They say that people who swear a lot are more honest. I wonder if that’s true. I, personally, rarely swear. My impression is that if you’re constantly dropping f-bombs, the words lose their meaning. When someone who swears all the time says it’s fucking hot out, well, that doesn’t mean anything. But when I say it’s fucking hot, then it’s really fucking hot. And last week it was really fucking hot out.

The last thing anyone wants to do in a heat wave is cook. Just the idea of turning on the oven had me running for ice water. I’ve developed a collection of go to recipes for the summer that use minimal or even no heat to get through these situations. Gazpacho is probably one of my favourites. It tastes great, and, as this recipe from Bon Appetit shows, it is infinitely variable.

I loved the colour of the soup in BA so I felt like I had to try it. I’m really glad I did, even if mine was decidedly more purple than theirs. Maybe I didn’t put as much tomato as they did. I didn’t follow the recipe to the letter. I basically followed the ingredient list without really paying attention to quantities or method. I swapped the jalapeno for sriracha because that’s what I had. And I added basil because I like basil.

The fruit adds a sweet dimension to the soup that I really enjoyed. To make the meal a little more substantial I added a scallop and zucchini salad and some rosemary croutons.

Because this is really easy to make and there is no precision required here I’m going to give you a list of ingredients and a simple method rather than a detailed recipe. I think you folks can handle it.

Stone Fruit Gazpacho

• A couple of beefsteak tomatoes
• A peach
• Some cherries
• A cucumber
• Some red onion
• Garlic
• A couple of squirts of sriracha
• Red wine vinegar
• Olive oil
• Fresh basil leaves
• Salt and pepper

Chop up the fruits and veggies so that they fit into a blender, along with all the other ingredients. Blend. Chill.

Sea Scallop Salad

• Sea Scallops
• Finely diced zucchini
• Finely diced red onion
• Basil
• Olive Oil
• Lemon juice
• Salt and Pepper

Sear the scallops on high heat in a non stick pan with a little olive oil. Toss with the remaining ingredients. Serve with gazpacho and some croutons.

Enjoy!