Sheila's Luncheon 04 September 2008

Bread crumbs she made for the salad and the soup

Now I was sooo busy eating the soup that I forgot
to take a picture of the soup. It was golden color
and the flavor was excellent.


SHEILA’S GOLDEN GASPACHO

1 slice coarse with bread

3 pounds yellow tomatoes peeled, seeded and chopped

1 green bell pepper seeded, de-ribbed and chopped

1 red Spanish onion, coarsely chopped

1 large English cucumber, peeled and coarsely chopped

6 tablespoons red wine vinegar

3 large cloves garlic, minced

1 ¼ cups tomato juice

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

For the Garnish

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

3 cloves garlic, crushed

6 slices coarse white bread, crust removed, cut into small cubes

salt and freshly ground pepper

¼ cup diced green bell pepper

¼ cup peeled, seeded and diced cucumber

¼ cup diced red onion

1 ½ cups red cherry tomatoes, quartered

Remove the crust from the bread slice and place in a shallow bowl with water to cover. Let stand until the bread is fully soaked, then remove and squeeze dry. In a bowl, combine the soaked bread, yellow tomatoes, bell pepper, onion, cucumber, vinegar, garlic, tomato juice and olive oil. Stir well. Working in batches, transfer the mixture to a blender and process on high speed until very smooth, about 3 minutes for each batch. Strain through a coarse-mesh sieve into a clean bowl. Cover and chill for 1 hours.

To prepare the garnish, in a frying pan over medium heat, melt the butter with the olive oil. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until golden brown, about 1 minute. Remove the garlic and discard. Add the bread cubes, and stir to coat with the butter and oil. Cook slowly, stirring occasionally, until golden, 10-12 minutes. Remove the croutons from the heat and let cool.

Before serving, season the soup to taste with salt and pepper. Ladle the soup into chilled individual bowls and garnish each serving with bell pepper, cucumber, onion, cherry tomatoes and croutons. Serve well chilled. Serves 6

MINI CHEDDAR SCONES

2 ¾ cups all –purpose flour

2 tablespoon sugar

2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon baking soda

10 tablespoon unsalted butter, cold, cubed

1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

1/3 cup minced fresh chives

1 cup buttermilk

2 tablespoon water

1 egg blended with 1 tablespoon water.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees; line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl. Cut in butter with a pastry blender or fork until pea-sized.

Stir in Cheddar and chives, then add buttermilk and 2 tablespoon water, knead gently just until blended. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and pat into an 8 inch square. Cut into 2 inch squares, and then cut squares into triangles. Arrange scones on baking sheet, spacing 1 inch apart. Brush tops with egg-water mixture and bake until golden, about 25 minutes.