Sunday, August 5, 2018

Cucumber and Avocado Gazpacho


Have you missed me? LOL.  Sorry to be so MIA this summer.  I wish I could say I've been reading books, sleeping in a hammock and sipping iced tea.  Gosh that sounds good but no complaints :)  Like today, I've been spending half of my time working on our fixer-upper, and spending the rest of the time with our family and having our grandsons over for sleepovers and day camp dates. There's also my weekly golf dates with my hubby.  There's so much to enjoy during our brief summers!


I have also been planning and testing recipes our seasonal gourmet event which will be next weekend!  One of the 'keepers' to our menu is this delicious Cucumber and Avocado Gazpacho soup which I made from my very own garden cucumbers and basil.  I've even titled our dinner party "Garden to Table Gourmet".


This creamy gazpacho is so full of flavor, not only from the freshest ingredients but also the delightful hint of corn flavor the from homemade corn stock.  It's summer in a bowl! 


Speaking of summer harvests, not only am I picking cucumbers, but my tomatoes and zukes and finally rewarding me with some gorgeous produce. 


And all that planting in the spring, watering and weeding in the summer is also giving me some wonderful bouquets to enjoy!  


And these handsome, young weeds keep growing too :)  We just love having them here at Nana and Papa's house to love and spoil ♥  We even had our oldest 'baby' home for almost the entire weekend last week while her boyfriend was in Canada fishing with his father.  Our youngest 'baby', the mother of those handsome young boys, joined us one of those evenings. Our hearts are full!  

I'll have more recipes from our upcoming dinner party to share soon.  


Cucumber and Avocado Gazpacho


2 ripe avocados, halved, seeded, peeled, and cut up 
1 large or several small cucumbers , unpeeled, seeded and cut up (12 ounces net weight)
1 cup lightly packed fresh basil leaves 
1 clove garlic, peeled 
2 green onions, trimmed and cut up 
Zest and juice of 1 lime 
1/2 teaspoon salt 
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper 

2 cups Corn Stock – recipe below 
Garnish: finely chopped cucumber and sautéed corn kernels 

To make corn stock, slice kernels from 2 or 3 fresh ears corn (reserve some corn kernels for garnish and use or freeze the rest). In a large saucepan, bring the cobs and 6 cups chicken or vegetable stock to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes. Let cool, then discard cobs. Strain and chill, covered, 4 days or freeze up to 3 months. 

For the gazpacho, puree all ingredients (except garnish and corn stock) in a blender or in a large bowl with an immersion blender. Add corn stock to desired consistency. Adjust seasonings as necessary 

Transfer to a bowl and cover surface with plastic wrap to prevent browning. Chill for 2 to 24 hours; stir before serving. 

When serving, garnish with chopped cucumber, corn kernels or basil sprigs.

Adapted from Midwest Living 

34 comments:

  1. I thought you must have been very busy gardening :-))but spending time with your family sounds even better. And yes, you have been MISSED, Susan. The soup looks so creamy, tasty and summer perfect! The bouquet looks so beautiful :-))

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    1. Gardening and picking bouquets too. Stopping to smell the roses, as they say :) Thanks so much, Angie. I've been trying to keep up but it's been difficult. Thankfully, I had to figure our our gourmet menu!

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  2. You have been missed but are forgiven with this delicious post. Happiness is a summer bowl of fresh produce in the kitchen!! The chilled soup looks perfect for the summer table.

    Best,
    Bonnie

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    1. He-he ;) Thank you, Bonnie! It was so good and I hope our guests enjoy it as much as we did.

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  3. Yes I have missed you! So glad you're having a full and fun summer. Time with the boys is precious, as well as your own kiddos. Beautiful soup and gorgeous garden produce Susan - the flowers are lovely too. Enjoy the rest of your summer and hurry back ;)

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    1. Thank you, Tricia ;) Summer seems to fly past too quickly. I only wish winter would too! I will enjoy when things settle down but can't complain about enjoying time to play during this short season. ♥

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  4. Susan this looks beautiful I really love the colour, stunning!! xs

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  5. I have missed your posts, Susan, but I'm glad you're enjoying your summertime. Your bowl of fresh produce from your garden looks wonderful, and so does your pretty cuke and avocado gazpacho. I'm Nana, also, and my late beloved was Papa. Your grandsons are adorable (and so is your sweetie!), and I know you've had such fun with them. Thanks for sharing your flavorful recipe with us.

