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Gazpacho Soup
by Jes Mostek
serves: 8
  This is one of my absolute favorite summer meals! It's a great meal for company, because it's very easy, but it seems so involved. Just be sure to make enough so that you have extra for yourself the next day!

You may wish to garnish with red pepper sauce (Tobasco), sour cream, or croutons.

Using zucchini and green bell pepper might affect the color, but the flavor will remain intact.
Ingredients:
  2 sm. - med.   cucumber (can also use zucchini)
  2   red bell peppers (can also use green)
  4   roma tomatoes
  1/2 lg.   yellow vidalia onion
  2 lg.   cloves garlic, minced (1/2 tsp. pwdr = 1 clove)
  3 c.   tomato or vegetable (V8) juice
  2 T.   red wine vinegar
  1/4 c.   lemon juice and zest
  1 tsp.   Worchestershire sauce
  1/4 c.   fresh parsley, chopped
  1/4 c.   olive oil
  1 tsp.   salt (optional)
  1 tsp.   fresh cracked black pepper
Directions:
  Cut up the cucumbers, bell peppers, tomatoes, and onion so that they will fit into your food processor.

Coarsely chop the vegetables, about 2 c. at a time in your food processor (with the steel blade attachment) until you get a consistent size. You will want to use about a 1/2 c. of the vegetable juice each time you put veggie in the food processor as well, to make sure large chunks don't get stuck.

Be careful to not over-process the veggies; you're going for a finely-chopped salsa consistency, not a Campbell's tomato soup consistency.

In a large bowl, combine all of the processed vegetables, along with any remaining vegetable/tomato juice, the minced garlic, vinegar, lemon juice and zest, olive oil, Worchestershire sauce, parsley, and salt & pepper.

Mix well and chill before serving. The longer gazpacho sits, the more the flavors (especially the garlic) develop. I usually serve it right after making it, only because I never plan too far ahead, at least no in the summer. But the left-overs for lunch the next day are always even more delicious that the previous day's meal.