Peckerwood Cafe: What did/will you eat today?, Summer Dishes, Fire Up the Grill and more!

It has been a sweltering summer, and very few of us want to spend time in a hot kitchen, so let's devise ways to eat and stay as cool as possible. What are your plans for dinner, and did you eat anything tasty today? Is there anything you want to make but need a little help with techniques or ingredients? Post your recipes, tips, questions, and whatever food related is on your mind. 

I am still hobbling, so I can't cook much. I had a nice juicy blue cheeseburger with pickled onions, nice size salad, and some melon. I have no shame. I ate half a second one. That was lunch. By the time this posts, I will have had my dinner. We decided to grill marinated brined lemon chicken, summer slaw, grilled vegetables with crumbled goat cheese, french bread, and probably some chilled fresh fruit. 

My first recipe is Gazpacho. I make a giant pitcher of it, and we eat it as a nice soup for lunches or even a beginner for dinner. 

Gazpacho 

To make a tasty Gazpacho, use 3 parts ripe tomatoes to one part other ingredients instead of measuring. This way, you make as little or as much as you want without doing math. Put these in one bowl. For other ingredients, I use green pepper, red pepper, white onion, scallions, peeled cucumber, a chunk of watermelon, garlic, parsley, or even some fresh cilantro or both. I like mine garlicky, so I use 2-3 cloves to make 32 oz. Start with 2 and then decide next time how garlicky you want it. Put these in another bowl. Save the leftover vegetables, not the watermelon, and chop them up small to put on top after the soup is blended, chilled, and ready to serve. 

Pack the vegetables into your blender, tomatoes first, to get it nice and juicy to make the other vegetables easy to blend. Add a hefty splash of red wine vinegar, you can use sherry vinegar, but I prefer the sherry only if I add some seafood to the soup later. Double that splash size with olive oil, season with salt, fresh ground pepper, and puree to the consistency you like. 

At this point, you can chill it for a couple of hours or even overnight. I make a huge portion, so we eat some then and have plenty for the next day. I make it a couple of times a week in the summer, changing it slightly. I suggest using red and yellow peppers or all three colors and red onion for a change. I love the watermelon in it, but if I don't have it, then that is fine without it. However, it adds something to it that elevates the taste. Heirloom tomatoes are good, or you can mix the type of tomatoes as long as they are ripe.

Pour Gazpacho into a bowl and season to taste with salt, pepper, vinegar, and olive oil. Top with some chopped vegetables from the leftovers above. This is where you can make it your own. Sometimes I make croutons from French bread, but some tasty plain, not cheesy or overly herbed store-bought will do if making your own is a step too far. This is about enjoying it, not proving your Julia Child. Make it easiest for your skill level, desire, and the time frame you have.  

Optional Toppings-crab meat, lobster meat, shrimp, pesto, tapenade. Ensure your seafood is poached, lightly boiled or steamed, and chilled before you add it because it blends better with the soup. I will use small salad shrimp usually. Forego canned seafood because it is too salty. Getting frozen if fresh is prohibitive and time-consuming is fine too. One bonus of frozen is that you can use the leftovers for salads or as part of a seafood bruschetta. It is a topping, not the main dish. 

I will have it with a lovely white Spanish blend wine or even a champagne Sangria if I want to eat outdoors. White wine spritzers are good too. I like pinot noir Rose and that works. Or, depending, I may choose lightish beer, or nonalcoholic cold drinks are great for when alcohol isn't what I want. It depends on what I eat with it or if I just have it as a snack.

Tip-Make it once as is, then play with ratios, toppings, vegetables, garlic, and onion and see how you like your combo best the next time you make it. It is a jumping-off recipe, and no one in my family makes it the same. But this is the basic recipe my great-grandmother from Spain had. Of course, she complained that Mexican tomatoes were ALL WRONG, but pleasing her would never happen anyway. :D

Variations-more watermelon, sliced yellow and red grape tomatoes as a garnish, avocado in the garnish, veggies only, heavier cucumber with green tomatoes for a green gazpacho, a bit of hot chili pepper for heat, a dollop of crema on top, you can add crema to the blender for a creamy gazpacho...

(not my photo)

For a good schedule of posts, I propose Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. This way, people can shop for recipes they like over the weekend. Let me know what days you all would like. Whatever is the most popular is the one I will follow for you.