L U N A T A L K with Eva Moon

It’s not the heat…

July 29, 2009 on 9:27 pm | | In Food, General Musing

OK, well it is the heat.

I really shouldn’t be such a wimp about this. I come from a family of lizards (on my father’s side mostly, though mom’s been pretty adaptable). My dad is the kind of guy who finds 114 degree weather just fine for working on the roof. I’m not making this up. When I was a kid my parents’ idea of a great summer getaway was Palm Springs. Probably because it was cheap. You could get a hotel room there in August for bupkis. There’s a reason for that. 120 of them. I remember whole days in the pool, liquidy puddles of abandoned crayons on the shaded patio and putting my face right up to the musty air conditioner in the hotel room at night.

I vividly recall opening the door on 110+ degree Riverside summer days to be smacked in the face by the desert heat. It was a physical presence that swallowed you up whole and made your skin tighten and your head buzz. I reveled in the outrageous shock of it.

So in theory, I should be sneering at the liquidy puddles of native Pacific Northwesterners succumbing to today’s mere 103 temp. But I’m not. There is much to be said for air conditioners, musty or otherwise, but 87% of Seattle area homes have nothing resembling such equipment and there’s not so much as a paper fan to be had in any local emporium now. We have been blowing hot air about the house with a couple of small floor fans, but that’s about it. I work at home so there’s no escape to some chilly office.

The previous high temperature for Seattle was 100 even, recorded in 1941. We live in a temperate climate. Theoretically. Right at this moment it is 9:30 pm and it’s 91 degrees. Inside the house.

Monday night I jumped off a dock into Lake Sammamish, fully clothed. I want to do that again.

But instead, here’s one of my favorite hot weather dishes - and another entry into the Eva Moon soup collection. I’m not sure of the origin of this recipe for Gazpacho. A version of it was passed to me by my mother and of course, it’s morphed since then. It’s quite different from most. The thing I like best about it is that the veggies are diced rather than pureed, so it’s got lots of great crunch. It’s super easy and holds up well in the fridge for days.

Eva’s Gazpacho

1 cucumber, peeled and diced
1 bell pepper, diced

1/2 red onion, diced
A couple of stalks of celery, diced
1 large clove garlic, minced
Lots of fresh parsley, chopped
A little dill is nice if you have it
2 cans diced tomatoes, juice and all
1 can tomato juice
1 cup stock, bouillon or broth (your choice. I use chicken. I believe beef is trad)
Juice of a lemon
1/4 cup light Italian salad dressing
salt
tabasco to taste (but don’t be a wimp)

Mix it all up, chill then serve ice cold with croutons.

Or jump in. Clothing optional.

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