Gazpacho and Open-faced sandwiches

For dinner tonight we had gazpacho and an avocado-tomato open faced sandwich. A super summery dish, probably a bit too premature for the weather. The soup came out a little garlicky, but otherwise was quite tasty with the sandwich.

Gazpacho:

6 ripe tomatoes

2 celery stalks, diced

1 large English cucumber preferably - or you can skin a normal one, chopped

1 small red onion, chopped

2 cups tomato juice

3 cloves of garlic, minced

2 tbl olive oil

1 tsp lemon juice

1/3 cup chopped cilantro

salt and pepper to taste

A few dashes of tabasco or your favorite hot sauce

In a food processor pulse the tomato, celery, cucumber, onion and garlic. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl, stir in the remaining ingredients. Reserve some cilantro for when you serve the soup. The gazpacho tastes best when you let it blend in the refrigerator over night. Drizzle some olive oil on top when served. 

Avocado-Tomato Open-Faced Sandwiches

2 slices of roasted garlic bread (from Mirabelle's)

A couple of thin slices of pepper brie (from St. Louis) 

Half an avocado, sliced into 1/4 " slices

4 tomato slices

Salt and pepper

Grill the bread on a skillet with some olive oil. Melt the brie on the toast, or of course skip this step if you are omitting the cheese. I suggest using a lemony-mustard Veganaise spread if you're not using cheese. Take off of the skillet, place avocado and then tomato on top. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.