Infinity Soup - the Ever Changing Soup You Don't Have to Cook

I have always loved soup. There is nothing quite so comforting as a big bowl of steaming hot soup. During the summer, I love chilled soups. Our household has dubbed this variation on gazpacho as Infinite Soup. If you do not have or like one ingredient, there is a substitution. I have a friend who has dubbed this Keep It Going Soup. She makes a pot and everyone gets a bowl as an appetizer at dinner. Whatever vegetables are leftover after dinner go into the soup pot to keep it going. Her only concession if she does this is to add fresh avocado each time she serves as a week old piece of avocado isn't a good thing.

The soup is a variation on gazpacho. The addition of beans gives it a protein kick. As described here, it works well for vegans. I myself am a ova-lacto vegetarian. I have included options of throwing in meat. While I usually serve this soup cold, it can be served hot, too.

Ingredients
32 ounces - 1 bottle of spicy vegetable juice cocktail.
2 large tomatoes, seeded, peeled and coarsely chopped
2 medium avocados (ripe but still firm) seeded, peeled, and cut into 3/4-inch pieces
1 large celery stalk, thinly sliced on the bias
1 medium bell, red, orange or yellow peppers or a combination thereof, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 medium cucumber, seeded and cut into 1/2-inch pieces (If the skin is thick or bitter, peel)
1/2 bunch radishes, finely chopped
1 can (16-ounce) Great Northern beans, drained and rinsed (also good with canned garbanzo beans or kidney beans. I have also tossed in frozen lima beans.)
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoon fresh cilantro and 1/2 teaspoon chili powder or 1 tsp thyme and 1tsp parsley and 1/2 tsp oregano, or 2 tsp herbs de provence.

Method
In large bowl, combine all ingredients. Cover and refrigerate soup at least 30 minutes or until ready to serve. The longer it sits, the better it gets. If I know I am going to be serving this in the evening, I will make it in the morning. Because this has a high content of tomato, it is best to keep this in a ceramic or glass bowl. Do not store in aluminum or any other reactive container.

About the Soup
As made above, the soup is a nutritional powerhouse. When I want to lose weight, I will start my dinner with a small bowl of this soup. I can be assured I'm getting my vegetables. It fills me up quickly. The avocado adds a richness and the beans add a protein that make it more satisfying. The ingredients are inexpensive and since this soup works with leftovers, I can cut down on waste and waist at the same time.

Variations
The above is my basic list of ingredients, but this soup is great refrigerator Velcro. Just about anything can go into it. Other successful additions at my house have included:

Thinly chopped or small dice carrot
Peeled and chopped broccoli stem - lightly blanched to set color (save flowers for other uses)
Chopped/shredded cooked egg white
Roasted beet chopped or diced and drained
Left over fava beans
Shelled edamame
Diced red onion
Diced baby turnip - lightly steamed
Parsley
Diced green cabbage
Cooked rice or barley
Chopped black olives
Chopped or sliced mushrooms
Fresh, frozen or canned corn
Roasted garlic

As you add more vegetables, you will want to add more vegetable cocktail. If you don't want to use spicy vegetable juice cocktail, you can use plain tomato juice or a regular V-8. I have a friend who loves Clamatto and makes hers with that. I have even made this with beet juice. If you want to heat it up a little more, consider the addition of Tabasco sauce or a couple of shots of sambal. For another layer of spice, throw in a teaspoon of prepared horseradish.

If I want to serve this at an outdoor party where hamburgers and hot dogs are on the menu, I will replace the vinegar with beer.
If I want to serve this at an elegant dinner party, I will replace the vinegar with red wine. If I am serving wine and it is not expensive, I will use the same wine that I am serving.
If I want this as a light, late night something I will replace the vinegar with vodka or gin.

For those who are meat eaters, consider throwing in shredded or cubed bits of cooked chicken, ham or beef with this to make it a full meal. Also consider tossing in cooked cod or tilapia.

If you want to drop the calorie count on this soup, you can reduce or remove the avocado. Other than the avocado, the soup is nearly fat free. Keep in mind that some vitamins are fat soluble and require fat to be absorbed. The addition of the healthy fats in avocado make the vitamins in this soup more bio available. If you decide to remove the avocado, consider serving the soup with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil on top or with a sprinkling of toasted pine nuts, almonds or walnuts.

If I want to brighten the taste of the soup, I'll add a squeeze of fresh lemon juice to it just before serving.

Traditional gazpacho has torn or broken bits of bread in it. If you want to add something grainy, try seasoned croutons or crushed corn chips. I tend to skip the breads and instead serve with one or two wasa crackers topped with melted Swiss cheese.

I've also been known to heat this up and serve like French Onion Soup with a piece of toasted baguette floating on top and then grilling grated Monterrey Jack, Gouda or Parmesan on top. If you want to serve hot, let the soup sit out of the fridge for a while to bring it up to room temperature. Then heat just to temperature and serve. This will help preserve the freshness of the vegetables.

This is also good topped with a dollop of sour cream or plain yogurt.