Eat Scrumptious

I am lucky to live near the Chicago Botanic Garden (and luckier still that my mother gifted me with a membership to this amazing place!). Each Saturday and Sunday, a local chef demonstrates cooking with just-picked ingredients from your garden.

Yesterday a chef from a restaurant in Glen Ellyn, IL called Glen Prairie made Organic Tomato Gazpacho for the audience. (The picture shows everything the chef used yesterday, plus also a guy in a hat.)

Here is the recipe:

5 each Roma Tomatoes (rough chopped)
2 each Cucumber (seeded, peeled and chopped)
1 each large Red Pepper (seeded, cored and chopped)
1 each Celery Stalk (chopped)
5 each Green onions (chopped)
2 cloves Garlic (chopped)
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp Tabasco (or to taste)
1 oz Olive Oil
1/4 cup Sherry Vinegar
2 ea - 8 oz cans tomato juice or V8

In your blender or food processor, combine first 6 ingredients. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Combine oil, vinegar, tomato juice (or V8) and Tabasco. Blend into vegetables until smooth. Serve in large bowls or mugs. Serves 6 to 8.

For garnish: 1 tbsp creme fraiche or sour cream, halved grape tomatoes and scallions

Everyone in the audience gets samples. The soup was fantastic. The chef suggested it the day before you plan to serve so all the ingredients can "marry" in the fridge.

Plus I picked up two Red Brandywine Tomato seedlings and some nasturtium seeds (dosed with some wormy fertilizer) to add to my home garden.