Have you had your daily vegetable serving?

I don't know what got into me yesterday. Maybe it was all the thinking and stewing about various priorities in my life (hey, I was in need of a major dose of comfort, and I didn't get all I needed, so cooking is my next resort, and it always works). Maybe it was the full day ahead of me in Lil Rhody, free to let me do whatever I damn well pleased. Maybe it was the fact that I spend 12 hours of every work day standing on my feet, chopping, trimming, weighing and cooking various pieces of produce and protein. Who knows, but I was totally in a cooking and baking mood last night. Give me a glass of Sakonnet Vidal Blanc and stand back. She's on a roll.

What was the first thing on my task list? Gazpacho. My aunt made some the week before last, and it was good, but I was determined to top that (sorry Brooke!). As I rushed out the door to make it to the local fish market by 6 (I had 20 minutes, and it takes 15 minutes to get there. I made it, in the end), I grabbed one of my new favorite go-to cookbooks, and dashed out the door.

This recipe is derived from The Silver Palate's New Basics Cookbook (it's a good one. My new favorite, seafood risotto, is from this same tome). I tweaked a couple of items, based on what I found at the market (organic green peppers (from Wishing Stone Farm, in Little Compton, RI. Keep up the GREAT work Skip and Liz, and keep nurturing the relationship with Lees. I'll keep buying!!!), organic cilantro, and TONS of organic tomatoes (Wishing Stone Farm, again! Omg, I think I died and went to heaven eating these big, fat, juicy morsels!). Hey, you gotta go with what's fresh and local. Oh, of course and organic.

A perfect dinner idea for tonight. Or tomorrow. It's hotter than Hades out there (98 in Providence at 4!). Can't you tell I'm looking forward to slaving over a stove tomorrow? Not...

Local Gazpacho

1/3 c red wine vinegar (I used the O brand Cabernet vinegar. It's full flavored, as far as red wine vinegars go. I'm not a huge fan of this kind of vinegar anyways)
1/4 c extra virgin olive oil
3 eggs (organic! I love The Country Hen)
5 monsterous tomatoes (or 6 large), coarsely chopped
2 red bell peppers, coarsely chopped
1 green bell pepper, coarsely chopped
2 yellow onions, coarsely chopped
2 large shallots, coarsely chopped
2 large (or in my case, 4 small pickling cukes)
1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped
salt to taste
2/3 c chopped cilantro

Mix the vinegar, oil, and eggs together, whisking well. In a food processor, process the vegetables in batches, adding a little bit of the egg mixture to thin out the soup. Transfer to a large bowl or pitcher which will enable you to combine all the ingredients once they are all processed. Continue to finely chop all vegetables in the food processor and combining in the bowl. Add the cilantro to the last batch of vegetables and finely chop. Once all ingredients are chopped and in the bowl, stir well to combine. Season to taste and serve. A perfect dinner for a super hot day.