Today's lunch: gazpacho

Today's lunch: gazpacho, a photo by Local Food Lady on Flickr.

My lunch today. I told you I bring leftovers--often. Gazpacho is a no-fail kind of recipe. Really, you cannot mess this stuff up. If it tastes good to you, then enjoy it. In this recipe, it's really not cooking, it's assembling! I find that a blender works best to get everything mixed well.

Ingredients (measurements are approximate):

• Red onion
• Garlic cloves 2 or 3
• Cucumber (1 or 2 seeded)
• Tomatoes (5 or 6; mostly red, but you can throw in a yellow one if you like)
• Green pepper (you can add a jalapeno for extra heat)
• Watermelon (optional, a cup+/- will do)
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Basil
• Salt and Pepper

For garnish: cut up red onion and cucumbers, sprinkle feta cheese on top

In a blender, puree all of the above ingredients. I recommend cutting most of the veggies into bite-size pieces and removing the cores of the tomatoes. Once blended, pour the the gazpacho mixture to a mesh strainer above a bowl. You may need to use a ladle to push the gazpacho through the strainer and will be left with a vegetable pulp. Discard the vegetable pulp. Chill the gazpacho before serving (I like to chill the bowls, too). Add the garnish vegetables and enjoy.