Watermelon Tomato Gazpacho, full stop, summer is over

Watermelon Tomato Gazpacho

I just completed a power cooking session: 3 courses in a full two and a half hours, which  produced the following:

1st course: Watermelon-Tomato Gazpacho
2nd course: Brussels sprout casserole
3rd course: Plum tart w. homemade coconut chocolate truffle ice cream (ice cream was made the night before)

So, there are a few things I realized: first, power cooking is a serious stress reliever! Two, don’t turn the oven on if you’ve got two things to bake and neither is anywhere near completion! The rest are nuances of the dishes. I was not a fan at all of the brussels sprout casserole, and will post it as a FAIL in the upcoming days, with details as to why. Next to come will be the recipe for my plum tart and homemade coconut ice cream!! So check back for that in the near future or sign up for the updates!

To kick it all off, tonight I am posting the watermelon-tomato gazpacho for my friend who needs cold soup!!…and for all the poor folks suffering in California from the heat wave. This is a great first course because it combines all the ingredients of a watermelon salad, but pureed so that it’s just easier to eat, and you can serve it to your friends who are short on teeth this way =)

There was nothing original added on my part here (this was a learning exercise for me, taking on the challenge of dishes I’ve never done before, but mainly it was all about my tart, the beauty). I used the recipe from Good Housekeeping (link), which is pretty solid as is. As far as flavor goes, there’s not much I would change, but watermelon paired with other ingredients is new to my palate, and I’m going to have to think about it a little more thoroughly as I eat my way through the rest of life. I would serve this as a dessert to an uber health conscious crowd (or gluten free, vegan, etc.). Otherwise, as a first course I believe it’s a nice opener, a little unusual, but still good, which is just the way I like my food. The only difference here is that I adapted the recipe to make two servings:

Watermelon-Tomato Gazpacho
(adapted for serving size from Good Housekeeping, makes 2 servings)

2 cups watermelon cubes
1/3-1/2 cup cubed cucumbers (adjust according to how bland you like your food, less cucumber => stronger tomato/watermelon flavors)
1 + 1/2 roma tomatoes
about 10-12 good sized basil leaves (picked from my plant, I usually just take whatever the poor thing can bear to give me)
the juice of one lime
pinch of salt
green onion for garnish (one stem chopped should do it for two bowls)

Puree the watermelon cubes. Pour into a large bowl. Then puree the remaining ingredients (cucumber, tomato, lime juice, basil, salt). Incorporate this into the watermelon mixture.

Note: if you like your gazpacho a little chunky, don’t puree the mixture too thoroughly.

Sweepstakes: Foodbuzz sponsor, Concannon Vineyard is giving away $20,000 to host a family reunion (but in the details it looks like they’re just handing over a check). You can enter here, and find the details and official rules here.

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