Persephone Farm

Sustainably Grown Vegetables & Flowers – Indianola, Washington

cucumbers

Tomatoes and Cucumbers and Peppers—and temps in the 90s!

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Persephone Farm Tomatoes

You can see why we’re thinking of gazpacho this week! My Spanish grandmother (okay okay she was German)(okay okay it’s me) makes gazpacho without a recipe, and it’s still the best way to do it. Finely chop up the peppers, tomatoes and cucumbers you haven’t already finished on the way home from the CSA pickup site; add a finely chopped small onion, a few tablespoons of olive oil and a couple cloves of minced garlic; and salt and pepper, lemon juice, and vinegar to taste—cumin, cilantro, or parsley if you’re fancy—and chill for an hour. Some people like to blend it up—or blend half the mix, leaving the other half in small chopped bits—before chilling, but some prefer to leave the vegetables finely chopped. Other interesting options: finely ground bread crumbs or toasted almonds, Worcestershire sauce, jalapenos, gin (kidding about the gin*)…There are almost as many variations of this recipe as there are tomatoes, so use what you’ve got and go with your gut! Perfect with a hearty bread for dinner on a hot summer’s day. — Apprentice Rachel

For those who prefer a little more direction, the New York Times recently (and timely) published a collection of recipes under the apt headline “30 Ways to Do Justice to Summer Tomatoes.”

*vodka would definitely work better

Gazpacho

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Lots of tomatoes and a really long cucumber!
Lots of tomatoes and a really long cucumber!

CSA subscribers are enjoying lots of great cucumbers and tomatoes right now. Onions and garlic have also appeared in our boxes. Hmmm, how about some refreshing gazpacho (chilled tomato soup)? My Mom raved about this gazpacho recipe she found online. I finally tried it myself, it was easy and delicious. Next time I’ll use the blender, I made a bit of a mess using the Cuisinart (too much liquid).

Source: Ree at The Pioneer Woman Website
Check it out for her entertaining story and many photos illustrating the process (chopping and dicing included).

Serves: 8 (keeps pretty well in the fridge)

Ingredients
2 cloves Garlic, Minced
1/2 whole Red Onion, Diced
1 whole Large Cucumber, Diced
5 whole Roma Tomatoes, Diced
1 whole Zucchini, Diced
2 stalks Celery, Diced
1 dash Salt To Taste
1/4 gallon Tomato Juice (or V8)
1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/8 cup Red Wine Vinegar (to taste – I used more that 1/8 cup)
2 Tablespoons White Sugar
6 dashes Tabasco
1 dash Black Pepper To Taste

  • In the bowl of a food processor or in a blender, combine the minced garlic with half the red onion, half the cucumber, half the tomato, half the zucchini, half the celery, half the tomato juice, olive oil, red wine vinegar, sugar, Tabasco, and a dash of salt.
  • Pulse until all ingredients are blended well; mixture will have a nice speckled, colorful texture.
  • Pour into a large bowl and add the rest of the tomato juice, and half of the remaining onion, cucumber, tomato, zucchini, and celery. (Reserve the rest of the diced vegetables for garnish.)
  • Stir mixture together and check seasonings, adding salt if needed. Chill soup for at least a couple of hours; soup needs to be very cold!
  • Remove the soup from the fridge and stir. Check seasonings one last time. Ladle into a bowl and garnish with remaining diced vegetables, a sliver of fresh avocado, sour cream, and cilantro.