Gazpacho soup

I looooooooooove gazpacho soup! It is my favourite summer food, especially when the veggies are fresh and local (preferably from my rooftop garden). Because it's raw, I tend to use less onion and garlic than other recipes and leave out the celery (don't love the taste).

The amount of seasoning you put will depend on how spicy you like it and on the freshness of your vegetables. If I have a lot of yummy tomatoes on hand, I will use them instead of tomato juice. That's the fun part about gazpacho - throw in what you want, season it and it always tastes great!  

Ingredients

• 4 cups tomato juice
• 2 red peppers (or one green, one red)
• 4 tomatoes
• 1 cucumber, peeled
• 4-5 green onions
• 1 large clove of garlic
• 1-2 large handfuls of fresh cilantro
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 2 TB olive oil (optional)

To taste:
Salt, pepper, Tabasco sauce, red pepper flakes, honey, vegan GF Worcestershire sauce.

Go easy on the salt and spices the first time around. Wait until the flavours have blended (minimum 3 hours) before you add more.

Instructions

1. Blend in a food processor, blender or Vitamix to desired consistency. I like it very chunky so I don't leave it in for very long.
2. Put in a covered, non-reactive container and let the flavours blend overnight.
3. Serve cold. Garnish with a little cilantro and green onion. Avocado works too!