Dept. of This and That

[kaffy_r]

It's Going on Fall ...

... and yet I'm thinking of making some gazpacho soup. I can't decide whether to make one that uses a beef broth base, or a completely vegetarian one with a vegetable and tomato broth base. I won't be able to undertake either tomorrow, because Bob and I are going to be up in Glenview, taking care of the kids while Andy and Emily are at an afternoon poetry slam (and why not?) but perhaps later in the week. 

One thing I did cook up today was some applesauce. I've had a couple of different varieties of apples slowly turning into wizened wonders and didn't even smell like apples anymore. They did smell like plant life, which probably sounds gross, but wasn't. I added white and brown sugar, a fair amount of cinnamon, some nutmeg and a little mace to the pot, then had to add a fair amount of lemon juice, since I overdid the sugar. The end result is acceptable to me, and I'll enjoy having some for breakfast or lunch tomorrow.

I've been gradually creating another music playlist; it's now a little over five hours in length, which my Kpop friends tell me is small potatoes. They have Spotify lists that are 12, 16, or even more hours in length. My playlists are solely from songs I've got on my hard drive, so I'm pleased with what I'm putting together.  I do have some older playlists that have reached eight hours in length, but I find that I'm always more interested in lists into which I've placed my most recent musical acquisitions than the old lists. I should probably get rid of some of my older lists.

I woke up this morning with the kind of headache that I just know came from changing air pressure, since we're having a lot of hot and cold fronts move into our area. The overnight weather insists that we'll be having thunderstorms from now until 9 a.m. tomorrow Promises, promises ....

Comments

[thisbluespirit]

Ha, I think you can cook what you choose, regardless of the time of year, if you feel like it!

(Although, any mention of gazpacho soup always amuses me, because I've never had it, so I just immediately think of Arnold Rimmer.)

[kaffy_r]

I had to go hunting for Arnold Rimmer and was sort of pleased with myself that I figured he had to be from Red Dwarf. Heh.

And I think I'll be making some gazpacho next week.

[thisbluespirit]

Red Dwarf celebrates Gazpacho Soup Day! Sorry, I sort of assume everyone who's been in any shade of Classic Who for a while also has some familiarity with Red Dwarf, which is not always true. <3

And, heh, yes, you found the right Rimmer!

[kaffy_r]

I was aware of Red Dwarf, precisely because of my enjoyment of Classic Who. The problem lay in the fact that no television outlet where I lived, either in Canada or in Chicago, provided it, or at best, rarely. I think I've caught part of one episode and I would have liked to see more.

And a name like Arnold Rimmer begs to be remembered. Heh.

[thisbluespirit]

And a name like Arnold Rimmer begs to be remembered. Heh.

He's Arnold Judas Rimmer. That is his crime, and that is his punishment. XD

I'm sorry Red Dwarf wouldn't come your way; it's great.

[kaffy_r]

With a line like that, it has to be great!

[chez_jae]

Cooler here, too, but it comes with wind and rain. We had a proper thunderstorm last night.

[kaffy_r]

That same night, we had a pretty loud thunderstorm, which woke me up just as I was drifting off to sleep. Last night there was no rain or thunder, but the wind susurrated beautifully outside our open bedroom window. It's the kind of wind I love.

This is the PERFECT time of year for gazpacho!

[dreamshark]

Because you can now buy 2 quarts of tomatoes for $5 at the Farmers Market. I think they are considered "canning tomatoes" - very ripe, slightly blemished, and absolutely bursting with fresh tomato flavor. After some experimentation and combining of recipes I have developed the perfect formulation. The key ingredients (besides tomatoes) are minced garlic, lots of olive oil, 1 full teaspoon of ground cumin, and apple cider vinegar to taste. I usually add chopped onion, red pepper, and sometimes cucumber. The cumin is the real secret ingredient that elevates the whole thing from cold tomato soup to something special. If you don't like cumin you can use smoked paprika or tajin instead (or along with).

Gazpacho is, of course, a centuries old traditional Spanish dish. Which is a little perplexing when you consider how recently tomatoes came on the scene in Europe. Huh. So I looked up the origins of gazpacho and learned that the Romans came up with it, long before they knew about tomatoes. It was essentially an olive oil and garlic soup brightened with vinegar and thickened with stale bread! Tomatoes weren't added to the recipe until the 19th century. Knowing this encouraged me not to skimp on the olive oil, although it is still basically a tomato soup to me. I love it.

Re: This is the PERFECT time of year for gazpacho!

[kaffy_r]

Right now our bank account is a bit thin, so heading to the farmer's market I like to visit on Saturdays is probably not going to happen, but I have some good quality canned diced tomatoes, plus some celery sweet peppers. I might spring for a good, large cucumber, because I really like cucumber in gazpacho.

The history of the soup is neat; I'd forgotten that tomatoes are a reasonably recent addition to European and other non-western hemisphere kitchens. I do remember the "thicken it with stale bread" part, because a couple of the recipes I eye when I put the soup together mention it. I have a fair amount of extra-virgin olive oil, so that will definitely be part of the final product.