Iris' Gazpacho!

Well folks, the first postcard is in!!!

This one arrived from my new friend Iris who lives in the Netherlands.

Iris sent to me her recipe for Gazpacho, a dish that she loves to eat on hot, humid days. Being from Louisiana, I can assure you that I have NO IDEA what she is talking about :-)

Just for kicks, here is a little research on the climate of the Netherlands. Seems pretty nice if you ask me!

And an excerpt about gazpacho from wikipedia. Here is the full Wiki entry for Gazpacho.

Gazpacho is a cold Spanish tomato-based raw vegetable soup,
originating in the southern region of Andalusia. Gazpacho is widely consumed throughout Spain, neighboring Portugal (where it is known as gazpacho) and parts of Latin America. Gazpacho is mostly consumed during the
summer months, due to its refreshing qualities.

So Gazpacho it is then! Easy enough right... not that I have ever made gazpacho in my life, or have even tasted it for that matter! But if the ingredients list are any indication, this recipe should be a piece of cake...right guys....

First off I set out to gather all of the necessary ingredients. Here is a closer shot of the ingredients list/recipe I have to work with:

And with just a quick trip to the grocery store, I managed to secure all of the ingredients...

2 - Cans of peeled tomatoes

1 - Cucumber

1 - Chile Pepper

1 - Red Pepper

4 - Cloves of garlic.... yes... 4!

Alright - the stage is set! Now just to enlist the help of one of the best guys I know... ladies and gentlemen... introducing Mr. Ron Sierra!!!

YAY!!!

Ron has helped me out countless times in the past. So I had everything I needed, and Ron was ready to help out. I suggested that he photograph me while I worked on the recipe, when he asked me to pass him two cloves of garlic and the cucumber. Not thinking, I did so and the result speaks for itself......

So, after having rewashed the vegetables, I was ready to begin the gazpacho.

The pictures below illustrate some the process.

Chopping the red pepper.

Chopping the cucumber.

De-seeding the chile.

Chopping the chile.

Now for the tomatoes.

Into the blender to "blitz"

Time for a taste test....

And the end result:

As it turns out, my final product looks a lot like it is supposed to!

Overall the process was painless. The recipe was simple and straightforward, though I did have to overcome the hurdles of identifying the size of the ingredients.

In the end the gazpacho turned out well I guess. I was expecting to taste something like the Campbells vegetable soup, but was surprised that it tasted a lot more like salsa than I expected, and the garlic was uber-potent!

Perhaps I should use a smaller chile next time, and much less garlic. I would also add some salt, pepper and onion for a little more flavor, but I did well and followed the rules!

I ate some of it like a soup as intended, but ended up eating most of it with tortilla chips with a beer while watching Amy Adams' Leap Year. I have no doubt that should you experience and compare the two, my gazpacho will receive the more favorable review!

Ingredients for the Project

Here goes my first of hopefully many blog entries (depending of course on the number of recipes I receive). I'm not really sure of what exactly incited the idea to merge two of my hobbies and report the results in a blog, but I figured it would be worth giving it a shot.

About a month ago I signed up for an account with Postcrossing - Postcards Traveling the World.

It was a fun way to connect to people I have never met from around the globe without the commitment of the old fashioned pen-pal. Postcards were simple, cheap, and efficient - not to mention pretty. :-)

I decided that instead of random messages of "wishing-you-well", or "if ever you're here you should come visit" (like that would ever happen) it be cool to exchange recipes with people. What is a better way to reach out to someone and experience a part of their culture than through their cuisine?!?

So here is my plan for this project. I will setup an account with Postcrossing asking for people to send me a postcard with their favorite recipe written on the back. Once I receive their postcard I will secure the ingredients and then try to create their recipe from my own kitchen! (then of course I will blog about it).

But I will have to follow a few rules....

3-simple-rules of the game:

1) I won't request any specific recipes.
I'll try to avoid sharing my personal palate preferences with anyone, and I won't divulge any likes or dislikes of any particular foods. I'm not aware of any food allergies so I don't expect this to be an issue.

2) I won't substitute ingredients.
Sure there are substitutes for almost every product out there, but I will stick to whatever is detailed in the postcard. I will only seek out substitute ingredients if the given ingredient is not available.

3) I won't try to fix the recipe!
This is gonna be a toughie for me. Seriously, I am a cajun and need to put Tony's Chacheres on everything!

So there you have it, my recipe for adventure!
Stay tuned true believers, this is sure to be as crazy as it is tasty!