Late summer crops paint delicious picture

I'm contemplating my newest painting. Looking at my palette, I see some intriguing colors: Glacier Sand, Tenne, Colonial Yellow, Bold Terra Cotta and Rosemary. It's the largest work of my career and I think it's a sure seller should I place it on the market. The only problem? We like living in it.

The house isn't my preferred subject, but it's at least somewhat rewarding to know that I'm doing a thorough job of it and the new trim colors look great.

In the meantime, my garden has pretty much been on autopilot and I'm enjoying what's turned out to be a good, if not great, tomato crop. It's a real treat to have so much fresh basil, too, since tomatoes and basil are about as good a culinary pairing as you'll find. Just topping the plants yields a nice bowl of several varieties and encourages extravagance. I might use 10 bucks' worth (were I buying it from the grocery store) in a single dish.

Along with tomatoes and basil, other late summer crops include squash, cucumbers and peppers. There are more, of course, but I mention this collection in particular because it provides the basis for one of my favorite dishes, garden gazpacho. One of my main rewards for gardening is growing crops chosen for best flavor, picking them at their prime and letting them show off.

I like gazpacho best when all the ingredients can come from the garden. It's an entirely different animal than if you make it from store produce. I like to add a variety of small, cute, veggies (like cucumbers, squash and cherry tomatoes) of different colors to the pureed ingredients. They not only add visual appeal but contrasting flavors and textures against the pureed base. Grilling some of the vegetables adds depth and a rich smoky flavor. If you're a nongardener, try at least to get your hands on some good tomatoes and use homemade stock if at all possible.

I generally grill the veggies the evening before, along with something else I'm cooking, and finish it up the following morning. Here's a tip for roasting peppers that I came up with recently. I use a chimney starter to light my charcoal (a metal cylinder that holds charcoal on top, newspaper for lighting it on the bottom) and looking at the flames shooting out the top recently, I thought, "Holy cow, that'd be great for peppers!"

As the coals are heating up, just put a pepper or two on top, and turn now and then. All that funneled heat blackens and thoroughly roasts the peppers in nothing flat. After roasting, just put them in a paper bag for 15 minutes, then scrape away the black, and use in antipasti, soups, salads, and anything else that'll benefit from that smoky-sweet flavor.

This recipe is easily adjusted for fewer, or more, guests. Hmm, maybe I should make a big batch and invite friends over to work on my painting. If you drive by and see me on the ladder, honk, and say, "Hi." And enjoy those garden tomatoes while they last.

Grilled Garden Gazpacho

For grilling:

8 ripe slicing tomatoes, halved or quartered

1 large sweet or red onion, quartered

1 large ripe (not green) bell pepper, roasted

1 medium summer squash (about 12 ounces), 1/2 -inch thick slices

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Kosher salt and fresh-cracked black pepper, to taste

Leave uncooked:

1 large slicing cucumber, peeled

1 small or pickling cucumber, sliced thin

1 small yellow crookneck squash, thinly sliced

18 cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered

1 large ripe paprika pepper, or other mild hot pepper, chopped

1 small hot pepper (optional, for extra heat), minced

4 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley

6 tablespoons fresh chopped basil

3-4 cups homemade chicken stock, or V-8 juice

Balsamic vinegar, to taste, about 4 tablespoons

Kosher salt, fresh cracked pepper, to taste

Start coals. Brush grilling veggies with olive oil, season, and grill over a medium fire until the veggies are soft and well browned. Try to save the juices from the tomatoes. Roast the pepper as described. Cool and refrigerate everything, covered, if preparing in advance.

Puree the grilled ingredients and large cucumber, adding stock or juice as needed to keep from clogging blender, to desired smoothness. (I like it a little chunky.) Prepare the raw veggies and put everything into a large bowl, add vinegar and more stock, if needed, to desired consistency. Refrigerate for at least four hours to chill and allow flavors to meld. Adjust seasonings.

Yield: 6 main-dish servings

Approximate nutrition per serving: 134 calories, 5 grams fat (less than 1 gram saturated, 35 percent fat calories), 4 grams protein, 21 grams carbohydrate, no cholesterol, 5 grams dietary fiber, 123 milligrams sodium.

Donald Clegg is a Spokane watercolor artist and inventive home cook. His column appears every third Wednesday of the month in the IN Food section. He can be reached by e-mail at info@donaldclegg.com.

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