Garden Vegetable Gazpacho

My Mom asked me to make her some gazpacho last week, and I was happy to do so because I can remember her making it for me as a kid.  Mom's gazpacho was quite different than mine though.  She used simply tomatoes, cucumbers, a little acid of some sort (vinegar was common), a little sea salt and sometimes basil.

This time I decided to up the veggies for her adding some that are not normally in gazpacho.  She has always told me she prefers to drink a large pile of veggies rather than chew them so I knew she would love it!  I added carrots and corn,  to the tomatoes, cucumbers and pepper along with a little basil, garlic and lemon juice and it was delicious as was simply blended up! I garnished it with a bit of olive oil for a touch of richness and it was perfect!  She loved the soup, and it was the perfect day for it since it was 90 degrees.

Garden Vegetable Gazpacho
Serves 1-2

1 large carrot, chopped
1 large tomato, chopped
1 large cucumber, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup fresh sweet corn
1/4 cup fresh basil
2 garlic cloves
sea salt to taste
red pepper flakes to taste

extra virgin olive oil for garnish (optional)
tomato slices, cucumber slices and basil cut chiffonade for garnish

In a high speed blender, combine all ingredients (except the garnish) until smooth and well blended.  Pour into bowl, drizzle with a little olive oil, and garnish with cucumber slices, tomato slices and basil.