An improved gazpacho, just made for ripe tomatoes

Gazpacho is the perfect soup for summer, especially when your plants start over producing. Even little ones make a crazy good soup. I used to use a tablespoon of sherry, but this year, I tried it with a shot of vermouth and a drizzle of balsamic glaze. It was perfection.

LORI K’S GARDEN GAZPACHO

Prep time: About 15 minutes

Serves 3 or 4

Note: I like seeds and skins. Add more prep time, and some tomato juice, if you want to remove both.

2 pounds ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped

1 medium red bell pepper, roughly chopped

1 large, young lemon cucumber, roughly chopped

½ red onion, roughly chopped

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

Two ½-inch slices french bread or 1 slice ciabatta, torn up

A few basil leaves, tarragon and/or parsley

2 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed

A shot of dry vermouth

A drizzle (up to a teaspoon) of balsamic glaze

Salt and black pepper

1 avocado, quartered and thinly sliced into fans (optional)

Put the tomatoes, bell pepper, cucumber, onion, olive oil, bread, parsley and/or basil, garlic, vermouth and balsamic glaze in a blender; season with salt and pepper. Process until smooth, adding up to ½ cup water if necessary.

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

A late winter's salad

Signs of spring cheer the heart, but it's only mid-March as far as produce goes in the East. If you like a salad for lunch, think beyond tomatoes and lettuce. Here's one that's colorful and hardy for a cool, rainy day.

A late winter's salad
Serves 2

Ingredients
½ cup cooked wheat berries, chilled
½ cup cooked French tiny green lentils, chilled
4 mini bell peppers, sliced
Handful of haricots vert, or tender green beans, cooked and cooled
½ cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced
2 tablespoons quality olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
Celtic gray salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Instructions
Toss all in a bowl and serve. Also good over a bed of tender field greens or arugula.

The dirt on Wild Garden Hummus Dip

Just kidding. There's no dirt in this hummus - and it's REALLY good. It tasted just like what we ate in Israel, only smoother, which is a plus in something you hope will come out in a thin stream on a carrot stick, a cucumber chip or a cracker when you're up in the air or riding a train.

I can't remember where I picked this up; it probably came in a snack pack on some airline, and I probably wasn't all that hungry at the time. And it looked like it would keep well without refrigeration, which it did.

I was so impressed, I went online to see where I could get it. Unfortunately, it's not in any Charlottesville stores yet, but they do have online ordering as well as a store locator. The website is www.wildgarden.biz. The 50-gram packages are just the right size for a snack, 63 calories, and have twice as much protein as fat or carbs.

Here's a segment on the product that was featured last October by Supermarket Guru:

Flounder, no floundering

A lovely, fresh flounder fillet called for a special treatment, but I had no time to consult my books - dinner had to be on the table in a half hour. So I picked up a half-pound of crab meat, some red, yellow and green pepper strips from the salad bar and some green onions, and headed for home. I had a half of a peeled yam left in the fridge.

I turned on the oven to 450, and put the 8-ounce fillet on a sheet of nonstick foil, about 4 inches longer than the fish. As the oven was heating, I diced the fresh pepper strips into tiny cubes and sliced two of the green onions. In a small bowl, I whipped one farm-fresh egg thoroughly with a fork, then mixed together the crab, peppers and onions with a generous grinding of pepper. I piled the crab mixture on the fillet, almost to the edges. Gathering up the long sides, I folded the edged a couple of times to seal, then folded up the ends so it was tightly wrapped. I placed the packet on top of the broiler pan, along with the yam, which I sprayed with olive oil and seasoned with a little salt and pepper. I baked the fish for 20 minutes; the yam wasn't quite done, so I put it in the microwave for another two minutes after I took out the pan from the oven. I made a simple salad of lettuce, arugula, cucumbers and feta while the fish cooked.

I opened the packet, which was still steaming, cut the fish in half horizontally, and put it on two plates, surrounded by a piece of vibrant orange yam, and the green salad. The confetti of the diced peppers gave the otherwise white dish a festive flair, and the plate looked great. I wish I had taken a shot of it - but we ate it immediately! A satisfying, low-fat, low-carb, low-salt meal.