I have been waiting since LAST summer to make this 
recipe. Gazpacho is one of my husband’s favorite foods (he begs me to make it even 
in the depth of winter but the thought of making it when tomatoes are not in season goes against everything I stand for!) and it is the quintessential summer soup — totally cool, light and refreshing. I was hoping and praying that 
it would be one of Kenya’s too. Well, I just made some and thank goodness he loves it.
The thing about gazpacho is that you really only want to make it when tomatoes are at their peak — fresh and ripe they taste sweet, beautifully acidic, tangy and juicy. To me, planning to make gazpacho is exactly what makes the farmers’ market so great: vegetables at their peak of perfection at a fraction of the cost of 
grocery store produce. I bought 25 heirloom tomatoes for $5! Yes, they 
were seconds, meaning they were extremely ripe with the occasional 
bruise, but when you’re making gazpacho, who cares!? The taste is as remarkable as you can imagine a tomato right off the vine would be 25 for $5!!!
This soup is a bounty of nutrition. Tomatoes are packed with beta-
carotene, vitamin C and E and lycopene, which research suggests can 
prevent certain types of cancer. With so many vegetables in this 
colorful puree, it’s like eating a big ol’ bowl of health. I filled a little cup for Kenya to hold himself. He sat in his high chair slurping away and in between every bite he looked up at me and smiled.

Gazpacho (10-12 Toddler Servings-freeze 1/2)

4 Tomatoes (make sure they’re ripe)
1 Large Garlic Clove
1 Cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped
2 Celery Stalks, chopped
1/4 Red or Maui Onion, chopped
1/2 Bell Pepper, red, yellow or orange
1/2 Cup Tomato Juice (I use R.W. Knudsen Organic Juice)
2 Tbsp Red Wine Vinegar
1 Tsp Lemon Juice
1 Tbsp Olive Oil

1. Place all the ingredients in a food processor and puree until smooth (you want tiny pieces of vegetables to remain, but small enough for little ones to swallow).
2. Serve (it’s delicious served chilled too).

I was at my best friend Jillian’s store, Maxwell Dog, when I came up with this idea. Instead of giving out dog biscuits to visiting “customers,” they give them dehydrated sweet potatoes to gnaw on. She gave one to Kenya and he spent a good hour teething on it. He loved it and I knew somehow it comforted him.
I do realize that most people don’t have dehydrators, so if you don’t you can try this on the lowest setting of your oven, but it won’t be exactly the same.
I put every fruit and vegetable I could find in it over night. It was like a science project. Let me tell you, though, avocados are down right nasty dehydrated. On the other hand kiwis and cucumbers were delicious. Below is a list of my favorite, but feel free to try different produce to see what your little angel will love.
I cut everything lengthwise so baby had a big piece to gnaw on for a long time.

Fruit Teether

Bananas
Kiwis
Strawberries
Watermelon
Sweet Potatoes
Cucumbers

1. Set dehydrator to 135 degrees.
2. Slice fruit and vegetables into slices about 1/8 inch thick or smaller, lengthwise.
3. Place on trays and put into dehydrator (cooking time will vary, so check the dehydrator every few hours).
4. Serve.