Gazapacho...and Melons!

Howdy folks--

As always, one or another vegetable is trying to steal the show. This week it's a fight between melons and sweet corn. I'll tell you a few things about them, and you can try em and decide for yourself. First, the melons. They're a Japanese variety called Sun Jewel. They're yellow and white striped and taste kind of like a crisp honeydew. Very nice small melon to split for dessert. There'll be one of em in the bag tomorrow.

The corn, of which there will be a couple of ears, is an heirloom variety called shoepeg corn. Its kernels are somewhat irregularly shaped, with kind of crooked rows. The plants are pretty nuts, I mean they're 12 feet tall, maybe some are higher. Taller than a basketball hoop, for sure. I chalk that up to the fact that the seeds are open-pollinated, which means you can save seed each year from your best ears and breed super corn for your farm or garden over a number of years. It's the old way, before Monsanto, and I think the corn is the best, although low-yielding compared to hybrid corn.

There will also be a handful of edamame, or snackin' soybeans. Just steam in the pod and pop em out for some good finger food.

And some Thai sweet basil. Great for Asian cooking, or just a breath mint.

And tomorrow is a tomato blowout! I'm giving you a gazpacho recipe, and for that you'll need plenty of ripe tomatoes. They'll be a mix of varieties, and should make for a pretty and tasty soup. The recipe is from Neal's Deli, where most of you know I also work as a line cook.

You'll need:

8 medium tomatoes
3 cloves garlic, mashed into a paste
1 medium yellow onion, fine diced
2 cucumbers, peeled, seeded, and fine diced
2 jalapeno chili peppers, fine diced
3 lemons, juiced
1/2 t. cayenne pepper
3/4 T. salt
1/2 T. pepper

Core tomatoes and cut an "x" into the bottom. Cut out any bad spots. Blanch in a pot of boilng water until skin just begins to wrinkle. Plunge tomatoes into an ice bath. Peel tomatoes, cut in half horizontally and squeeze out seeds. Rough chop tomatoes. Save all tomato juice!

Combine garlic, tomatoes, and tomato juice. Add onions, cukes, chilies, and lemon juice. Add cayenne, salt, and pepper.

Garnish with croutons and a drizzle of olive oil.

See ya tomorrow then!

Ben