Friday 5 – Gazpacho 5 Ways!

by Stephanie Dickison

It has been insanely hot here in the city.  On Monday, my eyelids were actually sweating.

One of my favourite ways to keep cool in the summer heat is to make and consume a ton of gazpacho.  This cold Spanish soup is not cooked and is often a melange of tomatoes, cucumbers and other vegetables and spices.

Here is a roundup of 5 (or more) pretty spectacular gazpachos to help you beat the heat this weekend:

1. Andalusian Garden Gazpacho from The Los Angeles Times (LA would know something about eating in the heat)

2. Watch and learn the step-by-step process of making Creamy Gazpacho (with beautiful scenery in the background)

3.  A lot of restaurants put a Fruit Gazpacho on their menus at this time of year.  They are incredibly quick and easy to make and very refreshing.  Here’s a fruit & veg version and Pineapple Cucumber to swoon over.

4.  Green Gazpacho is a nice change from the red, tomato-based version that we’ve come to know and love.  To keep the green love going, give Spinach Gazpacho with Shrimp & Cream Cheese a try.

5.  One of the many great finds at farmer’s markets right now are beets.  Surprise and delight your dinner guests tonight with Beet & Ginger Gazpacho or Ginger Lemongrass Beet.  They’ll be so thankful not to have to politely eat yet another beet, goat’s cheese and walnut salad!

p.s.  My secret for making a spectacular gazpacho?  Yellow tomatoes (see picture above)!

Friday 5 – Summer Drinks Edition

By Chris Garbutt

1. Just for the heck of it, there’s Tahitian wine.

2. Cool, refreshing, and, uh, savoury: Cucumber-Rosemary gin & tonic.

3. Cold beer. Seems everyone’s celebrating beer this week. My favourites in the summer: Mill Street Organic Lager, Amsterdam Natural Blonde, and Steam Whistle Pilsner. For more on beer in Toronto, check out A Good Beer Blog.

4. I’m not usually one for liqueurs, but two make my list as summer favourites. Cointreau on ice is one. Or you could make this, which I haven’t tried. I love the orange flavour in Cointreau, much subtler than Grand Marnier, which can be a bit cloying. The other is a straight-up shot of the Czech Republic’s Becherovka, served supercold. Apparently it’s made with over 100 different herbs, but to me the strongest flavour is clove.

5. Seaking of liqueurs, here’s a limoncello gelato for dessert.