News Taffy

Summer heat is finally here and who wants to heat up the kitchen cooking? But you still have to eat and a bowl of cereal doesn’t satisfy your stomach or your nutritional needs. Put down that phone and forget the pizza delivery guy. You can make a gazpacho salad with some fresh summer produce and never break a sweat.

If you are lucky enough to have a neighbor who gives your the excess from their garden or if you have your own garden produce, you may be looking for something new to try. If not, check out the farmer’s market this weekend and pick up these ingredients. I’ve always liked gazpacho soup and even though my family doesn’t care for it, I usually make it once during the summer. The great thing about gazpacho is that is is full of fiber and nutrition and great for those trying to watch their calories.

Gazpacho salad or soup is also fun to make. Just like the chopped salad I featured a few weeks ago, you can take out your frustrations on the vegetables. Nothing better than a sharp knife and a cutting board! I like to use different colored vegetables to make the salad more visually appealing. If you use green onion, green cucumbers, green bell pepper and only some red tomato, it will look like green goop. I used red and yellow cherry tomatoes and white onion to give it some pop. An orange bell pepper would have been nice, but green is what I had.

Gazpacho Salad

INGREDIENTS:

*4 tomatoes, seeded and diced or 4 cups cherry tomatoes, diced

*2 medium cucumbers, diced

*2 bell peppers, diced

*1 bunch green onion, sliced or 1 small red onion, diced

*2 stalks celery, diced

Dressing

*1/2 cup olive oil or canola oil

*1/4 cup white vinegar

*juice of 1 lemon

*1 to 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley

*1/2 tsp. salt

*1 clove garlic, minced

*1/4 tsp. cumin

*pinch red pepper flakes

DIRECTIONS:  Gently mix all chopped vegetables in a large serving bowl. Mix dressing ingredients in a jar with a screw top lid. Shake until well combined. Pour over vegetables and toss gently. Chill several hours or even over night. Keeps well for a couple of days.

Throw a couple of chicken breasts with a spicy rub on the grill and serve this salad on the side with some crusty bread. Don’t be afraid to experiment with other add ins like chopped zucchini or fresh sliced mushrooms. Spoon the veggie mixture over salad greens too if you like and top with chopped boiled egg or some leftover grilled salmon. The protein will make it a more filling dinner than just the vegetables alone. By the way, I love leftover grilled salmon to use the next day on a salad. So plan ahead and grill extra to use for another dinner the next time you cook salmon.

In the meantime, stay out of the heat, drink plenty of water and don’t skimp on nutritious meals!