Recipe: Gazpacho

Like many people who over-plant in the Spring, I am now looking for creative ways to use up the bounty from my garden.  One of the most perplexing items in my garden are my cherry tomatoes. For the first couple of weeks, I am content to eat them as quickly as they ripen.  However, about four weeks later when all ten or so plants are producing mature fruit, I am unable to eat my way through the backyard.  So I decided to try making Gazpacho out of my cherry tomatoes and I am so pleased with the results. I love the flavor of cherry tomatoes, but they are not as versatile as larger tomatoes. That has changed with the discovery of how great they are in a Gazpacho. I have eaten several quarts of Gazpacho already this summer as it makes a quick and easy meal.  I don't add anything to the Gazpacho until I serve it.  I have also found that things like fresh green beans and fresh corn are also very good in Gazpacho.  Cucumbers are used in the traditional recipes, but use up any fresh vegetables that you have on hand that you like with tomatoes.  Here is my basic recipe, I have used yellow and red cherry tomatoes.  If I have a couple of larger tomatoes, I have also added them into the mix.  I have found that the acidity and sweetness of the tomatoes vary as well, and I adjust the recipe accordingly.  I have a very prolific "Sweet 100" cherry tomato plant and the tomatoes produced are very sweet.  So when I use them, I add more jalapeno pepper than I use with the yellow cherry tomatoes or the "Green Zebras".

I have frozen several quarts of Gazpacho to enjoy in the Winter. I am looking forward to eating Gazpacho on one of our warm Spring days that hint of the Summer to come.

Enjoy!

Combine all the ingredients in a food processor until smooth. Salt and pepper to taste.

3 cups of cherry tomatoes
1/2 small red onion
3 cloves of garlic
1/2 - 1 jalapeno pepper
1 - 2 tablepoons olive oil
1 - 2 tablepoons red wine vinegar
1/4 - 1/2 small red pepper

Thai Green Curry Seafood Soup

Happy New Year! For some reason my family really wanted a Thai soup for the new year, so that is what I made to celebrate the start of 2016.

I wanted to do something I have never done before: make curry paste from scratch. It sounded daunting. Lots of obscure ingredients and a food processor are required. But it was surprisingly simple to do and it tasted so good! I will never open the jar of green curry I have sitting in my fridge. I will always make it from scratch from now on. I started by making a simple pork ball and bean noodle soup with the curry, so that I would have an idea of how much to use in the Seafood soup. The pork ball soup turned out great and I will share that recipe another day.

Green Curry Paste

In a food processor, put the following ingredients:

1 tsp roasted cumin seeds (I just roasted them in a pan on the stove for about 5 mins- super easy!)
1 tsp roasted coriander seeds (Also roasted on the stove)
1 tbs chopped ginger
1 tbs chopped lemongrass
1 tbs fish sauce (Red Boat if you can find it)
4 Kaffir lime leaves chopped
4 Mexican or Key limes juiced
4-6 cloves of garlic chopped
1 Serrano chile chopped
1 small shallot chopped
1/2 C cilantro chopped
1/2 C basil chopped (I used frozen from my garden as I could not find good fresh and it worked just fine)
1/4-1/2 C coconut cream (Kara if you can get it)

Process until smooth. It will probably be a little "chunkier" than the paste you get in the store, but that does not matter. You are going purely for taste. Adjust any ingredients that you might need. I ended up adding more cilantro and more pepper. Mine still has bits of cilantro and basil but I liked it that way.

Thai Seafood Soup

8 C of chicken broth or clam/vegetable (whatever soup base you like)
4 C of chopped vegetables (I used eggplant, snap peas, red pepper, zucchini & green onion)

Add the curry paste.
Cook until the vegetables are tender then add the seafood.

Add the seafood; I used clams, shrimp, fish and crab
(Clams first, as they need a hotter pot, then fish followed by the shrimp and the crab last. I cook the crab separately and then clean and add to the pot)

Add the coconut cream to the pot. I also served limes, red pepper flakes, and cilantro on the table to let everyone individualize the taste. I also added some of the fresh curry paste to the bowl.

Enjoy making green curry paste from scratch and a big pot of Thai Seafood Soup!

Split Pea Soup

I have a friend that I make a pot of split pea soup for on her birthday every year. Usually it is the only batch of split pea I make. This December has been colder than usual so I decided to make another batch of split pea soup. I like to take standard recipes and find ways to add to the flavor and the complexity of the dish without changing it so much that it becomes something else. What usually brings on the change is something in my fridge that needs to be used that I thought would enhance the flavor of the dish. It just happened that I had some leftover fennel and that I had several overripe tomatoes that I thought would be good in split pea soup. I also had a leek that I wanted to use up as well. I love the flavor that the tomatoes brought to the soup but I have to warn you that the soup turns orange! So that is probably why you do not find tomatoes in most split pea recipes.

I like to brown all the vegetables first so that they get a more complex flavor. I then add my ham hock to the vegetables, I love to go to Dittmer's to get a freshly smoked ham hock for my split pea soup. It is just the right amount of smokey and salty.


I then add the split peas. I let my peas soak for about 12 hours, I rinse them a couple of times and then add them to the pot.  I am a big fan of  Savory Choice broths. I try to keep chicken, beef and turkey in stock in my cupboard. They come in flavor packets so you are not paying for water and carrying home bulky packages. They can be a little hard to find but my local Whole Foods has stocked up for the holiday season.
Finally everything is in the pot and it is time to put the split pea soup on a slow simmer and let it cook for about 2-3 hrs. I hope you enjoy it!





Split Pea Soup Recipe

2 C split peas
2 Carrots, sliced
4 Med tomatoes diced
1 Med red onion dices
1 leek diced
1 fennel bulb diced
8-10 cloves of garlic diced
2 packets of Savory Choice Chicken Broth
8-10 Cups of water
3 bay leaves
1 ham hock (1-2 lbs)
1/2 C of olive oil
Salt & Pepper to taste

First soak the split peas for at least 12 hours. Then rinse and drain them.  In a large stock pot over medium heat, add the olive oil.  Then add all of the vegetables, salt and pepper and then stir until browned about 15 mins. Add the water and chicken broth and then the ham hock. Add the soaked peas and the bay leaves. Cover and turn down the heat to low.  Simmer on the stove for about 2-3 hrs. Checking on it every 15-20 mins to stir the pot.  Remove the ham hock from the finished soup and cut up into bite size pieces and return to the pot.  Serve the soup with your favorite bread.  It is even better the next day. Please Enjoy.