Share, por favor!

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My Gazpacho stunk. Its only redeeming quality? The 6-year-old enjoyed hanging in the kitchen with me chopping peppers and cucumbers.

I made it last week, after endless days of heat hot enough to freir un huevo en la calle and because I got inspired watching Made in Spain on PBS. Chef José Andrés made gazpacho. And, he made it look so easy. So did Violeta when she wrote about her gazpacho on the Tiki Tiki last year.

Well, I didn’t have the sherry vinegar required for Andrés’ recipe, and I didn’t have 3 cups of tomato juice required for Ina Garten’s recipe and so, I did what any good ama de casa would do: I winged it.

It was too watery and it tasted too much like we were drinking salsa. My husband, a good sport about any culinary failings, tasted, smiled and said “Maybe next time.” The raw garlic made it too spicy for Maria’s tongue.

Fortunately, I had the backup: A cucumber pineapple gazpacho from Whole Foods, pictured above. With little chunks of raw garlic in it, it was delicious.

But, the challenge is now before me: I will perfect gazpacho because I cannot bear a hot kitchen in the summer. So, I hunted recipes online and they are at the ready. The best of what I found, in addition to the two above:

Mango Gazpacho, from All Recipes. It has jalapeno, lime juice and cilantro. Ding, ding, ding!

Avocado Gazpacho, the awesome Martha Rose Shulman in the New York Times.

Avocado and Corn Gazpacho, the crunch sounds good to me.

Green Gazpacho, a mixture of lettuce, spinach, scallions, cucumber, mint and more, this one from Spain Recipes online is a maybe. I imagine little shooters of it…maybe chased by a cold sangria.

So, do you like gazpacho? Do you have  a recipe to share?

Stay cool!

Share, por favor!

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Un poquito mas:

1. Gazpacho Girl
2. A Buffet of Latin Recipes
3. Summer Reading Inspiration