When one thinks of summer, what comes to mind?
Plenty of sunshine, grilled meats and vegetables, swimming,
walking outdoors and fruit.

What type of fruit, you ask?
For some, it’s watermelon, peaches, plums, cherries and for others, it
might be tomatoes and cucumbers.

Tomatoes and cucumbers?
Yes, they’re considered fruit mainly because they contain seeds
and if you’re able to buy some top quality cucumbers and tomatoes
this summer season, please take advantage and stock up.

And once you have the fruit at home, you may want to make the
2 recipes listed below.

The recipes: A cold soup and a sorbet.
The cold soup: Gazpacho and the sorbet: Cucumber mint sorbet.

Gazpacho is popular in many parts of the World and is now gaining
in popularity here in the U.S.
And the sorbet- is a low-calorie ice treat that doesn’t contain
the fattening cream and milk that Ice cream has.
So, if you want some refreshing cold soup and dessert this
summer season, just copy the recipes listed below and take
them with you on your next trip to the grocery store.

Recipe no. 1-
Blender Gazpacho!
This soup is the epitome of Summer eating as it’s sweet, tangy,
punchy and refreshing.
Ingredients:
2 fresh medium cucumbers
2 lbs. of ripe tomatoes, (chopped) about 40 cherry or 10 large
Roma tomatoes
1 bell pepper (orange or red (for more color)
1 small onion, (chopped and peeled)
2 garlic cloves
2 tsp. of sea salt
1/4 tsp. of black pepper
Olive oil
2 Tbs. of red wine vinegar or sherry Vinegar
1/2 cup of chopped chives
Diced tomatoes and diced bell peppers (for serving, optional)
To make:
Dice half of one cucumber, bell pepper, onion, garlic, 1/2 cup
of water, salt and black pepper into a blender, working in batches
if necessary. Blend until very smooth.
Add 1 Tbs. of olive oil and vinegar and blend once more.
If desired, you may want to add more salt and pepper.
If the soup is too thin, add a little more olive oil to make it
more creamy.
Transfer to an airtight container or jar and chill for at least
2 hours before serving.
The last step: to serve-pour into bowls and place a few
bite-sized pieces of cucumber, tomatoes, bell peppers
and chives on top.

And now, onto recipe no. 2-
Cucumber Mint Sorbet!
Cucumber as a dessert?
Yes, thanks to the small amount of sugar, you’ll be pleasantly
surprised.
Ingredients:
3/4 cup of sugar (white or healthier version like Stevia)
3 medium cucumbers, peeled, halved and seeded
1/4 cup of roughly chopped mint leaves, plus a few leaves
for decoration
3 Tbs. of fresh lemon juice
To make:
Bring the sugar and 1 cup of water to a boil in a medium
saucepan. Reduce the heat to low and cook for 3 to 5 minutes,
stirring occasionally, until the sugar is dissolved.
Pour into a bowl to cool, about 10 mins.
Place the cucumbers, mint leaves and lemon juice in a blender or
juicer and blend until smooth.
Add the cooled syrup and continue to blend until very smooth.
Pour the mixture into a small cake pan and place in the freezer
for 30 minutes.
Remove the pan from the freezer, then stir and break up the sorbet
with a fork. Smooth the top before returning the pan to the freezer
for another 30 mins.
Repeat step 4 until completely frozen through, 3 to 4 more times.
The last step: Use an Ice cream scoop to serve. If desired, place a
few mint leaves on each cup or bowl of sorbet.

That’s it, 2 uses for all of the fresh cucumbers and tomatoes
that will be coming in the next few months.

Sources:
* Both Recipes from the new Book: Garden Grown Garden-to-
Table Recipes to Make the Most of Your Bounty
* Author of the book- Julia Dzafic
* Lifestyle blog-LemonStripes.com/also by Julia Dzafic
* First For Women/5/20/24 Issue

Make sure you share this article and the 2 recipes with
friends and family, especially those who love cucumbers
and tomatoes. Share it over at Facebook, Instagram, Reddit,
Pinterest, Snapchat, Tik-Tok and X (Twitter).

Thank-you!