I appreciate Mr. Bittman from the New York Times breaking down the basics as he does on a Sunday in the magazine. This week it was cold soups. It’s hard to imagine ever wanting a cold soup unless it’s so hot your eyelids are sweating, but those days are coming. I couldn’t imagine why anyone anywhere would ever want to talk to a boy when I was 11. And then I turned 14. It happens.
My favorite was a red gazpacho with tomatoes and cucumbers but I wondered in a Violet Beauregarde sort of way if I couldn’t squeeze a whole meal in there. What I’m thinking: 2 pounds chopped, seeded tomatoes with 1 roasted red pepper, 1/4 cup olive oil, 1 slice toasted best quality Italian or French bread and 1 teaspoon garlic, smashed and chopped before adding to the other ingredients for a quick pulse in a food processor or blender. When it’s spooned into the bowl: add tiny balls of fresh mozzarella, a flutter of red pepper flakes, torn basil leaves and smashed Nicoise olives (take out the pit.)