I’m relieved to have a blender again. Summer just hasn’t been the same without it. No milkshakes. No orange Julius. What else can you do with overripe fruit other than make smoothies? A gal can only eat so much compote.
I still have my old blender and it still only requires a little piece to hold the blade in place and make it usable again. I told my hubby that I’m going to take it to an appliance guy to see if it can be repaired. “Because, you know, then we’ll have a back-up blender.” He starts laughing. “That’s the first time I’ve ever heard you say you wanted to have an extra of ANYTHING around,” he says.
Valid point. I’m notorious for cleaning closets, paring down, purging, simplifying to the point of austerity. Do we use it? Do we need it? Can we get by without it? Then let it go…but I now rewrite the rules for blenders.
With a garden burgeoning with tomatoes and cucumbers, I broke in my new blender by making gazpacho. Oh, gazpacho, we’ve had some good times. Remember when we first met? I was a giggly teenager on her first trip to Spain, eating a late dinner in Madrid. And you, you were a revelation. Cold tomato soup, yes, but you were so much more. Summer in a spoon. Elegant simplicity. A dish that is so much more that a sum of its parts. We’ve met a few times since then, and it’s always a happy reunion. Let’s do this more often.
There are only a few warm summery days left! Enjoy every last drop!
Gazpacho
Based of allrecipes.com recipe. Make it prettier with fun garnishes like bread cubes, avocado, chopped chives - I'm old school and just eat it straight up.
8 large tomatoes - peeled, seeded and chopped
1/4 cup minced onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cucumber, peeled and finely chopped
1/2 green bell pepper, minced
2-3 slices white bread (dry, stale French bread is ideal, but a couple slices of Wonder bread works too)
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
Kosher salt to taste
Combine tomatoes, bread, and oil in a large bowl, moistening with a 1/2 cup of water if needed to get bread moistened. Let set for five minutes, then puree in a blender or food processor in batches until all is pureed; set aside. Then puree onion, garlic, cucumber, and green pepper. Mix together, add vinegar and salt to taste.
FIRST trip to Spain? So you've been more than once? I'm dying to go for the first time.
ReplyDeleteBack up blender. That's a good one. I don't know how it is out there, but appliance repair shops are harder and harder to find. I succumb to Target, too.