Watermelon Gazpacho with Lime

Refreshing watermelon gazpacho. Serve cold, cold, cold.

Happy August. The Dog Days of Summer are upon us. The Back To School Sales have commenced. Evenings are shorter, sultry and sticky and it's too damn hot to cook. Here in our sweet little Santa Monica sublet the modest act of baking two potatoes nudges our ambient temperature to a hot flash inducing tie-dyed t-shirt peeling UGG tossing fever pitch. I pace and prowl for air like the downstairs yellow cat who slinks into our kitchen unnoticed despite his thunderous girth. I stick my sweaty matted head out the kitchen door inhaling the hope of an onshore breeze.

My restless, itchy body you see is trying to ignore the calendar.

I'm craving baked potatoes in the thick of summer heat. It's a comfort food thing. Our lease is up in seventeen days. The house back in New Mexico is empty and waiting for our return. No buyers on the horizon. Yet. They're out there, I'm sure. Waiting, too. Waiting for the right moment to make their move. Waiting for the bottom, the optimum moment to buy.

Will it be announced, this happy, golden moment, this pivotal swing of the economic pendulum? Will a press conference be called? A glittering disco ball dropped? How will the experts know, is what I want to know. The experts in charge apparently didn't see this ride coming. Or maybe they were just, you know, flying their corporate jets to St. Tropez. Dancing in the dark with starlets. Snorting Cristal.

Maybe I should break out my tarot cards. Read tea leaves. Dance with a chicken (would a chicken lie to you, I wonder?). Or maybe I should just make some soup.

Cold soup, for a long hot wait.

A cold watermelon soup for hot summer days.

Watermelon Gazpacho Recipe

Tailor this recipe to your own preferences. If you prefer it more chunky, switch out the romaine for a large yellow pepper. Add a garnish of finely chopped red onion or a dollop of creamy Greek yogurt and chopped fresh mint.

Ingredients:

1 ice cold 3 lb. ripe watermelon (thump it- does it sound hollow?)
1 large cucumber, skinned, seeded (or 2 medium)
2 large celery stalks
1 small head romaine lettuce, trimmed, cut up
2 medium, dense, heirloom tomatoes, seeded, chopped
1-2 teaspoons minced Elephant Garlic
Juice from 1-2 limes, according to taste
2 tablespoons white balsamic or rice vinegar
2 tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro, basil, mint or parsley
Sea salt, to taste

Instructions:

Slice the watermelon, cut up most of it, taking out the seeds; reserve about 1 cup, diced fine. Toss the cut up watermelon into a Vita-Mix or blender. Add the cucumber, celery, lettuce, tomato, garlic. Pulse and blend the mix briefly to process it. Add the juice from one lime. Add the vinegar, chopped herbs, sea salt. Pulse till combined.

Taste test. Does it need more lime juice? A touch more salt or vinegar?

Pour into a storage container, add in the reserved diced watermelon. Cover and chill until serving. Two hours is best.

Serves 6.

Recipe Source: glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com

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Karina's Notes:

There are so many options in this recipe. Modify it to suit your taste buds. Add some fresh chopped seeded jalapeno if you prefer it even more spicy. Use traditional garlic if you like a stronger garlic taste. Add some traditional bell pepper if you like it chunky- red, yellow or orange peppers would be best.

Taste test and make the flavors your own.

More gazpacho goodness from food bloggers:

Gazpacho from Simply Recipes
Confetti Gazpacho from South Beach Diet friendly Kalyn's Kitchen
Gazpacho with Roasted Tomatoes and Peppers at FatFree Vegan Kitchen
White Gazpacho from Hedonia (use gluten-free bread)
Fat Free Gazpacho at Lydia's Pantry (use gluten-free bread)
Elan's Pantry has Cucumber Avocado Gazpacho