Dining al Fresco on the 4th of July

Today is mostly pictures. Okay, there is also a really good peach-tomato gazpacho recipe from Gourmet magazine. On the fourth, as mentioned yesterday, we grilled, ate and hung out in the backyard enjoying the cool breeze. It was a very nice time.

Getting the grill going

jwa tends to the burgers

The end result — cheeseburgers (Tillamook cheddar) and some last minute vegetable rosemary skewers — we have a huge rosemary bush out front that is very handy in situations like this…

jwa assembles his burger empire

Enough with the burgers, let’s get to the gazpacho!

Peach & Tomato Gazpacho
1 1/2 lb tomatoes, chopped (4 cups)
1 lb peaches, pitted and chopped (2 cups)
1/4 cup crushed ice
1 medium shallot, peeled & chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 tbsp white-wine vinegar
1 tbsp chopped fresh tarragon
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper

Purée two thirds of tomatoes and half of peaches with ice, shallot, 1 tablespoon oil, 1 tablespoon vinegar, 2 teaspoons tarragon, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a blender until very smooth, about 1 minute.

If desired, force through a medium-mesh sieve into a large glass measure, discarding solids. If you like a chunkier gazpacho or you are lazy, you can skip this step.

Toss together remaining tomatoes and peaches with remaining tablespoon oil, remaining 1/2 tablespoon vinegar, remaining teaspoon tarragon, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper in a bowl. Serve soup in bowls topped with the tomato peach salsa. When I made this, I did not make the salsa but used everything in the gazpacho. If you too chose this route, it works fine!

The end result is a little sweet and has a really nice tarragon flavor. It’ll be cold because of the ice but you can also chill it further in the refrigerator. Now let’s return to the red meat. Grrrr.

My single, lonely hamburger

Vegetable skewer

The mighty IPA…

We are off to Astoria this weekend to meet with the caterer (hooray!) and to meet with an officiant (hooray, too!).