Gazpacho

Two things happened in the last two days to bring about our dinner last night.  First, my friend who hosted book club on Friday night served a lovely gazpacho for all of us.  Second, our neighbor's mom was unloading her car as Scott walked out the front door the next morning and she gifted him with the most amazing bounty of fresh homegrown tomatoes AND a cucumber.  Well that was dinner set for the night.  Many thanks to Joelle for the idea, and to Sidonie for the ingredients to make our light refreshing meal...that I again, didn't have to turn on the oven for! :)

Gazpacho:

2 lbs tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 medium red bell pepper, roughly chopped
1/2 medium cucumber, peeled and roughly chopped (I used a small homegrown + a bit of an English cuke)
1/2 red onion, roughly chopped (I probably used less)
1/3 cup olive oil (I'm sure I used less of this, but I also added a drizzle on each bowl at serving)
1/3 cup almonds
3 Tbs sherry vinegar (I was out, so used red wine vinegar...also used less than 3 Tbs.)
1 large serrano or jalapeno pepper, mostly seeded, chopped
1-2 garlic cloves (I went light on this)
handful of chopped cilantro if you like it
salt and black pepper to taste
optional: avocado slices to serve

Blend all ingredients together (you might have to work in several batches if it won't all fit in your blender) and process until smooth.

Taste and adjust the seasoning.  Refrigerate for up to a few hours before serving or serve immediately, garnished with the avocado if desired.