CEiMB: White Gazpacho with Grapes and Toasted Almonds

Hi Everyone! This is my first official CEiMB post. This week's Craving Ellie in My Belly recipe is from I'll Eat You. Please check out her blog for the complete recipe. Initially I wasn't going to try this recipe. Everytime I thumbed through Ellie's cookbook, I passed the picture of the White Gazpacho and always thought, that looks so good, but then I would remember it had garlic, cucumbers, and grapes. Yes, garlic and grapes. So weird. Needless to say, I spent some time scouring through everyone's posts for the recipe today and saw some pretty good reviews. I stopped off at the market on the way home, grabbed enough to make half a recipe and went to work. First step, toast the almonds. These smelt heavenly! I began to think of brownies and everything chocolatey that goes with almonds (biscotti maybe), but then remembered I was making a cold, cucumber soup. I kept on. In the end, it came together nicely. I served it in a goblet glass and put it in the fridge until dinner was ready. In the meantime, I grilled scallions (used Ellie's recipe) and marinated steak strips (it was a Tomato, Garlic and Basil seasoning mix). Everything I grilled turned out awesome. I set the table and told my husband it was time to eat. He sat down, we prayed and then we dug in. Kyle was the ambitious one and took the first spoonful. He proceeded to say... it's ok, if that's your cup of tea. This isn't the response I was going for. I took a bite. Then I took another. And then I decided it was ok. I took another bite and couldn't even stomach another. I don't know what it was.. I can eat tomato gazpacho, and I occasionally drink a tomato v8. So weird. Something about the sweet grapes made the garlic after taste aweful. It was gorgeous to look at though. Maybe it's because I love sweets. Glad to hear a lot of people liked it, and thanks I'll Eat You for picking it. It's something I would have never tried unless I was a member of this blog. To check out posts (and fantastic pics) from others members, visit the CEiMB site.


I definitely need to learn how to take better pictures. I think the majority of it is the camera - it can't take close up shots.

It was gorgeous to look at!!

On a much sweeter note....

I decided to grill some peaches for dessert. I love grilled fruit. I love fruit. I love anything sweet. LOL. I plated the grilled peaches and drizzled some maple syrup on top (so good). I had to try the 100% Organic maple syrup I bought from Whole Foods today. I plan to make the Nutty Granola and Energy Bars sometime next week for snacks at work. I may have gone a little too heavy on the syrup. Nahh.

Thanks everyone for the good reads.