Cooking Bucket List: Gazpacho

I've knocked one recipe off my Cooking Bucket List!  Gazpacho is definitely a refreshing cold soup to eat during the dog days of summer.  There are so many variations, I was a little lost deciding which one to pick.  I think you put just about anything in it you want--whatever tastes good.  The key ingredient, of course, is tomatoes.  My friend Ty shared his recipe with me:


4 cups chopped peeled tomatoes ( do 'em yourself, or buy canned tomatoes)
1 cup tomato juice or vegetable juice cocktail
1 cup beef broth
1/2 cup chopped seeded cucumber
1/4 cup finely chopped green pepper
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
2 Tbs. snipped basil or one tsp dried basil
1 Tbs. olive oil
1 Tbs lemon or lime juice
1 small clove garlic minced
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp Tabasco
salt to taste

So, I assembled the ingredients:

Then, I began to chop.  It really doesn't take much time at all--I used a big bowl because I just didn't know how much this would make:

I didn't have any tobasco sauce, so I improvised.  Umm....I think I squirted too much of this in:

Holy Moses!  HOT is the word.  I also used Spicy Hot V-8 juice, but didn't taste the kick.  That is, until I added the hot chili sauce.  Note to self:  use the chili sauce with caution!  I'm glad Bud wasn't expecting to try this--there is no way he would eat it!  After sitting in the fridge for 4 hours, I made some garlic bread, and added something cool to my gazpacho:  a dollop of sour cream:

I added some fresh chopped basil--it gave the gazpacho another great flavor.  And took my taste buds away  from the fact that they were screaming from the chili sauce.  So, I consider this a successful foray into the world of gazpacho.  Next time, I'll watch the chili sauce, and maybe add a few more chopped veggies.  It made more than enough for two; I'll be eating it for a few days.