Gazpacho and Caprese Salad

One of my favorite summer things to eat is gazpacho; it's easy, healthy, and cool. I recently discovered a great salad idea at a local Italian restaurant too, so I'm including my version of that below, along with the recipe for gazpacho.

Gazpacho

3 lbs. tomatoes
1 cucumber
1 bell pepper
1 jalapeno pepper
bunch of basil or coriander
1 onion
3 cloves garlic
1/3 c. red wine vinegar
1/4 c. olive oil (or more if you desire)
juice of two fresh lemons
2-3 stalks celery, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
1 can V8 tomato juice (optional)
I also like to add curry powder (inspired by my hubby) and hot red pepper flakes, totally optional

Just food process everything except the celery together, the celery is better left in chunks then added to the food processed soup. Adjust ingredients to suit your taste. We also like to throw in avocado chunks to the finished soup. Great accompanied with sprouted bread toast.

Caprese Salad - 1 serving

1 head romaine salad
1 regular or 2 plum tomatoes, nice and ripe
roasted red peppers
fresh mozzarella cheese
fresh basil
olive oil and balsamic vinegar, or a nice Italian dressing

I use one head of salad per serving. Chop up the lettuce, slice the tomatoes then slice them in half, cut enough strips of roasted red pepper to cover the salad plate, cut half a round of fresh mozzarella in to chunks, and chop the basil into easily eaten strips.

Put the salad on a plate, then decorate it with all the other ingredients. Put dressing on to taste.