salmorejo

What if I told you there was a chilled soup just perfect for summer? A soup that really makes the best of your surplus of red, juicy ripe tomatoes? Maybe you would say, 'I know gazpacho, and I'm not that crazy about it.'

Well, it's not gazpacho. It's the lazy southern Spanish version called salmorejo.  Lucky for me (and you) salmorejo is like a cross between gazpacho and romesco.  You could also think of it as a liquified pa amb tomaquet.  Either way, it's just amazing.

Salmorejo hails from Córdoba, and is usually accompanied with hard-boiled egg and mini-ribbons of jamón. What's the word itself mean? Folks are divided. It could be a derivation of the Latin for brine and vinegar. It could also come from the Latin for salt and pestle.

Either way, you need to get this simple soup cooking before your tomato season comes to an end. Trust.

salmorejo

• 6-8 tomatoes
• 1 baguette, day old if possible
• small clove of garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• generous drizzle of apple cider vinegar
• salt

Peel the tomatoes and cut into pieces. Combine in a blender with the bread, also cut into pieces with crust removed, and garlic.  Blend until homogenous, then add the vinegar, salt to taste, and olive oil. Blend again until beautifully creamy. Refrigerate.

ramos gin fizz + the basque country blue ribbon

 Evangelize. I've been feeling awfully nostalgic/nationalistic of late, which has led to a shameless promotion of all things Southern. Why? Maybe because twenty something of the thirty-one days in July were RAINY and COLD. Maybe I'm bitter that everything I've ever known about summer is being turned upside down.

Yes, my old compatriots, it can be 50 degrees in July.

There's a very special thing in San Sebastián called Musika Parkean, created by some very special people. It's music in the park, along with the exotic concept of picnic-ing, and done in style. This month's theme? #indenait +jazz. This month's contest? Drinks.

Ahem. Cue: Old New Orleans.

Cue, specifically, the Ramos Gin Fizz. One of the most refreshing, delicious alcoholic drinks around. Also fun to watch people balk  at the ingredient list: raw eggs? cream? I'm not going to like that.

Ahem. Yes, you are.

Why? The orange flower water, the acidity from the citrus fruit....it is truly magical. Add the San Sebastián views of hilly green islands and clear water from atop the lawn of the queen's summer home, Miramar, and it's even more so.

The only catch? You have to shake this thing for a long, long time. Like five or ten minutes. It helps if, like the Ramos' bar in turn-of-the-19th-centry New Orleans, you have dozens of 'shaker boys' at hand hired specifically for the purpose.  It also helps if you have muscles that were once trained by the meanest, most relentless trainer ever (happy birthday, Frank!). Or a kind British chap to relieve you every now and then.

Turns out the shaking was worth it....this drink, one that I'd only ever enjoyed in my own home or in New Orleans, Louisiana, was declared the winner of July 2011 Musika Parkean's Cocktail Contest. First place!

Well, if that don't just beat all....

ramos gin fizz

• 1 tablespoon confectioner's sugar
• 4 drops orange flower water
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• 1/2 lime, juiced
• 1 1/2 ounces gin
• 1 egg white
• 2 tablespoons cream
• seltzer

Combine everything but the seltzer in a cocktail shaker with a handful of ice (crushed if possible). Shake. For a long time.  Until you feel it thicken in the shaker. Pour a bit of seltzer in a tall glass, then strain the mixture into the glass.