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Almost a year ago to the day, I made gazpacho. The recipe I used called for quite a few prepared ingredients (canned tomatoes, bottled salsa, and bloody mary mix), but it was super fast and simple to make and tasted reasonably good.

It just so happens that Pere decided to make another batch last night. This time around, she used a slightly different recipe:

• 2 medium ripe tomatoes, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
• 1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped
• 1 celery, chopped
• 1 Jalapeño, diced
• 1/2 medium red onion, chopped
• 1/2 red bell pepper, cored, seeded and chopped
• 2 cups tomato juice
• 1/8 cup red wine (or balsamic) vinegar

This recipe turned out really well, and had a nice fresh taste to it. It was also really spicy. Pere didn't seed the jalapeno, since we both tend to like a lot of heat. For whatevewhatever, this particular jalapeno turned out to be really hot. I finished my bowl, but just barely.

We ended up with enough leftovers to have the gazpacho a 2nd time. Rather than freeze it, I decided it would just be easier to have it again the next day. To help tame the heat a bit, I added another can of tomato juice (V8) to the pot.

When it came time tonight to get dinner ready, Pere added a diced avocado, 3 tablespoons of cilantro, and 3/4 pound of cooked shrimp to the gazpacho and put it back in the fridge for a few hours so that the new flavors could combine. The results were fantastic. The avocado added additional depth to the soup while the cilanto reallycilantro up the flavor. The shrimp were a nice addition as well, balancing the dish with added protein.