Recipe: Quick and Easy Gazpacho (Chilled Tomato Vegetable Soup)

Beat the heat with this simple, refreshing gazpacho, a healthy no-cook summer recipe that's packed with tomatoes, cucumbers, sweet peppers, onion, and garlic (recipe here).

That crazy wonderful cool spell is history, the wet weather creek has dried up, and I'm back to watering the kitchen garden every day. (It was such a treat to have three weeks off from watering!). Our regularly scheduled hot and humid August has returned, and with it a craving for my favorite quick and easy gazpacho. Thank goodness the tomato plants in the garden have finally started putting out.

Packed with nutrients and full of flavor, this low fat chilled vegetable soup is the perfect thing to keep in the fridge for those sweat-drenched, sweltering summer days when nobody feels much like eating, let alone cooking. It'll fill you up without weighing you down and is a delicious way to cool off.

There's no need to blanch, peel, seed, or force anything through a sieve, and all of the vegetable goodness ends up right in your bowl. If you've never had gazpacho—which some people refer to as liquid salad—I urge you to give it a try, even if, like me, you're not usually a fan of cold soups.

There are about three million ways to make gazpacho, and people put all sorts of things into it (gelatin, shrimp, or raw eggs, anyone?), but when I made my first batch five years ago, I decided to take the straightforward route with both ingredients and technique.

My smooth and simple version is basically a thick raw juice, which can be sipped rather than slurped—and easily made thinner—if desired. A celery stick and splash of vodka are optional. I love it with a dollop of plain yogurt. Make it a day ahead if you can, as the flavor increases dramatically after sitting overnight in the fridge. Enjoy!

P.S. Easy Homemade Tomato Vegetable Juice (like V8 only better) and Fiesta Cottage Cheese Veggie Dip.

© FarmgirlFare.com, where we're dreaming of polar fleece and telling ourselves that all this sweating has to be good for us—and there's a batch of gazpacho in the fridge.