Monthly Archive for August, 2009

Gazpacho Makes My Summer

Published on August 3, 2009 in food and recipes. 2 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

(I promise to post photos later!)

I really can’t remember the first time I ate gazpacho.  But I feel like I’ve loved it for a long time, and when I see lovely ripe tomatoes at the Farmer’s Market and it’s so stinkin’ hot, I have to make gazpacho.

I love it for a bunch of reasons.  I love being able to taste every single vegetable in each bite.  I love how it chills me right to the core.  And I love when it’s so spicy my eyes water.

After looking through a bunch of recipes, I made my own.  Mind you, this is not traditional, so you won’t find bread in this soup, but you will find seasonal ripe veggies.  If they aren’t ripe or local, they just aren’t worth eating.

Enjoy!

  • 4-6 large tomato chopped  – 1 cup put aside
  • 1 large cucumber – peeled and chopped – 1 cup put aside
  • 1 large red onion – chopped
  • 3 large stalks of celery – chopped – 1 cup put aside
  • 1 yellow pepper – chopped – 1 cup put aside
  • Cilantro (amount to your liking) – chopped
  • 1/4 cup Red Wine Vinegar
  • 1/4 cup Olive Oil
  • 1/4 cup Lemon Jiuce
  • 4 cups Tomato Juice (I use V-8, seems to have the most real food ingredients)
  • Salt and Fresh Ground Pepper
  • Hot Sauce

    • Makes about 8 servings.

Put chopped veggies and cilantro in a blender or food processor and pulse to desired consistency.  I do it just a wee bit of processing, I like to chew this soup and taste each vegetable in each bite.

Pour into a non-reactive bowl, add the Red Wine Vinegar, Olive Oil, Lemon Juice, Tomato Juice, salt and pepper / hot sauce to taste and mix together.  My blender and food processor aren’t big enough to hold it all, but if they are, you can put it all in and blend away.

I’m thinking about other gazpachos.  I’ve had a beet gazpacho that was so amazing I just can’t forget about, and it might be my next gazpacho….

There is LOVE in Pavlova…

Published on August 1, 2009 in Uncategorized, food and recipes. 0 Comments

Berry Pavlova

I first saw this in the fabulous food site – PlatetoPlate.com.  Then I saw a version in The Kitchn and thought, this must be a SIGN!  And I had to make it!

Berry Pavlova

This whipped up nicely.  The blackberries were picked on the way to school yesterday, surprisingly they made it another day, and I thought this would be the perfect ending.

Berry Pavlova

It was much lighter than I thought it would be, and the hard crust was nice and chewy.  And the whipped cream and berries, my, oh, my.  We all loved it.

Berry Pavlova

I was so excited to try this.  I was completely inspired by Plate to Plate’s version, but didn’t have enough ingredients on hand, so The Kitchn version worked nicely. I am looking for an excuse to make this again, I think it’s the perfect dessert.

Here’s how I made it: (from The Kitchn)

  • 4 egg whites
  • 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 cup heavy whipping cream
  • big bowl of the freshest (and most local) berries or fruit you can find

Preheat your oven to 275F.  Line a cookie sheet with a sheet of parchment or one of those fancy silicone cooking sheets.

With a hand mixer, beat the egg whites, when the egg whites get a little bubbly, mix in the cream of tartar.  When the egg whites firm up a bit more to soft peaks, add the sugar in slowly.  When you’ve got firm peaks, you are done.

Pour the meringue onto the parchment.  You can do one big one, or a bunch of little ones.  I made just one and it was about 3-4 inches high and just shy of the width of my sheet.

Bake for 45 minutes.  Turn your oven off and let the meringue sit in the oven until it is completely cool.

Right before serving, whip up your heavy cream.  Spread onto the cool meringue, cover, with berries.

My notes:

  • We ate this the same day I made the meringue, while it is hand downs one of  the most delicious things I’ve made, I think another day hardening up would have been better.
  • I’m glad I didn’t add any sugar to the whipping cream, the meringue is pretty sweet.
  • For just the 3 of us, this was too much, so the next time I make it, I’ll make 2  or more, so I can store what we won’t eat in one sitting in an airtight container.
  • I think next time I’ll try 1/2 granulated sugar and 1/2 confectioners sugar.  Just wondering how it would be different.
  • I love it with the berries, and I’m trying to think of ways to make it every season.  I love Plate to Plates toppings that include hazelnuts, berries, caramel and mint.  YUM!
  • This also totally reminded me of Angel Food Cake, glad I can make something like it without the pan.