Winter directly into Summer . . .

Sheesh!  Last week I was wearing my fleece jacket and yesterday it hit 97 degrees.  If anything deserves a WTF, this does.

So to honor my cravings for All Things Summer, I had a monstrous craving for Gazpacho.  Monstrous.  And with no fresh tomatoes at this point (c'mon, July!), I built it with canned tomatoes and it was wonderful nonetheless.  Now, I'm no foodie and typically I don't post recipes but in the event that you get a midnight craving for Gazpacho, here's a quick recipe that will fulfill your every jonesin'.

Two 28oz cans of good diced tomatoes, juice included

One English cucumber (you know, the ones wrapped in cellophane), diced or rough chopped in the food processor

One red onion - rough chopped in the food processor

Two little cans of sliced black olives

1 yellow pepper - rough chopped in the food processor

2 cups tomato juice or V-8

1/4 cup diced garlic (to taste)

1/2 cup red wine vinegar (I love pomegranate vinegar!)

1 cup good olive oil

salt and pepper (to taste)

I serve this (of course, cold) with a dollop of sour cream and tortilla chips and it's to die for.  It's my prelude to summer and should hold me until the 'real' tomatoes are ripe on my vines.