I just came back from a (small) travel adventure - my husband and I took a few days off over my birthday weekend and headed to Niagara-on-the-Lake. NOTL is a small town in Ontario, Canada about 45 minutes north of Niagara Falls, NY. It's situated in a large wine producing region and there are dozens of wineries dotted across the area. NOTL is also the host of the Shaw Theater Festival, a wonderful regional theater company featuring plays of George Bernard Shaw (hence the Festival's name) and his contemporaries.
Needless to say, it wasn't difficult to convince my husband to head to NOTL for a few days - there is nothing better than wine tasting during the day and plays at night! Check out a few of the wonderful wineries we visited: Inniskillin, Peller Estates, Hillebrand.
We had a great 5 day trip and I picked up some wonderful local produce while we were there that I brought back to DC. I love local produce as much as the next person, but I do not like the prices charged by our local farmer's markets. In Ontario, we picked up some lovely sugar plums for $1.75/lb, sweet red cherries for the same price and heirloom tomatoes for $1.99/lb. You just can't beat those prices!
Here are some of my recent creations with these purchases.
First, Gazpacho.
First, Gazpacho.
Gazpacho is one of my absolute favorite summer soups. I grew up eating cold soups - Strawberry Soup, Peach Soup, Stewed Fruit Soup...while Gazpacho may be a bit more conventional, it's absolutely delicious.
I serve gazpacho regularly as a main course with a salad but it can also be a great hors d’oeuvres when served in a shot glass or parfait glass. This batch turned out wonderful, especially since I threw in a handful of parsley and basil. It just tastes like liquid summer! My husband can be found toting this soup to work in a plastic container and the soup will keep for about a week in the fridge. In fact, it gets even better when made in advance and allowed to sit overnight since the flavors meld together and the soup thickens.
1 green pepper
2 large garlic cloves
16 oz. tomato juice
1/3 cup olive oil
3 large tomatoes
1/3 tsp. black pepper
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
In a food processor or blender, puree cucumber, onion, green pepper, and garlic. Add tomatoes one at a time. (I have to remove half of the puree because it won't all fit in the food processor bowl) Add tomato juice, oil vinegar and black pepper. Puree well.
Chill before serving - the longer the better as it helps to thicken the soup. Serves 6, more if serving small appetizer portions.
2 large garlic cloves
16 oz. tomato juice
1/3 cup olive oil
3 large tomatoes
1/3 tsp. black pepper
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
In a food processor or blender, puree cucumber, onion, green pepper, and garlic. Add tomatoes one at a time. (I have to remove half of the puree because it won't all fit in the food processor bowl) Add tomato juice, oil vinegar and black pepper. Puree well.
Chill before serving - the longer the better as it helps to thicken the soup. Serves 6, more if serving small appetizer portions.
