GazpacHO NO....

Over the weekend I decided to attempt Gazpacho, a cold Spanish tomato based raw vegetable soup. I had a wonderful version made by Natalie Dee when I was last in D.C. so I got her recipe and tried to duplicate it. But alas.... my version was far and away lacking a layer of flavor. I have a few theories about that but first the recipe:

Jaleo's Gazpacho, serves 6-8
1 Cucumber (peeled, seeded, chopped)

1 Green bell pepper (seeded, diced)

3lb ripe Plum Tomatoes (diced)
2 cloves Garlic

1/4c sherry vinegar

1/2c Oloroso sherry

3/4c EVOO

Puree all ingredients with 2c of water until well blended. Strain into a pitcher and refrigerate 30 minutes. Garnish: thick bread croutons, evoo, diced cucumber, diced green and red bell pepper, sea salt.

So here are my theories for why it didn't turn out quite right:

1. Per Natalie's suggestion I didn't not strain the Gazpacho. I don't think this really had anything to do with the flavor. And would skip the straining in future attempts.

2. Target doesn't sell Sherry vinegar so I had to use red wine vinegar.....

3. I drank all my sherry so I used chicken stock instead of Oloroso sherry....

4. My blender wasn't big enough to fit the whole batch at once so I did two small batches.... probably not really a big deal either, but upon seeing the large quantity of this recipe I would only make half next time, unless feeding a large group.

Overall I had a good experience with this endeavor. I pawned a great deal of it off on my parents and their friends, who were baffled by the idea of cold soup, but all were pleased and complimentary when asked how it tasted. This is coming from a group with basic pallets, but I'll take what I can get!

NEW MUSIC!

Here are a few of my new favorite artists. I've been listening to them on REPEAT for days. Check 'em out you're bound to like one of them!

Coconut Records

Jason Schwartzman's one man band project. Yes, Jason's most know for writing the song California, made famous to the masses as the theme song on The OC, but departed his band, Phantom Planet, after only one record to follow his dream of being an actor. Not to hard of a goal to accomplish when you have Nicholas Cage as a cousin and many other famous relatives. Needless to say Jason became an actor and has recently gotten back to making music. Both Nighttiming and the current Davy albums by Coconut Records has a throw back to the great pop stars of the 1960's. Fun hooks, and quirky lyrics make it sooooo easy for me to say I HEART Jason Schwartzman!!!!

Nik Freitas

I was recently "introduced" to him when I saw Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band. He is a member of the Mystic Valley Band playing guitar and backing vocals. However, he did sing a song on his own and Conor mentioned Nik just released his own album. So I checked it out the next day and have been listening to it non-stop! It's fun to listen to around the house when you're cooking or doing random projects.

Randy Houser

When I first heard this guy I thought "wow this doesn't seem like the kind of song Brooks and Dunn would sing..." Turns out it wasn't Brooks and Dunn it was Randy Houser. I'm not sure how old Randy is but he has a deep soulful voice with some Southern Bluesy Rock tendencies, which I LOVE! His debut album as a singer is great for summer. My favorite song is Lie, the lyrics are clever and I hate to admit it but a pretty accurate assessment.

Rice Krispie Dessert

Since it was so darn HOT and HUMID earlier this week I decided to "revive" an old classic dessert my Grandma Barthel would make when I was a kid. It's so simple and yet so tasty. Easily one of the best dessert for a sultry summer day.

3 cups of Rice Krispies

1/2 cup Butter

1 cup Coconut

1/2 cup chopped Walnuts

1 cup Brown Sugar

1 gallon softened Vanilla Ice Cream

Strawberries

Melt butter and then mix together all ingredients except ice cream. Grease a 9X13 pan and then spread half the mixture in the bottom of the pan. Then spoon the ice cream onto the rice krispie layer. You may need to use your fingers to spread the ice cream into a semi-even layer. Then sprinkle the remaining rice krispie layer over the ice cream. Cover and freeze for at least 2 hours before serving. Use fresh strawberries to top the dessert. Hot fudge, butterscotch or carmel work nicely too.