It is so stinkin' hot here.  This White Gazpacho recipe is the only thing that sounded edible for lunch, so I whipped up a batch, and basked in the creamy, chilled cucumber goodness.  I am not usually a fan of tomato based gazpacho soups, but this one is in a class by itself. 
It's perfect. 

My Mom was given this recipe by a family friend (Hi Miss Jere!), and pretty much everyone who tastes it loves it.  Including my two year old. 

You'll need:

Several cucumbers, diced into chunks; chicken broth; sour cream; shallots (or you can sub scallions); garlic; parsley (fresh or dried); salt; tomatoes; and slivered almonds and white vinegar (not pictured-oops!).

The onion and garlic give a great kick to it, but the flavors mellow out after a couple of days in the fridge.  Since everything in the soup is raw, it would be a great home remedy for summer colds or illness.  You can't beat the healthy one-two punch of fresh garlic and onions!

Oh, and this makes a large batch.  It yields between 11 and 12 cups, and will keep for a week in the fridge. 
I had all of this stuff on hand already, so I didn't even have to drag the troops to the store.  Yay!

Peel your cucumbers, and dice into chunks.  I cut in half lengthwise, and then turn and cut again...then just cut 'slices' and you've got nice chunks ready to go.  I used about 4-5 medium sized cucumbers, or 3 large ones.  Put them into a large bowl. 

Next time, I'm going to use a large stock pot with a pouring spout to make it easier to pour into the jars.  Also, the higher sides make for fewer spatters.


Next, pour in 3 cups of chicken broth, 2-3 shallots and a few cloves of garlic, a 24 oz. tub of sour cream, 3 T. of vinegar, a handful of dried parsley (1/4 cup of dried or a half cup of fresh) and 1 1 /2 t of coarse salt, such as sea salt or kosher salt. 

Blend it all together with a stick blender.  If you don't have an immersion blender, you may put a cup of broth and the cucumbers, garlic, parsley and shallots into a regular blender.  Blend until smooth and then stir into the rest of the ingredients.  If you have to work in batches, then mix the batches together to blend and balance the flavors. 

But you should really, really look into getting an immersion blender if you enjoy cooking.  I use my immersion blender all the time...it's similar to this Cuisinart CSB-76 Smart Stick Hand Blender.  You can blend and mix things right in the pot, and blend mayo and other difficult tasks with ease.  I even used it to make smoothies when my 'real' blender was in the shop.  Salsa, baby food (right in the pot!), salad dressing...I love, love, love it.  But then, I have a weird affinity for kitchen appliances.

OK, so we're blending....this really takes just a minute or so.  I sort of move it around and smush the blades into the cucumbers until everything is evenly blended and there are only tiny chunklets.

Perfect!

Now, at this point, taste it and see if you need to adjust any flavors, add salt, etc.  Oh, and this is a good time to say that the kick of the garlic and onion will be tamed a lot by using regular sour cream.  If you go with a lite version, then it's going to be pretty spicy.  But you can always cut back or use powdered garlic and onion instead if you want to make a lighter version. 

So, the soup is done, and now you get to choose your toppings.  Garden fresh tomatoes, diced small, are delicious, and slivered almonds add a nice crunch.  Toasting the almonds is even tastier!

Oh, my.  This is so yummy.

This is perfect lunch for a hot summer day.  In fact, this will be my lunch all week long!  It also makes a wonderful first course, especially if you're dining outdoors.

Here is a black and white printable White Gazpacho Recipe

-OR-
I'm going to try something a little different based on an idea from my friend Denise.  Y'all tell me what you think:
She puts her recipes on a printable 4x6 recipe card and has them printed as photos, and keeps them in the little 4x6 photo albums.  The plastic sleeves keep them from getting grungy.  They're easy to share that way too!

4x6 printable Gazpacho Recipe
Open, 'select' the image, and right click.  Save-as to your hard drive or recipe file, then upload and print with your next photo order at any photo processing place, or print like a photo on your home printer.

If y'all like this idea, then I'll keep adding these on my recipes...let me know in the comments!  (If you don't see a comment section right below, then scroll up to the blog title, and click it...you should see the comment section at the bottom.)

*full disclosure: all Amazon links are through my affiliate account.