So don't you some times just know you have a kindred spirit (or two or three!) ... even if you haven't yet met in the real world? [Hey! What's this? Are kindred spirits channeling? They are! Or will shortly, as soon as their spirits wake up!]

So it's been for a long time with the multi-talented Elise from Simply Recipes.

(How cool is Simply Recipes? Cool enough for TIME's Coolest Websites, just published yesterday, that's how cool!)

Early on, Elise ever-so-gently taught me the ropes of food blogging etiquette, something I've repeated for other new bloggers (and as recently as yesterday) always mentioning Elise's own early kindnesses.

Plus ... nine times out of ten, the food Elise and her family cooks looks like it could come straight from my kitchen!

So with a dozen gazpacho recipes in contention, I chose hers.

It was a big hit at a recent gathering, several appreciating that it wasn't a spicy gazpacho. Now ... we all like a spicy gazpacho on occasion but too many err on the side of spice; that said, this recipe, too, could be kicked up if that's your taste. But I chose to make tonight's version all about the flavor of wonderful local tomatoes ...

So many thanks, Elise, for showing me the ropes and for one terrific recipe for gazpacho! Since making yours, I've twice had good-restaurant versions and they simply didn't measure up.

KITCHEN NOTES ...

• The recipe I nearly-but-didn't make came from My Kitchen in Spain which devotes an entire chapter to gazpacho. For an entire summer, author Janet Mendel made the classic Spanish peasant soup in a food processor, then returned to the blender for better texture. She advised that a high-powered blender was important. So I checked the bottom of mine ... check, at least 300 watts ... but still worried if it'd have enough oomph to deal with celery and bell peppers. It did but only, I believe, because I parsed out the tomato juice, using just enough liquid to squish everything around but not so much for the vegetables to get lost in.
• It's really important that this SIT for 24 hours before serving, it truly does take that long for the flavors to meld into something special
  

NUTRITION NOTES ...

• I omitted the olive oil on Elise's ingredient list ... I just didn't find it necessary ... so this is a non-fat gazpacho.
  
• But 1/4 cup is miniscule for something yielding 12 cups and it might, indeed, smooth the finish.
  
• Plus, now that I've read more of My Kitchen in Spain, I know that "there is no such thing as true gazpacho without olive oil".
  
• So ... next time I will add the olive oil back in, just to see.

FOR THE RECORD ... Doesn't gazpacho look great in champagne glasses?? which makes this a perfect contribution to Dispensing Happiness' too-hot-to-cook blog party! Check out the no-cook summer appetizer and drink ideas!

OTHER GAZPACHO RECIPE IDEAS ... This is a whole 'nother take on gazpacho, it's fruity, it's sweet, it's unusual ... it's the wonderful Fruity Gazpacho.




ELISE's TOMATO GAZPACHO
Bookmark or print this recipe only
Hands-on time: 30 minutes
Time to table: 24 hours
Makes a bunch, 12 cups

LIQUID- and SMALL-VOLUME INGREDIENTS
4 cups tomato juice (a cup or so at a time to help the blender along ... )
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil (or not, see the NUTRITION NOTE above)
Zest and juice of a lemon
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce (or more, at the end, to add flavor and make it "more red")
6 drops Tabasco (or more, added at the end)
1 clove garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh chive
2 tablespoons fresh Italian parsley

THE VEGGIES
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped
1/2 a large red onion, chopped
6 ripe medium-size tomatoes, chopped (Elise peels and seeds the tomatoes, I didn't find it necessary)

Salt & pepper
More Worcestershire?
More Tabasco?

Starting with a cup of tomato juice, add the liquid- and small-volume ingredients and blend. Add some veggies but don't pack the blender. Blend til the texture you want is achieved, then transfer to a large bowl. Add another cup of tomato juice and more veggies, transfer to the big bowl. Continue until all the veggies are blended in. Stir together in the big bowl. Taste, season and add Worcestershire sauce and Tabasco to taste. Refrigerate for 24 hours before serving cold.

NUTRITION ESTIMATE
With the olive oil, per cup: 90 Cal (45% from Fat, 8% from Protein, 48% from Carb); 2 g Protein; 5 g Tot Fat; 1 g Sat Fat; 12 g Carb; 2 g Fiber; NetCarb10; 28 mg Calcium; 1 mg Iron; 33 mg Sodium; 0 mg Cholesterol; Weight Watchers 1 point

Without the olive oil, per cup: 50 Cal (7% from Fat, 13% from Protein, 81% from Carb); 2 g Protein; 0 g Tot Fat; 0 g Sat Fat; 12 g Carb; 2 g Fiber; 28 mg Calcium; 1 mg Iron; 33 mg Sodium; 0 mg Cholesterol; Weight Watchers 1 point

(I'm using a new Weight Watchers calculator, the version without olive oil probably comes in at a half point but I'm guessing the new calculator rounds up ...)

SHORTHAND RECIPE ... 4c tomato juice (by cup to purée more easily), 1/4c red wine vinegar, (0-1/4c) olive oil, zest/juice 1 lemon, 2t sugar, 1t+ Worst, 6+drop Tabasco, S&P, 1cl garlic, 2Tchives, 2T parsley, 2stalk celery, 1 red pepper, 1 peeled/seeded cuke, ½ red onion, 6med tomato, use blender, season w more Worst, Tabasco, S&P, MUST meld 24 hrs Makes 12cup, 1c=WW1 Elise VV06