Mom's Gazpacho

My mom passed away a little over 2 years ago. Sunday would have been my parents' 40th wedding anniversary. This soup always makes me think of my mom. She used to make a big batch of it in a blue lard bucket with a tight fitting lid for us to take on picnics in the mountains. I made this last night, along with some yummy "deviled" chicken legs - basically just chicken legs rubbed with dijon mustard & rolled in panko, parmesan, salt, pepper & cayenne pepper. Oh yeah, and some butter :). Baked at 450 for 30 minutes, then cooled in the fridge, they went perfectly with this gazpacho. Wow, what a terrible photo! Oh well:
Note that this is not a traditional Spanish gazpacho (no bread, not blended), but my mom's special recipe. Sometimes I substitute cilantro for parsley, or half & half. My mom HATED cilantro though, so this time I made it just the way she did:

1 large (46 oz) bottle tomato juice (use PLAIN)
1 large green pepper, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1 bunch of green onions, chopped
1 cup parsley, chopped
2 cups chicken stock (or to taste - depends on how thick you want the soup)
juice of 1 lemon

Mix everything together, season to taste with salt & pepper, maybe a hit of hot sauce. Refrigerate for as long as you can - serve it COLD (add ice cubes if needed)

I like to serve with a dollop of sour cream in the bowl.

It tastes like summer. Try it :)