Believe it or not, this was my first time making gazpacho.  I’ve been eating it forever, it seems like.  I don’t remember how old I was when gazpacho first made an appearance at our summer dinners, but I remember being absolutely enamored of it right from the beginning.  Seriously, what’s not to love?  Cool, refreshing, with a little bit of crunch… Plus, it has cucumbers, bell peppers and tomatoes – my three favorite vegetables!  But I never felt the need to make it myself, because I could always count on my mom to whip out a bowl of gazpacho when I really needed to scratch the itch.  She even made it for me and a group of my friends before we went out for my bachelorette party.  Now, that’s love.

Simple Gazpacho

2 cups tomato juice or V8
1 cucmber, large-diced
2 vine-ripened tomatoes, large-diced
2 bell peppers, large-diced
1/2 yellow onion, large-diced
splash red wine vinegar
kosher salt and black pepper to taste

• Combine all ingredients except for the vinegar, salt and pepper in blender.  Pulse blender until soup reaches desired consistency; I like it a little chunky, but not overly so.
• Season to taste with vinegar, salt and pepper.

Source: Loosely adapted from Love Soup by Anna Thomas, and messybaker’s tidy mom