Gazpacho!

yellow and orange tomatoes from our garden!

Gazpacho Soup - the quick, easy, delicious way

6 tomatoes, blanched and cored, coarsely chopped

1 medium red bell pepper, coarsely chopped

1 large cucumber, peeled and chopped (you can gut the seeds if you want, but I never do)

1-4 cloves of garlic (depending how spicy you like it!), cut into quarters

1 medium red onion, coarsely chopped

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper

a squeeze of fresh lemon (the juice from about 1/4 lemon should do it!)

1/2 jalepeno, chopped (optional. I didn't use this, the garlic made it spicy enough for me!)

In a food processor (or blender, in my case), put in tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, garlic, onion, balsamic vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, lemon, salt and pepper (and jalepeno, if using). Blend until fairly smooth, but leave some texture! Taste. Good? Chill for an hour or so. Then eat...or forget the chilling. Just eat.

By the way, I've made this several times, and I had a better tasting soup when I used a variety of medium and cherry tomatoes than the larger, watery tomatoes. The more flavorful the tomato, the more it seems to pack a delicious taste-punch.

And just to give credit where credit is due, my step-mom gave me the basis for this recipe, telling me that what really makes it delicious is the olive oil! I think she's right!