The soup from Andalucía

It is summer, and I've had no less than four samplings of gazpacho from different places. The cool cucumber and tomato soup screams 'seasonal' and is best enjoyed on a summer evening with some crostini or bread. There are different characteristics to consider when embarking or making your own gazpacho. I recommend you do some research to determine which kind of gazpacho you like best (read: taste test!).

How smooth or grainy you like it?
How much tomato do you want? Mostly tomato, or a good portion of cucumbers and other ingredients? (bell peppers, herbs such as parsley, cilantro)
Some recipes call for bread in the soup
How much vinegar?

Last night I used our Magic Bullet to make this Spanish soup (which I think is the most useless kitchen tool next to the ice tea maker, I mean get a food processor!) So, after I pureed my delicious heirloom tomatoes bought from the Amish stand at the Kerrytown Farmer's Market and local cucumbers in two separate bullets, I poured them into the serving bowl. Tomatoes went in first, followed by the cukes, which gave me a cute surprise! Awwww... a little green heart!

Here's the basic recipe I used for the soup:

•  4-5 heirloom tomatoes (never, NEVER put them in the fridge, it will ruin them) 
• 2 medium-sized cucumbers 
• about 4 TBSP olive oil 
• about 1 1/2 - 2 tsp salt (to taste) 
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar (I actually used rice vinegar, which also works) 

Garnish: diced red pepper mango
Serve with toast or crostini
(Josh and I picked up some cheddar and chili bread from Zingerman's and ate it with the soup... yum!)