AREPAS

Thank you Mark Bittman...source of this morning's inspiration.
The article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/02/dining/02mini.html?ref=dining
The Recipe -
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/02/dining/021mrex.html?ref=dining

This is yummy - tho we didn't exctly follow the recipe - we didn't put cheese in batter, which maybe enhances the corn taste....purer. Tho we did use a little creme fraiche for richness. And we didn't have cilantro. With grilled tomatoes and bacon, this is Sunday Brunch.

GAZPACHO - c. 1970

After a month-long roadtrip, eating uninspired restaurant food by the truckload - I can now cook!! The food of the season....summer food. I overbought on tomatoes from the farmer down the road which leads one to think about gazpacho.

I have an old Time-Life series of cookbooks, c. 1970, that introduced world (ethnic) food to Americans. They seem a little dated now, what with a Thai restuaurant in every town, But with “The Cooking of Spain and Portugal,” I found a starting point - tho I changed the quantity ( to the end of rebalancing the proportions) of nearly every ingredient.

Basically I lessened the green pepper and onion, increased the tomatoes and cucumber. I used less vinegar and much less water, and eliminated the bread crumbs in the soup mixture which I suppose gives it a different consistency (like bread soup?), to arrive at:

3 med. cucumbers, chopped

2 tsp chopped garlic
6-7 med tomatoes, chopped, peeled (this the only fussy part)

1/2 large onion, chopped

1/2 med. green pepper, chopped

1-2 cups water - (start with one)
2 TBL tomato paste
2-3 TBL red wine vinegar, (careful!)
4 tsp salt or more to taste

4 TBL olive oil

Mix in bowl , everything rough-chopped - cuisinart in 2 batches - blender if you want it finer .

At this point, taste - add more water or vinegar or whatever it needs. I can imagine a modern version would have lime juice and cilantro.

Add croutons (forgotten in photo) I also put a dollop of uncalled for creme fraiche on it - it works - but purists may object.

And now on Day #5 – it is still good, I suppose the vinegar acts as preservative.