We’ve had a few legitimately hot days in London and I’ve been prodding at and expanding my gazpacho repertoire.

Fresh apple makes a good substitute for bread, sometimes I prefer it.

Adding a couple of de-stoned Japanese umeboshi (preserved plum/apricot) really “brightens” the taste, makes it more refreshing yet keeps the gazpacho in balance with regards to vinegar. It’s not that different to adding raspberries.

Adding a ripe peach or two is currently popular in Spain, have to say that peach melds in particularly well if there’s a a bit of umeboshi already in there.

Haven’t yet bought one this year, but next variation will be adding watermelon and less water (which has also become popular in Spain).

Most recipes I’ve seen in English call for way too much garlic. Less is more, I save those little nib cloves specifically for gazpacho.

I tame the onion now using a technique I picked up from Japanese recipes - I sprinkle the onion with some salt and let it leach for a few minutes whilst I cut up the other ingredients. I then rinse and squeeze the onion before adding it to everything else.

I love the onion idea; if salt is to be used for a gazpacho recipe, then does it still need to be rinsed off the onion? Or could the salt for the recipe be used with the onion and then just placed with the rest of the ingredients?

i learn so much from LapLap!!!!!!!

My Turkish friend taught me the same thing. Apparently most Middle Eastern cuisines do it. It works really well, because I used to get bloated and gassy from raw onion, which as much as I liked them had made me start avoiding them. But no more!

My spouse is so thrilled with this onion idea.

Chicken korma.

I always rinse the onion as the salt works it’s osmosis magic drawing the onion’s fiercest juices to bond with it. But even rinsed and squeezed, the onion will be a little saltier than before. Saying that, gazpacho does take quite a bit of salt, the difference is going to be negligible.

There are Spaniards who never put onion in their gazpacho recipes, others shovel it in. I’m really happy with this compromise. If you want to be REALLY “fino” (refined), another Japanese technique is to remove the thin film that covers every single layer of raw onion. Another alternative is to dunk onion pieces in lightly salted water rather than applying salt onto them directly, leave the slices for a couple of minutes, pour off the brine and squeeze. Using brine is my own favoured technique when using onion for a salad (particularly potato salad).

Quite a few Spaniards object to cucumber in gazpacho for similar reasons to onion (the term would be “se me repite” - it repeats on me). Some peel the cucumbers, others score the cucumber skins with the sharp end of a fork. One can sprinkle salt on cucumber slices before rinsing away as with the onion (another great addition to potato salad), but there is another Japanese technique which I use a lot when serving cucumbers - take off an end (and just stick to one end so that osmosis encourages liquid migration in just one direction) and “grind” that end in a circular pattern in about a teaspoon of salt. Continue in a circular pattern for about a minute and you’ll see a little puddle of dark green liquid form which you then discard. Just rinse off the end and the tamed cucumber is good to use. You can also peel or partly peel (I take off 50% and leave it striped like a deckchair) the cucumber at this point.

Adding fruits to gazpacho for zing or sweetness may seem heretical, but if you don’t have grade A tomatoes (and I’ll be lucky if I get my hands on many truly GOOD tomatoes in London this summer) then seemingly unconventional additions like peach, raspberries, umeboshi or watermelon can help achieve the desired sweet/sour balance. Frankly, you’ll struggle with substandard tomatoes without a bit of this kind of help.

Lobster

My nephew told me I couldn't do a better burger than he had in Aspen. I told him many things were wrong with his sentence.

Anyway, I made one using some brisket and sirloin that I had. Apparently he was right, but I think I at least got close.

Gorgeous burger. I enjoy toppings and also am happy with just a basic burger with warm roll-ppang, beef, and cheese (is my child’s uneaten portion). For a cheeseburger, I think the boost is the extra cheese. Makes it more fun. I warm the roll-ppang with cheese on both ends in a toaster oven and still add cheese to the burger on the grill.

brisket and sirloin ....nicely done! Looks beautiful.

triple cheese? Yes, please!!

That looks delicious and like one of the best burgers around.

Shrimp caesar salad.

Home made pizza. Spicy sauce, part skim mozzarella, Italian sausage, prosciutto, mushrooms, black olives, and fresh jalapenos. Green onions after baking.

Panko crusted dover sole with lemon butter. Couscous
broccoli cooked way too far because still eating soft food because of dental work.

Spicy goat satays with kecap over rice. Added some toasted cashews, to this takeaway meal. Pretty good, but a bit heavy with garlic.