Easy Summer Chilled Heirloom Tomato Soup

Blogging, Facebook, Twitter, can be unusual, uncanny and incredulous to many of us. But more so, when you find yourself struggling to read the damn posts.

I have been reading (to much mind you) FB, Twitter & other posts, and have found myself completely annoyed with how lazy everyone has become. What the hell is thanx, ur, 2? Really, are two more vowels, consonants or letters really going to put your index finger to waste. I suppose all those seconds one is savings themselves by masquerading the English language, that they can now find the time to shave that odd patch of hair growth they never previously had time 4.

The thing is, if I did that in the kitchen, everyone would regurgitate their food, and send it the hell back. I'm not a fan of cutting corners because it leaves you with less. Less of an experience and feeling a bit cheated. The thing is, I want the whole damn enchilada.. not half. NO abbreviated food here folks.

With that said, lets be off to the glorious, wondrous yummy-ness of food!

Summer frikin' rocks. Crazy off the vine tomato's, peaches, beans.. I love it, our guests love it and my kid is in seventh heaven.. being the little fruititerian that she is. Chef De Cuisine, Daragh Matheson and myself put together a little 5 course/paired wine dinner at Leonesse Cellars this past Saturday. Their SS wine club members were stoked!

Le Menu... Epicurean cuisine from the Pyrenees Mountains to the Mediterranean

Refined traditional repertoires if you will...


To Start (recipe below)
Heirloom Tomato Chilled Gaucho Soup- 2007Cinsaut

Second
Manila Clams & Basque Sausage with Saffron.
Served with mascarpone & Fennel flat bread- Melange Blanc

Third
Tomato & Basil Sorbet- Roussanne (friggin' amaaaazing!)

Fourth
Brandt Prime Beef with 2 year cave aged Manchego Potato Puree’, garnished with crispy shallots. 2006 Meritage

Fifth
Flourless Chocolate Chili Cake in Leonesse Cinsaut Port Reduction- 2005 Cinsaut Port

It was a Divine evening, with no 'abbreviated' recipes or 'slang' dishes. Perfectly wonderful organic, local foods, turned into soulful delyte's!

Feel free to join us, any time..

Ms. Leah Delyte


Gaucho Chilled Heirloom Tomato Soup- Easy summer faire
Ingredients

* 1/2 cup olive oil, divided
* 7 tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil, divided
* 8 1/3 inch-thick baguette slices
* 4 1/4 cups coarsely chopped summer heirloom tomatoes (about 3 1/4 lbs)
divided
* 1 cup chopped sweet red onion
* 4 garlic cloves, chopped
* 1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
* 2 tablespoons tomato paste

Preparation

Mix 1/4 cup oil, 1 clove of garlic & 4 tablespoons basil in bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Brush oil mixture over both sides of bread. Toast bread in large skillet over medium heat until crisp, about 4-5 minutes per side. Transfer croutons to plate, and hold.

Next, heat 1/4 cup oil in another large skillet over medium heat, add 4 cups tomatoes & next 3 ingredients plus 3 tablespoons of basil. Sauté until vegetables just begin to soften, about 6 minutes. Stir in tomato paste, reduce heat to medium-low, and cover- cooking until tomatoes and shallots are soft, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes.

*You can strain soup into bowl, pressing with rubber spatula to extract as much of the juice and solids as possible. Then discard solids in sieve. But I like it rustic and chunky.. which makes it a true Gaucho soup!

Freeze soup just until cold, about 30 minutes. Ladle into bowls and garnish with crème fraiche, croutons & sprinkle with chopped tomato!

A Chef, Slow Food, Gardens and our Kids

The power to shine, to stand out and make a difference in this world, is within each of us. I see that time and time again working with food- from planting to cooking- with under privileged kids. And if you stop for a second and take the time to re-read that last sentence, what the 'F' is under privileged supposed to mean to orphaned kids? Kids don't really care, or at least until they get into their later years in school and the material/commercial nature of our populace lays into them for not being worthy enough.

The thing about doing food and working in the garden, is that the food and the garden can give 2 shits about how much money you have. Food, like any art form, is a beautiful form of expression, and can take kids to another world. Building gardens with our communities youth and teaching kids how to cook is rockin'. The input, the design, the exploration, science, poetry that comes out of the garden, and out of the pan, speaks volumes to the soul. If not just to the palate.

The point of this blog.. don't let others opinion's count so much that you stop interacting in your hearts desires. Life's distraction can keep us away from the most natural thing we humans should be doing.. growing food, sharing our skills and wisdom with our youth, and being loving nurturing souls.

The conversations in the garden, the heritage and tradition that swims through each planting of a seed, from the hand of a babe, brings us all one step closer to each other. What beauty we nurture, how profound the food we grow. How fortunate what we in this country have the 'Privilege' to eat! Doesn't everyone deserve the right to good food and a loving mentor!

Go.. build a garden, take out your water guzzling grass, reach out to our kids in need, and make a seed of a difference!

sweet soil ladies and gents.. get off your bums and on your knees!

Ms. Delyte

Organic, Slow Food Bistro in Southern California Wine Country

There are all kinds of menu's to subscribe to or create as a chef. Sometimes I get so bogged down with all the creative dishes that swim through my head, that I can't manage to write. Then it hits me.. we are in a NEW season! Summer is upon us and in full swing. The tomatoes, Armenian cucumbers, baby fennel (yes, still growing), summer squash, artichokes..The Farmers Market! I can't stand it. So much to choose from. I feel like a kid in a candy store.

So faced with the new task of getting our summer menu written, broken down, ordered and implemented.. I have decided to go light. Chef Daragh and I both are heavily (and dear to my heart/Julia Child's) influenced and immersed in French cooking. It seems as if we are cheating on our lover, and almost perverse for us to venture out of our realm. I am already missing my butter, my heavy cream, and.. oh, gasp.. "where did you put the demi glaze!". We have made the commitment, we are ready to take the plunge.. But wait.. I have to keep my Mediterranean blood boiling with a small tribute to a classic Spanish sandwich, 'Bocadillos'.

More of an open faced or 'no dressing' sandwiches like,
Jambon, sangria infused fig, manchego cheese & arugula
Rare Brandt Beef, blue cheese & shaved purple sweet onion
Spicy Tuna with organic farm egg, arugula & EVOO

Then to spice it up a bit..
Carpaccio’s
Portobello Mushroom Carpaccio…, Grilled asparagus, ricotta salata & chimichurri
Smoked Wild Alaskan Salmon… Sweet purple onion, dill cream cheese &
caperberries
Brandt Beef Carpaccio shaved pecorino romano & spicy arugula leaves with
lemon aioli

I am also taking the Libations quite seriously:
House made chocolate ganache blended with Thomas Hammer Espresso, Leonesse
Cellars Port Wine & Cream.
Stage Ranch Organic Lime Pinot Grigio Mojito
Blood Orange & Chardonnay Mimosa (ooohh sundays never looked so good)
House-made Lemonade with Organic Mint from Sage Mtn. Farms.
Summer Peach White Sangria with Leonesse Viognier

The rest of the menu continues on with rockin' salads, charcuterie, cheese plates and flat bread pizza'a.

I have to say I'm diggin it. Keeping the saute line a little quieter for the hot months of summer, isn't such a bad thing. Things are shaping up, the creative juices are flowing and summer never tasted so good!

Doing what I do best, because I know how to be so fresh!

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