Tomato season is almost upon us, so turn off your air conditioner, lay off the ice cream and cool off the healthy way with delicious gazpacho. From the all-knowing Wikipedia: "Gazpacho is a cold Spanish tomato-based raw vegetable soup, originating in the southern region of Andalucía. Gazpacho is widely consumed throughout Spain, neighboring Portugal (where it is known as gaspacho) and parts of Latin America. Gazpacho is mostly consumed during the summer months, due to its refreshing qualities." From the all-knowing me: "It's good." This recipe makes the best traditional gazpacho I've tried. Cousin Babette's gazpacho recipe (adapted) The ingredients

two large tomatoes

one large cucumber

one medium onion

one medium green pepper

two cloves of garlic

24 ounces of tomato juice

1/4 cup of olive oil

1/3 cup of red wine vinegar

1/3 teaspoon of Tabasco sauce

1 teaspoon of salt

a dash of black pepper

Absolut Peppar to taste (my contribution to this recipe)

Preparation

1. Pare and seed the cucumber.
2. Seed the pepper.
3. Peel the tomatoes by boiling a pot of water, with enough water to cover the tomatoes. Once the water is boiling, shut off the burner and add the two tomatoes. Slowly count "one one thousand, two one thousand" until you get to ten one thousand. Remove the tomatoes from the water, let them cool and then peel them.
4. Blend all of the vegetables and garlic in a blender with four ounces of tomato juice. (If your blender isn't big enough to accommodate this much food, mine isn't, do it in stages).
5. Add the rest of the ingredients and tomato juice
6. Refrigerate the gazpacho for at least several hours, ideally longer than a day, before serving.
7. Add homemade croutons for an even better gazpacho experience.

For more information: Got an herb garden or a farm share? Put it to work in your bar. (Photo: Flickr/BocaDorada)