Gazpacho

Holy Jeepers! Just once in a lifetime, the planets all line up and the perfect storm of flavour erupts across your tongue and you just want to sing to the heavens! I ate the gazpacho an hour ago and my mouth is still a symphony alive with flavour and freshness. Hallelujah! And I just had a hunch that it was going to be a gazpacho kind of a day. With temperatures outside soaring above 40 degrees Celsius, and most of the vegetables in their prime of freshness, I knew I couldn't go wrong. Gazpacho is the perfect food to rehydrate your body and leave you feeling wonderfully satisfied without feeling full and bloated. It is heatwave chowder! Many people prefer to puree their gazpacho, but I love the crunch and the texture, so I don't puree at all. I just chop everything into bite size chunks and leave it at that. And nor do I put a dollop of sour cream to garnish. Although I'm sure that would be delicious. I'm all about keeping it to a bare minimum and letting it speak for itself.
So let's make a gazpacho that will tell Mother Nature her work has not been in vain!

You'll need:
3 tomatoes chopped
1/2 red onion chopped
half an English cucumber peeled and chopped
2 stalks of celery chopped
5 sliced green onions
1 red pepper chopped
2 cloves minced garlic
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup olive oil
1/2 freshly squeezed lemon
2 teaspoons of sugar
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper (lots)
a couple of splashes of Tabasco sauce
a good splash of Worcestershire sauce
Using a large can of Tomato juice, pour yourself a bloody mary for all your effort and use the rest for the soup.
Now here is what makes this recipe magical - you stand on your feet for a good hour and chop everything up and put it in a big bowl. The trick is to be thinking of all the people you love and how thankful you are to have them in your life. The chopping time goes by in the blink of an eye if you do this! Then add everything else on the list and stir it all up. Cover it and let it chill for at least 6 hours but overnight is even better.
Serve it up and that's all there is to it! You can change up this recipe however you like by adding the fresh vegetables that you like and you really should add some parsley or cilantro if you can. I just didn't feel like going out into the heat and down to the garden. And shame on me for that. But in this case, my herbs weren't missed. And I could kiss Mother Nature a thousand times for providing everything I needed for today's supper! Enjoy!