The Tomato Snob

I made a delicious and refreshing gazpacho. Problem being, it was delicious because I used homegrown, fresh out of my grandparent's garden, juicy sweet tomatoes. So, if you have 4 to 6 of these lying around, then make this super simple gazpacho!

Ingredients:
4 to 6 home or locally grown tomatoes, super ripe
2 red peppers
1 red onion
3 cloves garlic
1 jalapeno
1/4 cup good olive oil
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
Tomato juice (I only used about 12 ounces, but the original recipe called for 23. I like a really thick and chunky gazpacho, though)
Fresh ground salt and pepper
1 hot house cucumber

Roughly chop all of the vegetables. Get out your food processor! I processed the garlic, jalapeno, and onion together until they were all very finely minced. I did the peppers and tomatoes until they were chunky. Don't over process the tomatoes and peppers, because you want the gazpacho to have some texture to it. Combine all the vegetables in a bowl, along with the liquid ingredients. Salt and pepper to taste (probably about 1 tsp salt and 1/4 to 1/2 tsp pepper). Let stand in the refrigerator for a few hours before serving, so the flavors can mix.

Serve chilled on a hot summer day!

Delicious Southwestern Corn Chowder

Since I'm staying in New Mexico, my mom and I decided to make a southwestern style dish. And since it was snowing this morning, soup sounded great. We used a base recipe, but then made some changes. The most important being the substitution of New Mexico Green Chilies, which we roasted.

Here's the recipe:
3 tablespoons butter
1 small onion, chopped
3 cups fat-free chicken broth
2 cups fresh corn
2 potatoes, peeled and diced
1 New Mexico green chili, roasted
2 ribs celery, finely diced
2 cups low-fat milk
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese, plus more for garnish (we used sharp white cheddar)
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (this made it fairly spicy, if you don't like spice, use 1/4)

Melt the butter in a large sauce pan. Toss in the onions and cook until tender, about five minutes. Stir in the chicken broth and all the vegetables. Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook until the potatoes are tender. About 5 minutes.

Puree two cups worth of the veggie mix, or briefly use an immersion blender, but don't over puree. The chunks really make the soup great.

Add the cheese, milk, and spices. Use fresh ground black pepper to taste. Bring back to a simmer, and allow to simmer until the soup is thick. About fifteen minutes. I served it with an additional cup of Cheddar cheese for garnish, which helped to cut some of the heat of the cayenne.

Overall, this was a really delicious soup. I was very happy with it. It's great for a cold wintry night!