Late Summer Gazpacho

We haven't had too many truly hot days this summer here in Venice thanks to the beautiful Pacific breeze, but today is just warm enough that I don't want to spend too much (or any) time around the stove. My solution for a delicious, fresh, simple late-summer dinner- gazpacho! I make no claims of authenticity here, but I do guarantee a yummy, wonderfully improvisable dish that, though it does need a couple hours to chill, is easily thrown together in just a few minutes. I'll tell you how I do it and you can have fun playing with your own creation. I don't really measure anything with this recipe, but taste often to adjust the seasonings and level of spiciness- if you're serving a group of people, I'd err on the side of less spice then serve with hot sauce or diced habanero peppers for everyone to add on their own. Also, this recipe serves about 8 portions for a light dinner, but even if you're cooking for a smaller group it's great to have leftovers for the next day's lunch- I think the soup tastes even better on the second day actually, the extra time chilling really brings out the flavors.

For base (all spices are to taste):
5-6 tomatoes chopped roughly*
2 (14oz) cans tomato juice*
2-3 cloves roughly chopped garlic
1 roughly chopped red onion
chopped chives
cumin seed
fresh basil
cayenne pepper
thyme
salt
pepper 
about 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
 *if you don't have enough fresh tomatoes and/or cans of tomato juice you can also use approximately 3 cans of no salt added diced tomatoes (I've done this in a pinch and the result is still delicious).

Puree all ingredients in blender. Taste then adjust spices according to your taste. Once you've got a base you're happy with add any or all of the following (or anything else that sounds delicious to you):

3-4 diced tomatoes with seeds removed
2 peeled, chopped cucumbers with seeds removed
1 chopped red pepper
1 chopped green pepper
2 stalks celery chopped with leaves removed

Chill for at least 2 hours then serve in chilled bowls and garnish with fresh parsley or avocado (or both) with some nice, crusty bread on the side.