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    1. Thank you, Kitty! This summer seems to be moving way too fast :) Those boys are so much fun and keep us on our toes which is a good thing!

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  6. Oh my goodness, does this ever sound good. I can't wait to try it, including the corn stock,

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  7. This gazpacho looks wonderful for a hot summer day and how lucky you are to have such wonderful grandchildren.

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    1. We are very lucky ♥ Thank you, Gerlinde, it's a great recipe!

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  8. Everything you make is always delicious! Yes you were missed and completely understand. Spending time with your grandkids is special and having your daughter home as well is even better! Can’t wait to see and hear about your dinner party.
    Enjoy the rest of your summer!
    Xo Anna and Liz

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    1. Thanks so much for understanding :) No complaints here ♥

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  9. Sounds great, Susan and is a gorgeous color too! Your flowers are gorgeous. And yes, you have been missed! :-)

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  10. Susan, I am so glad that you are having such a great time...and yes, of course I missed you. This gazpacho looks so summery and so refreshing with the cucumber in it.I love seeing your harvest and the lovely flowers.
    Enjoy the rest of the summer.

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    1. Thanks so much, Juliana! We have lots of dates on our calendar for August and September also so things don't seem to be settling down. Again, no complaints! I loved using my own cucumbers in the soup and it was delicious :)

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  11. You have been missed but spending time with your grandkids is far more important than blogging. You create beautiful memories, ones that they will cherish for the rest of their lives! The cold soup is delicious!

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    1. That's so sweet, Katerina and you are so right about spending time with the grandsons. Very special times for us and them. Thank you!

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  12. This sounds delightful and so does your summer. What a gorgeous family. How great you can be with them so much. And still do everything that you are doing! I think it's fair to say you are busy...but in a good way!

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    1. We are very lucky, Abbe, thank you! I'll take this kind of busy any time :)

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  13. What a great way to prepare gazpacho . . . and with a few of my favorite 'cold' ingredients of cukes and avocados. So creamy and beautiful too. Thanks for this delicious recipe! Love the pics of your family too!

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    1. Thank you, Roz! Our gourmet group dinner party was last night and everyone loved it! It was served with plenty of crisp-tender corn kernels on the top which was delicious. Perfect for a warm summer night :)

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  14. Ah, you have grandchildren as well. Mine are almost 1 and 4 - one of each. We've all had girls so the first boy, the 1 year old, is just fascinating for me! This is a fabulous soup. I tolerate summer because of my garden, well like most people I guess who enjoy the fruits of their labor, so to speak. Not that my husband would appreciate me moving to Colorado for 3 months, but It gets so hot and humid here - two kinds of weather I have never gotten used to! But like you said, summer in a bowl makes it worthwhile!

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    1. We had two daughters so having three grand boys is a real change! Quite a difference in behavior :) Boys will be boys is so true! You must live in the south? It's been a humid summer here and usually is given we have Lake Michigan very nearby but the number of days we've had in the 90sF has been much higher this summer. That's why I tailored our gourmet dinner party to mainly chilled items. The soup was fabulous!

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  15. How did nana miss this?Yikes..the boys..that floral arrangement..the produce..I don't know how this beautiful post slipped by one of your biggest fans♥♥
    You could be a florist apart from a hundred other occupations.But the best is being a nana.x

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    1. :)♥ Don't worry, it's happened to me too! I have so many tomatoes right now I was giving them away after our gourmet party...way too many for the two of us so I think I need to make some pasta sauce, soon. I love having too many than not enough. BLATs have been on the menu lately :) And the bouquets...the late summer reward for planting annuals. You are so right about the best part, though ♥♥♥

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    2. I have a new sauce and meatball recipe simmering.I am going through old mags I found..and ripping out..this one uses a lot of basil in the meatballs and the sauce..fingers crossed..we've not been eating sauces and stuff..oh last night I made something you would love..you need a basket that closes for the BBQ ..will send you the link:)

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    3. I have a lot of basil :) It sounds delicious!! Thank you in advance for sending the link. I think I have a fish basket that closes. Thank you in advance for sending the link :)

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  16. So fun to see that your garden is producing Susan, and your gazpacho sounds great! Have fun with the kids, they look like they're having a blast:@)

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    1. Yes, finally, thanks Lynn! Now, after giving me so many tomatoes at once, my plants are getting wilt :( Fingers crossed the remaining green ones will continue to ripen!

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