Until this summer, neither of us liked gazpacho.

When it’s tomato-ey, it just tastes like salsa. Or, worse – ketchup.
When it’s avocado-ey, it just tastes like guacamole.
You don’t eat any of those things with a spoon; you use bread, crackers, chips… a vehicle of some sort.

So it’s been with gazpacho — for me to actually eat it, I’ve required a loaf of crusty bread (yes, a whole loaf) or a nearby microwave. It was a mental thing, I suppose. I was stuck in a soup-is-meant-to-be-hot mindset.

This summer, we’ve had gazpacho not once, not twice…we’ve had it more than a few times. And, we’ve found ourselves actually enjoying it.


I’m sure it has something to do with the hellish temperatures. We’ve now broken the record for number of days over 100 as well as hottest recorded temperature (112). The sad thing is we’re sailing right past these records – there’s no respite in view.

We have many more gazpacho days ahead of us.

Avocado Tomato Soup with Crab Cakes

Avocado Soup
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
2 avocados
1 cup chicken stock
2 T crème fraîche
1 T fresh lime juice
1/2 t kosher salt
Preparation
Mix all ingredients in a food processor or blender. Add 1/2 – 1 cup water, to desired consistency. Blend. Chill until ready to serve.


Tomato Soup
1 pound ripe tomatoes
1 T crushed red pepper
1 t garlic powder
1 T sugar
1 T tarragon
Preparation
Mix all ingredients in a food processor or blender.


Crab Cakes
Use your favorite recipe or buy them prepared from your deli.
1 T grapeseed oil
Preparation
Heat grapeseed oil over medium high heat. Fry crab cakes until brown on both sides, about 8 minutes.


Fill bowl with 1 cup tomato soup. Spoon in an equal portion of avocado soup (make sure to spoon rather than pour to create and attractive division. If you pour, the avocado soup will sink to the bottom.). Top soup with crab cake (or two).