Garden Garlic Scape Gazpacho

Rising temperatures find home cooks looking for low-heat meal options. Gazpacho is a refreshing choice that requires only the use of your blender.

This version was made with what I had on hand during late spring: last year's home canned home grown tomatoes, garlic scapes, fresh cilantro, and store bought jalapeno. Later in the season, fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, and fresh peppers would make great ingredients.

The process couldn't be simpler: blend together clean vegetables and chill.  The key is a balance of salt, acid, sweet, and spice.  In this case, the acid comes from lemon juice in the canned tomatoes, sweet is from the carrot, and spice from the fresh jalapeno pepper.  If you substitute ingredients you might want to add balsamic vinegar, honey, or hot chili powder if your gazpacho is out of balance.

Garden Garlic Scape Gazpacho

2 cleaned and trimmed garlic scapes 1 qt home canned tomatoes Handful of cilantro, two springs reserved 1 inch piece fresh jalapeno 1 large carrot 2 teaspoons olive oil Salt Pepper

Puree all together in a blender until smooth, adding salt and pepper to taste. Chill for 1 hour minimum. Garnish with reserved cilantro just before service.

I served this gazpacho with some fresh made cornbread (baked in the toaster oven to save heating up the house with the big oven) and some skillet cooked Blue Jacket Gretna grilling cheese. It was a quick light meal prepared without heating up the house.