Fresh Summer Gazpacho

Oh boy, do I have one for you....and when I say "you", I mean "you".....on a diet? It's for you. Hot summer days? It's for you? Gluten free, dairy free, vegetarian, vegan? It's for you. Just like food that looks pretty and tastes good (that's me!), it's for you too! It's fresh summer gazpacho. Run, don't walk to you local farmers market.

I'm always a little embarrassed when I blog food that has been inspired from a real food blog. But since only about 5 of you read this anyway and it's more for my entertainment, it's okay. If you want to see the real blog with the good photos....it's here. When I saw these photos and read the recipe, I knew I had to make it.

I don't have the camera or skill, as I always say. But trust me, in person it was stunning. I think even David was impressed. It looked like a gourmet restaurant in our little kitchen. I only wish the photos did it justice. And it was SO EASY!

Here's how I made mine. First, it's August and I was able to get the most gorgeous deep red tomatoes....Brilliant! I cut them in half (about 5 or so) and grated them on the large tooth grater. I put the juice through a strainer and got out the seed and pulp. I was left with a beautiful tomato water that I could have drank right there and been done with it and walked away happy. Into the tomato juice, I grated some Vidalia onion and a half a garlic glove. I added lots of black pepper, salt and a pinch of sugar.

David was making chicken kabobs, so we had all sorts of veggies out. I grabbed what we had: mushrooms, cucumber, zucchini, red pepper, yellow pepper, carrot. It's a genius way to clean out the crisper in your fridge. I diced everything really small. Then mixed the veggies with a touch of lime juice, olive oil, salt and pepper, I added fresh chives. Again, could have eaten this salad by itself and been thrilled with dinner.

I made the avocado ring (per the above blog's instructions) and filled it with the veggies and poured the soup around it. I dotted the soup with a homemade basil oil. DELICIOUS! Every element was divine, but when you tasted a bite with everything together in the spoon......YUM!

You just HAVE to try this!! Skip the "ring" if that's too much and sprinkle the veggies in the center of the bowl. SO GOOD, SO SUMMER, SO HEALTHY, SO DELICIOUS, SO EASY.