Spanish Gazpacho Soup

This recipe came from The Optimal Diet: The Official CHIP Cookbook. CHIP stands for Coronary Health Improvement Project, and is a diet my in-laws have been exploring this past year. The first recipe I tried was for Spanish Gazpacho Soup.

Spanish Gazpacho Soup
2 cups tomatoes, chopped
1 cup zucchini, chopped
1/2 cup celery, chopped
4 cups tomato juice (low-sodium or no salt added)
1 cup cucumber, peeled and chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 cup green onions, chopped
1/4 cup bell pepper, green, chopped
1 cup green chili salsa, canned
lime juice to taste
salt to taste

1. Combine chopped tomatoes, zucchini, and celery in a bowl. Mix well.
2. Transfer one third of this mixture to a blender, add a little tomato juice, and puree.
3. Pour the pureed vegetables back into the bowl and mix in remaining ingredients.
4. Chill soup in the refrigerator.

Other than a lot of chopping, this recipe was pretty easy. I had never had gazpacho soup before, and the "chilled soup" was a little strange to me. The next day we had the leftovers heated up with grilled cheese sandwiches and I liked it a lot better.