Ice-cold soups hit the spot when temperatures rise

Nancy Hadler of Frohna, Missouri, suggested a column on gazpacho as she has been enjoying some this summer. Summer weather is hot and humid and if you combine that with a bounty of fresh vegetables, you have the perfect combination for a cool, refreshing gazpacho. A chilled soup made from fresh vegetables provides a burst of flavor and nutrition while not taking a lot of time to prepare and no cooking to heat up the house; it is the perfect recipe for hot weather. A large batch can be made and kept chilled, allowing the flavors to blend together. If so desired, you can serve a sandwich along side for a complete meal.

Super Simple Gazpacho

This is an Ina Garten recipe. Ina, "The Barefoot Contessa" on the Food Network, offers interesting recipes, many of which are her favorites for entertaining.

• 1 hothouse cucumber, halved and seeded, but not peeled
• 2 red bell peppers, cored and seeded
• 4 plum tomatoes
• 1 red onion
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 24 ounces (3 cups) tomato juice
• 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup good olive oil
• 1/2 tablespoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Roughly chop the cucumbers, bell peppers, tomatoes, and red onions into 1-inch cubes. Put each vegetable separately into a food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulse until it is coarsely chopped. Do not over-process.

After each vegetable is processed, combine them in a large bowl and add the garlic, tomato juice, vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper. Mix well and chill before serving. The longer gazpacho sits, the more the flavors develop.

To-Die-For Gazpacho

This recipe is from The Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond, who also appears on The Food Network and has written several cookbooks. Her life story is fascinating, and I love her television show which highlights her ranching lifestyle and her family.

• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 whole red onion, diced
• 1 whole large cucumber, diced
• 5 whole Roma tomatoes, diced
• 1 whole zucchini, diced
• 2 ribs celery, diced
• 1 dash salt, to taste
• 4 cups good-quality tomato juice or V-8 Juice
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/8 cup (2 tablespoons) red wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 6 dashes Tabasco, or to taste
• 1 dash black pepper, to taste
• 1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined, for topper
• Avocado slices, for garnish
• 2 hard-boiled eggs, finely minced
• Fresh cilantro leaves, for serving
• Crusty bread, for serving

In the bowl of a food processor or in a blender, combine the minced garlic with half the red onion, half the cucumber, half the tomato, half the zucchini, half the celery, half the tomato juice, olive oil, red wine vinegar, sugar, Tabasco and a dash of salt. Pulse until all ingredients are blended well; mixture will have a nice speckled, colorful texture. Pour into a large bowl and add the rest of the tomato juice, and half of the remaining onion, cucumber, tomato, zucchini and celery, reserving the rest of the diced vegetables for garnish. Stir mixture together and check seasonings, adding salt if needed. Chill soup for at least a couple of hours; soup is best when very cold. If desired, grill or saute the shrimp until opaque. Set aside. To serve, remove the soup from the fridge and stir. Check seasonings one last time. Ladle into a bowl and garnish with remaining diced vegetables, a sliver of fresh avocado, hard cooked egg chunks or slices, sour cream, and cilantro. Finally, place a grilled shrimp on the top and serve with grilled slices of bread.

Grilled Vegetable Gazpacho

This recipe is from Food and Wine magazine. I have not tried this recipe, but it intrigues me with the smokiness of grilled vegetables.

• 4 large garlic cloves, unpeeled
• 2 large red bell peppers, cored and quartered
• 2 large yellow bell peppers, cored and quartered
• 2 medium zucchini, sliced lengthwise *½-inch thick
• 1 large white onion, cut into 1/2-inch slabs
• 2 ears of corn, husked
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 2 cups tomato juice
• 1/2 cup fresh orange juice
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
• 1 English cucumber, thinly sliced

Light a grill. Thread the garlic cloves onto a skewer. Lightly brush the garlic, bell peppers, zucchini, onion and corn with the vegetable oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill the vegetables over moderately high heat, turning frequently, until lightly charred and crisp-tender, about 10 minutes. Transfer the peppers to a bowl, cover with plastic and let steam for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, remove the garlic cloves from the skewers, peel them and transfer to a large bowl. Using a large serrated knife, cut the charred corn kernels into the bowl. Peel the peppers and add them to the bowl along with the zucchini, onion, cumin, crushed red pepper, tomato juice, orange juice, lemon juice and vinegar.

Working in batches, puree the vegetable mixture in a blender or food processor. Pour the gazpacho into a clean bowl and season with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate until chilled, about two hours.

Just before serving, stir the cilantro into the gazpacho. Ladle the soup into bowls, garnish with the cucumber and serve.

While we are on the subject of chilled soups, I thought it would be nice to think about a fruit based soup, and since raspberries are about my favorite fruit, I went searching for a couple of recipes, and I will definitely be trying these two recipes very soon.

Quick and Easy Chilled Raspberry Soup

• 1/3 cup cranberry juice
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 5 1/3 cups plus 12 fresh raspberries, divided
• 1 1/3 cups plus 2 tablespoons sour cream, divided

In a blender, combine the cranberry juice, sugar and 5 1/3 cups raspberries; cover and process until blended. Strain and discard seeds. Stir in 1 1/3 cups sour cream. Cover and refrigerate for at least two hours. To serve, pour 1/4 cup of soup into 12 cordial glasses. Top each with a raspberry and 1/2 teaspoon sour cream. Yield: 12 servings.

Summer's Delight Raspberry Soup

• 3 quarts fresh raspberries
• 1 *½ cups water
• 1/4 cup white wine, optional
• 1 cup cranberry juice
• 1 *½ cups sugar
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 5 whole cloves
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 (8 ounce) cartons raspberry yogurt
• 1 cup sour cream

Mash berries, water and wine together. Place in blender and puree. Put in large pot.

Add cranberry juice, sugar, cinnamon and cloves. Bring just to a boil over medium heat.

Strain and cool. Whisk in lemon juice and yogurt. Chill. Serve with a dollop of sour cream.

Have a great week and until next time, happy cooking.