Eben has a stuffed crocodile that I gave him as a gift when he was a baby. And even though he no longer carries it with him everywhere, it is still his most prized possession! It is worn, loved and really shows it’s age, yet it still has a special place in his bedroom and is THE only toy that he would rather no one else touch.
When I saw the new stuffed animal collection from Cate & Levi, I immediately thought of baby Eben with his stuffed lovey in tow! All of these sweet stuffed animals from Cate & Levi are made using reclaimed materials from American Apparel and filled with 100% recycled polyester. I also love the eye-popping color, wouldn’t these be a lovely bright addition to a child’s bedroom? Fantastic!
They look so soft and cuddly, I think Eben would adore the penguin – and that flamingo just makes me smile. Which is your favorite?
Last weekend, we passed a local produce stand on our way home from a nature hike. We didn’t need any fresh vegetables, since we had just picked up our CSA share. However, we can always use more oranges and lemons for our weekly juices!
Produce stands remind me of my childhood – any time my family passed a fruit stand on the side of the road, we had to stop! It was like taking a miniature adventure on the way home from grandma’s house on a Sunday afternoon. I remember begging my mom and dad to buy me and my siblings any little goodie that the produce stand had for sale.
My favorite side-of-the-road produce stand is still the cute little shop at Cascadian Farm. They have the best pumpkin ice cream and strawberry shortcake. Have you been?
Do you have a favorite little organic produce stand?
My first recipe is a favorite in my house and among friends, especially because we can get such wonderful produce year round in Florida. It’s the time of year when we plant our winter gardens, which means, of course, tomatoes. There is nothing quite like the flavor of a homegrown tomato. And there is nothing like gazpacho, one of my favorite summer soups, made from homegrown tomatoes.
Gazpacho originally comes from Spain and is traditionally served cold. I’ve tried a lot of different gazpachos in my day, and none of them come close to the authentic original gazpacho recipe. Many restaurants serve gazpacho, and I’ve seen it in just about every color, texture, and taste imaginable. Having lived in and learned the recipe in Spain, I’m a gazpacho purist, and in my opinion, there really is only one gazpacho.
I made this recipe for my friends at a tapas party I hosted, and you can see some of the other tapas dishes that I made here. Today we’re just going to focus on the gazpacho, because to me, there’s only one way to get it right. No variations, no frills. Just pure tomato simplicity.
What you will need:
6-8 medium to large tomatoes, peeled and seeded (choose your favorite variety. I like the vine ripened tomatoes, but if you can get home grown tomatoes or, organic tomatoes from a local co-op, even better. This probably comes out to about 1 ½ to 2 pounds of tomatoes. Make sure your blender can accommodate the quantity). You can puree in batches.
1 green bell pepper, cored, peeled, and seeded
1 cucumber, peeled and seeded Note: gazpacho isn’t gazpacho without the green pepper and the cucumber.
4 or 5 cloves of garlic (I like mine really garlicky, so I sometimes put 6-8 cloves)
¼ to ½ cup of sherry vinegar (I like mine a little vinegary too, so I tend to add more vinegar)
¼ cup of extra virgin olive oil
3 slices of bread (or you could use a nice big chunk of baguette. I have also used some of the higher quality plain gluten free breads that are out there, and they give the gazpacho a nice texture as well, if you are gluten free)
Salt and Pepper to taste
Diced or sliced bell pepper and cucumber to garnish
Start by toasting the bread and cutting the crust off. Soak the bread in cool water. You just need enough water to cover the bread. I usually cut the bread in cubes and soak it in water in a bowl. You can also add the sherry vinegar to the soaking water.
Puree the tomatoes, cucumber, garlic, and bell pepper in a blender until smooth. Add the bread, any extra water from the soak, and the vinegar, and blend. While the gazpacho is blending, add the olive oil. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Chill for 2 to 4 hours.
I usually serve gazpacho in martini glasses with a cucumber straw, or I serve it in little tapas bowls with a diced cucumber and bell pepper garnish, so that guests can drink directly from the bowl. I rarely serve this with a bowl and spoon, just because it’s more like a drink than it is a soup.
The gazpacho should be smooth. It should not be chunky. Nor should it resemble salsa in any way. It should be a rich pink –orange color. It’s like a savory smoothie, if you will. To me gazpacho does not have cilantro, nor does it have hot sauce, cayenne pepper or truffle oil. Gazpacho is just a simple blend of fantastic fresh ingredients at their naked fineness, with just a few flavors blended in. To me, this truly is the best way to get the tomato-iest of tomato flavors straight from the garden, and it brings me right back to the little tiled balcony in my little apartment in southern Spain.
I am a fan of any project that takes something that would be considered junk, and repurposes into something “new” and fantastic! The Good Bike Project in Toronto is the perfect example of this. The Good Bike Project takes rusty, broken bicycles and transforms them into eye-catching street art. My favorite part are the miniature gardens planted in the bicycle’s baskets.
Do you have a sustainable project like The Good Bike Project in your community? I would love to hear about it!
Please join me in welcoming a new writer to the Sweet Greens team, Teresa. Teresa is the mother of two very active little girls in Jupiter, Florida where she runs her own language services business. Teresa loves food, and enjoys the creative process of cooking and the artistic outlet that photography and writing give her to take a little break from her very active life. You will often find her cooking in the kitchen late at night, trying to work out business problems in her head, writers block, or what have you. Cooking helps her think and takes the chaos out of her life, and the kitchen has always been her safe space. Teresa recently participated in a project where she went vegan for 21 days. It was a challenge because it stretched her creativity and she developed a lot of tasty vegan recipes, all of which she will be sharing on Sweet Greens.
I am super excited to have Teresa! Whether you are a seasoned vegan or simply interested in adding a couple of vegan recipes to your weekly meal plan, Teresa’s recipes will knock your socks off! You will be able to find all of Teresa’s recipes here. Also, please check out Teresa’s food blog: Simple Foods, Stressed Out World.
