Speedy Gazpacho

The other day, I picked three--THREE--pounds of small Roma tomatoes off of one plant. I took a picture for evidentiary proof.

We're just about to get into no-holds-barred tomato season here in Ohio--the time of year when tomatoes are falling off the tables at farmer's markets and weighing down the branches of your home plants. (Hopefully, anyway.) It's that time when almost every meal has tomatoes in someway or another, and while we're not tired of them yet, we start to wonder what in the hell are we going to do with all these tomatoes?

Fear not, because aside from canning and freezing, there is one easy, breezy way to utilize the bounty that you over-bought or over-grew--the gazpacho. If you have a food processor (or a blender), you can throw a gazpacho together in about 15 minutes. Seriously--I made some for lunch before I left for work the other morning. You can tweak the ingredients as you wish--more tomato, more or less hot pepper, maybe some corn kernels or chopped avocado and cilantro for garnish. If you're in a rush, and want to throw together a quick, refreshing dinner, here's what you do:

Speedy Gazpacho

1- 1 1/2 lbs tomatoes
1 cucumber
1 zucchini (optional)
1/3-1/2 onion
1-2 cloves of garlic
1-2 jalapeno peppers
Red wine vinegar
Salt, pepper, dried or fresh cilantro
Lime juice
Olive oil (optional)
Corn, avocado, black beans, Cotija (or Feta) cheese (optional)

Toss 3/4 of the tomatoes, half of cucumber, half of the zucchini, half of the onion, the garlic and 1 of the jalapenos into a food processor. Buzz until chopped/liquefied. Add a splash of red wine vinegar, just enough to give it a little depth. Add salt, pepper, a handful of fresh cilantro (or a teaspoon or so of dried), and lime juice to taste. If you want to add some additional hot sauce, maybe some chili powder, add it now. Give it another buzz. Roughly chop the remaining tomato, onion, cucumber and zucchini into bite size pieces. Pour the pureed tomato mix into a bowl and add the chopped veggies (I like my gazpacho to have a little texture). Mix it all together and top with a drizzle of olive oil and any other topping you deem appropriate. If it sits for an hour or two in the fridge, it will get even better....