Kitchen Experiment: Gazpacho

Lovely thing about my new apartment is that I am right across the street from a farmer's market every Friday. Alas in the month + I have lived here I have never managed to actually make it there during operating hours. But this past Friday I finally made it. And after using most of my market bounty for fixings for a picnic at my local petting zoo (now don't you wish you lived in New Jersey), I found myself left with: a 1/4 of a cucumber, 3 plum tomatoes, several day old baguette, a chili pepper (type unknown, large, like a poblano, but smaller than a bell pepper, and red, I believe a fresno pepper), and half a red onion.

What to do with such an assortment, in my hot apartment, that gets hotter when you turn on the stove? I vaguely recalled an episode of "Secrets of a Restaurant Chef" while at the gym (yes I watch food network at the gym) where Anne Burrell is making sexy noises (you know what I mean if you watch the show) as she is throwing chunks of bread into her tomato concoction and thats when it hit me...GAZPACHO

So I googleed gazpacho recipes. Most required things I didn't have, in amounts I didn't have, so I decided to sort of wing it, me and my immersion blender. I warn you this was an imprecise science, non traditional, things I had in my house, mimicking recipes I read...

1/4 of a cucumber, seeded and cut into chunks

3 plum tomatoes, cut into chunks

1/4 several day old baguette cut into crouton size pieces

Fresno? chili pepper, in chunks

1/4 red onion, in chunks

3/4 lemon

olive oil, enough to drizzle over vegetables, and then another splash or two to taste

salt, pepper...and if I had it, homemade celery salt I think would go nicely, I will attach that recipe below

Honestly, throw it all in a food processor (I didn't want to bother getting mine out so I used my immersion blender, which worked but was very messy. Puree the veggies and olive oil first, then add the bread. Blend until smooth, add lemon juice, salt and pepper and olive oil to taste, and chill! Delicious!!

Top with celery salt! I mentioned Smittenkitchen in my previous post, but this is from my other favorite food blog: 101cookbooks. Also beautiful pictures, mostly vegetarian, and usually a little more complex/using things you have never heard of, but still excellent.