Darrel Update
Darrel hasn’t been feeling well today. He is in pain and says he can’t eat much without feeling very full. He ate a little of the gazpacho but thought it was spicy.

I talked with one of the study investigators this morning and decided to put him into the ‘Adaro’ study that involves the GVAX/CRS-207 vaccines. He will need to go for screening and for the biopsy. I am waiting to hear back from that investigator to see when it will all be set up. We can only hope that he is randomly selected for one of the 2 arms of the study that involve the vaccines.

Plus, Group Health approved his treatment for the study! I was amazed at how quickly that happened since I just emailed Dr. Feldman on Friday. We had a voice mail yesterday (Sunday?!) and I called today to find out. They can move quickly on some things!

Gazpacho
Who could believe it would get to almost 90 degrees in Seattle in mid-September! What is going on!

That meant I wanted something easy and cool for dinner. What better than Gazpacho? The tomatoes are still going crazy in the garden, we have a couple of kinds of cucumbers, onions, and plenty of green chiles and jalapeños, so, why not?

All it takes is to roughly chop:

2 lbs Fresh, ripe, garden tomatoes
1/2 Medium sized cucumber (or in my case, 2 small Blonde Cucumbers)
1 Poblano chile (or red pepper)
1/2 Onion – mine was a Walla Walla from the garden
2 Cloves Garlic
1 Jalapeño
1/3 – 1/2 Cup of good olive oil
3 tbls Sherry vinegar
Salt & Pepper, to taste
Avocado (optional)

After chopping, put all the vegetables and bread into a bowl and mix together.

Put about a third of the mixture into a blender, along with a third of the oil & vinegar, salt & pepper, then blend on the highest speed possible until smooth. Continue with the rest of the ingredients, pouring into a large bowl after each blending. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.

Chill, or let sit at room temperature, for a couple of hours to blend flavors. Top with slices of avocado and drizzle with olive oil.

I served it with some open-faced toasted artisan bread with melted cheese. Just like tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches!

Courtney said he didn’t think he would like it but thought it was really good!