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!)

Brunch: Breakfast for boozers!

This pretty much sums up how I feel about breakfast:

 Lucille: Get me a vodka rocks.
 Michael: Mom, it's breakfast.
 Lucille: And a piece of toast.

Brunch, on the other hand, is all kinds of wonderful. If I could choose one thing to eat for the rest of my life, it would be brunch. Here are some of the rules of engagement (or lack thereof) for brunch:

• Most commonly enjoyed on a Saturday or Sunday morning (aka "The Breakfast for Lazy People"). You can have brunch between 10 and 3 on weekends and holidays. Only exception for weekday brunch is if there are four or more people present, and nobody has to work that day. That would just spoil all the fun.
• Drinks can be anywhere from mundane to gourmet to spiked (the only acceptable way to have booze before noon). In order of fun, here are your typical brunch drinks: mimosas, bloody marys, Irish coffee, regular coffee, orange juice (or other citrus juice), iced tea, water. 
• Eggs must somehow be involved -- eggs benedict being the best choice, followed by omelets (smoked salmon/cream cheese/spinach = yum), fried eggs (over easy, or over medium for wusses), and lastly, only if you order it by mistake, scrambled eggs.
• You CANNOT have brunch alone; it's a team endeavor. A minimum of two people are required, with no maximum. Josh thinks you can have brunch alone if you are staying at a hotel, but I disagree.

Most memorable brunches:

1. Scottish Hotel in Tiberias, Israel: The typical Israeli breakfast comes with a heaping portion of Israeli salad, 2 fried eggs, fresh bread and yogurt or labneh. This brunch spread included a wide selection of breads, from raisin walnut to sourdough, milky delights including fresh yogurt, creamy cottage cheese and labneh (the dairy products in Israel are the best I've ever had) and fresh, flavorful tomatoes.  
2. Bongo Room in Chicago: You can essentially eat a whole red velvet cake under the auspices of brunch and pancakes. Their pancakes come stacked 4 or 5 high and have icing on top! 
3. Perry's in Washington, DC: OK, the food here was good, but even better was the fact that a fabulous drag queen was grinding on my friend the whole time! 
4. Easter brunch at my dad's house: French toast with melted Brie and fruit salad.
5. Scandanavian Scramble: this was at Domku in Petworth (DC). It involved potatoes, salmon, eggs, dill, and perhaps some other spices. Winning! I also had a delish brunch in Tel Aviv of a similar ilk: double-strained yogurt, boiled potatoes, grilled salmon and dill.