Gazpacho and a mushy post

When Andy and I first started dating, I made him a lot of lists. No, not honey do lists…lists of mushy stuff like things he did that I thought were cute, things he said I thought were cute, reasons why I liked him, etc. Is anyone gagging yet?

Well, there are still plenty of lists and reasons floating around in my head, but I haven’t actually written one out in some time. So here we go…things are about to get very mushy over here.

A random collection of ten things I adore about my husband:

• That he toasts to true love for no special reason on a regular day.
• That when he puts his arm around me after the alarm goes off, we instantly fall back into the best, deepest sleep ever.
• That Christmas turns him into a little boy again.
• That he believes in me with unwavering conviction.
• That he loves rainy days.
• That he has a curiosity about life and is constantly learning new things.
• That he makes me feel like the luckiest girl in the world every day.
• The uninhibited way he laughs when something really strikes him as funny: wheezy, red-faced, teary-eyed. 
• That he can gossip like the best girlfriend ever. 
• That although he claims not to like a certain ingredient or dish, he’ll try it with an open mind if I make it (and usually ends up liking it). 

Which leads me to this gazpacho. I’d been talking about making gazpacho for a while, but Andy was less than thrilled about the idea. He’s not a huge fan of cold soup and when I told him I wanted to load it with radish to use up an excess, that was another strike against the gazpacho.  But he will always try things when I put a spoon in front of him, and much to my surprise, he loved it. Not only did we eat it for dinner that night, but he also requested it several more times over the next few nights. Winner.

Spicy Gazpacho with Radish

Serves 4-6

12 ounces tomatoes

1 1/2 cup peeled, chopped cucumber*

1 cup chopped radish

3/4 cup chopped bell pepper (red, orange or yellow)

1 spicy pepper, chopped**

1 garlic clove, minced

1/2 cup tomato juice

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

salt

pepper

chopped radish, cucumber and tomatoes, for serving

*If using English cucumber, peeling is not necessary.

** I get these incredible yellow spicy peppers at the farmers market this time of year and have no idea what they are. Use jalapeno as a substitute.

Place first 6 ingredients into a food processor and puree to desired consistency. Add tomato juice, olive oil and vinegar. Pulse to combine (or run food processor for a thinner, smoother soup). Season with salt and pepper.

Chill in refrigerator for a few hours before serving.

Divide into bowls and top with garnish of chopped vegetables.

This dish couldn’t be easier to pull together. With no cooking required, it makes an ideal fresh and spicy summer dinner and is the perfect way to use any excess produce laying around.