tomato, half the tomato juice, olive oil, lemon, Tabasco, and a dash of salt. Pulse until all ingredients are blended well; mixture will have a nice speckled, colorful texture. Pour into a large bowl and add the rest of the tomato juice, and the remaining onion, cucumber, tomato. Stir mixture together and check seasonings, adding salt or Tabasco if needed. Chill soup for at least a couple of hours.Remove the soup from the fridge and stir. Check seasonings one last time. Ladle into a bowl and garnish.